July 21

Judges 4
Jeremiah 17
Mark 3
Acts 8

Daily Readings:

Judges 4

1 ¶  And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.

2  And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

3  And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

4 ¶  And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

5  And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

6  And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

7  And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

8  And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.

9  And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10 ¶  And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

11  Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.

12  And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.

13  And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.

14  And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

15  And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.

16  But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.

17 ¶  Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

18  And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.

19  And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.

20  Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.

21  Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

22  And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

23  So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.

24  And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Jeremiah 17

1 ¶  The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

2  Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.

3  O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.

4  And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

5 ¶  Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

6  For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

7  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

8  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

11  As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

12 ¶  A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.

13  O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

14  Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

15  Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.

16  As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.

17  Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.

18  Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

19 ¶  Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

20  And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:

21  Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

22  Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

23  But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

24  And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;

25  Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.

26  And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD.

27  But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

Mark 3

1 ¶  And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

2  And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

3  And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

4  And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

5  And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

6  And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

7  But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea,

8  And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.

9  And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him.

10  For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.

11  And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.

12  And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

13 ¶  And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.

14  And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

15  And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

16  And Simon he surnamed Peter;

17  And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

18  And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

19  And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

20  And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

21  And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

22 ¶  And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

23  And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?

24  And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

25  And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

26  And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

27  No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

28  Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

29  But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

30  Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

31 ¶  There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.

32  And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.

33  And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?

34  And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

35  For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

Acts 8

1 ¶  And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

2  And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

3  As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

4 ¶  Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

5  Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

6  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

7  For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

8  And there was great joy in that city.

9  But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

10  To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

11  And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

12  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

13  Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

14 ¶  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

15  Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:

16  (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

17  Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

18  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

19  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

20  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

21  Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

22  Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

23  For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

24  Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

25  And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

26 ¶  And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

27  And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

28  Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

29  Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

30  And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

31  And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

32  The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:

33  In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

34  And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

35  Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

36  And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

37  And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

38  And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

39  And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

40  But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

Mediation of the Day: from Charles J Rolls’ book, ‘Time’s Noblest Name’

O6-O01 The Only Begotten1 O6-O02 The Only Begotten2 O6-O03 The Only Begotten3

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