Book of Common Prayer

The Lord Is Always Merciful

(By David for praise.)

The Lord Is Kind and Merciful

Moses Makes a Bronze Snake

^4 (A) The Israelites had to go around the territory of Edom, so when they left Mount Hor, they headed south toward the Red Sea.^[a] But along the way, the people became so impatient ^5 (B) that they complained against God and said to Moses, “Did you bring us out of Egypt, just to let us die in the desert? There's no water out here, and we can't stand this awful food!”

⁶ Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes that bit and killed many of them.

⁷ Some of the people went to Moses and admitted, “It was wrong of us to insult you and the Lord. Now please ask him to make these snakes go away.”

Moses prayed, ⁸ and the Lord answered, “Make a snake out of bronze and place it on top of a pole. Anyone who gets bitten can look at the snake and be saved from death.”

^9 (C) Moses obeyed the Lord. And all of those who looked at the bronze snake lived, even though they had been bitten by the poisonous snakes.

Israel Defeats King Sihon the Amorite

(Deuteronomy 2.26-37)

²¹ The Israelites sent this message to King Sihon of the Amorites:

²² Please let us pass through your territory. We promise to stay away from your fields and vineyards, and we won't drink any water from your wells. As long as we're in your land, we'll stay on the main road.^[a]

²³ But Sihon refused to let Israel travel through his land. Instead, he called together his entire army and marched into the desert to attack Israel near the town of Jahaz. ²⁴ Israel defeated them and took over the Amorite territory from the Arnon River gorge in the south to the Jabbok River gorge in the north. Beyond the Jabbok was the territory of the Ammonites, who were much stronger than Israel.

²⁵ The Israelites settled in the Amorite towns, including the capital city of Heshbon with its surrounding villages. ²⁶ King Sihon had ruled from Heshbon, after defeating the Moabites and taking over their land north of the Arnon River gorge. ²⁷ That's why the Amorites had written this poem about Heshbon:

³¹ After the Israelites had settled in the Amorite territory, ³² Moses sent some men to explore the town of Jazer. Later, the Israelites captured the villages surrounding it and forced out the Amorites who lived there.

Israel Defeats King Og of Bashan

(Deuteronomy 3.1-11)

³³ The Israelites headed toward the region of Bashan, where King Og ruled, and he led his entire army to Edrei to meet Israel in battle.

³⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Don't be afraid of Og. I will help you defeat him and his army, just as you did King Sihon who ruled in Heshbon. Og's territory will be yours.”

³⁵ So the Israelites wiped out Og, his family, and his entire army—there were no survivors. Then Israel took over the land of Bashan.

¹² Many of them put their faith in the Lord, including some important Greek women and several men.

¹³ When the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica heard that Paul had been preaching God's message in Berea, they went there and caused trouble by turning the crowds against Paul.

¹⁴ At once the followers sent Paul down to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. ¹⁵ Some men went with Paul as far as Athens, and then returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

Paul in Athens

¹⁶ While Paul was waiting in Athens, he was upset to see all the idols in the city. ¹⁷ He went to the synagogue to speak to the Jews and to anyone who worshiped with them. Day after day he also spoke to everyone he met in the market. ¹⁸ Some of them were Epicureans^[a] and some were Stoics,^[b] and they started arguing with him.

People were asking, “What is this know-it-all trying to say?”

Some even said, “Paul must be preaching about foreign gods! That's what he means when he talks about Jesus and about people rising from death.”^[c]

¹⁹ They brought Paul before a council called the Areopagus, and said, “Tell us what your new teaching is all about. ²⁰ We have heard you say some strange things, and we want to know what you mean.”

²¹ More than anything else the people of Athens and the foreigners living there loved to hear and to talk about anything new. ²² So Paul stood up in front of the council and said:

People of Athens, I see that you are very religious. ^23 (A) As I was going through your city and looking at the things you worship, I found an altar with the words, “To an Unknown God.” You worship this God, but you don't really know him. So I want to tell you about him. ^24 (B) This God made the world and everything in it. He is Lord of heaven and earth, and he doesn't live in temples built by human hands. ^25 (C) He doesn't need help from anyone. He gives life, breath, and everything else to all people. ^26 (D) From one person God made all nations who live on earth, and he decided when and where every nation would be.

^27 (E) God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn't far from any of us, ²⁸ and he gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are. “We are his children,” just as some of your poets have said.

²⁹ Since we are God's children, we must not think that he is like an idol made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn't like anything that humans have thought up and made. ³⁰ In the past, God forgave all this because people did not know what they were doing. But now he says that everyone everywhere must turn to him. ³¹ He has set a day when he will judge the world's people with fairness. And he has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death.

³² As soon as the people heard Paul say a man had been raised from death, some of them started laughing. Others said, “We will hear you talk about this some other time.” ³³ When Paul left the council meeting, ³⁴ some of the men put their faith in the Lord and went with Paul. One of them was a council member named Dionysius. A woman named Damaris and several others also put their faith in the Lord.

Healing a Woman on the Sabbath

¹⁰ One Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, ¹¹ and a woman was there who had been crippled by an evil spirit for 18 years. She was completely bent over and could not straighten up. ¹² When Jesus saw the woman, he called her over and said, “You are now well.” ¹³ He placed his hands on her, and at once she stood up straight and praised God.

^14 (A) The man in charge of the synagogue was angry because Jesus had healed someone on the Sabbath. So he said to the people, “Each week has six days when we can work. Come and be healed on one of those days, but not on the Sabbath.”

¹⁵ The Lord replied, “Are you trying to fool someone? Won't any one of you untie your ox or donkey and lead it out to drink on a Sabbath? ¹⁶ This woman belongs to the family of Abraham, but Satan has kept her bound for 18 years. Isn't it right to set her free on the Sabbath?” ¹⁷ Jesus' words made his enemies ashamed. But everyone else in the crowd was happy about the wonderful things he was doing.