Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
17
Yet they still continued to sin against Him
By rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18
And in their hearts they put God to the test
By asking for food according to their [selfish] appetite.
19
Then they spoke against God;
They said, “Can God prepare [food for] a table in the wilderness?
20
“Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out
And the streams overflowed;
Can He give bread also?
Or will He provide meat for His people?”
52
But God led His own people forward like sheep
And guided them in the wilderness like [a good shepherd with] a flock.
53
He led them safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea engulfed their enemies.(A)
54
So He brought them to His holy land,
To this mountain [Zion] which His right hand had acquired.
55
He also drove out the nations before the sons of Israel
And allotted their land as an inheritance, measured out and partitioned;
And He had the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents [the tents of those who had been dispossessed].
7 Now Moses used to take his own tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting [of God with His own people]. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the [temporary] tent of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand, each at his tent door, and look at Moses until he entered the tent. 9 Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the doorway of the tent; and the Lord would speak with Moses. 10 When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tent door, all the people would rise and worship, each at his tent door. 11 And so the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his attendant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
Moses Intercedes
12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways so that I may know You [becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more clearly] and that I may find grace and favor in Your sight. And consider also, that this nation is Your people.” 14 And the Lord said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest [by bringing you and the people into the promised land].”(A) 15 And Moses said to Him, “If Your presence does not go [with me], do not lead us up from here. 16 For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we are distinguished, Your people and I, from all the [other] people on the face of the earth?”
17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have asked; for you have found favor (lovingkindness, mercy) in My sight and I have known you [personally] by name.”(B) 18 Then Moses said, “Please, show me Your glory!” 19 And God said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before you; for I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion (lovingkindness) on whom I will show compassion.”(C) 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live!” 21 Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place beside Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; 22 and while My glory is passing by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and protectively cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away My hand and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount [a]Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; but as he went near to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came [to him, saying]: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground [worthy of reverence and respect]. 34 I have most certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Now come, and I will send you to Egypt [as My messenger].’(A)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.