Joshua 5
1 Then it came to pass, when the kings of the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan and the kings of the Phoenicians near the sea heard that the Lord God had dried up the Jordan River before the children of Israel when they crossed over, their minds fainted, they were panic-stricken, and there was no more sense left in them because of the presence of the children of Israel.
Circumcision at Gilgal
2 At about this time, the Lord said to Joshua, “Make stone knives for yourself from a sharp rock, and sit down and circumcise the sons of Israel.”†
3 So Joshua made sharp stone knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at the place called the Hill of Foreskins.
4 In this manner, Joshua completely purified the sons of Israel, as many as were born at any time along the way and as many as were uncircumcised after they came out of Egypt.
5 Joshua circumcised all these.
6 For Israel lived in the Madbarite desert for forty-two years; therefore, most of their fighting men who came out of Egypt and who disobeyed the commandments of God were uncircumcised. Concerning these, He also determined that they would not see the land which the Lord swore to give to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.
7 But in their place, He raised up their sons, whom Joshua circumcised because they were born during the journey and thus were uncircumcised.
8 So when they were circumcised, they rested there and stayed in the camp until they were healed.
9 Then the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, “Today I have removed the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Thus he called the name of that place Gilgal.†
10 Then the children of Israel kept Pascha on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, to the west of Jericho, across the Jordan in the plain.
11 They ate of the unleavened and new wheat of the land.
12 On this day, the manna ceased, after they ate from the wheat of the land. Thus, the children of Israel no longer had manna, for they enjoyed the fruits in the land of the Phoenicians in that year.
Captain of the Lord’s Hosts
13 Then it came to pass, when Joshua was at Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing before him with a sword drawn in his hand. So Joshua came near and said to him, “Are you for us or on the side of our adversaries?”†
14 He said to him, “I am now come, the chief captain of the host of the Lord.” Then Joshua fell on his face upon the earth and said to him, “O Master, what do you command your servant?”
15 The chief captain of the Lord said to Joshua, “Loose the shoe from your feet; for the place on which you stand is holy.”
Psalms 86
1 A psalm of an ode for the sons of Korah. †His foundations are in the holy mountains;
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things were said concerning you, O city of God. (Pause)
4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me; And behold, foreigners, and the people of Tyre and Ethiopia, These were born there.
5 A man will say, “Mother Zion,” And a man was born in her; For the Most High Himself founded it.
6 The Lord shall describe it in a written account of the peoples And of the rulers, of those who were born in her. (Pause)
7 How glad are all who have their dwelling in you.
Proverbs of Solomon 18
6 The lips of a man without discernment lead him into evil things, And his rash mouth calls upon death.
7 The mouth of a man without discernment is destruction to him, And his lips are the snare of his soul.†
8 Fear destroys slothful men, And the souls of cowardly men shall hunger.†
9 He who does not heal himself by his works, He is the brother of him who maltreats himself.
10 The name of the Lord is of great strength, And when the righteous run to it, they are exalted.†
11 The substance of a rich man is a strong city, And its glory casts a great shadow.
Luke 11
Spiritual Perception: A Sign
29 And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.†
30 For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
31 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
32 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
Spiritual Perception: A Light to See By
33 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.†
34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.†
35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.
36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
The Pride of the Pharisees
37 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat.
38 When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.
39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.†
40 Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also?
41 But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.
42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them. ”
45 Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.”
46 And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.
47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
48 In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.
49 Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’
50 that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,
51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.†
52 “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.”
53 And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things,
54 lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.