Amos 7
7:1 The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw him making locusts just as the crops planted late were beginning to sprout. (The crops planted late sprout after the royal harvest.) 2When they had completely consumed the earth’s vegetation, I said,
“Sovereign Lord, forgive Israel!
How can Jacob survive?
He is too weak!”
3The Lord decided not to do this. “It will not happen,” the Lord said.
4The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw the Sovereign Lord summoning a shower of fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the fields. 5I said,
“Sovereign Lord, stop!
How can Jacob survive?
He is too weak!”
6The Lord decided not to do this. The Sovereign Lord said, “This will not happen either.”
7He showed me this: I saw the Lord standing by a tin wall holding tin in his hand. 8The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” I said, “Tin.” The Lord then said,
“Look, I am about to place tin among my people Israel.
I will no longer overlook their sin.
9Isaac’s centers of worship will become desolate;
Israel’s holy places will be in ruins.
I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.”
10Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent this message to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! The land cannot endure all his prophecies. 11As a matter of fact, Amos is saying this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.’”
12Amaziah then said to Amos, “Leave, you visionary! Run away to the land of Judah. Earn your living and prophesy there! 13Don’t prophesy at Bethel any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here.”
14Amos replied to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. No, I was a herdsman who also took care of sycamore fig trees. 15Then the Lord took me from tending flocks and gave me this commission, ‘Go! Prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16So now listen to the Lord’s message! You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel! Don’t preach against the family of Isaac!’
17“Therefore this is what the Lord says:
‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets,
and your sons and daughters will die violently.
Your land will be given to others,
and you will die in a foreign land.
Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.’”
(NET Bible)Ps. 96
96:1 Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Announce every day how he delivers.
3Tell the nations about his splendor.
Tell all the nations about his amazing deeds.
4For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods.
5For all the gods of the nations are worthless,
but the Lord made the sky.
6Majestic splendor emanates from him;
his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.
7Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength.
8Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves.
Bring an offering and enter his courts.
9Worship the Lord in holy attire.
Tremble before him, all the earth.
10Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established; it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
11Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy.
Let the sea and everything in it shout.
12Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
13before the Lord, for he comes.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly
and the nations in accordance with his justice.
(NET Bible)Mark 4:1–25
4:1 Again he began to teach by the lake. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there while the whole crowd was on the shore by the lake. 2He taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching said to them: 3“Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. 6When the sun came up it was scorched, and because it did not have sufficient root, it withered. 7Other seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked it, and it did not produce grain. 8But other seed fell on good soil and produced grain, sprouting and growing; some yielded thirty times as much, some sixty, and some a hundred times.” 9And he said, “Whoever has ears to hear had better listen!”
10When he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11He said to them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,
12“so that although they look they may look but not see,
and although they hear they may hear but not understand,
so they may not repent and be forgiven.”
13He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? Then how will you understand any parable? 14The sower sows the word. 15These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: Whenever they hear, immediately Satan comes and snatches the word that was sown in them. 16These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy. 17But they have no root in themselves and do not endure. Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18Others are the ones sown among thorns: They are those who hear the word, 19but worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it produces nothing. 20But these are the ones sown on good soil: They hear the word and receive it and bear fruit, one thirty times as much, one sixty, and one a hundred.”
21He also said to them, “A lamp isn’t brought to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? Isn’t it to be placed on a lampstand? 22For nothing is hidden except to be revealed, and nothing concealed except to be brought to light. 23If anyone has ears to hear, he had better listen!” 24And he said to them, “Take care about what you hear. The measure you use will be the measure you receive, and more will be added to you. 25For whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”
(NET Bible)
Even in the introduction [to his lectures on Galatians delivered between 1535 and 1545] Luther discussed how the six days of creation are to be understood. He recalls that Hilary and Augustine, these two great lights of the church, were of the opinion that the world was created suddenly and not gradually in the course of six days. Then he opposes this view and writes: “Because we are not sufficiently able to understand how these days occurred nor why God wished to observe such distinctions of times, we shall rather admit our ignorance than attempt to twist the words unnecessarily into an unnatural meaning. As far, therefore, as St. Augustine’s opinion is concerned, we hold that Moses spoke literally not allegorically or figuratively, that is, the world and all its creatures was created within the six days as the words declare. Because we are not able to comprehend we shall remain disciples and leave the instructorship to the Holy Ghost.” (51)
–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.