Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord Gives Great Power to Moses

4 Moses asked the Lord, “Suppose everyone refuses to listen to my message, and no one believes that you really appeared to me?”

² The Lord answered, “What's that in your hand?”

“A walking stick,” Moses replied.

³ “Throw it down!” the Lord commanded. So Moses threw the stick on the ground. It immediately turned into a snake, and Moses jumped back.

⁴ “Pick it up by the tail!” the Lord told him. And when Moses did this, the snake turned back into a walking stick.

⁵ “Do this,” the Lord said, “and the Israelites will believe that you have seen me, the God who was worshiped by their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

⁶ Next, the Lord commanded Moses, “Put your hand inside your shirt.” Moses obeyed, and when he took it out, his hand had turned white as snow—like someone with leprosy.^[a]

⁷ “Put your hand back inside your shirt,” the Lord told him. Moses did so, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.

^8-9 Then the Lord said, “If no one believes either of these miracles, take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the ground. The water will immediately turn into blood.”

¹⁰ Moses replied, “I have never been a good speaker. I wasn't one before you spoke to me, and I'm not one now. I am slow at speaking, and I can never think of what to say.”

¹¹ But the Lord answered, “Who makes people able to speak or makes them deaf or unable to speak? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Don't you know that I am the one who does these things? ¹² Now go! When you speak, I will be with you and give you the words to say.”

¹³ Moses begged, “Lord, please send someone else to do it.”

¹⁴ The Lord became angry with Moses and said:

What about your brother Aaron, the Levite? I know he is a good speaker. He is already on his way here to visit you, and he will be happy to see you again. ^15-16 Aaron will speak to the people for you, and you will be like me, telling Aaron what to say. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will tell each of you what to do. ¹⁷ Now take this walking stick and use it to perform miracles.

A Living Stone and a Holy Nation

2 Stop being hateful! Quit trying to fool people, and start being sincere. Don't be jealous or say cruel things about others. ² Be like newborn babies who are thirsty for the pure spiritual milk that will help you grow and be saved. ^3 (A) You have already found out how good the Lord really is.

⁴ Come to Jesus Christ. He is the living stone people have rejected, but which God has chosen and highly honored. ⁵ And now you are living stones being used to build a spiritual house. You are also a group of holy priests, and with the help of Jesus Christ you will offer sacrifices that please God. ^6 (B) It is just as God says in the Scriptures,

^7 (C) You are followers of the Lord, and this stone is precious to you. But it isn't precious to those who refuse to follow him. They are the builders who tossed aside the stone that turned out to be the most important one of all. ^8 (D) They disobeyed the message and stumbled and fell over this stone, because they were doomed.

^9 (E) But you are God's chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things he has done. The Scriptures say,