THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION: March 20

Saturday, October 24, 2009

March 20

Genesis 1:1 1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

MARCH 20

PSALMS: 20, 50, 80, 110, 140

PROVERBS: 20

OLD TESTAMENT

1 KINGS 5:1 - 6:38

NEW TESTAMENT

ACTS 7:1 - 29

PSALMS: 20

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;

may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2May he send you help from the sanctuary

and grant you support from Zion.

3May he remember all your sacrifices

and accept your burnt offerings.

Selah

4May he give you the desire of your heart

and make all your plans succeed.

5We will shout for joy when you are victorious

and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the LORD grant all your requests.

6Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;

he answers him from his holy heaven

with the saving power of his right hand.

7Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

8They are brought to their knees and fall,

but we rise up and stand firm.

9O LORD, save the king!

AnswerA us when we call! [1]

PSALMS: 50

A psalm of Asaph.

1The Mighty One, God, the LORD,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.

2From Zion, perfect in beauty,

God shines forth.

3Our God comes and will not be silent;

a fire devours before him,

and around him a tempest rages.

4He summons the heavens above,

and the earth, that he may judge his people:

5"Gather to me my consecrated ones,

who made a covenant with me by sacrifice."

6And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,

for God himself is judge.

Selah

7"Hear, O my people, and I will speak,

O Israel, and I will testify against you:

I am God, your God.

8I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices

or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.

9I have no need of a bull from your stall

or of goats from your pens,

10for every animal of the forest is mine,

and the cattle on a thousand hills.

11I know every bird in the mountains,

and the creatures of the field are mine.

12If I were hungry I would not tell you, [2]

for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

13Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

14Sacrifice thank offerings to God,

fulfill your vows to the Most High,

15and call upon me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

16But to the wicked, God says:

"What right have you to recite my laws

or take my covenant on your lips?

17You hate my instruction

and cast my words behind you.

18When you see a thief, you join with him;

you throw in your lot with adulterers.

19You use your mouth for evil

and harness your tongue to deceit.

20You speak continually against your brother

and slander your own mother's son.

21These things you have done and I kept silent;

you thought I was altogetherA like you.

But I will rebuke you

and accuse you to your face.

22"Consider this, you who forget God,

or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue:

23He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me,

and he prepares the way

so that I may show himB the salvation of God." [3]

PSALMS: 80

For the director of music. To the tune of "The Lilies of the Covenant." Of Asaph. A psalm.

1Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock;

you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth

2before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.

Awaken your might;

come and save us.

3Restore us, O God;

make your face shine upon us,

that we may be saved.

4O LORD God Almighty,

how long will your anger smolder

against the prayers of your people?

5You have fed them with the bread of tears;

you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.

6You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors,

and our enemies mock us.

7Restore us, O God Almighty;

make your face shine upon us,

that we may be saved.

8You brought a vine out of Egypt;

you drove out the nations and planted it.

9You cleared the ground for it,

and it took root and filled the land.

10The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches. [4]

11It sent out its boughs to the Sea,A

its shoots as far as the River.B

12Why have you broken down its walls

so that all who pass by pick its grapes?

13Boars from the forest ravage it

and the creatures of the field feed on it.

14Return to us, O God Almighty!

Look down from heaven and see!

Watch over this vine,

15the root your right hand has planted,

the sonC you have raised up for yourself.

16Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;

at your rebuke your people perish.

17Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,

the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

18Then we will not turn away from you;

revive us, and we will call on your name.

19Restore us, O LORD God Almighty;

make your face shine upon us,

that we may be saved. [5]

PSALMS: 110

Of David. A psalm.

1The LORD says to my Lord:

"Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet."

2The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion;

you will rule in the midst of your enemies.

3Your troops will be willing

on your day of battle.

Arrayed in holy majesty,

from the womb of the dawn

you will receive the dew of your youth.A

4The LORD has sworn

and will not change his mind:

"You are a priest forever,

in the order of Melchizedek."

5The Lord is at your right hand;

he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.

6He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead

and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.

7He will drink from a brook beside the wayB;

therefore he will lift up his head. [6]

PSALMS: 140

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men;

protect me from men of violence,

2who devise evil plans in their hearts

and stir up war every day.

3They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's;

the poison of vipers is on their lips.

Selah

4Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;

protect me from men of violence

who plan to trip my feet.

5Proud men have hidden a snare for me;

they have spread out the cords of their net

and have set traps for me along my path.

Selah

6O LORD, I say to you, "You are my God."

Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy.

7O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer,

who shields my head in the day of battle--

8do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD;

do not let their plans succeed,

or they will become proud.

Selah

9Let the heads of those who surround me

be covered with the trouble their lips have caused.

10Let burning coals fall upon them;

may they be thrown into the fire,

into miry pits, never to rise. [7]

11Let slanderers not be established in the land;

may disaster hunt down men of violence.

12I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor

and upholds the cause of the needy.

13Surely the righteous will praise your name

and the upright will live before you. [8]

PROVERBS: 20

201 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;

whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

2A king's wrath is like the roar of a lion;

he who angers him forfeits his life.

3It is to a man's honor to avoid strife,

but every fool is quick to quarrel.

4A sluggard does not plow in season;

so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.

5The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters,

but a man of understanding draws them out.

6Many a man claims to have unfailing love,

but a faithful man who can find?

7The righteous man leads a blameless life;

blessed are his children after him.

8When a king sits on his throne to judge,

he winnows out all evil with his eyes.

9Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure;

I am clean and without sin"?

10Differing weights and differing measures--

the LORD detests them both.

11Even a child is known by his actions,

by whether his conduct is pure and right. [9]

12Ears that hear and eyes that see--

the LORD has made them both.

13Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;

stay awake and you will have food to spare.

14"It's no good, it's no good!" says the buyer;

then off he goes and boasts about his purchase.

15Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,

but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.

16Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;

hold it in pledge if he does it for a wayward woman.

17Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man,

but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.

18Make plans by seeking advice;

if you wage war, obtain guidance.

19A gossip betrays a confidence;

so avoid a man who talks too much.

20If a man curses his father or mother,

his lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.

21An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning

will not be blessed at the end.

22Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!"

Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.[10]

23The LORD detests differing weights,

and dishonest scales do not please him.

24A man's steps are directed by the LORD.

How then can anyone understand his own way?

25It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly

and only later to consider his vows.

26A wise king winnows out the wicked;

he drives the threshing wheel over them.

27The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a manA;

it searches out his inmost being.

28Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;

through love his throne is made secure.

29The glory of young men is their strength,

gray hair the splendor of the old.

30Blows and wounds cleanse away evil,

and beatings purge the inmost being. [11]

OLD TESTAMENT

1 KINGS 5:1 - 6:38

51When Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David. 2Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:

3"You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet. 4But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster. 5I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when he said, `Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.'

6"So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians."

7When Hiram heard Solomon's message, he was greatly pleased and said, "Praise be to the LORD today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation."

8So Hiram sent word to Solomon:

"I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and pine logs. 9My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can [12]take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food for my royal household."

10In this way Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the cedar and pine logs he wanted, 11and Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand corsA of wheat as food for his household, in addition to twenty thousand bathsBC of pressed olive oil. Solomon continued to do this for Hiram year after year. 12The LORD gave Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised him. There were peaceful relations between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

13King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel--thirty thousand men. 14He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. 15Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, 16as well as thirty-three hundredD foremen who supervised the project and directed the workmen. 17At the king's command they removed from the quarry large blocks of quality stone to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple.

18The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram and the men of GebalE cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.[13]

61In the four hundred and eightiethA year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the LORD.

2The temple that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.B 3The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits,C and projected ten cubitsD from the front of the temple. 4He made narrow clerestory windows in the temple. 5Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms. 6The lowest floor was five cubitsE wide, the middle floor six cubitsF and the third floor seven.G He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.

7In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.

8The entrance to the lowestH floor was on the south side of the temple; a stairway led up to the middle level and from there to the third. 9So he built the temple and completed it, roofing it with beams and cedar planks. 10And he built the side rooms all along the temple. The height of each was five cubits, and they were attached to the temple by beams of cedar.

11The word of the LORD came to Solomon: 12"As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, carry out my regulations [14]and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. 13And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel."

14So Solomon built the temple and completed it. 15He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and covered the floor of the temple with planks of pine. 16He partitioned off twenty cubitsI at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. 17The main hall in front of this room was forty cubitsJ long. 18The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; no stone was to be seen.

19He prepared the inner sanctuary within the temple to set the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. 20The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and twenty high.K He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar. 21Solomon covered the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. 22So he overlaid the whole interior with gold. He also overlaid with gold the altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.

23In the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubitsL high. 24One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits--ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip. 25The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. 26The height of each [15]cherub was ten cubits. 27He placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28He overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. 30He also covered the floors of both the inner and outer rooms of the temple with gold.

31For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood with five-sided jambs. 32And on the two olive wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with beaten gold. 33In the same way he made four-sided jambs of olive wood for the entrance to the main hall. 34He also made two pine doors, each having two leaves that turned in sockets. 35He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.

36And he built the inner courtyard of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams.

37The foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38In the eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in all its details according to its specifications. He had spent seven years building it.[16]

NEW TESTAMENT

ACTS 7:1 - 29

71Then the high priest asked him, "Are these charges true?"

2To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. 3`Leave your country and your people,' God said, `and go to the land I will show you.'A

4"So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6God spoke to him in this way: `Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 7But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, `and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.'B 8Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

9"Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt; so he made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.

11"Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our fathers could not find food. 12When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. [17]13On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family. 14After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died. 16Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.

17"As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased. 18Then another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt. 19He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.

20"At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.C For three months he was cared for in his father's house. 21When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

23"When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. 24He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, `Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?' [18]27"But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, `Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?'D 29When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons. [19]

^{John 3:16-21 16}"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,^F that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.^G ¹⁹This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."^H

THEINC-HIM DAILY BIBLE MEDITATION

Saturday, October 24, 2009

March 20

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John 3:16-21