Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

God Is Good to His People

78 O my people, hear my teaching. Listen to the words of my mouth. ² I will open my mouth in picture-stories. I will tell things which have been kept secret from long ago, ³ which we have heard and known because our fathers have told us. ⁴ We will not hide them from their children. But we will tell the children-to-come the praises of the Lord, and of His power and the great things He has done.

⁵ For He has made His will known to Jacob. He made the Law in Israel, which He told our fathers to teach their children. ⁶ So the children-to-come might know, even the children yet to be born. So they may rise up and tell it to their children. ⁷ Then they would put their trust in God and not forget the works of God. And they would keep His Law. ⁸ They would not be like their fathers, who were not right with God and would not obey Him or be faithful to Him.

¹⁷ But they still kept on sinning against Him. They did not obey the Most High in the desert. ¹⁸ They tested God in their hearts by asking for the food they wanted. ¹⁹ Then they spoke against God, saying, “Can God set a table in the desert? ²⁰ See, He hit the rock and water poured out and rivers flowed over. Can He give bread also? Will He give meat to His people?”

²¹ The Lord was full of anger when He heard them. And a fire was set against Jacob. His anger went up against Israel, ²² because they did not believe in God. They did not trust in Him to save them. ²³ Yet He spoke to the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven. ²⁴ He sent down bread from heaven for them to eat. He gave them food from heaven. ²⁵ Men ate the bread of angels. He sent them all the food they could eat. ²⁶ He made the east wind blow in the heavens. And He brought in the south wind by His power. ²⁷ He sent meat down on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the sea. ²⁸ He let them fall in the place where they were staying, all around their tents. ²⁹ So they ate until they were full. He gave them what they wanted.

Gifts at Gathering Time

26 “When you go into the land the Lord your God gives you, it will be yours and you will live in it. ² You must take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you gather from the land the Lord your God gives you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to have His name. ³ Go to the religious leader who is working at that time, and say to him, ‘I make known this day to the Lord my God that I have come into the land which the Lord promised to our fathers to give us.’ ⁴ Then the religious leader will take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ And you will say before the Lord your God, ‘My father was a traveling Aramean. He went to Egypt, few in number, and stayed there. But there he became a nation, great, powerful, and with many people. ⁶ The Egyptians made it hard for us. They brought us much trouble and made us work very hard. ⁷ Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers. The Lord heard our voice and saw our troubles, our work, and how hard our lives were. ⁸ And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a long arm, causing much fear by doing powerful works. ⁹ He has brought us to this place. He has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ Now see, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground that You have given me, O Lord.’ Then you will set it down before the Lord your God, and worship Him. ¹¹ You and the Levite and the stranger who is among you will be full of joy because of all the good the Lord your God has given you and those of your house.

¹² “When you have finished paying all the tenth of the food you received in the third year, the year of giving a tenth, then give it to the Levite, the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. So they may eat it in your towns and be filled. ¹³ Then say before the Lord your God, ‘I have taken the share for holy use from my house. I have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. I have done this because of all Your Laws which You have told me to do. I have not sinned or forgotten any of Your Laws. ¹⁴ I have not eaten of it while in sorrow, or taken any of it while I was unclean, or given any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done all You have told me to do. ¹⁵ Look down from Your holy place in heaven and bring good to Your people Israel. Bring good to the ground You have given us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as You promised our fathers.’

They Ask Peter What They Should Do

³⁷ When the Jews heard this, their hearts were troubled. They said to Peter and to the other missionaries, “Brothers, what should we do?” ³⁸ Peter said to them, “Be sorry for your sins and turn from them and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and your sins will be forgiven. You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ This promise is to you and your children. It is to all people everywhere. It is to as many as the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰ He said many other things. He helped them understand that they should keep themselves from the sinful people of this day. ⁴¹ Those who believed what he said were baptized. There were about 3,000 more followers added that day.

The First Church

⁴² They were faithful in listening to the teaching of the missionaries. They worshiped and prayed and ate the Lord’s supper together. ⁴³ Many powerful works were done by the missionaries. Surprise and fear came on them all. ⁴⁴ All those who put their trust in Christ were together and shared what they owned. ⁴⁵ As anyone had need, they sold what they owned and shared with everyone. ⁴⁶ Day after day they went to the house of God together. In their houses they ate their food together. Their hearts were happy. ⁴⁷ They gave thanks to God and all the people respected them. The Lord added to the group each day those who were being saved from the punishment of sin.