Home > Reading > Daily Reading – June 12, 2018

Leviticus 25:1–7 (ESV)

The Sabbath Year

25 The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food. 1

1  The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.

Psalm 132 (ESV)

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

132 A Song of Ascents.

Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor,
all the hardships he endured,

how he swore to the Lord
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

“I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,

I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,

until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.

“Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us worship at his footstool!”

Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.

Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let your saints shout for joy.

10  For the sake of your servant David,
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

11  The Lord swore to David a sure oath
from which he will not turn back:
“One of the sons of your body
I will set on your throne.

12  If your sons keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
shall sit on your throne.”

13  For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling place:

14  “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

15  I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.

16  Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
and her saints will shout for joy.

17  There I will make a horn to sprout for David;
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.

18  His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.” 1

1  The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.

1 Corinthians 15:1–11 (ESV)

The Resurrection of Christ

15 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 1

1  The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.

Luther did not first come to realize in 1522 that everything in Scripture depends upon that which teaches Christ. He expressed this view already in his first exposition of the Psalms, 1513-1514. Already there we read, “I see nothing in Scripture but Christ crucified” (Ego non intelligo usquam in Scriptura nisi Christum cruci xum); and in a fragment of a sermon delivered on November 11, 1515, Luther says: “He who would read the Bible must simply take heed that he does not err, for the Scripture may permit itself to be stretched and led, but let no one lead it according to his affects but let him lead it to the source, i.e., the cross of Christ. en he will surely strike the center;” and in his Exposition of the Penitential Psalms, 1517, he says in conclusion: “This I confess for myself, whenever I found less in the Scripture than Christ I was not satisfied; whenever I found more than Christ, I never became poorer myself, so that even that seems true to me, that God, the Holy Spirit, does and will know no more than Jesus Christ, as he says of Him, He will glorify me.” And according to Luther also in the Old Testament writings Christ can be found. (28)

–Johann Michael Reu, Luther on the Scriptures

This daily Bible reading guide, Reading the Word of God, was conceived and prepared as a result of the ongoing discussions between representatives of three church bodies: Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The following individuals have represented their church bodies and approved this introduction and the reading guide: LCC: President Robert Bugbee; NALC: Bishop John Bradosky, Revs. Mark Chavez, James Nestingen, and David Wendel; LCMS: Revs. Albert Collver, Joel Lehenbauer, John Pless, and Larry Vogel.

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