To The Word – Day 52

₁These are the terms of the covenant that the LORD commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab; all this was in addition to the covenant which the LORD had made with them at Mount Sinai.

₂Moses called together all the people of Israel and said to them, “You saw for yourselves what the LORD did to the king of Egypt, to his officials, and to his entire country. ₃You saw the terrible plagues, the miracles, and the great wonders that the LORD performed. ₄But to this very day he has not let you understand what you have experienced. ₅For forty years the LORD led you through the desert, and your clothes and sandals never wore out. ₆You did not have bread to eat or wine or beer to drink, but the LORD provided for your needs in order to teach you that he is your God. ₇And when we came to this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to fight against us. But we defeated them, ₈took their land, and divided it among the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. ₉Obey faithfully all the terms of this covenant, so that you will be successful in everything you do.

₁₀“Today you are standing in the presence of the LORD your God, all of you — your leaders and officials, your men, ₁₁women, and children, and the foreigners who live among you and cut wood and carry water for you. ₁₂You are here today to enter into this covenant that the LORD your God is making with you and to accept its obligations, ₁₃so that the LORD may now confirm you as his people and be your God, as he promised you and your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ₁₄You are not the only ones with whom the LORD is making this covenant with its obligations. ₁₅He is making it with all of us who stand here in his presence today and also with our descendants who are not yet born.

₁₆“You remember what life was like in Egypt and what it was like to travel through the territory of other nations. ₁₇You saw their disgusting idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. ₁₈Make sure that no man, woman, family, or tribe standing here today turns from the LORD our God to worship the gods of other nations. This would be like a root that grows to be a bitter and poisonous plant. ₁₉Make sure that there is no one here today who hears these solemn demands and yet convinces himself that all will be well with him, even if he stubbornly goes his own way. That would destroy all of you, good and evil alike. ₂₀The LORD will not forgive such a man. Instead, the LORD's burning anger will flame up against him, and all the disasters written in this book will fall on him until the LORD has destroyed him completely. ₂₁The LORD will make an example of him before all the tribes of Israel and will bring disaster on him in accordance with all the curses listed in the covenant that is written in this book of the LORD's teachings.

₂₂“In future generations your descendants and foreigners from distant lands will see the disasters and sufferings that the LORD has brought on your land. ₂₃The fields will be a barren waste, covered with sulphur and salt; nothing will be planted, and not even weeds will grow there. Your land will be like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD destroyed when he was furiously angry. ₂₄Then the whole world will ask, ‘Why did the LORD do this to their land? What was the reason for his fierce anger?’ ₂₅And the answer will be, ‘It is because the LORD's people broke the covenant they had made with him, the God of their ancestors, when he brought them out of Egypt. ₂₆They served other gods that they had never worshipped before, gods that the LORD had forbidden them to worship. ₂₇And so the LORD became angry with his people and brought on their land all the disasters written in this book. ₂₈The LORD became furiously angry, and in his great anger he uprooted them from their land and threw them into a foreign land, and there they are today.’

₂₉“There are some things that the LORD our God has kept secret; but he has revealed his Law, and we and our descendants are to obey it for ever.

₁“I have now given you a choice between a blessing and a curse. When all these things have happened to you, and you are living among the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you, you will remember the choice I gave you. ₂If you and your descendants will turn back to the LORD and with all your heart obey his commands that I am giving you today, ₃then the LORD your God will have mercy on you. He will bring you back from the nations where he has scattered you, and he will make you prosperous again. ₄Even if you are scattered to the farthest corners of the earth, the LORD your God will gather you together and bring you back, ₅so that you may again take possession of the land where your ancestors once lived. And he will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your ancestors ever were. ₆The LORD your God will give you and your descendants obedient hearts, so that you will love him with all your heart, and you will continue to live in that land. ₇He will turn all these curses against your enemies, who hated you and oppressed you, ₈and you will again obey him and keep all his commands that I am giving you today. ₉The LORD will make you prosperous in all that you do; you will have many children and a lot of livestock, and your fields will produce abundant crops. He will be as glad to make you prosperous as he was to make your ancestors prosperous, ₁₀but you will have to obey him and keep all his laws that are written in this book of his teachings. You will have to turn to him with all your heart.

₁₁“The command that I am giving you today is not too difficult or beyond your reach. ₁₂It is not up in the sky. You do not have to ask, ‘Who will go up and bring it down for us, so that we can hear it and obey it?’ ₁₃Nor is it on the other side of the ocean. You do not have to ask, ‘Who will go across the ocean and bring it to us, so that we may hear it and obey it?’ ₁₄No, it is here with you. You know it and can quote it, so now obey it.

₁₅“Today I am giving you a choice between good and evil, between life and death. ₁₆If you obey the commands of the LORD your God, which I give you today, if you love him, obey him, and keep all his laws, then you will prosper and become a nation of many people. The LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are about to occupy. ₁₇But if you disobey and refuse to listen, and are led away to worship other gods, ₁₈you will be destroyed — I warn you here and now. You will not live long in that land across the Jordan that you are about to occupy. ₁₉I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between God's blessing and God's curse, and I call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose life. ₂₀Love the LORD your God, obey him and be faithful to him, and then you and your descendants will live long in the land that he promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

₁Moses continued speaking to the people of Israel, ₂and said, “I am now 120 years old and am no longer able to be your leader. And besides this, the LORD has told me that I will not cross the Jordan. ₃The LORD your God himself will go before you and destroy the nations living there, so that you can occupy their land; and Joshua will be your leader, as the LORD has said. ₄The LORD will destroy those people, just as he defeated Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, and destroyed their country. ₅The LORD will give you victory over them, and you are to treat them exactly as I have told you. ₆Be determined and confident. Do not be afraid of them. Your God, the LORD himself, will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you.”

₇Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the presence of all the people of Israel, “Be determined and confident; you are the one who will lead these people to occupy the land that the LORD promised to their ancestors. ₈The LORD himself will lead you and be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you, so do not lose courage or be afraid.”

₉So Moses wrote down God's Law and gave it to the levitical priests, who were in charge of the LORD's Covenant Box, and to the leaders of Israel. ₁₀He commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, when the year that debts are cancelled comes round, read this aloud at the Festival of Shelters. ₁₁Read it to the people of Israel when they come to worship the LORD your God at the one place of worship. ₁₂Call together all the men, women, and children, and the foreigners who live in your towns, so that everyone may hear it and learn to honour the LORD your God and to obey his teachings faithfully. ₁₃In this way your descendants who have never heard the Law of the LORD your God will hear it. And so they will learn to obey him as long as they live in the land that you are about to occupy across the Jordan.”

₁₄Then the LORD said to Moses, “You haven't much longer to live. Call Joshua and bring him to the Tent, so that I may give him his instructions.” Moses and Joshua went to the Tent, ₁₅and the LORD appeared to them there in a pillar of cloud that stood by the door of the Tent.

₁₆The LORD said to Moses, “You will soon die, and after your death the people will become unfaithful to me and break the covenant that I made with them. They will abandon me and worship the pagan gods of the land they are about to enter. ₁₇When that happens, I will become angry with them; I will abandon them, and they will be destroyed. Many terrible disasters will come upon them, and then they will realize that these things are happening to them because I, their God, am no longer with them. ₁₈And I will refuse to help them then, because they have done evil and worshipped other gods.

₁₉“Now, write down this song. Teach it to the people of Israel, so that it will stand as evidence against them. ₂₀I will take them into this rich and fertile land, as I promised their ancestors. There they will have all the food they want, and they will live comfortably. But they will turn away and worship other gods. They will reject me and break my covenant, ₂₁and many terrible disasters will come on them. But this song will still be sung, and it will stand as evidence against them. Even now, before I take them into the land that I promised to give them, I know what they are thinking.”

₂₂That same day Moses wrote down the song and taught it to the people of Israel.

₂₃Then the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun and said to him, “Be confident and determined. You will lead the people of Israel into the land that I promised them, and I will be with you.”

₂₄Moses wrote God's Law in a book, taking care not to leave out anything. ₂₅When he finished, he said to the levitical priests, who were in charge of the LORD's Covenant Box, ₂₆“Take this book of God's Law and place it beside the Covenant Box of the LORD your God, so that it will remain there as a witness against his people. ₂₇I know how stubborn and rebellious they are. They have rebelled against the LORD during my lifetime, and they will rebel even more after I am dead. ₂₈Assemble all your tribal leaders and officials before me, so that I can tell them these things; I will call heaven and earth to be my witnesses against them. ₂₉I know that after my death the people will become wicked and reject what I have taught them. And in time to come they will meet with disaster, because they will have made the LORD angry by doing what he has forbidden.”

₃₀Then Moses recited the entire song while all the people of Israel listened.

₁Early in the morning the chief priests met hurriedly with the elders, the teachers of the Law, and the whole Council, and made their plans. They put Jesus in chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. ₂Pilate questioned him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus answered, “So you say.”

₃The chief priests were accusing Jesus of many things, ₄so Pilate questioned him again, “Aren't you going to answer? Listen to all their accusations!”

₅Again Jesus refused to say a word, and Pilate was amazed.

₆At every Passover Festival Pilate was in the habit of setting free any one prisoner the people asked for. ₇At that time a man named Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder in the riot. ₈When the crowd gathered and began to ask Pilate for the usual favour, ₉he asked them, “Do you want me to set free for you the king of the Jews?” ₁₀He knew very well that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous.

₁₁But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask, instead, for Pilate to set Barabbas free for them. ₁₂Pilate spoke again to the crowd, “What, then, do you want me to do with the one you call the king of the Jews?”

₁₃They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

₁₄“But what crime has he committed?” Pilate asked.

They shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

₁₅Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he set Barabbas free for them. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed him over to be crucified.

₁₆The soldiers took Jesus inside to the courtyard of the governor's palace and called together the rest of the company. ₁₇They put a purple robe on Jesus, made a crown out of thorny branches, and put it on his head. ₁₈Then they began to salute him: “Long live the King of the Jews!” ₁₉They beat him over the head with a stick, spat on him, fell on their knees, and bowed down to him. ₂₀When they had finished mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

₂₁On the way they met a man named Simon, who was coming into the city from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross. (Simon was from Cyrene and was the father of Alexander and Rufus.) ₂₂They took Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means “The Place of the Skull”. ₂₃There they tried to give him wine mixed with a drug called myrrh, but Jesus would not drink it. ₂₄Then they crucified him and divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to see who would get which piece of clothing. ₂₅It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. ₂₆The notice of the accusation against him said: “The King of the Jews”. ₂₇They also crucified two bandits with Jesus, one on his right and the other on his left.

₂₉People passing by shook their heads and hurled insults at Jesus: “Aha! You were going to tear down the Temple and build it up again in three days! ₃₀Now come down from the cross and save yourself!”

₃₁In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the Law jeered at Jesus, saying to each other, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! ₃₂Let us see the Messiah, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him!”

And the two who were crucified with Jesus insulted him also.

₃₃At noon the whole country was covered with darkness, which lasted for three hours. ₃₄At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”

₃₅Some of the people there heard him and said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah!” ₃₆One of them ran up with a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, and put it on the end of a stick. Then he held it up to Jesus' lips and said, “Wait! Let us see if Elijah is coming to bring him down from the cross!”

₃₇With a loud cry Jesus died.

₃₈The curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ₃₉The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw how Jesus had died. “This man was really the Son of God!” he said.

₄₀Some women were there, looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joseph, and Salome. ₄₁They had followed Jesus while he was in Galilee and had helped him. Many other women who had come to Jerusalem with him were there also.

_42-43It was towards evening when Joseph of Arimathea arrived. He was a respected member of the Council, who was waiting for the coming of the Kingdom of God. It was Preparation day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), so Joseph went boldly into the presence of Pilate and asked him for the body of Jesus. ₄₄Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead. He called the army officer and asked him if Jesus had been dead a long time. ₄₅After hearing the officer's report, Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. ₄₆Joseph bought a linen sheet, took the body down, wrapped it in the sheet, and placed it in a tomb which had been dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb. ₄₇Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were watching and saw where the body of Jesus was placed.

₁After the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint the body of Jesus. ₂Very early on Sunday morning, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. _3-4On the way they said to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” (It was a very large stone.) Then they looked up and saw that the stone had already been rolled back. ₅So they entered the tomb, where they saw a young man sitting on the right, wearing a white robe — and they were alarmed.

₆“Don't be alarmed,” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here — he has been raised! Look, here is the place where they put him. ₇Now go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter: ‘He is going to Galilee ahead of you; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ ”

₈So they went out and ran from the tomb, distressed and terrified. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

[ ₉After Jesus rose from death early on Sunday, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons. ₁₀She went and told his companions. They were mourning and crying; ₁₁and when they heard her say that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe her.

₁₂After this, Jesus appeared in a different manner to two of them while they were on their way to the country. ₁₃They returned and told the others, but they would not believe it.

₁₄Last of all, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating. He scolded them, because they did not have faith and because they were too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive. ₁₅He said to them, “Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to the whole human race. ₁₆Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. ₁₇Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues; ₁₈if they pick up snakes or drink any poison, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people, who will get well.”

₁₉After the Lord Jesus had talked with them, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right side of God. ₂₀The disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved that their preaching was true by the miracles that were performed.]

[ ₉The women went to Peter and his friends and gave them a brief account of all they had been told. ₁₀After this, Jesus himself sent out through his disciples from the east to the west the sacred and ever-living message of eternal salvation.]

₁Every high priest is chosen from his fellow-men and appointed to serve God on their behalf, to offer sacrifices and offerings for sins. ₂Since he himself is weak in many ways, he is able to be gentle with those who are ignorant and make mistakes. ₃And because he is himself weak, he must offer sacrifices not only for the sins of the people but also for his own sins. ₄No one chooses for himself the honour of being a high priest. It is only by God's call that a man is made a high priest — just as Aaron was.

₅In the same way, Christ did not take upon himself the honour of being a high priest. Instead, God said to him:

₇In his life on earth Jesus made his prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, who could save him from death. Because he was humble and devoted, God heard him. ₈But even though he was God's Son, he learnt through his sufferings to be obedient. ₉When he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him, ₁₀and God declared him to be high priest, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.

₁₁There is much we have to say about this matter, but it is hard to explain to you, because you are so slow to understand. ₁₂There has been enough time for you to be teachers — yet you still need someone to teach you the first lessons of God's message. Instead of eating solid food, you still have to drink milk. ₁₃Anyone who has to drink milk is still a child, without any experience in the matter of right and wrong. ₁₄Solid food, on the other hand, is for adults, who through practice are able to distinguish between good and evil.