Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

³⁴ The Lord heard what you said. So he became angry. He made a promise. He said, ³⁵ “I promised to give this good land to your people of long ago. But no one alive today will see it. ³⁶ Only Caleb will see the land. He is the son of Jephunneh. I will give him and his children after him the land he walked on. He followed me with his whole heart.”

³⁷ Because of you, the Lord became angry with me also. He said, “You will not enter the land either. ³⁸ But Joshua, the son of Nun, is your helper. Joshua will enter the land. Help him to be brave. Give him hope. He will lead Israel to take the land as their own. ³⁹ You said your little ones would be taken prisoner. But they will enter the land. They do not yet know right from wrong. But I will give them the land. They will take it as their own. ⁴⁰ As for you, turn around. Start out toward the desert. Go along the road that leads to the Red Sea.”

Waiting for Our New Bodies

5 We know that the earthly tent we live in will be destroyed. But we have a building made by God. It is a house in heaven that lasts forever. Human hands did not build it. ² During our time on earth we groan. We long to put on our house in heaven as if it were clothing. ³ Then we will not be naked. ⁴ While we live in this tent of ours, we groan under our heavy load. We don’t want to be naked. Instead, we want to be fully dressed with our house in heaven. What must die will be swallowed up by life. ⁵ God has formed us for that very purpose. He has given us the Holy Spirit as a down payment. The Spirit makes us sure of what is still to come.