Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Joshua Says Goodbye
24 Joshua called all the tribes of Israel to meet together at Shechem. Then Joshua called the older leaders, heads of the families, judges, and the officers of Israel. These men stood before God.
2 Then Joshua spoke to all the people. He said, “I am telling you 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. At that time they worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham out of the land on the other side of the River. I led him through the land of Canaan and gave him many children. I gave Abraham his son Isaac.
14 Then Joshua said to the people, “Now you have heard the Lord’s words. So you must respect the Lord and sincerely serve him. Throw away the false gods that your ancestors worshiped. That was something that happened a long time ago on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Now you must serve only the Lord.
15 “But maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord. You must choose for yourselves today. Today you must decide who you will serve. Will you serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River? Or will you serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land? You must choose for yourselves. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16 Then the people answered, “We will never stop following the Lord. We will never serve other gods! 17 We know that it was the Lord God who brought our people out of Egypt. We were slaves in that land, but he did great things for us there. He brought us out of that land and protected us while we traveled through other lands. 18 The Lord helped us defeat the people living in these lands. He helped us defeat the Amorites who lived in this land where we are now. So we will continue to serve the Lord, because he is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said, “You will not be able to continue serving the Lord. God is holy. And God hates his people worshiping other gods. He will not forgive you if you turn against him like that. 20 If you leave the Lord and serve other gods, he will cause terrible things to happen to you. He will destroy you. He has been good to you, but if you turn against him he will destroy you.”
21 Then the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”
22 Then Joshua said, “Look around at yourselves and the people with you. 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 is true. We all see that we have chosen to serve the Lord.”
23 Then Joshua said, “So 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 So that day Joshua made an agreement for the people. He made this agreement at the town called Shechem. It became a law for them to follow.
One of Asaph’s maskils.
78 My people, listen to my teachings.
Listen to what I say.
2 I will tell you a story.
I will tell you about things from the past that are hard to understand.
3 We have heard the story, and we know it well.
Our fathers told it to us.
4 And we will not forget it.
Our people will be telling this story to the last generation.
We will all praise the Lord
and tell about the amazing things he did.
5 He made an agreement with Jacob.
He gave the law to Israel.
He gave the commands to our ancestors.
He told them to teach the law to their children.
6 Then the next generation, even the children not yet born, would learn the law.
And they would be able to teach it to their own children.
7 So they would all trust in God,
never forgetting what he had done
and always obeying his commands.
The Lord’s Coming
13 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about those who have died. We don’t want you to be sad like other people—those who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died, but we also believe that he rose again. So we believe that God will raise to life through Jesus any who have died and bring them together with him when he comes.
15 What we tell you now is the Lord’s own message. Those of us who are still living when the Lord comes again will join him, but not before those who have already died. 16 The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And the people who have died and were in Christ will rise first. 17 After that we who are still alive at that time will be gathered up with those who have died. We will be taken up in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
A Story About Ten Girls
25 “At that time God’s kingdom 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 foolish girls took their lamps with them, but they did not take extra oil for the lamps. 4 The wise girls took their lamps and more oil in jars. 5 When the bridegroom was very late, the girls could not keep their eyes open, and they all fell asleep.
6 “At midnight someone announced, ‘The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!’
7 “Then all the girls woke up. They made their lamps ready. 8 But the foolish girls said to the wise girls, ‘Give us some of your oil. The oil in our lamps is all gone.’
9 “The wise girls answered, ‘No! The oil we have might not be enough for all of us. But go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “So the 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 other girls came. They said, ‘Sir, sir! Open the door to let us in.’
12 “But the bridegroom answered, ‘Certainly not! I don’t even know you.’
13 “So always be ready. You don’t know the day or the time when the Son of Man will come.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International