THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation - February 7 - Full Text!

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

THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation

FEBRUARY 7

PSALMS: 7, 37, 67, 97, 127

PROVERBS: 7

OLD TESTAMENT: JUDGES 9:22 - 10:18

NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 24:13 - 53

PSALMS: 7

A shiggaion ^A of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

¹ O LORD my God, I take refuge in you;

save and deliver me from all who pursue me,

² or they will tear me like a lion

and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

³ O LORD my God, if I have done this

and there is guilt on my hands--

⁴ if I have done evil to him who is at peace with me

or without cause have robbed my foe--

⁵ then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;

let him trample my life to the ground

and make me sleep in the dust.

Selah

⁶ Arise, O LORD, in your anger;

rise up against the rage of my enemies.

Awake, my God; decree justice.

⁷ Let the assembled peoples gather around you.

Rule over them from on high;

⁸ let the LORD judge the peoples.

Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness,

according to my integrity, O Most High.

⁹ O righteous God,

who searches minds and hearts,

bring to an end the violence of the wicked

and make the righteous secure. ¹

¹⁰ My shield ^B is God Most High,

who saves the upright in heart.

¹¹ God is a righteous judge,

a God who expresses his wrath every day.

¹² If he does not relent,

he ^C will sharpen his sword;

he will bend and string his bow.

¹³ He has prepared his deadly weapons;

he makes ready his flaming arrows.

¹⁴ He who is pregnant with evil

and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment.

¹⁵ He who digs a hole and scoops it out

falls into the pit he has made.

¹⁶ The trouble he causes recoils on himself;

his violence comes down on his own head.

¹⁷ I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness

and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. ²

PSALMS: 37

Of David.

¹ Do ^A not fret because of evil men

or be envious of those who do wrong;

² for like the grass they will soon wither,

like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him and he will do this:

⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret--it leads only to evil.

⁹ For evil men will be cut off,

but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more;

though you look for them, they will not be found.

¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land

and enjoy great peace. ³

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous

and gnash their teeth at them;

¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he knows their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword

and bend the bow

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ways are upright.

¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have

than the wealth of many wicked;

¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken,

but the LORD upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,

and their inheritance will endure forever.

¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither;

in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish:

The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,

they will vanish--vanish like smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,

but the righteous give generously;

²² those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,

but those he curses will be cut off. ⁴

²³ If the LORD delights in a man's way,

he makes his steps firm;

²⁴ though he stumble, he will not fall,

for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

²⁵ I was young and now I am old,

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely;

their children will be blessed.

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good;

then you will dwell in the land forever.

²⁸ For the LORD loves the just

and will not forsake his faithful ones.

They will be protected forever,

but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;

²⁹ the righteous will inherit the land

and dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks what is just.

³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;

his feet do not slip.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

seeking their very lives;

³³ but the LORD will not leave them in their power

or let them be condemned when brought to trial. ⁵

³⁴ Wait for the LORD

and keep his way.

He will exalt you to inherit the land;

when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked and ruthless man

flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,

³⁶ but he soon passed away and was no more;

though I looked for him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright;

there is a future ^B for the man of peace.

³⁸ But all sinners will be destroyed;

the future ^C of the wicked will be cut off.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;

he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

⁴⁰ The LORD helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him. ⁶

PSALMS: 67

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.

¹ May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face shine upon us,

Selah

² that your ways may be known on earth,

your salvation among all nations.

³ May the peoples praise you, O God;

may all the peoples praise you.

⁴ May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you rule the peoples justly

and guide the nations of the earth.

Selah

⁵ May the peoples praise you, O God;

may all the peoples praise you.

⁶ Then the land will yield its harvest,

and God, our God, will bless us.

⁷ God will bless us,

and all the ends of the earth will fear him. ⁷

PSALMS: 97

¹ The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad;

let the distant shores rejoice.

² Clouds and thick darkness surround him;

righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

³ Fire goes before him

and consumes his foes on every side.

⁴ His lightning lights up the world;

the earth sees and trembles.

⁵ The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,

before the Lord of all the earth.

⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all the peoples see his glory.

⁷ All who worship images are put to shame,

those who boast in idols--

worship him, all you gods!

⁸ Zion hears and rejoices

and the villages of Judah are glad

because of your judgments, O LORD.

⁹ For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth;

you are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰ Let those who love the LORD hate evil,

for he guards the lives of his faithful ones

and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

¹¹ Light is shed upon the righteous

and joy on the upright in heart.

¹² Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous,

and praise his holy name. ⁸

PSALMS: 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

¹ Unless the LORD builds the house,

its builders labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city,

the watchmen stand guard in vain.

² In vain you rise early

and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat--

for he grants sleep to ^A those he loves.

³ Sons are a heritage from the LORD,

children a reward from him.

⁴ Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are sons born in one's youth.

⁵ Blessed is the man

whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame

when they contend with their enemies in the gate. ⁹

PROVERBS: 7

7 ¹ My son, keep my words

and store up my commands within you.

² Keep my commands and you will live;

guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

³ Bind them on your fingers;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴ Say to wisdom, "You are my sister,"

and call understanding your kinsman;

⁵ they will keep you from the adulteress,

from the wayward wife with her seductive words.

⁶ At the window of my house

I looked out through the lattice.

⁷ I saw among the simple,

I noticed among the young men,

a youth who lacked judgment.

⁸ He was going down the street near her corner,

walking along in the direction of her house

⁹ at twilight, as the day was fading,

as the dark of night set in.

¹⁰ Then out came a woman to meet him,

dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent.

¹¹ (She is loud and defiant,

her feet never stay at home;

¹² now in the street, now in the squares,

at every corner she lurks.)

¹³ She took hold of him and kissed him

and with a brazen face she said:

¹⁴ "I have fellowship offerings ^A at home;

today I fulfilled my vows.

¹⁵ So I came out to meet you; ¹⁰

I looked for you and have found you!

¹⁶ I have covered my bed

with colored linens from Egypt.

¹⁷ I have perfumed my bed

with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

¹⁸ Come, let's drink deep of love till morning;

let's enjoy ourselves with love!

¹⁹ My husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey.

²⁰ He took his purse filled with money

and will not be home till full moon."

²¹ With persuasive words she led him astray;

she seduced him with her smooth talk.

²² All at once he followed her

like an ox going to the slaughter,

like a deer ^B stepping into a noose ^C

²³ till an arrow pierces his liver,

like a bird darting into a snare,

little knowing it will cost him his life.

²⁴ Now then, my sons, listen to me;

pay attention to what I say.

²⁵ Do not let your heart turn to her ways

or stray into her paths.

²⁶ Many are the victims she has brought down;

her slain are a mighty throng.

²⁷ Her house is a highway to the grave, ^D

leading down to the chambers of death. ¹¹

OLD TESTAMENT: JUDGES 9:22 - 10:18

²² After Abimelech had governed Israel three years, ²³ God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech.

²⁴ God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal's seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers. ²⁵ In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech.

²⁶ Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his brothers into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him. ²⁷ After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelech. ²⁸ Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should be subject to him? Isn't he Jerub-Baal's son, and isn't Zebul his deputy? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem's father! Why should we serve Abimelech? ²⁹ If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelech, `Call out your whole army!'" ^B

³⁰ When Zebul the governor of the city heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry. ³¹ Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, "Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. ³² Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait in the fields.

³³ In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do whatever your hand ¹² finds to do."

³⁴ So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies. ³⁵ Now Gaal son of Ebed had gone out and was standing at the entrance to the city gate just as Abimelech and his soldiers came out from their hiding place.

³⁶ When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!"

Zebul replied, "You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men."

³⁷ But Gaal spoke up again: "Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and a company is coming from the direction of the soothsayers' tree."

³⁸ Then Zebul said to him, "Where is your big talk now, you who said, `Who is Abimelech that we should be subject to him?' Aren't these the men you ridiculed? Go out and fight them!"

³⁹ So Gaal led out ^C the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelech. ⁴⁰ Abimelech chased him, and many fell wounded in the flight--all the way to the entrance to the gate. ⁴¹ Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.

⁴² The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech. ⁴³ So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them. ⁴⁴ Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance to the city gate. Then two companies rushed upon those in the fields and struck them down. ⁴⁵ All that day ¹³ Abimelech pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.

⁴⁶ On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith. ⁴⁷ When Abimelech heard that they had assembled there,

⁴⁸ he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, "Quick! Do what you have seen me do!" ⁴⁹ So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire over the people inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.

⁵⁰ Next Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it. ⁵¹ Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women--all the people of the city--fled. They locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof.

⁵² Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, ⁵³ a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.

⁵⁴ Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can't say, `A woman killed him.'" So his servant ran him through, and he died.

⁵⁵ When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.

⁵⁶ Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷ God also made the ¹⁴ men of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.

10 ¹ After the time of Abimelech a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. ² He led ^A Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.

³ He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years. ⁴ He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys. They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair. ^{B 5} When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon. save you from their hands?

⁶ Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the LORD and no longer served him, ⁷ he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, ⁸ who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. ⁹ The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and the house of Ephraim; and Israel was in great distress.

¹⁰ Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, "We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."

¹¹ The LORD replied, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, ¹² the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites ^C oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not ¹⁵

¹³ But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you.

¹⁴ Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"

¹⁵ But the Israelites said to the LORD, "We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now." ¹⁶ Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer.

¹⁷ When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. ¹⁸ The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, "Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all those living in Gilead." ¹⁶

NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 24:13 - 53

¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles ^A from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶ but they were kept from recognizing him.

¹⁷ He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"

They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"

¹⁹ "What things?" he asked.

"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰ The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹ but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²² In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³ but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴ Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."

²⁵ He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Christ ^{B 17} have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

³³ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴ and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." ³⁵ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."

³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."

⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ^{18 41} And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence.

⁴⁴ He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

⁵⁰ When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. ⁵¹ While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. ⁵² Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

⁵³ And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. ¹⁹

1 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

2 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

3 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

4 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

5 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

6 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

7 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

8 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

9 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

10 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

11 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

12 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

13 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

14 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

15 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

16 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

17 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

18 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

19 Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever 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 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But 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