Home > Reading > Daily Reading – November 18, 2019

1 Chron. 22:6–19

22:6 He summoned his son Solomon and charged him to build a temple for the Lord God of Israel. 7David said to Solomon: “My son, I really wanted to build a temple to honor the Lord my God. 8But this was the Lord’s message to me: ‘You have spilled a great deal of blood and fought many battles. You must not build a temple to honor me, for you have spilled a great deal of blood on the ground before me. 9Look, you will have a son, who will be a peaceful man. I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. Indeed, Solomon will be his name; I will give Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10He will build a temple to honor me; he will become my son, and I will become his father. I will grant to his dynasty permanent rule over Israel.’

11“Now, my son, may the Lord be with you! May you succeed and build a temple for the Lord your God, just as he announced you would. 12Only may the Lord give you insight and understanding when he places you in charge of Israel, so you may obey the law of the Lord your God. 13Then you will succeed, if you carefully obey the rules and regulations which the Lord ordered Moses to give to Israel. Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! 14Now, look, I have made every effort to supply what is needed to build the Lord’s temple. I have stored up 100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and so much bronze and iron it cannot be weighed, as well as wood and stones. Feel free to add more! 15You also have available many workers, including stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and an innumerable array of workers who are skilled 16in using gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Get up and begin the work! May the Lord be with you!”

17David ordered all the officials of Israel to support his son Solomon. 18He told them, “The Lord your God is with you! He has made you secure on every side, for he handed over to me the inhabitants of the region and the region is subdued before the Lord and his people. 19Now seek the Lord your God wholeheartedly and with your entire being! Get up and build the sanctuary of the Lord God! Then you can bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant and the holy items dedicated to God’s service into the temple that is built to honor the Lord.”

(NET Bible)

Ps. 119:97–104

119:97 מ (Mem)

O how I love your law!

All day long I meditate on it.

98Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,

for I am always aware of them.

99I have more insight than all my teachers,

for I meditate on your rules.

100I am more discerning than those older than I,

for I observe your precepts.

101I stay away from every evil path,

so that I might keep your instructions.

102I do not turn aside from your regulations,

for you teach me.

103Your words are sweeter

in my mouth than honey!

104Your precepts give me discernment.

Therefore I hate all deceitful actions.

(NET Bible)

1 Cor. 7:1–16

7:1 Now with regard to the issues you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2But because of immoralities, each man should have relations with his own wife and each woman with her own husband. 3A husband should fulfill his marital responsibility to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband. 4It is not the wife who has the rights to her own body, but the husband. In the same way, it is not the husband who has the rights to his own body, but the wife. 5Do not deprive each other, except by mutual agreement for a specified time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then resume your relationship, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7I wish that everyone was as I am. But each has his own gift from God, one this way, another that.

8To the unmarried and widows I say that it is best for them to remain as I am. 9But if they do not have self-control, let them get married. For it is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire.

10To the married I give this command—not I, but the Lord—a wife should not divorce a husband 11(but if she does, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband), and a husband should not divorce his wife.

12To the rest I say—I, not the Lord—if a brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is happy to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is happy to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified because of the wife, and the unbelieving wife because of her husband. Otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. 15But if the unbeliever wants a divorce, let it take place. In these circumstances the brother or sister is not bound. God has called you in peace. 16For how do you know, wife, whether you will bring your husband to salvation? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will bring your wife to salvation?

(NET Bible)

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

Both facts were certain to Luther: the divine origin of Scripture and its resultant inerrancy, on the one hand, and, on the other, the active cooperation of the human personality of the authors in their composition. The fact that he appreciated the latter distinguishes his view from the inspiration theories of the later dogmaticians who either entirely or to a great extent excluded such cooperation; that he did not grow weary of emphasizing the former, establishes his agreement with them. Only in the true unity of both views do we arrive at the whole truth. (62)

–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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