Hos. 1
1:1 This is the Lord’s message that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the time of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the time of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel.
2When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, he said to him, “Go marry a prostitute who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution because the nation continually commits spiritual prostitution by turning away from the Lord.” 3So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. Then she conceived and gave birth to a son for him. 4Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Name him ‘Jezreel,’ because in a little while I will punish the dynasty of Jehu on account of the bloodshed in the valley of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5At that time, I will destroy the military power of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
6She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, “Name her ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity on the nation of Israel. For I will certainly not forgive their guilt. 7But I will have pity on the nation of Judah. I will deliver them by the Lord their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior’s bow, by sword, by military victory, by chariot horses, or by chariots.”
8When she had weaned “No Pity” (Lo-Ruhamah), she conceived again and gave birth to another son. 9Then the Lord said: “Name him ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi) because you are not my people, and I am not your God.
10(2:1) “However, in the future the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand of the sea that can be neither measured nor numbered. Although it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said to them, ‘You are children of the living God!’ 11Then the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint for themselves one leader, and will flourish in the land. Certainly, the day of Jezreel will be great!
(NET Bible)Ps. 66
66:1 For the music director, a song, a psalm.
Shout out praise to God, all the earth!
2Sing praises about the majesty of his reputation.
Give him the honor he deserves!
3Say to God:
“How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear before you.
4All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you.
They sing praises to your name.” (Selah)
5Come and witness God’s exploits!
His acts on behalf of people are awesome.
6He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
Let us rejoice in him there.
7He rules by his power forever;
he watches the nations.
Stubborn rebels should not exalt themselves. (Selah)
8Praise our God, you nations.
Loudly proclaim his praise.
9He preserves our lives
and does not allow our feet to slip.
10For you, O God, tested us;
you purified us like refined silver.
11You led us into a trap;
you caused us to suffer.
12You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place.
13I will enter your temple with burnt sacrifices;
I will fulfill the vows I made to you,
14which my lips uttered
and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15I will offer up to you fattened animals as burnt sacrifices,
along with the smell of sacrificial rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. (Selah)
16Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God.
I will declare what he has done for me.
17I cried out to him for help
and praised him with my tongue.
18If I had harbored sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
20God deserves praise,
for he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me.
(NET Bible)Rom. 2:1–29
2:1 Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things. 2Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth against those who practice such things. 3And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment? 4Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! 6He will reward each one according to his works: 7eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, 8but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness. 9There will be affliction and distress on everyone who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, 10but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek. 11For there is no partiality with God. 12For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous. 14For whenever the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things required by the law, these who do not have the law are a law to themselves. 15They show that the work of the law is written in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend them, 16on the day when God will judge the secrets of human hearts, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.
17But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relationship to God 18and know his will and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law, 19and if you are convinced that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth— 21therefore you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law! 24For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
25For circumcision has its value if you practice the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27And the physically uncircumcised man, by keeping the law, will judge you to be the transgressor of the law, even though you have the letter and circumcision! 28For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh, 29but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit and not by the letter. This person’s praise is not from people but from God.
(NET Bible)
In his exposition of the rst and the second chapters of St. John, which was written during 1537 and 1538, Luther discusses the questions as to how this account of the cleansing of the Temple is related to that given by the Synoptists. He says: “The first question is as to how the two evangelists, Matthew and John, agree with each other; for Matthew states that it happened on Palm Sunday when the Lord entered Jerusalem, while here in John it is placed some- where in the Easter [Passover] season, soon after the baptism of Christ, just as the miracle in which Christ turned water into wine took place about Easter, after which He journeyed to Capernaum. For He was baptized at Epiphany and he may easily have tarried a short time in Capernaum until Easter and began to preach and did what John here narrates about Easter. But these are questions that remain questions which I will not solve and that do not give me much concern, only there are people so sly and keen that they raise all kinds of questions for which they want to have answers. If one, however, has a correct understanding of Scripture and possesses the true statement of our faith that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has suffered and died for us, it will not be a serious defect if we are not able to answer them. The evangelists do not observe the same order, and what one places first another on occasion places last, just as Mark places the account of this event on the day following Palm Sunday. It is quite possible that the Lord did this more than once, and that John describes the first time and Matthew the second. Let that be as it may, it was before or after; it happened once or twice, in no case does it detract anything from our faith.” (45–46)
–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.