Home > Reading > Daily Reading – January 11, 2020

Is. 31:1–9

31:1 Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead;

those who rely on war horses

and trust in Egypt’s many chariots

and in their many, many horsemen.

But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel

and do not seek help from the Lord.

2Yet he too is wise and he will bring disaster;

he does not retract his decree.

He will attack the wicked nation

and the nation that helps those who commit sin.

3The Egyptians are mere humans, not God;

their horses are made of flesh, not spirit.

The Lord will strike with his hand;

the one who helps will stumble

and the one being helped will fall.

Together they will perish.

4Indeed, this is what the Lord has said to me:

“The Lord will be like a growling lion,

like a young lion growling over its prey.

Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,

it is not afraid of their shouts

or intimidated by their yelling.

In this same way the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will descend

to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.

5Just as birds hover over a nest,

so the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will protect Jerusalem.

He will protect and deliver it;

as he passes over he will rescue it.”

6You Israelites! Return to the one you have so blatantly rebelled against! 7For at that time every one will get rid of the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made.

8“Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human made;

a sword not made by humankind will destroy them.

They will run away from this sword

and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.

9They will surrender their stronghold because of fear;

their officers will be afraid of the Lord’s battle flag.”

This is what the Lord says—

the one whose fire is in Zion,

whose firepot is in Jerusalem.

(NET Bible)

Ps. 10

10:1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?

Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble?

2The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed;

the oppressed are trapped by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up.

3Yes, the wicked man boasts because he gets what he wants;

the one who robs others curses and rejects the Lord.

4The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,

“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”

5He is secure at all times.

He has no regard for your commands;

he disdains all his enemies.

6He says to himself,

“I will never be shaken,

because I experience no calamity.”

7His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words;

his tongue injures and destroys.

8He waits in ambush near the villages;

in hidden places he kills the innocent.

His eyes look for some unfortunate victim.

9He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket.

He lies in ambush, waiting to catch the oppressed;

he catches the oppressed by pulling in his net.

10His victims are crushed and beaten down;

they are trapped in his sturdy nets.

11He says to himself,

“God overlooks it;

he does not pay attention;

he never notices.”

12Rise up, Lord!

O God, strike him down.

Do not forget the oppressed.

13Why does the wicked man reject God?

He says to himself, “You will not hold me accountable.”

14You have taken notice,

for you always see one who inflicts pain and suffering.

The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you;

you deliver the fatherless.

15Break the arm of the wicked and evil man.

Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds,

which he thought you would not discover.

16The Lord rules forever!

The nations are driven out of his land.

17Lord, you have heard the request of the oppressed;

you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer.

18You defend the fatherless and oppressed,

so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them.

(NET Bible)

John 6:1–21

6:1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias). 2A large crowd was following him because they were observing the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick. 3So Jesus went on up the mountainside and sat down there with his disciples. 4(Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near.) 5Then Jesus, when he looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people may eat?” 6(Now Jesus said this to test him, for he knew what he was going to do.) 7Philip replied, “200 silver coins worth of bread would not be enough for them, for each one to get a little.” 8One of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9“Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good are these for so many people?”

10Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” (Now there was a lot of grass in that place.) So the men sat down, about 5,000 in number. 11Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed the bread to those who were seated. He then did the same with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12When they were all satisfied, Jesus said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left over, so that nothing is wasted.” 13So they gathered them up and filled 12 baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves left over by the people who had eaten.

14Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15Then Jesus, because he knew they were going to come and seize him by force to make him king, withdrew again up the mountainside alone.

16Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17got into a boat, and started to cross the lake to Capernaum. (It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.) 18By now a strong wind was blowing and the sea was getting rough. 19Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they caught sight of Jesus walking on the lake, approaching the boat, and they were frightened. 20But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” 21Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land where they had been heading.

(NET Bible)

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

We know that in 1513, when [Luther] began his lectures on the Psalms, he still operated with the fourfold sense of Scripture, the sensus literalisallegoricustropologicus, and anagogicus, but that already in the course of his lectures he combined three of them into one and occasionally designated the sensus literalis as the sensus primarius scripturae behind which the sensus tropologicus must retreat. In his lectures on Romans, 1515-1516, and on Galatians, 1516-1517, this view becomes increasingly evident, and after 1519 his exposition is entirely controlled by the principle: Scripture has but one meaning, even though in his practical explanations of the Scriptures he still oftentimes pays tribute to the allegorical sense. He now declares in his writing against Emser, “Scripture shall not have a double meaning but shall retain the one that accords with the meaning by the words,” and again, “The Holy Ghost is the most simple author and speaker in heaven and earth, therefore His words cannot have more than one, the most simple meaning.” In his Christmas Postil of 1522 he even writes, “If we concede that Scripture has more than one sense, it loses its fighting force.” (10)

–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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