Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Moses Interceded

²² “These words the Lord spoke to your whole assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire, from the cloud, and from the thick darkness, with a great voice, and He added nothing more. ^(A)He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. ²³ And when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you approached me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. ²⁴ You said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with mankind, yet he lives. ^25 (B)Now then, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, then we will die! ²⁶ For ^(C)who is there of ^[a]humanity who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? ^27 [b]Go near and listen to everything that the Lord our God says; then speak to us everything that the Lord our God speaks to you, and we will listen and do it.’

²⁸ “Now the Lord heard the sound of your words when you spoke to me, ^(D)and the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the sound of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken. ^29 (E)If only they had such a heart in them, to fear Me and ^(F)keep all My commandments always, so that ^(G)it would go well with them and with their sons forever! ³⁰ Go, say to them, “Return to your tents.” ^31 (H)But as for you, stand here by Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, so that they may ^[c]follow them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’ ³² So you shall be careful to do just as the Lord your God has commanded you; ^(I)you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left. ^33 (J)You shall walk ^[d]entirely in the way which the Lord your God has commanded you, ^(K)so that you may live and that it may be well for you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you will possess.

The Believer’s Rest

4 Therefore, we must fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have ^(A)come short of it. ² For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also did; but ^(B)the word ^[a]they heard did not benefit them, because ^[b]they were not united with those who listened with faith. ³ For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,

although His works were finished ^(D)from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For He has said ^(E)somewhere concerning the seventh day: “^(F)And God ^(G)rested on the seventh day from all His works”; ⁵ and again in this passage, “^(H)They certainly shall not enter My rest.” ⁶ Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who previously had good news preached to them failed to enter because of ^(I)disobedience, ⁷ He again sets a certain day, “Today,” saying ^[c]through David after so long a time just ^(J)as has been said before,

⁸ For ^(L)if ^[d]Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. ⁹ Consequently, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For the one who has entered His rest has himself also ^(M)rested from his works, as ^(N)God did from His. ¹¹ Therefore let’s make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same ^(O)example of ^(P)disobedience.