Monday 5 October 2015 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Monday 5 October 2015
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Kings 21:1-18

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, following the abominable practices of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he erected altars for Baal, made a sacred pole,* as King Ahab of Israel had done, worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. He built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ‘In Jerusalem I will put my name.’ He built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. He made his son pass through fire; he practised soothsaying and augury, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. The carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to his son Solomon, ‘In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever; I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land that I gave to their ancestors, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.’ But they did not listen; Manasseh misled them to do more evil than the nations had done that the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

 The Lord said by his servants the prophets, ‘Because King Manasseh of Judah has committed these abominations, has done things more wicked than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has caused Judah also to sin with his idols; therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such evil that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line for Samaria, and the plummet for the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. I will cast off the remnant of my heritage, and give them into the hand of their enemies; they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their ancestors came out of Egypt, even to this day.’

 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he caused Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? Manasseh slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza. His son Amon succeeded him.
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1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1

Therefore, my dear friends,* flee from the worship of idols. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel;* are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? What do I imply then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
 ‘All things are lawful’, but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful’, but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage, but that of others. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, for ‘the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.’ If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, ‘This has been offered in sacrifice’, then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For why should my liberty be subject to the judgement of someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offence to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
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Matthew 8:28-34
 
When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,* two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, ‘What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?’ Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. The demons begged him, ‘If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.’ And he said to them, ‘Go!’ So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and perished in the water. The swineherds ran off, and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs. Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighbourhood.
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 106:1-18

Psalm 106:1-18

Praise the Lord!
   O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. 
Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,
   or declare all his praise? 
Happy are those who observe justice,
   who do righteousness at all times. 


Remember me, O Lord, when you show favour to your people;
   help me when you deliver them; 
that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
   that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
   that I may glory in your heritage. 


Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
   we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. 
Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
   did not consider your wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
   but rebelled against the Most High* at the Red Sea.* 
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
   so that he might make known his mighty power. 
He rebuked the Red Sea,* and it became dry;
   he led them through the deep as through a desert. 
So he saved them from the hand of the foe,
   and delivered them from the hand of the enemy. 
The waters covered their adversaries;
   not one of them was left. 
Then they believed his words;
   they sang his praise. 


But they soon forgot his works;
   they did not wait for his counsel. 
But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
   and put God to the test in the desert; 
he gave them what they asked,
   but sent a wasting disease among them. 


They were jealous of Moses in the camp,
   and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord. 
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
   and covered the faction of Abiram. 
Fire also broke out in their company;
   the flame burned up the wicked.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 106:19-48

Psalm 106:19-48

They made a calf at Horeb
   and worshipped a cast image. 
They exchanged the glory of God*
   for the image of an ox that eats grass. 
They forgot God, their Saviour,
   who had done great things in Egypt, 
wondrous works in the land of Ham,
   and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.* 
Therefore he said he would destroy them—
   had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
   to turn away his wrath from destroying them. 


Then they despised the pleasant land,
   having no faith in his promise. 
They grumbled in their tents,
   and did not obey the voice of the Lord. 
Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
   that he would make them fall in the wilderness, 
and would disperse* their descendants among the nations,
   scattering them over the lands. 


Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,
   and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; 
they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
   and a plague broke out among them. 
Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
   and the plague was stopped. 
And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
   from generation to generation for ever. 


They angered the Lord * at the waters of Meribah,
   and it went ill with Moses on their account; 
for they made his spirit bitter,
   and he spoke words that were rash. 


They did not destroy the peoples
   as the Lord commanded them, 
but they mingled with the nations
   and learned to do as they did. 
They served their idols,
   which became a snare to them. 
They sacrificed their sons
   and their daughters to the demons; 
they poured out innocent blood,
   the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
   and the land was polluted with blood. 
Thus they became unclean by their acts,
   and prostituted themselves in their doings. 


Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
   and he abhorred his heritage; 
he gave them into the hand of the nations,
   so that those who hated them ruled over them. 
Their enemies oppressed them,
   and they were brought into subjection under their power. 
Many times he delivered them,
   but they were rebellious in their purposes,
   and were brought low through their iniquity. 
Nevertheless, he regarded their distress
   when he heard their cry. 
For their sake he remembered his covenant,
   and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 
He caused them to be pitied
   by all who held them captive. 


Save us, O Lord our God,
   and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
   and glory in your praise. 


Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting.
And let all the people say, ‘Amen.’
   Praise the Lord!
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