Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 63
A song of David while in the wilderness of Judah.
1 O True God, You are my God, the One whom I trust.
I seek You with every fiber of my being.
In this dry and weary land with no water in sight,
my soul is dry and longs for You.
My body aches for You, for Your presence.
2 I have seen You in Your sanctuary
and have been awed by Your power and glory.
3 Your steadfast love is better than life itself,
so my lips will give You all my praise.
4 I will bless You with every breath of my life;
I will lift up my hands in praise to Your name.
5 My soul overflows with satisfaction, as when I feast on foods rich in marrow and fat;
with excitement in my heart and joy on my lips, I offer You praise.
6 Often at night I lie in bed and remember You,
meditating on Your greatness till morning smiles through my window.
7 You have been my constant helper;
therefore, I sing for joy under the protection of Your wings.
8 My soul clings to You;
Your right hand reaches down and holds me up.
13 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
There is dissension in the camp. Some of the leaders have been sharing their doubts with the people, and folks are nervous. The thrill of this wilderness camping experience has worn off, and some are thinking that working for the Egyptians wasn’t so bad. So barely two years out of Egypt, the Israelites are standing at the door of their promised land. Moses needs to motivate the people, and he selects 12 key men from each of the tribes to explore the land of abundance God has provided. The nation stands to enter into a time of great reward, but first their leaders must bring back a report that will inspire their confidence.
Eternal One: 2 Send men who can spy out the Canaanite land that I’m giving to the Israelites. Pick one man, with demonstrated leadership, from each of the tribal families.
17 Moses sent this group to spy out the land of Canaan.
Moses: Trek through the southland desert of Negev and up into the high country. 18 I want you to tell us about the land and especially about its people—are they strong or weak? Are there a lot of them or only a few? 19-20 Do their cities have fortifications, or are their camps open all around? Also, is the land itself good or bad, its soil rich or poor? Are there any trees? Be bold, and bring back samples of what grows there like their grapes.
It was in midsummer when you’d expect them to find grapes just beginning to ripen.
21 They set out, these men, and explored the land from the flat Zin wilderness, north of Paran where the rest were camped, all the way to Rehob on the coast and Lebo-hamath much farther north. 22 They trekked first into the Negev and up to Hebron, a city built seven years before the Egyptian town of Zoan in the Nile Delta. There, they saw the giant Anakite people, including the clans of Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai; 23-24 and they checked out the lush Eshcol riverbed that, as its name suggests, grew bunches of grapes. So thick and heavy were the clusters that when two of the men cut down one branch holding one cluster, they had to carry it on a pole between them. They also picked up some pomegranates and figs from that place.
25 After 40 days, they returned from exploring 26 to the camp at Kadesh, in the Paran Wilderness, and went directly to Moses and Aaron and all the Israelite congregation, which had gathered to hear what the scouts had learned and to see what fruits they had brought back with them.
Twelve Scouts (to Moses): 27 We checked out the land, just as you’d instructed us to do, and here’s what we discovered: It is rich, very rich. One could say that it flows with milk and honey; and look, here is some of its fruit. The land is highly desirable, 28 but the people who already live there are really strong. Their cities are enormous and fortified. What’s more, we saw the Anakites there. 29 In the Negev, there are Amalekites; and in the high hill country are Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites. As for the seacoast, Canaanites live there and along the Jordan River too.
It is certain the Israelites are deeply discouraged by this report, for what was said about the native inhabitants is most alarming.
30 But Caleb calmed the congregation, and he spoke to Moses.
Caleb: We should go straight in, right away, and take it over. We are surely able!
Other Scouts: 31 No way. We can’t do it. The people who are already there are too strong for us.
32 So the report of these other scouts was quite disheartening; it made the people question God’s promise.
Other Scouts: The land that we surveyed virtually eats its own, and the people themselves are gigantic. 33 We saw the massive Anakites who descended from the ancient Nephilim![a] We look like grasshoppers compared to them, and they know it.
14 At this, everybody with one voice cried out, and the people groaned and wept all night.
Israelites (blaming Moses and Aaron): 2 If only we had just died in Egypt or somewhere along the way in this wilderness, 3 rather than the Eternal One leading us out here to have us slaughtered and our women and the youngsters dragged off as plunder, too, as objects for their pleasure. Wouldn’t it be good just to go back to Egypt? 4 Let’s figure out among ourselves who should head the group and then make our way back to Egypt.
5 While all the gathered Israelites watched, Moses and Aaron collapsed to the ground before the people. 6 Joshua (Nun’s son, Moses’ young assistant—the one who would succeed him) and Caleb (who was Jephunneh’s son) lamented the Israelites’ response. These two, who were among those who journeyed into the promised land to explore it and bring back a report, tore their clothes 7 and addressed the whole community of Israelites.
Joshua and Caleb: The land that we saw was extraordinary! It’s some of the best land ever, 8 flowing with milk and honey. So stop this moaning and wailing! If we all do what is right in the eyes of God, the Eternal will bring us into the land and make it ours. 9 Do not rebel like this against the Eternal. Don’t be afraid of the land’s inhabitants. It is we who will devour them! They are now defenseless, and nothing can protect them from the Eternal, who is with us. You don’t need to be afraid of them!
22 Jesus and the disciples came to Galilee.
Jesus: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. 23 They will kill Him, and on the third day, He will be resurrected, vindicated, newly alive.
The disciples were filled with grief.
24 Then Jesus and His disciples went toward Capernaum, and when they arrived there, some people who had collected the two-drachma tax that went for the upkeep of the temple came up to Peter.
Temple Tax Collectors: Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?
Peter: 25 He does pay the tax.
Jesus knows that He and His followers are the true temple, and yet Jesus is canny. It is not quite time to shake the foundations of the temple or of the old way of doing things. And so He pays the tax and bides His time.
So when Peter came into the house where they were staying, Jesus explored the subject.
Jesus: Simon, what do you think? When kings collect taxes and duties and tolls, from whom do they collect? Do they levy taxes on their own people or on strangers and foreigners?
Peter: 26 The foreigners, my Lord.
Jesus: Well, then, we children of the King should be exempt from this two-drachma tax. 27 But all in all, it’s better not to make any waves; we’d better go on and pay the tax. So do this: go out to the lake and throw out your line. And when you catch a fish, open its jaws and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take this to the tax collectors, and pay your taxes and Mine.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.