Today's Readings and Stuff -- Saturday, 07 March 2020

1st Saturday, in March.  Tomorrow marks the 2nd Sunday in the month, the 2nd of 5.  Tonight marks the change from "Standard Time" to "Daylight Savings Time".  That is something that was imposed, "temporarily" of course, to supposedly increase war-related production during World War 1, more than 100 years ago!  Some "temporary exigency", but impositions by the federal goobermint rarely expire when they should.

Wife's having a rough patch.  Lots of pain and just feeling lousy.  Part of her life, and ours, for quite a while.  We shall get through, but I do wonder at the purpose for it.

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The reading today is a tough one in some ways that are common and some of them being intensely personal.  I mentioned when we entered into Numbers that the book covers a period of some 38 years, far longer than other records.  Why?  We see the answers here.  The Lord had brought the  people out of what was arguably the most powerful empire, had performed numerous miracles in so doing and since, including the daily provision of food and water and protection.  But ...... it was quickly forgotten at the first signs of trouble.  As we will see here.  The people, largely, forgot all that the Lord had done for them, and railed at those who urged faith.  Sound familiar?  Many of us, and I am certainly one of the worst, have been greatly blessed by the Lord, but still are prone to despair.  And lack of faith.
Here, as elsewhere, there are results of that lack of faith.  Still happens.

March 13

1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.

3And Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.

4And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.

5Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.

6Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

7Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.

8Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.

9Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.

10Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.

11Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.

12Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.

13Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.

14Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.

15Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

16These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.

17And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:

18And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;

19And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;

20And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.

21So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.

22And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

23And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

24The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.

25And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.

26And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.

27And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

28Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.

29The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.

30And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

31But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.

32And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.

33And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

March 14

1And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

2And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!

3And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

4And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

6And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:

7And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.

8If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.

9Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.

10But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

11And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?

12I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

13And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)

14And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

15Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,

16Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

17And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,

18The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

19Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.

20And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word:

21But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

22Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

23Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:

24But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

25(Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.

26And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

27How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me.

28Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:

29Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,

30Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

31But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.

32But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.

33And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.

34After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

35I the Lord have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.

36And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,

37Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord.

38But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.

39And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.

40And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promised: for we have sinned.

41And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper.

42Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies.

43For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you.

44But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp.

45Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 24 June 2019

Final Monday in June.  I hope that it has been a good one for all.
We've had a quiet day.  Trying to figure out some way that we can raise the $250 deductible for the cost of replacing the cracked windshield in our vehicle.  We've had some very nice suggestions of where to take it, which we appreciate, truly.  And we do have insurance coverage for the amount over that deductible, but we have to come up with the deductible.  So we'll be staying pretty close to home until that is resolved.  Not whining or complaining, truly, just stating facts. 
A bit quiet next door right now.  The "trendy" version of a Methodist church a couple blocks from here starts their week of Vacation Bible School tonight.  The next-door niece and hubby have let their daughter go this year:  she went two years ago but not last year.  The nephew-in-law's family are members at that church, though he never darkens the door.  But it's been allowed this year.  And, even more amazing, wife's nephew and his wife have allowed their two kids to attend as well.  The two of them have generally been hostile to any variant of Christian faith or expression, so I'm not sure what brought this on.  Perhaps it's that some of the kids' friends will be going, possibly the prospect of "free" sitters for their kids, perhaps ....  well, I don't know.  But it will be a chance for the kids to be exposed even to the watered-down exposure to The Faith Once Delivered.  Perhaps something good can come of it.




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1st Chronicles 7

1Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four.

2And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred.

3And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men.

4And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons.

5And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand.

6The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three.

7And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four.

8And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alameth. All these are the sons of Becher.

9And the number of them, after their genealogy by their generations, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour, was twenty thousand and two hundred.

10The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tharshish, and Ahishahar.

11All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle.

12Shuppim also, and Huppim, the children of Ir, and Hushim, the sons of Aher.

13The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah.

14The sons of Manasseh; Asriel, whom she bare: (but his concubine the Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gilead:

15And Machir took to wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister's name was Maachah;) and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters.

16And Maachah the wife of Machir bare a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem.

17And the sons of Ulam; Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh.

18And his sister Hammoleketh bare Ishod, and Abiezer, and Mahalah.

19And the sons of Shemida were, Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam.

20And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son,

21And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle.

22And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.

23And when he went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house.

24(And his daughter was Sherah, who built Beth–horon the nether, and the upper, and Uzzen–sheerah.)

25And Rephah was his son, also Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son,

26Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son,

27Non his son, Jehoshua his son.

28And their possessions and habitations were, Beth–el and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof:

29And by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth–shean and her towns, Taanach and her towns, Megiddo and her towns, Dor and her towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of Israel.

30The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Ishuah, and Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister.

31And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel, who is the father of Birzavith.

32And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister.

33And the sons of Japhlet; Pasach, and Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet.

34And the sons of Shamer; Ahi, and Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram.

35And the sons of his brother Helem; Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal.

36The sons of Zophah; Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah,

37Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera.

38And the sons of Jether; Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara.

39And the sons of Ulla; Arah, and Haniel, and Rezia.

40All these were the children of Asher, heads of their father's house, choice and mighty men of valour, chief of the princes. And the number throughout the genealogy of them that were apt to the war and to battle was twenty and six thousand men.

1st Chronicles 8

1Now Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third,

2Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth.

3And the sons of Bela were, Addar, and Gera, and Abihud,

4And Abishua, and Naaman, and Ahoah,

5And Gera, and Shephuphan, and Huram.

6And these are the sons of Ehud: these are the heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of Geba, and they removed them to Manahath:

7And Naaman, and Ahiah, and Gera, he removed them, and begat Uzza, and Ahihud.

8And Shaharaim begat children in the country of Moab, after he had sent them away; Hushim and Baara were his wives.

9And he begat of Hodesh his wife, Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Malcham,

10And Jeuz, and Shachia, and Mirma. These were his sons, heads of the fathers.

11And of Hushim he begat Abitub, and Elpaal.

12The sons of Elpaal; Eber, and Misham, and Shamed, who built Ono, and Lod, with the towns thereof:

13Beriah also, and Shema, who were heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who drove away the inhabitants of Gath:

14And Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth,

15And Zebadiah, and Arad, and Ader,

16And Michael, and Ispah, and Joha, the sons of Beriah;

17And Zebadiah, and Meshullam, and Hezeki, and Heber,

18Ishmerai also, and Jezliah, and Jobab, the sons of Elpaal;

19And Jakim, and Zichri, and Zabdi,

20And Elienai, and Zilthai, and Eliel,

21And Adaiah, and Beraiah, and Shimrath, the sons of Shimhi;

22And Ishpan, and Heber, and Eliel,

23And Abdon, and Zichri, and Hanan,

24And Hananiah, and Elam, and Antothijah,

25And Iphedeiah, and Penuel, the sons of Shashak;

26And Shamsherai, and Shehariah, and Athaliah,

27And Jaresiah, and Eliah, and Zichri, the sons of Jeroham.

28These were heads of the fathers, by their generations, chief men. These dwelt in Jerusalem.

29And at Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon; whose wife's name was Maachah:

30And his firstborn son Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Nadab,

31And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zacher.

32And Mikloth begat Shimeah. And these also dwelt with their brethren in Jerusalem, over against them.

33And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi–shua, and Abinadab, and Esh–baal.

34And the son of Jonathan was Merib–baal; and Merib–baal begat Micah.

35And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz.

36And Ahaz begat Jehoadah; and Jehoadah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza,

37And Moza begat Binea: Rapha was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son:

38And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.

39And the sons of Eshek his brother were, Ulam his firstborn, Jehush the second, and Eliphelet the third.

40And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valour, archers, and had many sons, and sons' sons, an hundred and fifty. All these are of the sons of Benjamin.

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Psalm 119, verses 41-48

VAU.        ו 

41Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word.

42So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.

43And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments.

44So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.

45And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.

46I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.

47And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.

48My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.

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This would be a good passage to read and meditate upon weekly, if not daily.  LOTS here!

Romans 8

1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

18For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

19For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

23And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

24For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

25But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.