Day 148 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 87

¹He has founded His city on the holy mountains. ²The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. ³Glorious things are ascribed to you, O city of God. Selah ⁴“I will mention Rahab and Babylon among those who know Me— along with Philistia, Tyre, and Cush — when I say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’” ⁵And it will be said of Zion: “This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High Himself will establish her.” ⁶The LORD will record in the register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion.” Selah ⁷Singers and pipers will proclaim, “All my springs of joy are in You.”

New Testament·John 7:26–53

²⁶Yet here He is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying anything to Him. Have the rulers truly recognized that this is the Christ? ²⁷But we know where this man is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where He is from.” ²⁸Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “You know Me, and you know where I am from. I have not come of My own accord, but He who sent Me is true. You do not know Him, ²⁹but I know Him, because I am from Him and He sent Me.” ³⁰So they tried to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. ³¹Many in the crowd, however, believed in Him and said, “When the Christ comes, will He perform more signs than this man?” ³²When the Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Jesus, they and the chief priests sent officers to arrest Him. ³³So Jesus said, “I am with you only a little while longer, and then I am going to the One who sent Me. ³⁴You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” ³⁵At this, the Jews said to one another, “Where does He intend to go that we will not find Him? Will He go where the Jews are dispersed among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? ³⁶What does He mean by saying, ‘You will look for Me, but you will not find Me,’ and, ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?” ³⁷On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’” ³⁹He was speaking about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. For the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. ⁴⁰On hearing these words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.” ⁴¹Others declared, “This is the Christ.” But still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? ⁴²Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” ⁴³So there was division in the crowd because of Jesus. ⁴⁴Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him. ⁴⁵Then the officers returned to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring Him in?” ⁴⁶“Never has anyone spoken like this man!” the officers answered. ⁴⁷“Have you also been deceived?” replied the Pharisees. ⁴⁸“Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed in Him? ⁴⁹But this crowd that does not know the law, they are under a curse.” ⁵⁰Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who himself was one of them, asked, ⁵¹“Does our law convict a man without first hearing from him to determine what he has done?” ⁵²“Aren’t you also from Galilee?” they replied. “Look into it, and you will see that no prophet comes out of Galilee.” ⁵³Then each went to his own home.

Old Testament·1 Samuel 29–30

¹Now the Philistines brought all their forces together at Aphek, while Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. ²As the Philistine leaders marched out their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched behind them with Achish. ³Then the commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel? He has been with me all these days, even years, and from the day he defected until today I have found no fault in him.” ⁴But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the war. What better way for him to regain the favor of his master than with the heads of our men? ⁵Is this not the David about whom they sing in their dances: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” ⁶So Achish summoned David and told him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been upright in my sight, and it seems right that you should march in and out with me in the army, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until this day. But you have no favor in the sight of the leaders. ⁷Therefore turn back now and go in peace, so that you will not do anything to displease the leaders of the Philistines.” ⁸“But what have I done?” David replied. “What have you found against your servant, from the day I came to you until today, to keep me from going along to fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” ⁹Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’ ¹⁰Now then, get up early in the morning, along with your master’s servants who came with you, and go as soon as it is light.” ¹¹So David and his men got up early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

30On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down. ²They had taken captive the women and all who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off as they went on their way. ³When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. ⁴So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep. ⁵David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive. ⁶And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God. ⁷Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it to him, ⁸and David inquired of the LORD: “Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” the LORD replied, “for you will surely overtake them and rescue the captives.” ⁹So David and his six hundred men went to the Brook of Besor, where some stayed behind ¹⁰because two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the brook. But David and four hundred men continued in pursuit. ¹¹Now his men found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave the man water to drink and food to eat— ¹²a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins. So he ate and was revived, for he had not had any food or water for three days and three nights. ¹³Then David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” “I am an Egyptian,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago when I fell ill. ¹⁴We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.” ¹⁵“Will you lead me to these raiders?” David asked. And the man replied, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will lead you to them.” ¹⁶So he led David down, and there were the Amalekites spread out over all the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah. ¹⁷And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped, except four hundred young men who fled, riding off on camels. ¹⁸So David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. ¹⁹Nothing was missing, young or old, son or daughter, or any of the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back. ²⁰And he recovered all the flocks and herds, which his men drove ahead of the other livestock, calling out, “This is David’s plunder!” ²¹When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him from the Brook of Besor, they came out to meet him and the troops with him. As David approached the men, he greeted them, ²²but all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered, except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.” ²³But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiders who came against us. ²⁴Who will listen to your proposal? The share of the one who went to battle will match the share of the one who stayed with the supplies. They will share alike.” ²⁵And so it has been from that day forward. David established this statute as an ordinance for Israel to this very day. ²⁶When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the LORD’s enemies.” ²⁷He sent gifts to those in Bethel, Ramoth Negev, and Jattir; ²⁸to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, and Eshtemoa; ²⁹to those in Racal and in the cities of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites; ³⁰to those in Hormah, Bor-ashan, and Athach; ³¹and to those in Hebron and in all the places where David and his men had roamed.