Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
130 Lord, I cry out to you
because I’m suffering so deeply.
2 Lord, listen to me.
Pay attention to my cry for your mercy.
3 Lord, suppose you kept a close watch on sins.
Lord, who then wouldn’t be found guilty?
4 But you forgive.
So we can serve you with respect.
5 With all my heart I wait for the Lord to help me.
I put my hope in his word.
6 I wait for the Lord to help me.
I want his help more than night watchmen want the morning to come.
I’ll say it again.
I want his help more than night watchmen want the morning to come.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
because the Lord’s love never fails.
He sets his people completely free.
8 He himself will set Israel
free from all their sins.
Hezekiah Purifies the Temple
29 Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother’s name was Abijah. She was the daughter of Zechariah. 2 Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as King David had done.
3 In the first month of Hezekiah’s first year as king, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple. He repaired them. 4 He brought the priests and Levites in. He gathered them together in the open area on the east side of the temple. 5 He said, “Levites, listen to me! Set yourselves apart to the Lord. Set apart the temple of the Lord. He’s the God of your people who lived long ago. Remove anything ‘unclean’ from the temple. 6 Our people weren’t faithful. They did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord our God. They deserted him. They turned their faces away from the place where he lives. They turned their backs on him. 7 They also shut the doors of the temple porch. They put the lamps out. They didn’t burn incense at the temple. They didn’t sacrifice burnt offerings there to the God of Israel. 8 So the Lord has become angry with Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them look so bad that everyone is shocked when they see them. They laugh at them. You can see it with your own eyes. 9 That’s why our fathers have been killed by swords. That’s why our sons and daughters and wives have become prisoners. 10 So I’m planning to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel. Then he’ll stop being angry with us. 11 My sons, don’t fail to obey the Lord. He has chosen you to stand in front of him and work for him. He wants you to serve him and burn incense to him.”
12 Here are the Levites who went to work.
Mahath and Joel were from the family line of Kohath.
Mahath was the son of Amasai. Joel was the son of Azariah.
Kish and Azariah were from the family line of Merari.
Kish was the son of Abdi. Azariah was the son of Jehallelel.
Joah and Eden were from the family line of Gershon.
Joah was the son of Zimmah. Eden was the son of Joah.
13 Shimri and Jeiel were from the family line of Elizaphan.
Zechariah and Mattaniah were from the family line of Asaph.
14 Jehiel and Shimei were from the family line of Heman.
Shemaiah and Uzziel were from the family line of Jeduthun.
15 All these Levites gathered the other Levites together. They set themselves apart to the Lord. Then they went in to purify the Lord’s temple. That’s what the king had ordered them to do. They did what the Lord told them to. 16 The priests went into the Lord’s temple to make it pure. They brought out to the temple courtyard everything that was “unclean.” They had found “unclean” things in the Lord’s temple. The Levites took them and carried them out to the Kidron Valley. 17 On the first day of the first month they began to set everything in the temple apart to the Lord. By the eighth day of the month they reached the Lord’s porch. For eight more days they set the Lord’s temple itself apart to him. They finished on the 16th day of the first month.
18 Then they went to King Hezekiah. They reported, “We’ve purified the whole temple of the Lord. That includes the altar for burnt offerings and all its tools. It also includes the table for the holy bread and all its objects. 19 We’ve prepared all the things King Ahaz had removed. We’ve set them apart to the Lord. Ahaz had removed them while he was king. He wasn’t faithful to the Lord. Those things are now in front of the Lord’s altar.”
Faith or Obeying the Law
3 You foolish people of Galatia! Who has put you under an evil spell? When I preached, I clearly showed you that Jesus Christ had been nailed to the cross. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you. Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law? Or did you receive the Spirit by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? You began by the Holy Spirit. Are you now trying to finish God’s work in you by your own strength? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? And was it really for nothing? 5 So I ask you again, how does God give you his Spirit? How does he work miracles among you? Is it by doing what the law says? Or is it by believing what you have heard? 6 In the same way, Abraham “believed God. God was pleased with Abraham because he believed. So his faith made him right with God.” (Genesis 15:6)
7 So you see, those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Long ago, Scripture knew that God would make the Gentiles right with himself. He would do this by their faith in him. He announced the good news ahead of time to Abraham. God said, “All nations will be blessed because of you.” (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18) 9 So those who depend on faith are blessed along with Abraham. He was the man of faith.
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