Jer. 39:11–18
39:11 Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had issued orders concerning Jeremiah. He had passed them on through Nebuzaradan, the captain of his royal guard, 12“Find Jeremiah and look out for him. Do not do anything to harm him, but do with him whatever he tells you.” 13So Nebuzaradan (the captain of the royal guard), Nebushazban (who was a chief officer), Nergal Sharezer (who was a high official), and all the other officers of the king of Babylon 14sent and had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guardhouse. They turned him over to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and the grandson of Shaphan, to take him home with him. But Jeremiah stayed among the people.
15 Now the Lord’s message had come to Jeremiah while he was still confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, 16“Go and tell Ebed Melech the Nubian, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, has said, “I will carry out against this city what I promised. It will mean disaster and not good fortune for it. When that disaster happens, you will be there to see it. 17But I will rescue you when it happens. I, the Lord, affirm it! You will not be handed over to those whom you fear. 18I will certainly save you. You will not fall victim to violence. You will escape with your life because you trust in me. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’”
(NET Bible)Ps. 20
20:1 For the music director, a psalm of David.
May the Lord answer you when you are in trouble;
may the God of Jacob make you secure.
2May he send you help from his temple;
from Zion may he give you support.
3May he take notice of all your offerings;
may he accept your burnt sacrifice. (Selah)
4May he grant your heart’s desire;
may he bring all your plans to pass.
5Then we will shout for joy over your victory;
we will rejoice in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6Now I am sure that the Lord will deliver his chosen king;
he will intervene for him from his holy, heavenly temple,
and display his mighty ability to deliver.
7Some trust in chariots and others in horses,
but we depend on the Lord our God.
8They will fall down,
but we will stand firm.
9The Lord will deliver the king;
he will answer us when we call to him for help!
(NET Bible)Acts 23:23–35
23:23 Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, “Make ready 200 soldiers to go to Caesarea along with 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen by nine o’clock tonight, 24and provide mounts for Paul to ride so that he may be brought safely to Felix the governor.” 25He wrote a letter that went like this:
26Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor Felix, greetings. 27This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, when I came up with the detachment and rescued him because I had learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28Since I wanted to know what charge they were accusing him of, I brought him down to their council. 29I found he was accused with reference to controversial questions about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment. 30When I was informed there would be a plot against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges against him before you.
31So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him to Antipatris during the night. 32The next day they let the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to the barracks. 33When the horsemen came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34When the governor had read the letter, he asked what province he was from. When he learned that he was from Cilicia, 35he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive too.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.
(NET Bible)In [Luther’s] Sermon on the Christian Armor, of 1532, we read: “When the devil has succeeded in bringing matters so far that we surrender one article to him, he is victorious, and it is just as bad as though all of them and Christ himself were already lost. Afterward he can unsettle and withdraw others because they are all intertwined and bound together like a golden chain, so that if one link be broken, the whole chain is broken, and it pulls apart. And there is no article that cannot be overthrown if it once comes to pass that reason intrudes and tries to speculate and learns to turn and twist the Scripture so that it does agree with its conclusions. at penetrates like a sweet poison.” (34)
–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.