Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁷ O God of all, bring us back to You. Make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.

⁸ You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and You planted it. ⁹ You cleared the land for it. And its roots went deep and filled the land. ¹⁰ The mountains were covered with its shadow. And the tall trees were covered with its branches. ¹¹ It sent out its branches to the sea, and its new branches to the River. ¹² Why have You broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its fruit? ¹³ The wild pig from among the trees eats it away. And whatever moves in the field eats from it.

¹⁴ O God of all, we beg You to return. Look down from heaven and see. Take care of this vine. ¹⁵ Take care of the root Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You have raised up for Yourself.

What Happens When Israel Is Not Faithful

¹⁴ “Is Israel a servant? Is he born as a servant? Why can he be taken away? ¹⁵ The young lions have made noise against him. They have made a loud noise. And they have made his land a waste. His cities have been destroyed, and have no people. ¹⁶ The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head. ¹⁷ Have you not brought this upon yourself, by turning away from the Lord your God, when He led you in the way? ¹⁸ Now why are you going to Egypt to drink water from the Nile? Or why are you going to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates? ¹⁹ Your own sin will punish you. Your turning away from the Lord will punish you. So know and see that it is sinful and bitter for you to leave the Lord your God. You have no fear of Me,” says the Lord God of All.

Israel Turns Its Back on God

²⁰ “Long ago I broke the load from your neck and tore off your chains. But you said, ‘I will not serve!’ For on every high hill and under every green tree you have lain down as a woman who sells the use of her body. ²¹ Yet I planted you as a vine of much worth, in every way a true seed. How then have you turned away from Me and become a wild vine? ²² Even when you wash yourself with much strong soap, the mark of your sin is still before Me,” says the Lord God.

Watch for Those Who Want to Keep the Law

¹⁶ Do not let anyone tell you what you should or should not eat or drink. They have no right to say if it is right or wrong to eat certain foods or if you are to go to religious suppers. They have no right to say what you are to do at the time of the new moon or on the Day of Rest. ¹⁷ These things are a picture of what is coming. The important thing is Christ Himself. ¹⁸ Do not let anyone rob you of your crown. They will try to get you to bow down in worship of angels. They think this shows you are not proud. They say they were told to do this in a dream. These people are proud because of their sinful minds. ¹⁹ Such people are not a part of Christ. Christ is the Head. We Christians make up His body. We are joined together as a body is held together. Our strength to grow comes from Christ.

²⁰ You have died with Christ and become dead to those old ways. Then why do you follow the old ways of worship? Why do you obey man-made rules? ²¹ These rules say, “You must not put your hand on this.” “Do not put this into your mouth.” “You must not put your finger on that.” ²² All these things come to an end when they are used. You are following only man-made rules. ²³ It looks as if it is wise to follow these rules in an act of worship, because they are hard on the body. It looks as if they are done without pride, but they are worth nothing. They do not take away a man’s desire to sin.