Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁷ Do good to Your servant so I may live and obey Your Word. ¹⁸ Open my eyes so that I may see great things from Your Law. ¹⁹ I am a stranger on the earth. Do not hide Your Word from me. ²⁰ My soul is crushed with a desire for Your Law at all times. ²¹ You speak sharp words to the proud, the hated ones, because they turn from Your Word. ²² Take away shame and bad feelings from me, for I have kept Your Law. ²³ Even if rulers sit together and speak against me, Your servant thinks about Your Law. ²⁴ Your Law is my joy and it tells me what to do.

Moses Is Given Special Power

4 Then Moses answered, “What if they will not believe me or listen to me? They might say, ‘The Lord has not shown Himself to you.’” ² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” Moses said, “A stick.” ³ Then the Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake. And Moses ran from it. ⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and take it by its tail.” So Moses put out his hand and caught it. And it became a stick in his hand. ⁵ The Lord said, “By seeing this they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has shown Himself to you.”

⁶ The Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your coat.” So Moses put his hand inside his coat. When he took it out, his hand had a bad skin disease and was white as snow. ⁷ Then God said, “Put your hand inside your coat again.” So Moses put his hand inside his coat again. When he took it out of his coat, he saw that it had become like his other flesh. ⁸ God said, “If they will not listen to you or believe you when they are shown the first thing, they may believe when this is shown to them. ⁹ But they might not believe even these two things or listen to what you say. So then take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. And the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

¹⁰ Moses said to the Lord, “Lord, I am not a man of words. I have never been. Even now since You spoke to Your servant, I still am not. For I am slow in talking and it is difficult for me to speak.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes a man not able to speak or hear? Who makes one blind or able to see? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² So go now. And I will be with your mouth. I will teach you what to say.”

¹³ But Moses said, “O Lord, I ask of You, send some other person.”

¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses. He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know he can speak well. Also, he is coming to meet you. And when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. ¹⁵ You must speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will be with your mouth and his mouth. I will teach you what you are to do. ¹⁶ He will speak to the people for you. He will be a mouth for you. And you will be as God to him. ¹⁷ You will take this special stick in your hand. And you will use it to make the special things happen for the people to see.”

Food for Christians

2 Put out of your life hate and lying. Do not pretend to be someone you are not. Do not always want something someone else has. Do not say bad things about other people. ² As new babies want milk, you should want to drink the pure milk which is God’s Word so you will grow up and be saved from the punishment of sin. ³ If you have tasted of the Lord, you know how good He is.

The Living Stone

⁴ Come to Christ as to a living stone. Men have put Him aside, but He was chosen by God and is of great worth in the sight of God. ⁵ You are to be as living stones in the building God is making also. You are His religious leaders giving yourselves to God through Jesus Christ. This kind of gift pleases God. ⁶ The Holy Writings say, “See, I lay down in Jerusalem a Stone of great worth, worth far more than any amount of money. Anyone who puts his trust in Him will not be ashamed.” ^{(A) 7} This Stone is of great worth to you who have your trust in Him. But to those who have not put their trust in Him, the Holy Writings say, “The Stone which the workmen put aside has become the most important part of the building.” ^{(B) 8} The Holy Writings say, also, “Christ is the Stone that some men will trip over and the Rock over which they will fall.” When they do not obey the Word of God, they trip over it. This is what happens to such men. ⁹ But you are a chosen group of people. You are the King’s religious leaders. You are a holy nation. You belong to God. He has done this for you so you can tell others how God has called you out of darkness into His great light. ¹⁰ At one time you were a people of no use. Now you are the people of God. At one time you did not have loving-kindness. Now you have God’s loving-kindness.