Ezek. 6
6:1 The Lord’s message came to me: 2“Son of man, turn toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. 3Say, ‘Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am bringing a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 4Your altars will be ruined and your incense altars will be broken. I will throw down your slain in front of your idols. 5I will place the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6In all your dwellings, the cities will be laid waste and the high places ruined so that your altars will be laid waste and ruined, your idols will be shattered and demolished, your incense altars will be broken down, and your works wiped out. 7The slain will fall among you and then you will know that I am the Lord.
8“‘But I will spare some of you. Some will escape the sword when you are scattered in foreign lands. 9Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize how I was crushed by their unfaithful heart that turned from me and by their eyes that lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices. 10They will know that I am the Lord; my threats to bring this catastrophe on them were not empty.
11“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and say, “Ah!” because of all the evil, abominable practices of the house of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine, and pestilence. 12The one far away will die by pestilence, the one close by will fall by the sword, and whoever is left and has escaped these will die by famine. I will fully vent my rage against them. 13Then you will know that I am the Lord when their dead lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every green tree and every leafy oak—the places where they have offered fragrant incense to all their idols. 14I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the wilderness to Riblah, in all the places where they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”
(NET Bible)Ps. 68
68:1 For the music director, by David, a psalm, a song.
God springs into action.
His enemies scatter;
his adversaries run from him.
2As smoke is driven away by the wind, so you drive them away.
As wax melts before fire,
so the wicked are destroyed before God.
3But the godly are happy;
they rejoice before God
and are overcome with joy.
4Sing to God! Sing praises to his name.
Exalt the one who rides on the clouds.
For the Lord is his name.
Rejoice before him.
5He is a father to the fatherless
and an advocate for widows.
God rules from his holy dwelling place.
6God settles in their own homes those who have been deserted;
he frees prisoners and grants them prosperity.
But sinful rebels live in the desert.
7O God, when you lead your people into battle,
when you march through the wastelands, (Selah)
8the earth shakes.
Yes, the heavens pour down rain
before God, the God of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9O God, you cause abundant showers to fall on your chosen people.
When they are tired, you sustain them,
10for you live among them.
You sustain the oppressed with your good blessings, O God.
11The Lord speaks;
many, many women spread the good news.
12Kings leading armies run away—they run away!
The lovely lady of the house divides up the loot.
13When you lie down among the sheepfolds,
the wings of the dove are covered with silver
and with glittering gold.
14When the Sovereign One scatters kings,
let it snow on Zalmon.
15The mountain of Bashan is a towering mountain;
the mountain of Bashan is a mountain with many peaks.
16Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,
at the mountain where God has decided to live?
Indeed the Lord will live there permanently.
17God has countless chariots;
they number in the thousands.
The Lord comes from Sinai in holy splendor.
18You ascend on high;
you have taken many captives.
You receive tribute from men,
including even sinful rebels.
Indeed, the Lord God lives there.
19The Lord deserves praise.
Day after day he carries our burden,
the God who delivers us. (Selah)
20Our God is a God who delivers;
the Lord, the Sovereign Lord, can rescue from death.
21Indeed, God strikes the heads of his enemies,
the hairy foreheads of those who persist in rebellion.
22The Lord says,
“I will retrieve them from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23so that your feet may stomp in their blood,
and your dogs may eat their portion of the enemies’ corpses.”
24They see your processions, O God—
the processions of my God, my king, who marches along in holy splendor.
25Singers walk in front;
musicians follow playing their stringed instruments,
in the midst of young women playing tambourines.
26In your large assemblies praise God,
the Lord, in the assemblies of Israel.
27There is little Benjamin, their ruler,
and the princes of Judah in their robes,
along with the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28God has decreed that you will be powerful.
O God, you who have acted on our behalf, demonstrate your power.
29Because of your temple in Jerusalem,
kings bring tribute to you.
30Sound your battle cry against the wild beast of the reeds,
and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls.
They humble themselves and offer gold and silver as tribute.
God scatters the nations that like to do battle.
31They come with red cloth from Egypt.
Ethiopia voluntarily offers tribute to God.
32O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God.
Sing praises to the Lord, (Selah)
33to the one who rides through the sky from ancient times.
Look! He thunders loudly.
34Acknowledge God’s power,
his sovereignty over Israel,
and the power he reveals in the skies.
35You are awe inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple.
It is the God of Israel who gives the people power and strength.
God deserves praise!
(NET Bible)1 Tim. 2:1–15
2:1 First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, 2even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, 4since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all, revealing God’s purpose at his appointed time. 7For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle—I am telling the truth; I am not lying—and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8So I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or dispute.
9Likewise the women are to dress in suitable apparel, with modesty and self-control. Their adornment must not be with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive clothing, 10but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God. 11A woman must learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. She must remain quiet. 13For Adam was formed first and then Eve. 14And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, because she was fully deceived, fell into transgression. 15But she will be delivered through childbearing, if she continues in faith and love and holiness with self-control.
(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.