Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 19 March 2018

Happy Monday to all here.
A few days before us of relatively decent temperatures.  48 yesterday, 26 ° last night, and a predicted high today of 48 and a low of 27°.  But there are predictions for a return of snow by Saturday.  But we have now crossed the line of a 12 hour "day", and tomorrow is the first official day of Spring.  Perhaps better days are ahead.
Wife had an 08:00 doctor appointment, 20 + miles away.  Got there 07:48.  Not called in until 09:05.  the expected 15 minute procedure pushing an hour now.  Oh well.
So, the rest of the day is likely  to be one of recuperation, and probably she'll want to nap. Last night was a short one.

=====================================
=====================================
Today we begin the book of Deuteronomy, the last of the Pentateuch.  The "swan song" of Moses as well.

Deuteronomy 1

1  These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab

2  (There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh–barnea.)

3  And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them;

4  After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei:

5  On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,

6  The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:

7  Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

8  Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

9  And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:

10  The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.

11  (The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)

12  How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?

13  Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.

14  And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.

15  So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.

16  And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.

17  Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.

18  And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do.

19  And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh–barnea.

20  And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us.

21  Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.

22  And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come.

23  And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe:

24  And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.

25  And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us.

26  Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God:

27  And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

28  Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.

29  Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.

30  The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

31  And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

32  Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God,

33  Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.

34  And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,

35  Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers,

36  Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord.

37  Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.

38  But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

39  Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

40  But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

41  Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord, we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.

42  And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.

43  So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill.

44  And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.

45  And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.

46  So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.

Deuteronomy 2

1  Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.

2  And the Lord spake unto me, saying,

3  Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.

4  And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:

5  Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.

6  Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.

7   For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

8  And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Ezion–geber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

9  And the Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.

10  The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;

11  Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.

12  The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the Lord gave unto them.

13  Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.brook: or, valley

14  And the space in which we came from Kadesh–barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the Lord sware unto them.

15  For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

16  So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,

17  That the Lord spake unto me, saying,

18  Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:

19  And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.

20  (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims

21  A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:

22  As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:

23  And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Gaza, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)

24  Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.

25  This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

26  And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,

27  Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.

28  Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;

29  (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God giveth us.

30  But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the Lord thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.

31  And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.

32  Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.

33  And the Lord our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.

34  And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain

35  Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.

36  From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the Lord our God delivered all unto us:

37  Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the Lord our God forbad us.

===================================
======================================

Psalm 56

To the chief Musician upon Jonath–elem–rechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.

1  Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.

2  Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.

3  What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

4  In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

5  Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.

6  They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.

7  Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.

8  Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?

9  When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.

10  In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word.

11  In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.

12  Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.

13  For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

=====================================
=====================================

Luke 11

1  And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

2  And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

3  Give us day by day our daily bread.

4  And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

5  And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;

6  For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?

7  And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.

8  I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

9  And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

10  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

11  If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

12  Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

13  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

14  And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.

15  But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.

16  And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.

17  But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

18  If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.

19  And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.

20  But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

21  When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

22  But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

23  He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

24  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.

25  And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.

26  Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

27  And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.

28  But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

29 And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.

30  For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.

31  The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

32 The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

35  Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

36  If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

37  And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.

38  And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner.

39  And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

40  Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

41  But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

42  But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

43  Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

44  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.

45  Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.

46  And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

47  Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.

48   Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.

49  Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

51  From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

52  Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

53  And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:

54  Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.