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1 Samuel 21:10–22:5 (ESV)

David Flees to Gath

10 And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,

‘Saul has struck down his thousands,
and David his ten thousands’?”

12 And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

David at the Cave of Adullam

22 David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.

And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.” And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

Psalm 49 (ESV)

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

49 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

Hear this, all peoples!
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

both low and high,
rich and poor together!

My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?

Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life,

for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,

that he should live on forever
and never see the pit.

10  For he sees that even the wise die;
the fool and the stupid alike must perish
and leave their wealth to others.

11  Their graves are their homes forever,
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they called lands by their own names.

12  Man in his pomp will not remain;
he is like the beasts that perish.

13  This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;
yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah

14  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.

15  But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me. Selah

16  Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.

17  For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.

18  For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

19  his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again see light.

20  Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Philippians 3:12–4:1 (ESV)

Straining Toward the Goal

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

The disputation with Eck, 1519, especially led Luther even farther on this course. Now he also divorced himself from the authority of the Councils. When he denied their infallibility he advanced from their fallibility to the infallible Scripture as the sole decisive norm for everything that wanted to be accepted as divine truth, and thereby without more ado he identified Scripture and the Word of God. Thus in his Disputatio J. Eckii et Mart. Lutheri he applied the admonition of Paul, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good,” to the decrees of Popes and Councils and expressly said of them that they have erred, but that Holy Scripture is the inerrant Word of God (verbum Dei infallibile). (16)

–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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