Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

God Decides Right from Wrong

50 The Powerful One, God, the Lord, has spoken. And He calls the earth from where the sun rises to where the sun goes down. ² God shines from Zion, perfect in beauty. ³ May our God come and not keep quiet. A fire burns before Him, and around Him is a powerful storm. ⁴ He calls the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people: ⁵ “Gather My holy ones to Me, those who have made an agreement with Me by their gifts given on an altar.” ⁶ And the heavens will tell how right and good He is, for God Himself is judge.

⁷ “Listen, O My people, and I will speak. O Israel, I will speak against you. I am God, your God. ⁸ I do not speak sharp words to you for your gifts given on an altar. And your burnt gifts are always before Me. ⁹ I will not take a young bull out of your house, or male goats out of your fields. ¹⁰ For every animal among the trees is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. ¹¹ I know every bird of the mountains. And all things that move in the field are Mine. ¹² If I were hungry, I would not tell you. For the world is Mine, and all that is in it. ¹³ Should I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of male goats? ¹⁴ Give a gift of thanks on the altar to God. And pay your promises to the Most High. ¹⁵ Call on Me in the day of trouble. I will take you out of trouble, and you will honor Me.”

¹⁶ But to the sinful, God says: “What right do you have to tell of My Laws, and take My agreement in your mouth? ¹⁷ For you hate to be told what to do, and you throw My words behind you. ¹⁸ When you see a robber, you are pleased with him. And you join those who do sex sins. ¹⁹ You say bad things with your mouth, and you lie with your tongue. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother. You talk against your own mother’s son. ²¹ You have done these things, and I have kept quiet. You thought that I was just like you. But I will speak sharp words to you, and tell you who is guilty to your face.

²² “Now think about this, you who forget God, or I will tear you in pieces and there will be no one to save you. ²³ He who gives a gift of thanks honors Me. And to him who makes his way right, I will show him the saving power of God.”

It Is Better to Obey Than Go without Food

7 In the fourth year of King Darius, the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah. This was on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev. ² Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to ask for the Lord’s favor. ³ They asked the religious leaders of the house of the Lord of All, and the men who speak for God, “Should I cry and go without food in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?” ⁴ Then the Word of the Lord of All came to me saying, ⁵ “Say to all the people of the land and to the religious leaders, ‘When you went without food and cried in sorrow in the fifth and seventh months these 70 years, was it to honor Me? ⁶ When you eat and drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? ⁷ Are not these the words the Lord made known through the men who spoke for Him in the past? They spoke these words when Jerusalem was full of people and riches, together with the cities around it, and when the Negev and the lower hills were full of people.’”

People Taken Away Because Of Not Obeying

⁸ Then the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying, ⁹ “The Lord of All said, ‘Do what is right and be kind and show loving-pity to one another. ¹⁰ Do not make it hard for the woman whose husband has died, or the child who has no parents, or the stranger, or the poor. Do not make sinful plans in your hearts against one another.’ ¹¹ But they would not listen. They turned away and stopped their ears from hearing. ¹² They made their hearts like hard stone, so that they could not hear the Law and the words which the Lord of All had sent by His Spirit through the men who spoke for Him in the past. So the Lord of All became very angry. ¹³ When I called, they would not listen. So when they called, I would not listen,” says the Lord of All. ¹⁴ “With the wind of a storm I sent them everywhere among all the nations that they had not known. The land was laid waste behind them, so that no one could come or go. They turned the good land into an empty waste.”

⁵ You already know all this, but think about it again. The Lord saved His people out of the land of Egypt. Later He destroyed all those who did not put their trust in Him. ⁶ Angels who did not stay in their place of power, but left the place where they were given to stay, are chained in a dark place. They will be there until the day they stand before God to be judged. ⁷ Do you remember about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the towns around them? The people in those cities did the same things. They were full of sex sins and strong desires for sinful acts of the body. Those cities were destroyed by fire. They still speak to us of the fire of hell that lasts forever.

What False Teachers Are Like

⁸ In the same way, these men go on dreaming and sinning against their bodies. They respect no leaders. They speak bad against those who live in the heavens. ⁹ Michael was one of the head angels. He argued with the devil about the body of Moses. But Michael would not speak sharp words to the devil, saying he was guilty. He said, “The Lord speaks sharp words to you.” ¹⁰ But these men speak against things they do not understand. They are like animals in the way they act. By these things they destroy themselves. ¹¹ It is bad for them! They have followed the way of Cain who killed his brother. They have chosen the way of Balaam and think only about making money. They were destroyed as Korah was destroyed who would not show respect to leaders. ¹² When you come together to eat the Christians’ love suppers, these people are like hidden rocks that wreck a ship. They only think of themselves. They are like clouds without rain carried along by the wind and like trees without fruit in the fall of the year. They are pulled out by the roots and are dead now and never can live again. ¹³ They are like the waves of a wild sea. Their sins are like the dirty water along the shore. They look like stars moving here and there. But the darkest place has been kept for them forever.

¹⁴ Enoch was the head of the seventh family born after Adam. He said this about such people, “The Lord comes with many thousands of His holy ones. ¹⁵ He comes to say that all are guilty for all the sin they have done and all the sinful things these sinners have spoken against God.” ¹⁶ These men complain and are never happy with anything. They let their desires lead them into sin. When they talk about themselves, they make it sound as if they are great people. They show respect to people only to get something out of them.

¹⁷ Dear friends, you must remember the words spoken by the missionaries of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They said, “In the last days there will be men who will laugh at the truth and will be led by their own sinful desires.” ¹⁹ They are men who will make trouble by dividing people into groups against each other. Their minds are on the things of the world because they do not have the Holy Spirit.

²⁰ Dear friends, you must become strong in your most holy faith. Let the Holy Spirit lead you as you pray. ²¹ Keep yourselves in the love of God. Wait for life that lasts forever through the loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ.