Midday Devotion

A Song of Ascents.
¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
³ He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
⁵ The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
⁷ The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
⁸ The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
¹ LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
² You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. Selah
³ You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
⁴ Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!
⁵ Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
⁶ Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?
⁷ Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.
⁸ Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.
⁹ Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
¹⁰ Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
¹¹ Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky.
¹² Yes, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
¹³ Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way. (ESV)

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
²⁵ and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
²⁷ And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. (ESV)

¹ Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
² These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.
³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.
⁴ But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
⁵ Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.
⁶ He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed:
⁷ Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”
⁸ His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
⁹ Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
¹⁰ But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”
¹¹ And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
¹² Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem.
¹³ And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.”
¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
¹⁵ And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?”
¹⁶ “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.”
¹⁷ And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
¹⁸ They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.
¹⁹ They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.
²⁰ Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”
²¹ But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”
²² And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.
²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.
²⁴ And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
²⁵ Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.
²⁶ Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
²⁷ Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.
²⁸ Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
²⁹ When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes
³⁰ and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?”
³¹ Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
³² And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.”
³³ And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.”
³⁴ Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.
³⁵ All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
³⁶ Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. (ESV)

¹ And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.
² And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
³ He answered them, “What did Moses command you?”
⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”
⁵ And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.
⁶ But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’
⁷ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,
⁸ and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.
⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
¹⁰ And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.
¹¹ And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,
¹² and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (ESV)

⁴ From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way.
⁵ And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”
⁶ Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
⁷ And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
⁸ And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”
⁹ So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
¹⁰ And the people of Israel set out and camped in Oboth.
¹¹ And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise.
¹² From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered.
¹³ From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
¹⁴ Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD, “Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,
¹⁵ and the slope of the valleys that extends to the seat of Ar, and leans to the border of Moab.”
¹⁶ And from there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.”
¹⁷ Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—
¹⁸ the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs.” And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah,
¹⁹ and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,
²⁰ and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that looks down on the desert.
²¹ Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,
²² “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.”
²³ But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel.
²⁴ And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong.
²⁵ And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages.
²⁶ For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon.
²⁷ Therefore the ballad singers say, “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be established.
²⁸ For fire came out from Heshbon, flame from the city of Sihon. It devoured Ar of Moab, and swallowed the heights of the Arnon.
²⁹ Woe to you, O Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has made his sons fugitives, and his daughters captives, to an Amorite king, Sihon.
³⁰ So we overthrew them; Heshbon, as far as Dibon, perished; and we laid waste as far as Nophah; fire spread as far as Medeba.”
³¹ Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.
³² And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.
³³ Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.
³⁴ But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”
³⁵ So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.

¹ Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho.
² And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
³ And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel.
⁴ And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time,
⁵ sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me.
⁶ Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”
⁷ So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak’s message.
⁸ And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.
⁹ And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”
¹⁰ And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying,
¹¹ ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’”
¹² God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”
¹³ So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”
¹⁴ So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
¹⁵ Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these.
¹⁶ And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me,
¹⁷ for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’”
¹⁸ But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more.
¹⁹ So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.”
²⁰ And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.” (ESV)

¹² In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.
¹³ And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:
¹⁴ Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,
¹⁵ and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,
¹⁶ and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
¹⁷ And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon,
¹⁸ who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.
¹⁹ And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
²⁰ And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹ “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
²² “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!
²³ Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
²⁵ “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
²⁶ “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
²⁷ “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
²⁹ To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.
³⁰ Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.
³¹ And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
³² “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.
³⁵ But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
³⁶ Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. (ESV)

²¹ The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;
²² for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
²³ The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;
²⁴ though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
²⁵ I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.
²⁶ He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.
²⁷ Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever.
²⁸ For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
³⁰ The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.
³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip. (ESV)