Today's Readings and Stuff -- Monday, 30 July 2018

Well, it's a Monday, with all that represents.
I signed of last evening after being interrupted by a big hooraw on the street, a BIG waterline break right under the road, a real fountain from a break in the roadway that pretty much crossed the entire street, and which was also coming up from a new crack that had grown from one edge of that break and was coming UP along the street.  First saw it around 7 p.m.  Water company FINALLY showed up around 11 p.m. or so, and were out there until at least 04:00 (I was asleep).  We have water, which is nice, so I don't need to use the 10 gallons in buckets that I'd quickly set aside for Just In Case.  And I now have the day's 3rd load of clothes in the washer.  Nice also.  Not so nice is that we've yet to hear a single word about boil alerts.  Nary a word.  Now, the break was definitely downhill from us (we're living on the definite slope of an area going down to a "navigable waterway), a tributary to the Ohio River, so the chances for any entrained contaminants from the break coming up hill against the system pressure are pretty remote.  But, as noted, nary a single word.  Neither the water company nor the township are exactly covering themselves in glory on this.  Not for the first time, and probably  not the last either.    So we're unsure if it's ok to use water out of the faucet for cooking and dish-washing (and I have 2-1/2 meals of dirty dishes to do: the water break occurred just as I was preparing to wash (by hand, BTW) last night's dishes, and the pile has only grown since then.
Remember the "communication is key" banners that some of us used to see in our workplaces?  Evidently the public works people were never so educated.  It shows.

Oh, and the road, the big crack in it as well as where they were digging, has been filled with gravel and such.  People are driving over it, VERY slowly, and probably marking the spot so as to choose an alternate route next time.  Fortunately, that  is possible.

Wife has doctor appointment tomorrow at 1 p.m. about 20 minutes from here.  Great fun, I am sure.


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Today, chapters 3 and 4 in Nehemiah.
By the way, the name itself means "Yahweh comforts", and is closely related to the name "Nahum", which also means "comforter".  Not a bad name to be known as, every time it was used it would remind people of that truth.  Better than mine does.

Nehemiah 3

1Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.

2And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.next unto…: Heb. at his hand

3But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

4And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baanah.

5And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.

6Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

7And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river.

8Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall.fortified…: or, left Jerusalem unto the broad wall

9And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem.

10And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah.

11Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahath–moab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces.other…: Heb. second measure

12And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters.

13The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate.

14But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth–haccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.

15But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Col–hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David.

16After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Beth–zur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty.

17After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part.

18After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah.

19And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over against the going up to the armoury at the turning of the wall.

20After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.Zabbai: also called, Zaccai

21After him repaired Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.

22And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain.

23After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house.

24After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner.

25Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king's high house, that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh.

26Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out.dwelt…: or, which dwelt in Ophel, repaired untoOphel: or, tower

27After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel.

28From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house.

29After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate.

30After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber.

31After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner.going…: or, corner chamber

32And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.

Nehemiah 4

1But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

2And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?fortify…: Heb. leave to themselves

3Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.

4Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:despised: Heb. despite

5And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.

6So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

7But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,were made up: Heb. ascended

8And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.to hinder…: Heb. to make an error to it

9Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

10And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

11And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.

12And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.From all…: or, That from all places ye must return to us

13Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.in the…: Heb. from the lower parts of the place, etc.

14And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

15And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.

16And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

17They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.

18For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.by his side: Heb. on his loins

19And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another.

20In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.

21So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.

22Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labour on the day.

23So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.

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Psalm 130

A Song of degrees.

1Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.

2Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

3If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

4But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

5I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

6My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.I say…: or, which watch unto

7Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

8And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

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2nd Corinthians 2

1But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness.

2For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?

3And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.

4For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.

5But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.

6Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.

7So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.

8Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.

9For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.

10To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;

11Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

12Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,

13I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.

14Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

15For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

16To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

17For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Sunday, 29 July 2018

Happy Sunday!

Been a relatively quiet day, one with some time for prayer, contemplation, reading, and rest. 
Appropriate use of the time the Lord granted me.
But .....  not all of it.  When I left the church worship service, there were a few errands to be run, and Yours Truly was the designated servant.  So, first, stop by one of the truck stops en route home (there are three of them, appropriate at an exit for one of the most heavily traveled Interstate highways in the country.  There, to locate an make use of a UPS drop box to send out the non-fitting knee brace that Wife had acquired for her newest maladay, apparently a torn meniscus in the one knee.  Ok, that's done.  Then, Across The Line to the Pharmacy at the Big Box store, there to pick up the prescriptions for Wife that I'd intended to get yesterday en route home from that get-together, but she just wasn't up to the trip, even just sitting in the car after already enduring a 35-minute drive and 2-1/2 hours without her leg not elevated and 35 minute drive before that.  So, didn't do it yesterday and she was out of the one pill, so it was a Command Performance.
But it bothers me.  Like many in my age cohort, particularly those of use who grew up in the strict religious community of my youth, doing commerce of ANY kind on a Sunday was Just Not Done.  Normally, stores were closed, save for those deemed to be essentials.  Now, pretty much Anything Goes (except for Chick Fil A) .   And, I confess, I was in a situation for many years such that working 7 days a week was the norm.  When you work two low-wage jobs, and sometimes a third, honoring the Lord's day wasn't felt to be a high priority.  That's no longer the case, and I don't have the excuse any more.  Judging from the huge crowd at the local grocery store that I pass on the way from church to home, that doesn't seem to be an issue for many:  the clerks there tell me that Sunday noonish is one of their very busiest times of the week.
But I'm supposed to know better.  It doesn't always show.  My fault.

Made it home ok.  Started on this, through many fits and starts.  Then got called outside.  Big hubub on the street.  MAJOR waterline break, just 1-1/2 doors down the hill.  "Major" meaning the pavements buckling and the water is coming up THROUGH the pavement about the whole width of the street, and now from the edge of the street coming UP the hill!  Local police showed up and blocked the road from through traffic, while trying to reach the street department and the water company.  Took more than an hour to get someone from the water company to even answer the phone.  Still the only appearance was a few minutes ago as they had someone shutting off ALL the water on our street!  Fortunately, I'd filled two 5-gallon buckets earlier for "flushing" needs and filled water pitchers with another 1-1/2 gallons for coffee, etc.  I suspect no morning showers.
So things are discombobulated, to borrow a term.

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Today, another big change.  We begin the book of Nehemiah.  BIG change.

Nehemiah 1

1The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace,

2That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

3And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

4And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

5And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

6Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.

7We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

8Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

9But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

10Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

11O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

Nehemiah 2

1And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.

2Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,

3And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

4Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

5And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.

6And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.queen: Heb. wife

7Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;

8And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

9Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.

10When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

11So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.

12And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.

13And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.

14Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.

15Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.

16And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.

17Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

18Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

19But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

20Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.