Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 71
1 I have found shelter in You, Eternal One;
I count on You to shield me always from humiliation and disgrace.
2 Rescue and save me in Your justice.
Turn Your ear to me, and hurry to deliver me from my enemies.
3 Be my rock of refuge where I can always hide.
You have given the order to keep me safe;
You are my solid ground—my rock and my fortress.
4 Save me from the power of sinful people, O my God,
from the grip of unjust and cruel men.
5 For You are my hope, Eternal One;
You, Lord, have been the source of my confidence since I was young.
6 I have leaned upon You since I came into this world;
I have relied on You since You took me safely from my mother’s body,
So I will ever praise You.
Many people in Judah keep going through the motions of worship; they offer sacrifices and incense to the one True God. They speak superficial words when they think it counts, and they give Him extravagant gifts. But the prophet knows the mind of God, and God is not impressed with any of it. Empty worship is meaningless. In fact, empty worship may do more harm than good. These gifts and actions, it seems, have no meaning unless the hearts of the people are attuned to God, unless they are willing to hear and do what God asks. Obedience, you see, is better than sacrifice.
20 Eternal One: What use do I have of your expensive incense from Sheba
or the fragrant reeds you offer Me from a faraway land?
I will not accept your burnt offerings;
the aroma of these empty sacrifices does not please Me.
21 And so I, the Eternal One, will place stumbling blocks on your path of rebellion.
You will stumble indeed, fathers and sons alike.
Neighbors and friends will be wiped out.
22 Look in the distance, and you will see an army
marching toward you out of the north.
A nation whose size and might you can’t imagine
is now awakening and coming from the remote parts of the earth.
23 They are armed with bows and spears.
Their hearts are cruel and will show you no mercy.
The sound of their massive army,
riding in on their horses, is like the sound of an angry sea;
They are ready for battle, marching in formation,
coming to destroy you, O Jerusalem, daughter of Zion.
As clear as God’s pronouncements have been, there must be a moment of decision. The warnings are all invitations for the people of Jerusalem to return to the God who loves them. But their fate is up to them; it is their choice. At this place of decision, long overdue, Jeremiah voices the fear in the hearts of those who hear of the impending attack. Speaking for the nation, he once again responds to God’s awesome decree.
24 We heard the news, and our strength vanished—anguish and fear grip us.
We twist in pain like a woman giving birth.
25 Do not go into the field alone.
Do not walk the streets, for our enemy is armed and approaching fast.
Terror is everywhere we turn.
26 You who are my people, weep with me for it is time.
Put on sackcloth and roll in ashes.
Cry as you would for the loss of an only child.
The time for bitter tears has come.
The destroyer is descending upon us quickly,
and the days of sadness will soon begin.
27 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Put My people to the test.
Examine their ways as a refiner tests the ore’s purity.
28 They are all stubborn rebels,
lying to each other and to Me.
They are nothing more than bronze and iron—
lesser metals, corrupt and common.
29 The refining fire has blazed fiercely, My prophet;
the lead is burned away in the fire.
But it’s no use. Though the refining fire burns hot,
their wickedness cannot be removed.
30 Now I, the Eternal, reject them as impure—
“rejected silver” is what they will be called.
Paul and Silas are keeping a low profile in order to advance the cause of Jesus. Paul’s first miracle in the area is to cast out an evil spirit from a girl. This sets off an unexpected chain of events bringing the men into the city court to be beaten before the crowds. This sounds like the start of a very bad day. Silas must wonder, “Paul, what were you doing? Is your aggravation with this wandering girl worth all this trouble?” But they neither fight nor despair; instead, they sing, pray to God, and love their captors. Paul and Silas demonstrate that believers are not easily distracted or depressed as long as serving God is their priority.
17 After leaving Philippi and passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica. There was a Jewish synagogue there. 2-3 As he had done in other cities, Paul attended the synagogue and presented arguments, based on the Hebrew Scriptures, that the Anointed had to suffer and rise from the dead.
Paul: Who is this suffering and rising Anointed One I am proclaiming to you? He is Jesus.
He came back the next two Sabbaths—repeating the same pattern. 4 Some of the ethnically Jewish people from the synagogue were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas. Even more devout Greeks who had affiliated with Judaism came to believe—along with quite a few of the city’s leading women. 5-6 Seeing this movement growing, the unconvinced Jewish people became protective and angry. They found some ruffians hanging out in the marketplaces and convinced them to help start a riot. Soon a mob formed, and the whole city was seething with tension. The mob was going street by street, looking for Paul and Silas—who were nowhere to be found. Frustrated, when the mob came to the house of a man named Jason, now known as a believer, they grabbed him and some other believers they found there and dragged them to the city officials.
Mob: These people—they’re political agitators turning the world upside down! They’ve come here to our fine city, 7 and this man, Jason, has given them sanctuary and made his house a base for their operations. We want to expose their real intent: they are trying to overturn Caesar’s sensible decrees. They’re saying that Jesus is king, not Caesar!
8 Of course, this disturbed the crowd at large and the city officials especially, 9 so they demanded bail from Jason and the others before releasing them.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.