Day 74 – March 15, 2022

Joshua 1-3

​¹ After the death of Moses, the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, saying, ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, you and all this people, and cross over Jordan into the land I will give them. ³ Every place on which you tread with your feet, I will give it to you, as I said to Moses. ⁴ Your territories shall be the desert and Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates River; and from the setting of the sun to the farthest sea. ⁵ No man shall be able to oppose you all the days of your life, and as I was with Moses, thus I will be also with you. I will not forsake you nor disregard you.
⁶ “Be strong and courageous, for you will divide this land which I swore to your fathers to give them. ⁷ Be strong, therefore, and courageous to guard yourself and to do as Moses My servant commanded you; then you will not turn away from them, to the right nor to the left. In this way, you will have understanding in whatever you do. ⁸ The book of this law shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may have the understanding to do all the things written therein. Then you will both prosper, make your ways prosperous, and have understanding. ⁹ Behold, I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be cowardly or fearful, for the Lord your God is with you in all things, wherever you go.”
  Cross the River Jordan
¹⁰ Then Joshua commanded the scribes of the people, saying, ¹¹ “Enter the midst of the people’s camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare the supply of food, for yet three days you shall cross this Jordan and enter the land to possess what the Lord God of your fathers will give you.’ ” ¹² Then to Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, ¹³ “Remember the word of the Lord which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God has caused you to rest and has given you this land.’ ¹⁴ Your wives, your children and your cattle shall dwell in the land He has given you; but you shall cross over well-armed before your brethren, everyone who is strong, and you shall fight by their side; ¹⁵ until the Lord your God has caused your brethren to rest, and you as well, and they have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God has given them. Then each of you shall depart to his inheritance which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan eastward.”
¹⁶ Then they answered Joshua and said, “We will do all you command us to do, and we will go everywhere you send us. ¹⁷ We will heed you as we heeded Moses; only let the Lord our God be with you as He was with Moses. ¹⁸ But whatever man disobeys you and does not heed your words as you command him, let him die; but you be strong and courageous.”
The Two Spies
​¹ After this, Joshua the son of Nun sent out two young men from Acacia Grove to spy out the land, saying, “Go and see the land and Jericho.” So the two young men went and entered Jericho; and they went into the house of a harlot named Rahab and lodged there. ² This was reported to the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come to spy on the land.” ³ So the king of Jericho sent and spoke to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who came into your house last night; for they are here to spy on the land.”
⁴ But the woman took the men and hid them, and she spoke to them, saying, “The men came to me; ⁵ but as the gate was being shut in the darkness, the men went out. I do not know where they went. Pursue them, if indeed you may overtake them.” ⁶ But she led them to the roof and hid them in the stalk of flax she had piled together on the roof.
⁷ So the men searched for them along the road to the Jordan, to the fords, and the gate was closed. Then it came to pass, when the men who pursued them went after them ⁸ and before the spies went to sleep, that she went to them on the roof ⁹ and said, “I know that the Lord gave you the land, for fear of you has fallen upon us. ¹⁰ For we heard that the Lord God dried up the Red Sea before you when you came out of the land of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed. ¹¹ So when we heard it, we were amazed in our heart, and there was no longer any spirit in any of us because of your presence, for your God is in heaven above and on earth below. ¹² Now therefore, swear to me by the Lord God that as I showed you mercy, you shall also be merciful to me in my father’s house, ¹³ and capture alive all my house: my father and mother, and my brothers, and everything they have, and deliver my soul from death.”
The Oath
¹⁴ Then the men said to her, “Our life for your life, even to death.” She then said, “When the Lord shall deliver the city to you, deal with me in mercy and truth.” ¹⁵ After this, she let them down through the window ¹⁶ and said to them, “Go away to the hill country, lest the pursuers happen to find you. Hide there for three days until your pursuers return from their search for you. Afterwards, you shall depart and go your way.”
  ¹⁷ So the men said to her, “We will be without fault regarding this oath of yours. ¹⁸ For behold, we will come into a part of the city, and you will set a sign; you shall hang this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down. Then you shall gather yourself and your father and mother and your brothers into your father’s house. ¹⁹ Whoever shall go outside the door of your house, his guilt shall be upon him, and we will be free of this oath of yours. But we will be responsible for whoever is with you in your house. ²⁰ But if anyone injures us or reveals these words of ours, we shall be free from this oath of yours.” ²¹ Then she said to them, “Let it be so according to your word.” So she sent them away.
²² They departed and went to the hill country and remained there for three days; and the pursuers searched all the roads, but did not find them. ²³ So the two young men returned and came down from the mountain. They crossed over to Joshua the son of Nun and told him everything that happened to them. ²⁴ They said to Joshua, “The Lord will deliver all the land into our hand, for everyone who inhabits that land cowers in fear because of us.”
Crossing the Jordan
​¹ Then Joshua rose early in the morning and departed from Acacia Grove; and he came to the Jordan and lodged there before crossing over. ² After three days, it came to pass that the scribes went through the camp ³ and commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord our God, and our priests and Levites who carry it, then you shall depart from your places; and you shall go after it; ⁴ but there shall be a distance between you and it. You shall stand as much as two thousand cubits from it, and do not come near it, that you may understand the way you are to go; for you have not gone this way before.” ⁵ Joshua then said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” ⁶ Joshua also said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and go before the people.” So the priests took up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and went before the people.
⁷ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I shall begin to exalt you in the sight of all the children of Israel, so they will know that I shall be with you as I was with Moses. ⁸ Therefore now, command the priests who carry the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘As soon as you enter a part of the water of the Jordan, then you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ” ⁹ Joshua then said to the children of Israel, “Come here and hear the word of the Lord our God. ¹⁰ Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you and will utterly destroy before our face the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. ¹¹ Behold the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing the Jordan. ¹² Choose for yourselves twelve men from the sons of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³ Then it shall come to pass that when the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth rest in the water of the Jordan, the water of the Jordan will cease to flow, for the upstream water will stand still.”
¹⁴ So the people left their tents to cross over the Jordan, and the priests carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord before the people. ¹⁵ Now when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord dipped in part of the water of the Jordan (now the Jordan overflowed all its banks about the time of wheat harvest), ¹⁶ then the upstream waters stopped flowing downstream, and a solid wall of water formed over a very great distance, as far as the region of Adam. The lower part came down to the Sea of Araba, the Salt Sea, until it came to a complete stop; and the people stood opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ So the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all the children of Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the people crossed the Jordan.

Psalm 66

​¹ For the End, in hymns; a psalm of an ode.
² May God be gracious to us, and bless us;
May He cause His face to shine upon us,
(Pause)
³ That we may know His way on the earth,
Your salvation among all the Gentiles.
⁴ Let the peoples give thanks to You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
⁵ Let the Gentiles be glad and greatly rejoice,
For You shall judge the peoples in uprightness,
And lead the Gentiles on the earth.
(Pause)
⁶ Let the peoples give thanks to You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
⁷ The earth yielded her fruit;
May God, our God, bless us.
⁸ May God bless us,
And let all the ends of the earth be in fear of Him.

Proverbs 13:16–21

¹⁶ The law of the wise is a fountain of life,
But the man without understanding will die by a snare.
¹⁷ A good understanding gives grace,
And to know the law is to be of a good mind,
But the ways of scorners are destructive.
¹⁸ Every astute man acts with knowledge,
But the man without discernment spreads out his own evil.
¹⁹ A rash king falls into evil things,
But a faithful messenger rescues him.
²⁰ Instruction removes poverty and dishonor,
And he who gives heed to rebukes will be glorified.
²¹ The desires of the godly gladden the soul,
But the works of the ungodly are far from knowledge.

Mark 14:1–31

​¹ After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.
² But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany
(Matt. 26:6–13; John 12:1–8)
³ And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
  ⁴ But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted?
⁵ “For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.
⁶ But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.
⁷ “For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.
⁸ “She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.
⁹ “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
(Matt. 26:14–16; Luke 22:3–6)
¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.
¹¹ And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.
Jesus Celebrates the Passover with His Disciples
(Matt. 26:17–25; Luke 22:7–13; John 13:21–30)
¹² Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”
¹³ And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him.
¹⁴ “Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’
¹⁵ “Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”
¹⁶ So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.
¹⁷ In the evening He came with the twelve.
¹⁸ Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”
¹⁹ And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?”
²⁰ He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.
²¹ “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper
(Matt. 26:26–29; Luke 22:14–23; 1 Cor. 11:23–26)
²² And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
²³ Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
²⁴ And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.
  ²⁵ “Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
²⁶ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
(Matt. 26:31–35; Luke 22:31–34; John 13:36–38)
²⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:
‘I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep will be scattered.’
²⁸ “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”
²⁹ Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”
³⁰ Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”
³¹ But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all said likewise.