Today's Readings and Stuff-- Thursday, 04 March 2021
Well, it's March now. So we have a "high" temp today of around 33°. which will be the case for the next several days, with nightly lows in the low 20's. Meanwhile, our former home, the one before this, has been in the upper 70's already, which sounds far better to me. Oh, and the last time I looked outside we had light snow falling on us (pardon me for using that 4-letter word.). But this coming Sunday will be the last one under "standard time" for a while, the "time change" will hit during the night of Saturday the 13th. So there's that. And the official Spring Equinox isn't that far away either. So that's something too. I guess.
Wife's taking a nap right now, she's not been sleeping well, lots of pain and discomfort. We discovered this morning that one of her over-the-counter multivitamin pills has some stuff in it that most people either need or don't mind, but which is bad for her: iodine. When you don't have a thyroid gland any more, courtesy of surgery for thyroid cancer some years back, your body can't process iodine and the result isn't fun. So there's that. Probably will take a few days for the residual to wash out of her system. So I'm being quiet. The laundry can wait until tomorrow.
Two entries for song of the day.
As we go through the season of Lent, I am reminded constantly of our greatest need and desire, to be in the Presence of the Lord. There is no substitute for that.
In The Presence Of Jehovah. (sorry about the ad at the start, it's skippable after 5 seconds).
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NUMBERS 32
Transjordan Settlements
1The Reubenites and Gadites had a very large number of livestock. When they surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, they saw that the region was a good one for livestock. 2So the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community and said: 3“The territory of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4which the Lord struck down before the community of Israel, is good land for livestock, and your servants own livestock.” 5They said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Don’t make us cross the Jordan.”
6But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your brothers go to war while you stay here? 7Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land the Lord has given them? 8That’s what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9After they went up as far as Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them. 10So the Lord’s anger burned that day, and He swore an oath: 11‘Because they did not follow Me completely, none of the men 20 years old or more who came up from Egypt will see the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — 12none except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, because they did follow the Lord completely.’ 13The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness 40 years until the whole generation that had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight was gone. 14And here you, a brood of sinners, stand in your fathers’ place adding even more to the Lord’s burning anger against Israel. 15If you turn back from following Him, He will once again leave this people in the wilderness, and you will destroy all of them.”
16Then they approached him and said, “We want to build sheepfolds here for our livestock and cities for our dependents. 17But we will arm ourselves and be ready to go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place. Meanwhile, our dependents will remain in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has taken possession of his inheritance. 19Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance will be across the Jordan to the east.”
20Moses replied to them, “If you do this — if you arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, 21and every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven His enemies from His presence, 22and the land is subdued before the Lord — afterward you may return and be free from obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the Lord. 23But if you don’t do this, you will certainly sin against the Lord; be sure your sin will catch up with you. 24Build cities for your dependents and folds for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”
25The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands. 26Our little children, wives, livestock, and all our animals will remain here in the cities of Gilead, 27but your servants are equipped for war before the Lord and will go across to the battle as my lord orders.”
28So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family leaders of the Israelite tribes. 29Moses told them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, every man in battle formation before the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession. 30But if they don’t go across with you in battle formation, they must accept land in Canaan with you.”
31The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “What the Lord has spoken to your servants is what we will do. 32We will cross over in battle formation before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but we will keep our hereditary possession across the Jordan.”
33So Moses gave them — the Gadites, Reubenites, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph — the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land including its cities with the territories surrounding them. 34The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and built sheepfolds. 37The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.
39The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there. 40So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled in it. 41Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages, which he renamed Jair’s Villages. 42Nobah went and captured Kenath with its villages and called it Nobah after his own name.
NUMBERS 33
Wilderness Travels Reviewed
1These were the stages of the Israelites’ journey when they went out of the land of Egypt by their military divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2At the Lord’s command, Moses wrote down the starting points for the stages of their journey; these are the stages listed by their starting points:
3They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month. On the day after the Passover the Israelites went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians. 4Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying every firstborn male the Lord had struck down among them, for the Lord had executed judgment against their gods. 5The Israelites departed from Rameses and camped at Succoth.
6They departed from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.
7They departed from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.
8They departed from Pi-hahiroth and crossed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness. They took a three-day journey into the Wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.
9They departed from Marah and came to Elim. There were 12 springs of water and 70 date palms at Elim, so they camped there.
10They departed from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.
11They departed from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin.
12They departed from the Wilderness of Sin and camped in Dophkah.
13They departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush.
14They departed from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
15They departed from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.
16They departed from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.
17They departed from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.
18They departed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
19They departed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.
20They departed from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.
21They departed from Libnah and camped at Rissah.
22They departed from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
23They departed from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
24They departed from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
25They departed from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
26They departed from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.
27They departed from Tahath and camped at Terah.
28They departed from Terah and camped at Mithkah.
29They departed from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.
30They departed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
31They departed from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.
32They departed from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.
33They departed from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
34They departed from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
35They departed from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.
36They departed from Ezion-geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin (that is, Kadesh).
37They departed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor on the edge of the land of Edom. 38At the Lord’s command, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the Israelites went out of the land of Egypt. 39Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor. 40At that time the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard the Israelites were coming.
41They departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.
42They departed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.
43They departed from Punon and camped at Oboth.
44They departed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab.
45They departed from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad.
46They departed from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.
47They departed from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the Abarim range facing Nebo.
48They departed from the Abarim range and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. 49They camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth to the Acacia Meadow on the plains of Moab.
Instructions for Occupying Canaan
50The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, 51“Tell the Israelites: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images and cast images, and demolish all their high places. 53You are to take possession of the land and settle in it because I have given you the land to possess. 54You are to receive the land as an inheritance by lot according to your clans. Increase the inheritance for a large clan and decrease it for a small one. Whatever place the lot indicates for someone will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to your ancestral tribes. 55But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become thorns in your eyes and in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you will live. 56And what I had planned to do to them, I will do to you.”
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Mark 10:1-31
MARK 10
The Question of Divorce
1He set out from there and went to the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Then crowds converged on Him again and, as He usually did, He began teaching them once more. 2Some Pharisees approached Him to test Him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? ”
3He replied to them, “What did Moses command you? ”
4They said, “Moses permitted us to write divorce papers and send her away.”
5But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of the hardness of your hearts. 6But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.
7For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife ,
8and the two will become one flesh.
So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.”
10Now in the house the disciples questioned Him again about this matter. 11And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12Also, if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Blessing the Children
13Some people were bringing little children to Him so He might touch them, but His disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me. Don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15I assure you: Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16After taking them in His arms, He laid His hands on them and blessed them.
The Rich Young Ruler
17As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? ”
18“Why do you call Me good? ” Jesus asked him. “No one is good but One — God. 19You know the commandments:
Do not murder;
do not commit adultery;
do not steal;
do not bear false witness;
do not defraud;
honor your father and mother.”
20He said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.”
21Then, looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” 22But he was stunned at this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.
Possessions and the Kingdom
23Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! ” 24But the disciples were astonished at His words. Again Jesus said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
26So they were even more astonished, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved? ”
27Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”
28Peter began to tell Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You.”
29“I assure you,” Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house, brothers or sisters, mother or father, children, or fields because of Me and the gospel, 30who will not receive 100 times more, now at this time — houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions — and eternal life in the age to come. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
