Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God’s Love for Israel
105 Give thanks to the Lord and pray to him.
Tell the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him. Sing praises to him.
Tell about all the wonderful things he has done.
3 Be glad that you are his.
Let those who ask the Lord for help be happy.
4 Depend on the Lord and his strength.
Always go to him for help.
5 Remember the wonderful things he has done.
Remember his miracles and his decisions.
6 You are descendants of his servant Abraham,
the children of Jacob, his chosen people.
7 He is the Lord our God.
His laws are for all the world.
8 He will keep his agreement forever.
He will keep his promises always.
9 He will keep his agreement he made with Abraham.
He will keep the promise he made to Isaac.
10 He made it a law for the people of Jacob.
He made it an agreement with Israel to last forever.
11 The Lord said, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
The promised land will belong to you.”
12 Then God’s people were few in number.
They were strangers in the land.
13 They went from one nation to another.
They went from one kingdom to another.
14 But the Lord did not let anyone hurt them.
He warned kings not to harm them.
15 He said, “Don’t hurt my chosen people.
Don’t harm my prophets.”
16 God ordered a time of hunger in the land.
And he destroyed all the food.
17 Then he sent a man ahead of them.
It was Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They put chains around his feet
and an iron ring around his neck.
19 Then the time he had spoken of came.
The Lord’s words proved that Joseph was right.
20 The king of Egypt sent for Joseph and freed him.
The ruler of the people set him free.
21 He made him the master of his house.
Joseph was in charge of his riches.
22 He could order the princes as he wished.
He taught the older men to be wise.
23 Then his father Israel came to Egypt.
Jacob, also called Israel, lived in Egypt.[a]
24 The Lord made his people grow in number.
He made them stronger than their enemies.
25 And he caused the Egyptians to hate his people.
They made plans against the Lord’s servants.
26 Then he sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They did many signs among the Egyptians.
They worked miracles in Egypt.
28 The Lord sent darkness and made the land dark.
But the Egyptians turned against what he said.
29 So he changed their water into blood
and made their fish die.
30 Then their country was filled with frogs.
They were even in the bedrooms of their rulers.
31 The Lord spoke, and flies came.
Gnats were everywhere in the country.
32 He made hail fall like rain.
And he sent lightning through their land.
33 He struck down their grapevines and fig trees.
He destroyed every tree in the country.
34 He spoke, and grasshoppers came.
The locusts were too many to count.
35 They ate all the plants in the land.
They ate what the earth produced.
36 The Lord also killed all the firstborn sons in the land,
the oldest son of each family.
37 Then he brought his people out,
and they carried with them silver and gold.
Not one of his people stumbled.
38 The Egyptians were glad when they left
because the Egyptians were afraid of them.
39 The Lord covered them with a cloud
and lit up the night with fire.
40 When they asked, he brought them quail.
He filled them with bread from heaven.
41 God split the rock, and water flowed out.
It ran like a river through the desert.
42 He remembered his holy promise
to his servant Abraham.
10 Then all the people talked about killing them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the Meeting Tent to the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people ignore me? How long will it be before they believe me? I have done miracles among them. 12 I will give them a terrible sickness. I will destroy them. But I will make you into a great nation. It will be stronger than they are.”
13 Then Moses said to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it! You brought these people from there by your great power. 14 And the Egyptians will tell this to those who live in this land. They have already heard about you, Lord. They know that you are with your people. And they know you were seen face to face. They know your cloud stays over your people. They know you lead your people with that cloud during the day and with fire at night. 15 The nations have heard about your power. If you put to death your people all at once, the nations will talk. They will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring them into the land he promised them. So he killed them in the desert.’
17 “So show your strength now, my Lord. Do what you said. You said: 18 ‘The Lord doesn’t become angry quickly. The Lord has great love. The Lord forgives sin and law breaking. He has great mercy. But the Lord does not forget to punish guilty people. When parents sin, he will also punish their children. He will punish their grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.’ 19 Show your great love. Forgive these people’s sin. Forgive them as you have from the time they left Egypt until now.”
20 The Lord answered, “I have forgiven them as you asked. 21 But, as surely as I live, I make this promise. As surely as my glory fills the whole earth, I make this promise. 22 All these men saw my glory. They saw the miracles I did in Egypt and in the desert. But they disobeyed me and tested me 10 times. 23 So not one will see the land I promised to their ancestors. No one who angered me will see that land. 24 But my servant Caleb has a different spirit. He follows me completely. So I will bring him into the land he has already seen. And his children will own that land.
Don’t Be Like the Jews
10 Brothers, I want you to know what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. They were all under the cloud, and they all went through the sea. 2 They were all baptized as followers of Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food. 4 And they all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from that spiritual rock that was with them. That rock was Christ. 5 But God was not pleased with most of them. They died in the desert.
6 And these things that happened are examples for us. They should stop us from wanting evil things as those people did. 7 Do not worship idols, as some of them did. It is written in the Scriptures: “The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up and had wild parties.”[a] 8 We should not take part in sexual sin, as some of them did. In one day 23,000 of them died because of their sins. 9 We should not test the Lord as some of them did. They were killed by snakes. 10 And do not complain as some of them did. They were killed by the angel that destroys.
11 The things that happened to those people are examples. And they were written down to be warnings for us. For we live in a time when all these things of the past have reached their goal. 12 So anyone who thinks he is standing strong should be careful not to fall. 13 The only temptations that you have are the temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to stand it.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.