A Call to Worship the Lord the Righteous Judge.

Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.

Israel’s History after the Exodus

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel ^(A)across the Jordan in the wilderness, in the ^(B)Arabah opposite ^[a]Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. ² It is eleven days’ journey from ^(C)Horeb by way of Mount ^(D)Seir to ^(E)Kadesh-barnea. ³ In the ^(F)fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, ^(G)in accordance with everything that the Lord had commanded him to declare to them, ⁴ after he had ^[b](H)defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and ^(I)Og the king of Bashan, who lived in ^(J)Ashtaroth ^[c]and in Edrei. ⁵ Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this Law, saying,

⁶ “The Lord our God ^(K)spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. ⁷ Turn and set out on your journey, and go to ^(L)the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the lowland, in ^(M)the ^[d]Negev, by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. ⁸ See, I have placed the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the Lord ^(N)swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and their ^[e]descendants after them.’

⁹ “And I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘^(O)I am not able to endure you alone. ¹⁰ The Lord your God has ^(P)multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number. ¹¹ May the Lord, the God of your fathers increase you a thousand times more than you are, and bless you, ^(Q)just as He has ^[f]promised you! ¹² How can I alone endure the burden and weight of you and your strife? ^13 (R)Obtain for yourselves men who are wise, discerning, and informed from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ ¹⁴ And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’ ¹⁵ So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and informed men, and ^[g]appointed them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, ^[h]hundreds, ^[i]fifties, and ^[j]tens, and officers for your tribes.

¹⁶ “Then I ordered your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your fellow countrymen and ^(S)judge righteously between a person and his fellow countryman, or the stranger who is with him. ^17 (T)You are not to ^[k]show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You are ^(U)not to be afraid of any person, for the judgment is God’s. ^(V)The case that is too difficult for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’ ¹⁸ At that time ^(W)I commanded you all the things that you were to do.

Deep Concern for Israel

9 ^(A)I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, ² that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. ³ For ^(B)I could ^[a]wish that I myself were ^(C)accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my countrymen, my kinsmen ^(D)according to the flesh, ⁴ who are ^(E)Israelites, to whom belongs ^(F)the adoption as sons and daughters, ^(G)the glory, ^(H)the covenants, ^(I)the giving of the Law, ^(J)the temple service, and ^(K)the promises; ⁵ whose are ^(L)the fathers, and ^(M)from whom is the ^[b]Christ according to the flesh, ^(N)who is over all, ^(O)God ^(P)blessed ^[c]forever. Amen.

⁶ But it is not as though ^(Q)the word of God has failed. ^(R)For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; ⁷ nor are they all children ^(S)because they are Abraham’s ^[d](T)descendants, but: “^[e](U)through Isaac your ^[f]descendants shall be named.” ⁸ That is, it is not the children of the flesh ^[g]who are ^(V)children of God, but the ^(W)children of the promise are regarded as ^[h](X)descendants. ⁹ For this is the word of promise: “^(Y)At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.” ^10 (Z)And not only that, but there was also ^(AA)Rebekah, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; ¹¹ for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that ^(AB)God’s purpose according to His choice would ^[i]stand, not ^[j]because of works but ^[k]because of Him who calls, ¹² it was said to her, “^(AC)The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ Just as it is written: “^(AD)Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

^14 (AE)What shall we say then? ^(AF)There is no injustice with God, is there? ^[l](AG)Far from it! ¹⁵ For He says to Moses, “^(AH)I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will show compassion to whomever I show compassion.” ¹⁶ So then, it does not depend on the person who ^[m]wants it nor the one who ^[n](AI)runs, but on ^(AJ)God who has mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “^(AK)For this very reason I raised you up, in order to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed ^[o]throughout the earth.” ¹⁸ So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He ^(AL)hardens whom He desires.

²⁷ “^(A)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you too, outwardly appear righteous to people, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “^(B)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you ^(C)are ^[a]sons of those who murdered the prophets. ^32 [b]Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You snakes, ^(D)you ^[c]offspring of vipers, how ^[d]will you escape the ^[e]sentence of ^[f](E)hell?

³⁴ “^(F)Therefore, behold, ^(G)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will ^(H)flog in your synagogues, and ^(I)persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you will fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(J)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the ^(K)son of Berechiah, whom ^(L)you murdered between the ^[g]temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon ^(M)this generation.

Grieving over Jerusalem

³⁷ “^(N)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who ^(O)kills the prophets and stones those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(P)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ³⁸ Behold, ^(Q)your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘^(R)Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!’”