Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance
105 Give thanks to the Lord,
call on his name,
and make his deeds known among the people.
2 Sing to him! Praise him!
Declare all his awesome deeds!
3 Exult in his holy name;
let all[a] those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his face continually.
5 Remember his awesome deeds that he has done,
his wonders and the judgments he declared.
6 You descendants of Abraham, his servant,
You children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments extend to the entire earth.
8 He remembers his eternal covenant—
every promise he made[b] for a thousand generations,
9 like the covenant he made[c] with Abraham,
and his promise to Isaac.
10 He presented it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant.
11 He said: “I will give Canaan to you
as the allotted portion that is your inheritance.”
16 He declared a famine on the land;
destroying the entire food supply.[a]
17 He sent a man before them—
Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.
18 They bound his feet with fetters
and placed an iron collar on his neck,[b]
19 until the time his prediction came true,
as the word of the Lord refined him.
20 He sent a king who released him,
a ruler of people who set him free.
21 He made him the master over his household,
the manager of all his possessions—
22 to discipline his rulers at will
and make his elders wise.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
indeed, Jacob lived in the land of Ham.[c]
24 He caused his people to multiply greatly;
and be more numerous than their enemies.
25 He caused them[d] to hate his people
and to deceive his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses, along with Aaron,
whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them,
his wonders in the land of Ham.[e]
28 He sent darkness, and it became dark.
Did they not rebel against[f] his words?
29 He turned their water into blood,
so that the fish died.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs
even to the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke,
and a swarm of insects invaded their land.[g]
32 He sent hail instead of rain,
and lightning throughout their land.
33 It destroyed their vines and their figs,
breaking trees throughout their country.[h]
34 Then he commanded the locust to come—
grasshoppers without number.
35 They consumed every green plant in their land,
and devoured the fruit of their soil.
36 He struck down every firstborn in their land,
the first fruits of all their progeny.
37 Then he brought Israel[i] out with silver and gold,
and no one among his tribes stumbled.
38 The Egyptians rejoiced when they left,
because fear of Israel[j] descended on them.
39 He spread out a cloud for a cover,
and fire for light at night.
40 Israel[k] asked, and quail came;
food from heaven satisfied them.
41 He opened a rock, and water gushed out
flowing like a river in the desert.
42 Indeed, he remembered his sacred promise
to his servant Abraham.
Judah is Invaded Unexpectedly
20 Sometime after these events, the Moabites and the Ammonites, accompanied by some other descendants of Ammon,[a] attacked Jehoshaphat and started a war. 2 Jehoshaphat’s military advisors[b] came and informed him, “We’ve been attacked by a vast invasion force from Aram,[c] beyond the Dead[d] Sea. Be advised—they’ve already reached Hazazon-tamar, also known as En-gedi.”
3 In mounting fear, Jehoshaphat devoted himself[e] to seek the Lord. He proclaimed a period of[f] fasting throughout all of the territory of[g] Judah, 4 and the tribe of[h] Judah assembled together to seek the Lord. People[i] came from all of the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.
Jehoshaphat Prays and the People Wait
5 Jehoshaphat stood among the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the Lord’s Temple in the vicinity of the new court 6 and said:
“Lord God of our ancestors, you are the God who lives in heaven, are you not? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, don’t you? In your own hands you grasp both strength and power, don’t you? As a result, no one can oppose you, can they? 7 You are our God, who expelled the former inhabitants of this land right in front of our people Israel, aren’t you? Then you gave it to your friend Abraham’s descendant[j] forever, didn’t you? 8 They lived in it and have built there a sanctuary for your name, where they said, 9 ‘If evil comes upon us, such as war[k] as punishment, disease, or famine and we stand in your presence in this Temple (because your Name is in this Temple) and cry out to you in our distress, then you will hear and deliver.’ 10 Now therefore look! The Ammonites, the Moabites, and the inhabitants of[l] Mount Seir,[m] whom you would not permit Israel to attack when they arrived from the land of Egypt—since they turned away from them and did not eliminate them— 11 Look how they’re rewarding us! They’re coming to drive us from your property that you gave us to be our inheritance. 12 Our God, you are going to punish them, aren’t you? We have no strength to face this vast multitude that has come against us, nor do we know what to do, except that our eyes are on you.”
13 All of Judah was standing in the Lord’s presence, along with their little babies, their wives, and their children.
The Prophetic Response of Jahaziel
14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Zechariah’s son Jahaziel, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a descendant of Levi from the descendants of Asaph in the middle of the assembly, and he said:
15 “Pay attention, everyone in Judah, in Jerusalem, and you, too, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Stop being afraid, and stop being discouraged because of this vast invasion force,[n] because the battle doesn’t belong to you, but to God. 16 Tomorrow you are to go down to attack them. Pay attention, now—they’ll be coming up near the ascent of Ziz.[o] You’ll find them at the end of the valley that looks out over the Jeruel wilderness. 17 You won’t be fighting in this battle. Take your stand, but stand still, and watch the Lord’s salvation on your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem! Never fear and never be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, since the Lord is with you.’”
18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face[p] to the ground, and all the assembled inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem fell face down in the Lord’s presence and worshipped the Lord. 19 Descendants of Levi from the descendants of Kohath and from the descendants of Korah stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel in a very loud voice that ascended to heaven.[q]
Jehoshaphat’s Instructions the Next Morning
20 The army[r] got up early the next morning and headed out into the wilderness of Tekoa. Jehoshaphat stood up and addressed them. “Listen to me, you inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem,” he said. “Have faith in the Lord your God and you’ll be established! Have faith in his prophets and you’ll succeed!” 21 After he had consulted with the people, Jehoshaphat[s] appointed some choir members[t] to sing to the Lord and to praise him in sacred splendor as they marched out in front of the armed forces. They kept saying
“Give thanks to the Lord,
because his gracious love is eternal!”
22 Right on time, as they began to sing and praise, the Lord ambushed[u] the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of[v] Mount Seir[w] who had attacked Judah, and they were defeated.
The Narrow Door(A)
22 Then Jesus[a] taught in one town and village after another as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord,[b] are only a few people going to be saved?”
He told them, 24 “Keep on struggling to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you that many people will try to enter, but won’t be able to do so. 25 After the homeowner gets up and closes the door, you can stand[c] outside, knock on the door, and say again and again, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will answer you, ‘I don’t know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will say,[d] ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will tell you, ‘I don’t know where you come from. Get away from me, all you who practice evil!’ 28 In that place there will be crying and gnashing of teeth[e] when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves being driven away on the outside. 29 People will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. 30 You see, some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last.
Jesus Rebukes Jerusalem(B)
31 At that hour some Pharisees came and told Jesus,[f] “Leave and get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you!”
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