Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Lord Is King

If You Are Loyal to the Lord, He Will Bless You

Moses said to Israel:

11 The Lord is your God, so you must always love him and obey his laws and teachings. ² Remember, he corrected you and not your children. You are the ones who saw the Lord use his great power ^3 (A) when he worked miracles in Egypt, making terrible things happen to the king and all his people. ^4 (B) And when the Egyptian army chased you in their chariots, you saw the Lord drown them and their horses in the Red Sea.^[a] Egypt still suffers from that defeat!

⁵ You saw what the Lord did for you while you were in the desert, right up to the time you arrived here. ^6 (C) And you saw how the Lord made the ground open up in the middle of our camp underneath the tents of Dathan and Abiram,^[b] who were swallowed up along with their families, their animals, and their tents.

⁷ With your own eyes, you saw the Lord's mighty power do all these things.

⁸ Soon you will cross the Jordan River, and if you obey the laws and teachings I'm giving you today, you will be strong enough to conquer the land ⁹ that the Lord promised your ancestors and their descendants. It's rich with milk and honey, and you will live there and enjoy it for a long time. ¹⁰ It's better land than you had in Egypt, where you had to struggle just to water your crops.^{[c] 11} But the hills and valleys in the promised land are watered by rain from heaven,^{[d] 12} because the Lord your God keeps his eye on this land and takes care of it all year long.

^13 (D) The Lord your God commands you to love him and to serve him with all your heart and soul. If you obey him, ^14-15 he will send rain at the right seasons,^[e] so you will have more than enough food, wine, and olive oil, and there will be plenty of grass for your cattle.

¹⁶ But watch out! You will be tempted to turn your backs on the Lord. And if you worship other gods, ¹⁷ the Lord will become angry and keep the rain from falling. Nothing will grow in your fields, and you will die and disappear from the good land that the Lord is giving you.

^13 (A) Now I ask you to make a promise. Make it in the presence of God, who gives life to all, and in the presence of Christ Jesus, who openly told Pontius Pilate about his faith. ¹⁴ Promise to obey completely and fully all that you have been told until our Lord Jesus Christ returns.