Today's Readings and Stuff -- Tuesday, 14 April 2020

We're still on enforced "stay home" orders.  Now, I had to go out twice today.  Once to the local grocery to pick up something that they carry that Wife craved (and needed).  Barely done with lunch when we got the message of a filled prescription for her at the pharmacy Across The Line. so I "got" to brave their roads and drivers and make the retrieval.  Managed both without incident.

Wife was in such pain last night that she only got about an hour's sleep, so in mid-afternoon she took to the bed and is there still.  Which probably won't help her get to sleep tonight, but the sleep she's getting now is welcome and necessary.
No, chronic illness (-es) are no fun and drag everyone down.

The news accounts are still full of Chinese virus stuff.  Oh, and I've been archly informed that calling it that, accurate though it is, is some sort of horrid "racism" or "xenophobia" or the like.  Nonsense!  Whether or not this whole mess was deliberately introduced by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) or was due to an accidental release from the bio-weapons lab in Wuhan or some sort of weird new strain in the "wet market" that just "happens" to be right by said lab, I don't know.  But having had some quiet observations and some 3rd hand encounters with the ChiCom types, anything is possible.  Anything.  And seeing around us the reports in our areas of death and awful illnesses, it has caused quite a lot of chaos.
Clearly, the world we knew, or thought we knew, half a year ago is gone.  Probably forever.  A new era dawns.  I don't like quite a lot of what I see and my analyses of the future are not terribly pleasant ones.  They look all too much like the landscape after the fall of great civilizations, and the parallels are altogether un-comforting.   But I know that this has not taken the Lord by surprise, and He has permitted it.  I think we know that much, perhaps most, of the world most of us have known has some nasty parallels in history, including that period in Israel just before the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Greeks took the place.  History doesn't necessarily repeat, but it often rhymes, as we know.  I do see, all around and on  "social media", some calls for repentance and prayer, some coming from persons I would not have expected.   Perhaps some hearts have been and are being changed.  That would be a good thing.

A couple songs for the week, the first ringing in the head since pre-dawn yesterday.
"Knowing You"

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Joshua 19

1And the second lot came forth to Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families: and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah.

2And they had in their inheritance Beer–sheba, or Sheba, and Moladah,

3And Hazar–shual, and Balah, and Ezem,

4And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah,

5And Ziklag, and Beth–marcaboth, and Hazar–susah,

6And Beth–lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages:

7Ain, Rimmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages:

8And all the villages that were round about these cities to Baalath–beer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.

9Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them.

10And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families: and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid:

11And their border went up toward the sea, and Maralah, and reached to Dabbasheth, and reached to the river that is before Jokneam;

12And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chisloth–tabor, and then goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to Japhia,

13And from thence passeth on along on the east to Gath–hepher, to Eth–kazin, and goeth out to Rimmon–methoar to Neah;

14And the border compasseth it on the north side to Hannathon: and the outgoings thereof are in the valley of Iphtah–el:

15And Kattath, and Nahalal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Beth–lehem: twelve cities with their villages.

16This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

17And the fourth lot came out to Issachar, for the children of Issachar according to their families.

18And their border was toward Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem,

19And Hapharaim, and Shion, and Anaharath,

20And Rabbith, and Kishion, and Abez,

21And Remeth, and En–gannim, and En–haddah, and Beth–pazez;

22And the coast reacheth to Tabor, and Shahazimah, and Beth–shemesh; and the outgoings of their border were at Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages.

23This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages.

24And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.

25And their border was Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph,

26And Alammelech, and Amad, and Mishal; and reacheth to Carmel westward, and to Shihor–libnath;

27And turneth toward the sunrising to Beth–dagon, and reacheth to Zebulun, and to the valley of Iphtah–el toward the north side of Beth–emek, and Neiel, and goeth out to Cabul on the left hand,

28And Hebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, even unto great Zidon;

29And then the coast turneth to Ramah, and to the strong city Tyre; and the coast turneth to Hosah; and the outgoings thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib:

30Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty and two cities with their villages.

31This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.

32The sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families.

33And their coast was from Heleph, from Allon to Zaanannim, and Adami Nekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakum; and the outgoings thereof were at Jordan:

34And then the coast turneth westward to Aznoth–tabor, and goeth out from thence to Hukkok, and reacheth to Zebulun on the south side, and reacheth to Asher on the west side, and to Judah upon Jordan toward the sunrising.

35And the fenced cities are Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath, and Chinnereth,

36And Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor,

37And Kedesh, and Edrei, and En–hazor,

38And Iron, and Migdal–el, Horem, and Beth–anath, and Beth–shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages.

39This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages.

40And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.

41And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Ir–shemesh,

42And Shaalabbin, and Aijalon, and Jethlah,

43And Elon, and Timnah, and Ekron,

44And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath,

45And Jehud, and Bene–berak, and Gath–rimmon,

46And Me–jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho.

47And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.

48This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.

49When they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts, the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them:

50According to the word of the Lord they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnath–serah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein.

51These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country.

Joshua 20

1The Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying,

2Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:

3That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

4And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.

5And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.

6And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.

7And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath–arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.

8And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

9These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.

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Psalm 75

To the chief Musician, Al–taschith, A Psalm or Song of Asaph.

1Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.

2When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly.

3The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah.

4I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:

5Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.

6For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.

7But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

8For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.

9But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

10All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

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John 7

1After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.

2Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.

3His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.

4For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.

5For neither did his brethren believe in him.

6Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.

7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

8 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come.

9When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.

10But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.

11Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he?

12And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.

13Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews.

14Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.

15And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?

16Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?

20The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?

21Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.

22 Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.

23 If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?

24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

25Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill?

26But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?

27Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.

28Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.

29 But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.

30Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.

31And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?

32The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.

33Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me.

34 Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come.

35Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?

36What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?

37In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

40Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

41Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

42Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?

43So there was a division among the people because of him.

44And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.

45Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?

46The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.

47Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?

48Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?

49But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

50Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)

51Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?

52They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

53And every man went unto his own house.