Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
The One Year Bible TLB (90 page)
A man with good sense is appreciated. A treacherous man must walk a rocky road.
16
A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t and even brags about it!
April 21This was the reply of the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to these high officials:
22-23
“We swear by Jehovah, the God of gods, that we have not built the altar in rebellion against the Lord. He knows (and let all Israel know it too) that we have not built the altar to sacrifice burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings—may the curse of God be on us if we did.
24-25
We have done it because we love the Lord and because we fear that in the future your children will say to ours, ‘What right do you have to worship the Lord God of Israel? The Lord has placed the Jordan River as a barrier between our people and your people! You have no part in the Lord.’ And your children may make our children stop worshiping him.
26-27
So we decided to build the altar as a symbol to show our children and your children that we, too, may worship the Lord with our burnt offerings and peace offerings and sacrifices, and your children will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no part in the Lord our God.’
28
If they say this, our children can reply, ‘Look at the altar of the Lord that our fathers made, patterned after the altar of Jehovah. It is not for burnt offerings or sacrifices but is a symbol of the relationship with God that both of us have.’
29
Far be it from us to turn away from the Lord or to rebel against him by building our own altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices. Only the altar in front of the Tabernacle may be used for that.”
30
When Phinehas the priest and the high officials heard this from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, they were very happy.
31
Phinehas replied to them, “Today we know that the Lord is among us because you have not sinned against the Lord as we thought; instead, you have saved us from destruction!”
32
Then Phinehas and the ten ambassadors went back to the people of Israel and told them what had happened,
33
and all Israel rejoiced and praised God and spoke no more of war against Reuben and Gad.
34
The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar “The Altar of Witness,” for they said, “It is a witness between us and them that Jehovah is our God too.”
23:
1
Long after this, when the Lord had given success to the people of Israel against their enemies and when Joshua was very old,
2
he called for the leaders of Israel—the elders, judges, and officers—and said to them, “I am an old man now,
3
and you have seen all that the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. He has fought for you against your enemies and has given you their land.
4-5
And I have divided to you the land of the nations yet unconquered as well as the land of those you have already destroyed. All the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea shall be yours, for the Lord your God will drive out all the people living there now, and you will live there instead, just as he has promised you.
6
“But be very sure to follow all the instructions written in the book of the laws of Moses; do not deviate from them the least little bit.
7
Be sure that you do not mix with the heathen people still remaining in the land; do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or worship them.
8
But follow the Lord your God just as you have until now.
9
He has driven out great, strong nations from before you, and no one has been able to defeat you.
10
Each one of you has put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised.
11
So be very careful to keep on loving him.
12
“If you don’t, and if you begin to intermarry with the nations around you,
13
then know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no longer chase those nations from your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a pain in your side and a thorn in your eyes, and you will disappear from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.
14
“Soon I will be going the way of all the earth—I am going to die.
“You know very well that God’s promises to you have all come true.
15-16
But as certainly as the Lord has given you the good things he promised, just as certainly he will bring evil upon you if you disobey him. For if you worship other gods, he will completely wipe you out from this good land that the Lord has given you. His anger will rise hot against you, and you will quickly perish.”
Then some Sadducees—men who believed that death is the end of existence, that there is no resurrection—
28
came to Jesus with this:
“The laws of Moses state that if a man dies without children, the man’s brother shall marry the widow, and their children will legally belong to the dead man, to carry on his name.
29
We know of a family of seven brothers. The oldest married and then died without any children.
30
His brother married the widow and he, too, died. Still no children.
31
And so it went, one after the other, until each of the seven had married her and died, leaving no children.
32
Finally the woman died also.
33
Now here is our question: Whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all of them were married to her!”
34-35
Jesus replied,
“Marriage is for people here on earth, but when those who are counted worthy of being raised from the dead get to heaven, they do not marry.
36
And they never die again; in these respects they are like angels, and are sons of God, for they are raised up in new life from the dead.
37-38
“But as to your real question—whether or not there is a resurrection—why, even the writings of Moses himself prove this. For when he describes how God appeared to him in the burning bush, he speaks of God as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ To say that the Lord
is
some person’s God
*
means that person is
alive,
not dead! So from God’s point of view, all men are living.”
39
“Well said, sir!” remarked some of the experts in the Jewish law who were standing there.
40
And that ended their questions, for they dared ask no more!
41
Then he presented
them
with a question.
“Why is it,”
he asked,
“that Christ, the Messiah, is said to be a descendant of King David?
42-43
For David himself wrote in the book of Psalms: ‘God said to my Lord, the Messiah, “Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies beneath your feet.”’
44
How can the Messiah be both David’s son and David’s God at the same time?”
45
Then, with the crowds listening, he turned to his disciples and said,
46
“Beware of these experts in religion, for they love to parade in dignified robes and to be bowed to by the people as they walk along the street. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and at religious festivals!
47
But even while they are praying long prayers with great outward piety, they are planning schemes to cheat widows out of their property. Therefore God’s heaviest sentence awaits these men.”
Your throne is founded on two strong pillars—the one is Justice and the other Righteousness. Mercy and Truth walk before you as your attendants. Blessed are those who hear the joyful blast of the trumpet, for they shall walk in the light of your presence.
16
They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation and in your perfect righteousness.
17
You are their strength. What glory! Our power is based on your favor!
18
Yes, our protection is from the Lord himself and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.
19
In a vision you spoke to your prophet
*
and said, “I have chosen a splendid young man from the common people to be the king—
20
he is my servant David! I have anointed him with my holy oil.
21
I will steady him and make him strong.
22
His enemies shall not outwit him, nor shall the wicked overpower him.
23
I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him.
24
I will protect and bless him constantly and surround him with my love; he will be great because of me.
25
He will hold sway from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.
26
And he will cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and my Rock of Salvation.’
27
“I will treat him as my firstborn son and make him the mightiest king in all the earth.
28
I will love him forever and be kind to him always; my covenant with him will never end.
29
He will always have an heir; his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven.
30-32
If his children forsake my laws and don’t obey them, then I will punish them,
33
but I will never completely take away my loving-kindness from them, nor let my promise fail.
34
No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back one word of what I said.
35-36
For I have sworn to David (and a holy God can never lie) that his dynasty will go on forever, and his throne will continue to the end of time.
*
37
It shall be eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!”
An unreliable messenger can cause a lot of trouble. Reliable communication permits progress.
18
If you refuse criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace; if you accept criticism, you are on the road to fame.
19
It is pleasant to see plans develop. That is why fools refuse to give them up even when they are wrong.
April 22Then Joshua summoned all the people of Israel to him at Shechem, along with their leaders—the elders, officers, and judges. So they came and presented themselves before God.
2
Then Joshua addressed them as follows: “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived east of the Euphrates River; and they worshiped other gods.
3
But I took your father Abraham from that land across the river and led him into the land of Canaan and gave him many descendants through Isaac, his son.
4
Isaac’s children, whom I gave him, were Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the area around Mount Seir while Jacob and his children went into Egypt.
5
“‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron to bring terrible plagues upon Egypt; and afterwards I brought my people out as free men.
6
But when they arrived at the Red Sea, the Egyptians chased after them with chariots and cavalry.
7
Then Israel cried out to me and I put darkness between them and the Egyptians; and I brought the sea crashing in upon the Egyptians, drowning them. You saw what I did. Then Israel lived in the wilderness for many years.
8
“‘Finally I brought you into the land of the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan; and they fought against you, but I destroyed them and gave you their land.
9
Then King Balak of Moab started a war against Israel, and he asked Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you.
10
But I wouldn’t listen to him. Instead I made him bless you; and so I delivered Israel from him.
11
“‘Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, and so did many others—the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Each in turn fought against you, but I destroyed them all.
12
And I sent hornets ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites and their people. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory!
13
I gave you land you had not worked for and cities you did not build—these cities where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.’
14
“So revere Jehovah and serve him in sincerity and truth. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Worship the Lord alone.
15
But if you are unwilling to obey the Lord, then decide today whom you will obey. Will it be the gods of your ancestors beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites here in this land? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16
And the people replied, “We would never forsake the Lord and worship other gods!
17
For the Lord our God is the one who rescued our fathers from their slavery in the land of Egypt. He is the God who did mighty miracles before the eyes of Israel, as we traveled through the wilderness, and preserved us from our enemies when we passed through their land.
18
It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. Yes, we choose the Lord, for he alone is our God.”
19
But Joshua replied to the people, “You can’t worship the Lord God, for he is holy and jealous; he will not forgive your rebellion and sins.
20
If you forsake him and worship other gods, he will turn upon you and destroy you, even though he has taken care of you for such a long time.”
21
But the people answered, “We choose the Lord!”
22
“You have heard yourselves say it,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to obey the Lord.”
“Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses.”
23
“All right,” he said, “then you must destroy all the idols you now own, and you must obey the Lord God of Israel.”
24
The people replied to Joshua, “Yes, we will worship and obey the Lord alone.”
25
So Joshua made a covenant with them that day at Shechem, committing them to a permanent and binding contract between themselves and God.
26
Joshua recorded the people’s reply in the book of the laws of God and took a huge stone as a reminder and rolled it beneath the oak tree that was beside the Tabernacle.
27
Then Joshua said to all the people, “This stone has heard everything the Lord said, so it will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word.”
28
Then Joshua sent the people away to their own sections of the country.
29
Soon after this he died at the age of 110.
30
He was buried on his own estate at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north side of the mountains of Gaash.
31
Israel obeyed the Lord throughout the lifetimes of Joshua and the other old men who had personally witnessed the amazing deeds the Lord had done for Israel.
32
The bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel had brought along when they left Egypt, were buried in Shechem, in the parcel of ground Jacob had bought
*
from the sons of Hamor. (The land was located in the territory assigned to the tribes of Joseph.)
33
Eleazar, the son of Aaron, also died; he was buried in the hill country of Ephraim, at Gibeah, the city that had been given to his son Phinehas.
As he [Jesus] stood in the Temple, he was watching the rich tossing their gifts into the collection box.
2
Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small copper coins.
3
“Really,”
he remarked,
“this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them combined.
4
For they have given a little of what they didn’t need, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
5
Some of his disciples began talking about the beautiful stonework of the Temple and the memorial decorations on the walls.
6
But Jesus said,
“The time is coming when all these things you are admiring will be knocked down, and not one stone will be left on top of another; all will become one vast heap of rubble.”
7
“Master!” they exclaimed. “When? And will there be any warning ahead of time?”
8
He replied,
“Don’t let anyone mislead you. For many will come announcing themselves as the Messiah,
*
and saying, ‘The time has come.’ But don’t believe them!
9
And when you hear of wars and insurrections beginning, don’t panic. True, wars must come, but the end won’t follow immediately—
10
for nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,
11
and there will be great earthquakes, and famines in many lands, and epidemics, and terrifying things happening in the heavens.
12
“But before all this occurs, there will be a time of special persecution, and you will be dragged into synagogues and prisons and before kings and governors for my name’s sake.
13
But as a result, the Messiah will be widely known and honored.
*
14
Therefore, don’t be concerned about how to answer the charges against you,
15
for I will give you the right words and such logic that none of your opponents will be able to reply!
16
Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will betray you and have you arrested; and some of you will be killed.
17
And everyone will hate you because you are mine and are called by my name.
18
But not a hair of your head will perish!
19
For if you stand firm, you will win your souls.
20
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived.
21
Then let the people of Judea flee to the hills. Let those in Jerusalem try to escape, and those outside the city must not attempt to return.
22
For those will be days of God’s judgment,
*
and the words of the ancient Scriptures written by the prophets will be abundantly fulfilled.
23
Woe to expectant mothers in those days, and those with tiny babies. For there will be great distress upon this nation
*
and wrath upon this people.
24
They will be brutally killed by enemy weapons, or sent away as exiles and captives to all the nations of the world; and Jerusalem shall be conquered and trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of Gentile triumph ends in God’s good time.
25
“Then there will be strange events in the skies—warnings, evil omens and portents in the sun, moon and stars; and down here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides.
26
The courage of many people will falter because of the fearful fate they see coming upon the earth, for the stability of the very heavens will be broken up.
27
Then the peoples of the earth shall see me, the Messiah,
*
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28
So when all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up! For your salvation is near.”
Then why cast me off, rejected? Why be so angry with the one you chose as king?
39
Have you renounced your covenant with him? For you have thrown his crown in the dust.
40
You have broken down the walls protecting him and laid in ruins every fort defending him.
41
Everyone who comes along has robbed him while his neighbors mock.
42
You have strengthened his enemies against him and made them rejoice.
43
You have struck down his sword and refused to help him in battle.
44
You have ended his splendor and overturned his throne.
45
You have made him old before his time and publicly disgraced him.
46
O Jehovah, how long will this go on? Will you hide yourself from me forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47
Oh, remember how short you have made man’s lifespan. Is it an empty, futile life you give the sons of men?
48
No man can live forever. All will die. Who can rescue his life from the power of the grave?
49
Lord, where is the love you used to have for me? Where is your kindness that you promised to David with a faithful pledge?
50
Lord, see how all the people are despising me.
51
Your enemies joke about me, the one you anointed as their king.
52
And yet—blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and amen!
Be with wise men and become wise. Be with evil men and become evil.
21
Curses chase sinners, while blessings chase the righteous!
22
When a good man dies, he leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren; but when a sinner dies, his wealth is stored up for the godly.
23
A poor man’s farm may have good soil, but injustice robs him of its riches.