Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Israel’s Failure to Trust God
106 Praise the Lord!
Thank the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 No one can tell all the mighty things the Lord has done;
no one can speak all his praise.
3 Happy are those who do right,
who do what is fair at all times.
4 Lord, remember me when you are kind to your people;
help me when you save them.
5 Let me see the good things you do for your chosen people.
Let me be happy along with your happy nation;
let me join your own people in praising you.
6 We have sinned just as our ancestors did.
We have done wrong; we have done evil.
13 But they quickly forgot what he had done;
they did not wait for his advice.
14 They became greedy for food in the desert,
and they tested God there.
15 So he gave them what they wanted,
but he also sent a terrible disease among them.
16 The people in the camp were jealous of Moses
and of Aaron, the holy priest of the Lord.
17 Then the ground opened up and swallowed Dathan
and closed over Abiram’s group.
18 A fire burned among their followers,
and flames burned up the wicked.
19 The people made a gold calf at Mount Sinai
and worshiped a metal statue.
20 They exchanged their glorious God
for a statue of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 who had done miracles in Egypt[a]
and amazing things by the Red Sea.
23 So God said he would destroy them.
But Moses, his chosen one, stood before him
and stopped God’s anger from destroying them.
47 Lord our God, save us
and bring us back from other nations.
Then we will thank you
and will gladly praise you.
48 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
He always was and always will be.
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
Laws About Idols
15 Since the Lord spoke to you from the fire at Mount Sinai, but you did not see him, watch yourselves carefully! 16 Don’t sin by making idols of any kind, and don’t make statues—of men or women, 17 of animals on earth or birds that fly in the air, 18 of anything that crawls on the ground, or of fish in the water below. 19 When you look up at the sky, you see the sun, moon, and stars, and everything in the sky. But don’t bow down and worship them, because the Lord your God has made these things for all people everywhere. 20 But the Lord brought you out of Egypt, which tested you like a furnace for melting iron, and he made you his very own people, as you are now.
19 A person might have to suffer even when it is unfair, but if he thinks of God and can stand the pain, God is pleased. 20 If you are beaten for doing wrong, there is no reason to praise you for being patient in your punishment. But if you suffer for doing good, and you are patient, then God is pleased. 21 This is what you were called to do, because Christ suffered for you and gave you an example to follow. So you should do as he did.
22 “He had never sinned,
and he had never lied.” Isaiah 53:9
23 People insulted Christ, but he did not insult them in return. Christ suffered, but he did not threaten. He let God, the One who judges rightly, take care of him. 24 Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. And you are healed because of his wounds. 25 You were like sheep that wandered away, but now you have come back to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.