Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Israel Turned Away From God

20 One day some of the elders of Israel came to me to ask the Lord for advice. This was on the tenth day of the fifth month of the seventh year of exile.^[a] The elders sat down in front of me.

² Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ³ “Son of man,^[b] speak to the elders of Israel. Tell them ‘This is what the Lord God says: Have you come to ask me what you should do? I, the Lord God, tell you that, as surely as I live, I will not listen to you.’ ⁴ Should you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? You must tell them about the terrible things their fathers have done. ⁵ You must tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: On the day I chose Israel, I raised my hand to Jacob’s family and made a promise to them in Egypt. When I let them know who I was, I raised my hand and said, “I am the Lord your God.” ⁶ On that day I promised to take you out of Egypt and lead you to the land I was giving to you. That was a good land filled with many good things.^[c] It was the most beautiful of all countries!

⁷ “‘I told the family of Israel to throw away their horrible idols. I told them not to become filthy with those filthy statues from Egypt. I said, “I am the Lord your God.” ⁸ But they turned against me and refused to listen to me. They did not throw away their horrible idols. They did not leave their filthy statues in Egypt. So I decided to destroy them in Egypt—to let them feel the full force of my anger. ⁹ But I did not destroy them. I had already told the Egyptians that I would bring my people out of Egypt. I did not want to ruin my good name, so I did not destroy Israel in front of those other people. ¹⁰ I brought the family of Israel out of Egypt. I led them into the desert. ¹¹ Then I gave them my laws and told them all my rules. All those who obey them will live. ¹² I also told them about all the special days of rest, which were a special sign between us. They showed that I am the Lord and that I was making them special to me.

¹³ “‘But the family of Israel turned against me in the desert. They did not follow my laws. They refused to obey my rules—even though people who obey my laws live because of them. They treated my special days of rest as if they were not important. They worked on those days many times. I decided to destroy them in the desert—to let them feel the full force of my anger. ¹⁴ But I did not destroy them. The other nations saw me bring Israel out of Egypt. I did not want to ruin my good name, so I did not destroy Israel in front of those other people. ¹⁵ I made another promise to those people in the desert. I promised that I would not bring them into the land I was giving them. That was a good land filled with many good things. It was the most beautiful of all countries!

¹⁶ “‘The people of Israel refused to obey my rules or to follow my laws. They treated my days of rest as if they were not important. They did all these things because their hearts belonged to their filthy idols. ¹⁷ But I felt sorry for them, so I did not destroy them. I did not completely destroy them in the desert.

We Must Continue to Follow God

⁷ So it is just as the Holy Spirit says:

¹² So, brothers and sisters, be careful that none of you has the evil thoughts that cause so much doubt that you stop following the living God. ¹³ But encourage each other every day, while you still have something called “today.^[a]” Help each other so that none of you will be fooled by sin and become too hard to change. ¹⁴ We have the honor of sharing in all that Christ has if we continue until the end to have the sure faith we had in the beginning. ¹⁵ That’s why the Spirit said,

¹⁶ Who were those who heard God’s voice and turned against him? It was all the people Moses led out of Egypt. ¹⁷ And who was God angry with for 40 years? He was angry with those who sinned. And their dead bodies were left in the desert. ¹⁸ And which people was God talking to when he promised that they would never enter his place of rest? He was talking to those who did not obey him. ¹⁹ So we see that they were not allowed to enter and have God’s rest, because they did not believe.

4 And we still have the promise that God gave those people. That promise is that we can enter his place of rest. So we should be very careful that none of you fails to get that promise. ² Yes, the good news about it was told to us just as it was to them. But the message they heard did not help them. They heard it but did not accept it with faith. ³ Only we who believe it are able to enter God’s place of rest. As God said,

But God’s work was finished from the time he made the world. ⁴ Yes, somewhere in the Scriptures he talked about the seventh day of the week. He said, “So on the seventh day God rested from all his work.”^{[b] 5} But in the Scripture above God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.”

⁶ So the opportunity is still there for some to enter and enjoy God’s rest. But those who first heard the good news about it did not enter, because they did not obey. ⁷ So God planned another special day. It is called “today.” He spoke about that day through David a long time later using the words we quoted before:

⁸ We know that Joshua did not lead the people into the place of rest that God promised. We know this because God spoke later about another day for rest. ⁹ This shows that the seventh-day rest^[c] for God’s people is still to come. ¹⁰ God rested after he finished his work. So everyone who enters God’s place of rest will also have rest from their own work just as God did. ¹¹ So let us try as hard as we can to enter God’s place of rest. We must try hard so that none of us will be lost by following the example of those who refused to obey God.