Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 Then Joshua gathered all the families of Israel to Shechem. He called for the leaders of Israel, the heads of the families and those who judged between what is right or wrong. And they showed themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers lived on the other side of the River. There was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. And they worshiped other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River. I led him through all the land of Canaan. I gave him many children, and I gave him Isaac.
14 “So fear the Lord. Serve Him in faith and truth. Put away the gods your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. 15 If you think it is wrong to serve the Lord, choose today whom you will serve. Choose the gods your fathers worshiped on the other side of the river, or choose the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people answered, “May it never be that we turn away from the Lord and serve other gods. 17 For the Lord our God is the One Who brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house where we were made to work. He did these powerful works in front of our eyes. He kept us safe everywhere we went, among all the nations we passed through. 18 The Lord drove away from in front of us all the nations, even the Amorites who lived in the land. So we will serve the Lord. For He is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord. For He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your wrong-doing or your sins. 20 If you turn away from the Lord and serve strange gods, He will turn and punish you. He will destroy you after He has been good to you.” 21 The people said to Joshua, “Not so, for we will serve the Lord.” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You have spoken for yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” And they said, “We have spoken for ourselves.” 23 Joshua said, “So put away the strange gods that are among you. Give your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey His voice.” 25 So Joshua made an agreement with the people that day. And he made Laws for them in Shechem.
God Is Good to His People
78 O my people, hear my teaching. Listen to the words of my mouth. 2 I will open my mouth in picture-stories. I will tell things which have been kept secret from long ago, 3 which we have heard and known because our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children. But we will tell the children-to-come the praises of the Lord, and of His power and the great things He has done.
5 For He has made His will known to Jacob. He made the Law in Israel, which He told our fathers to teach their children. 6 So the children-to-come might know, even the children yet to be born. So they may rise up and tell it to their children. 7 Then they would put their trust in God and not forget the works of God. And they would keep His Law.
The Lord Is Coming Again
13 Christian brothers, we want you to know for sure about those who have died. You have no reason to have sorrow as those who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and then came to life again. Because we believe this, we know that God will bring to life again all those who belong to Jesus. 15 We tell you this as it came from the Lord. Those of us who are alive when the Lord comes again will not go ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud call. The head angel will speak with a loud voice. God’s horn will give its sounds. First, those who belong to Christ will come out of their graves to meet the Lord. 17 Then, those of us who are still living here on earth will be gathered together with them in the clouds. We will meet the Lord in the sky and be with Him forever. 18 Because of this, comfort each other with these words.
The Picture-Story of Ten Young Women
25 “At that time the holy nation of heaven will be like ten women who have never had men. They took their lamps and went out to meet the man soon to be married. 2 Five of them were wise and five were foolish. 3 The foolish women took their lamps but did not take oil with them. 4 The wise women took oil in a jar with their lamps. 5 They all went to sleep because the man to be married did not come for a long time.
6 “At twelve o’clock in the night there was a loud call, ‘See! The man soon to be married is coming! Go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all the women got up and made their lamps brighter. 8 The foolish women said to the wise women, ‘Give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise women said, ‘No! There will not be enough for us and you. Go to the store and buy oil for yourselves.’ 10 While they were gone to buy oil, the man soon to be married came. Those who were ready went in with him to the marriage. The door was shut.
11 “Later the foolish women came. They said, ‘Sir, Sir, open the door for us!’ 12 But he said to them, ‘For sure, I tell you, I do not know you!’ 13 So watch! You do not know what day or what hour the Son of Man is coming.
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