Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 12 March 2021
Happy Friday! I guess.
This has been a bit of a week (and it's not over yet). Monday morning, Wife was feeling really awful, and we called the doctor about 30 seconds after the office opened. And were able to wangle a last minute appointment for 12:30 the same day. So off we went. And went through all of that stuff. Fortunately, with our current insurance, the Primary Care doc is at no charge, a good thing. And it was confirmed that she has a truly nasty infection in the bladder, causing a lot of pain and discomfort and other issues as well. So, a prescription was called in, and I took her home. Ate a bite, off to the Pharmacy for a 10-day run of heavy twice a day antibiotics. Which she duly took, one immediately, one at bedtime. And again the next day and the next and continuing. But, as some can attest, these things don't have an immediate improvement, so it was Wednesday morning, the 3rd day, before she could feel even a tiny improvement. By no means great, but less bad. Then a message from the doc. The samples she'd submitted at the doctor office revealed a second, perhaps worse, infection in the kidney. Nasty stuff. So, a second prescription, a really really heavy duty one was sent to our pharmacy for filling. OK. But it got scary. The last time, some years ago, that she'd been on that medicine, the cost to us was several HUNDRED dolllar$, which we simply do not have. So she called the pharmacy and got a price. Thank You Lord! Our co-pay was $2.36!! Yay!. That much I could scrape up. Barely, but could. So I got it, brought it home, and she's on it for five days. Not showing any effect yet (and she feels lousy, truly) but it's in her system now.
Complicating things is that Tuesday, that same doctor office had notified her that she must get the COVID-19 shot. And it's been all arranged for this coming Tuesday noon, at the same office. But, per her rheumatologist and her Primary, she has to forego some of her meds for several days in prep for same, so, for example, her weekly injection gets pushed back at least until a week is past, so there will be issues there.
No, there's no simple thing around here. Oh, well.
Now, with all the "caregiver" stuff I'm doing, I missed the Wednesday night prayer and study group meeting. Hope to catch up this next week.
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DEUTERONOMY 17
1“You must not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or sheep with a defect or any serious flaw, for that is detestable to the Lord your God.
The Judicial Procedure for Idolatry
2“If a man or woman among you in one of your towns that the Lord your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of the Lord your God and violating His covenant 3and has gone to worship other gods by bowing down to the sun, moon, or all the stars in the sky — which I have forbidden — 4and if you are told or hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable thing has happened in Israel, 5you must bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death. 6The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness. 7The witnesses’ hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from you.
Difficult Cases
8“If a case is too difficult for you — concerning bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults — cases disputed at your gates, you must go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. 9You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case. 10You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do exactly as they instruct you. 11You must abide by the instruction they give you and the verdict they announce to you. Do not turn to the right or the left from the decision they declare to you. 12The person who acts arrogantly, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there serving the Lord your God or to the judge, must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. 13Then all the people will hear about it, be afraid, and no longer behave arrogantly.
Appointing a King
14“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, take possession of it, live in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations around me,’ 15you are to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. Appoint a king from your brothers. You are not to set a foreigner over you, or one who is not of your people. 16However, he must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’ 17He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray. He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself. 18When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes. 20Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue ruling many years over Israel.
DEUTERONOMY 18
Provisions for the Levites
1“The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, will have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They will eat the Lord’s fire offerings; that is their inheritance. 2Although Levi has no inheritance among his brothers, the Lord is his inheritance, as He promised him. 3This is the priests’ share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether it is an ox, a sheep, or a goat; the priests are to be given the shoulder, jaws, and stomach. 4You are to give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first sheared wool of your flock. 5For Yahweh your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes to stand and minister in His name from now on. 6When a Levite leaves one of your towns where he lives in Israel and wants to go to the place the Lord chooses, 7he may serve in the name of Yahweh his God like all his fellow Levites who minister there in the presence of the Lord. 8They will eat equal portions besides what he has received from the sale of the family estate.
Occult Practices versus Prophetic Revelation
9“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable customs of those nations. 10No one among you is to make his son or daughter pass through the fire, practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, 11cast spells, consult a medium or a familiar spirit, or inquire of the dead. 12Everyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable things. 13You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14Though these nations you are about to drive out listen to fortune-tellers and diviners, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do this.
15“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. 16This is what you requested from the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not continue to hear the voice of the Lord our God or see this great fire any longer, so that we will not die! ’ 17Then the Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. 19I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to My words that he speaks in My name. 20But the prophet who dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods — that prophet must die.’ 21You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message the Lord has not spoken? ’ 22When a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
DEUTERONOMY 19
Cities of Refuge
1“When the Lord your God annihilates the nations whose land He is giving you, so that you drive them out and live in their cities and houses, 2you are to set apart three cities for yourselves within the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. 3You are to determine the distances and divide the land the Lord your God is granting you as an inheritance into three regions, so that anyone who commits manslaughter can flee to these cities.
4“Here is the law concerning a case of someone who kills a person and flees there to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally without previously hating him: 5If he goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings the ax to chop down a tree, but the blade flies off the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies, that person may flee to one of these cities and live. 6Otherwise, the avenger of blood in the heat of his anger might pursue the one who committed manslaughter, overtake him because the distance is great, and strike him dead. Yet he did not deserve to die, since he did not previously hate his neighbor. 7This is why I am commanding you to set apart three cities for yourselves. 8If the Lord your God enlarges your territory as He swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land He promised to give them — 9provided you keep every one of these commands I am giving you today and follow them, loving the Lord your God and walking in His ways at all times — you are to add three more cities to these three. 10In this way, innocent blood will not be shed, and you will not become guilty of bloodshed in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. 11But if someone hates his neighbor, lies in ambush for him, attacks him, and strikes him fatally, and flees to one of these cities, 12the elders of his city must send for him, take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood and he will die. 13You must not look on him with pity but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and you will prosper.
Boundary Markers
14“You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, established at the start in the inheritance you will receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
Witnesses in Court
15“One witness cannot establish any wrongdoing or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
16“If a malicious witness testifies against someone accusing him of a crime, 17the two people in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and judges in authority at that time. 18The judges are to make a careful investigation, and if the witness turns out to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother, 19you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from you. 20Then everyone else will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything evil like this among you. 21You must not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.
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MARK 14
The Plot to Kill Jesus
1After two days it was the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a treacherous way to arrest and kill Him. 2“Not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be rioting among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany
3While He was in Bethany at the house of Simon who had a serious skin disease, as He was reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of pure and expensive fragrant oil of nard. She broke the jar and poured it on His head. 4But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this fragrant oil been wasted? 5For this oil might have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor.” And they began to scold her.
6Then Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing for Me. 7You always have the poor with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have Me. 8She has done what she could; she has anointed My body in advance for burial. 9I assure you: Wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”
10Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to hand Him over to them. 11And when they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him silver. So he started looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.
Preparation for Passover
12On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrifice the Passover lamb, His disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare the Passover so You may eat it? ”
13So He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him. 14Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room for Me to eat the Passover with My disciples? ” ’ 15He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.” 16So the disciples went out, entered the city, and found it just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
Betrayal at the Passover
17When evening came, He arrived with the Twelve. 18While they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, “I assure you: One of you will betray Me — one who is eating with Me! ”
19They began to be distressed and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I? ”
20He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve — the one who is dipping bread with Me in the bowl. 21For the Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
The First Lord’s Supper
22As they were eating, He took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.”
23Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them, and so they all drank from it. 24He said to them, “This is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many. 25I assure you: I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in the kingdom of God.”
