Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 Then all the tribes of Israel met together at Shechem. Joshua called them all together there. Then he called the elders, heads of families, judges and officers of Israel. These men stood before God.
2 Then Joshua spoke to all the people. He said, “Here’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you: ‘A long time ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. I am talking about men like Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped other gods. 3 But I, the Lord, took your ancestor Abraham out of the land on the other side of the river. I led him through the land of Canaan. And I gave him many children. I gave him his son Isaac.
14 Then Joshua spoke to the people. He said, “Now you have heard the Lord’s words. So you must respect the Lord and serve him fully and sincerely. Throw away the false gods that your people worshiped. That happened on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Now you must serve the Lord. 15 But maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord. You must choose for yourselves today. You must decide whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your people worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. Or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16 Then the people answered, “No! We will never stop following the Lord. We will never serve other gods! 17 We know it was the Lord our God who brought our people out of Egypt. We were slaves in that land. But the Lord did great things for us there. He brought us out. He protected us while we traveled through other lands. 18 Then he helped us defeat the people living in these lands. He helped us defeat the Amorites who lived here. So we will continue to serve the Lord because he is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said, “You will not be able to serve the Lord well enough. He is a holy God. And he is a jealous God. If you turn against him and sin, he will not forgive you. 20 If you leave the Lord and serve other gods, he will cause great trouble to come to you. The Lord has been good to you. But if you turn against him, he will destroy you.”
21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
22 Then Joshua said, “Look around at yourselves and the people with you here. Do you all know and agree that you have chosen to serve the Lord? Are you all witnesses to this?”
The people answered, “Yes, it’s true! We all see that we have chosen to serve the Lord.”
23 Then Joshua said, “Now throw away the false gods that you have among you. Love the Lord, the God of Israel, with all your heart.”
24 Then the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him.”
25 On that day Joshua made an agreement for the people. He made the agreement a law for them to follow. This happened at Shechem.
God Saved Israel from Egypt
A maskil of Asaph.
78 My people, listen to my teaching.
Listen to what I say.
2 I will speak using stories.
I will tell things that have been secret since long ago.
3 We have heard them and know them.
Our fathers told them to us.
4 We will not keep them from our children.
We will tell those who come later
about the praises of the Lord.
We will tell about his power
and the miracles he has done.
5 The Lord made an agreement with Jacob.
He gave the teachings to Israel.
And he commanded our ancestors
to teach them to their children.
6 Then their children would know them,
even their children not yet born.
And they would tell their children.
7 So they would all trust God.
They would not forget what God had done.
Instead, they would obey his commands.
The Lord’s Coming
13 Brothers, we want you to know about those who have died. We do not want you to be sad as others who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and that he rose again. So, because of Jesus, God will bring together with Jesus those who have died. 15 What we tell you now is the Lord’s own message. We who are living now may still be living when the Lord comes again. We who are living at that time will be with the Lord, but not before those who have already died. 16 The Lord himself will come down from heaven. There will be a loud command with the voice of the archangel[a] and with the trumpet call of God. And those who have died and were in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, those who are still alive at that time will be gathered up with them. We will be taken up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So comfort each other with these words.
A Story About Ten Girls
25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten girls who went to wait for the bridegroom. They took their lamps with them. 2 Five of the girls were foolish and five were wise. 3 The five foolish girls took their lamps, but they did not take more oil for the lamps to burn. 4 The wise girls took their lamps and more oil in jars. 5 The bridegroom was very late. All the girls became sleepy and went to sleep.
6 “At midnight someone cried out, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’ 7 Then all the girls woke up and got their lamps ready. 8 But the foolish girls said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out.’ 9 The wise girls answered, ‘No! The oil we have might not be enough for all of us. Go to the people who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “So the five foolish girls went to buy oil. While they were gone, the bridegroom came. The girls who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked.
11 “Later the others came back. They called, ‘Sir, sir, open the door to let us in.’ 12 But the bridegroom answered, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’
13 “So always be ready. You don’t know the day or the time the Son of Man will come.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.