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Job 34 (ESV)

Elihu Asserts God’s Justice

34 Then Elihu answered and said:

“Hear my words, you wise men,
and give ear to me, you who know;
for the ear tests words
as the palate tastes food.
Let us choose what is right;
let us know among ourselves what is good.
For Job has said, ‘I am in the right,
and God has taken away my right;
in spite of my right I am counted a liar;
my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’
What man is like Job,
who drinks up scoffing like water,
who travels in company with evildoers
and walks with wicked men?
For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
that he should take delight in God.’

10  “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:
far be it from God that he should do wickedness,
and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.
11  For according to the work of a man he will repay him,
and according to his ways he will make it befall him.
12  Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
and the Almighty will not pervert justice.
13  Who gave him charge over the earth,
and who laid on him the whole world?
14  If he should set his heart to it
and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,
15  all flesh would perish together,
and man would return to dust.

16  “If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.
17  Shall one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,
18  who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’
19  who shows no partiality to princes,
nor regards the rich more than the poor,
for they are all the work of his hands?
20  In a moment they die;
at midnight the people are shaken and pass away,
and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.

21  “For his eyes are on the ways of a man,
and he sees all his steps.
22  There is no gloom or deep darkness
where evildoers may hide themselves.
23  For God has no need to consider a man further,
that he should go before God in judgment.
24  He shatters the mighty without investigation
and sets others in their place.
25  Thus, knowing their works,
he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
26  He strikes them for their wickedness
in a place for all to see,
27  because they turned aside from following him
and had no regard for any of his ways,
28  so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him,
and he heard the cry of the afflicted—
29  When he is quiet, who can condemn?
When he hides his face, who can behold him,
whether it be a nation or a man?—
30  that a godless man should not reign,
that he should not ensnare the people.

31  “For has anyone said to God,
‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;
32  teach me what I do not see;
if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?
33  Will he then make repayment to suit you,
because you reject it?
For you must choose, and not I;
therefore declare what you know.
34  Men of understanding will say to me,
and the wise man who hears me will say:
35  ‘Job speaks without knowledge;
his words are without insight.’
36  Would that Job were tried to the end,
because he answers like wicked men.
37  For he adds rebellion to his sin;
he claps his hands among us
and multiplies his words against God.”

Psalm 115 (ESV)

To Your Name Give Glory

115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”

Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.

Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.

They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.

They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.

Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.

O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

10  O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

11  You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.

12  The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;

13  he will bless those who fear the Lord,
both the small and the great.

14  May the Lord give you increase,
you and your children!

15  May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!

16  The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of man.

17  The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any who go down into silence.

18  But we will bless the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!

Luke 19:1–10 (ESV)

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Regarding the statement in Gen. 24:22, that Eliezer had given Rebekah an earring and two bracelets, with a specification as to their weight, Luther makes this comment: “What is here told appears to reason to deal with carnal and worldly matters, and I myself wonder why Moses has so much to say concerning such trifling things and speaks so briefly concerning far more sublime matters. However, there is no doubt that the Holy Ghost wished that these things should be written for our instruction, for there is nothing small, nothing useless presented to us in Holy Scripture; but all things that were written, were written for our learning, Rom. 15:4. For God wishes to be recognized in all things, both small and great.” (54)

–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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