Day 86 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 54

¹Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your might! ²Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. ³For strangers rise up against me, and ruthless men seek my life— men with no regard for God. Selah ⁴Surely God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul. ⁵He will reward my enemies with evil. In Your faithfulness, destroy them. ⁶Freely I will sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good. ⁷For He has delivered me from every trouble, and my eyes have stared down my foes.

New Testament·Luke 2:30–52

³⁰For my eyes have seen Your salvation, ³¹which You have prepared in the sight of all people, ³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.” ³³The Child’s father and mother were amazed at what was spoken about Him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed— and a sword will pierce your soul as well.” ³⁶There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years, ³⁷and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸Coming forward at that moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the Child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. ³⁹When Jesus’ parents had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰And the Child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him. ⁴¹Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. ⁴²And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the Feast. ⁴³When those days were over and they were returning home, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware He had stayed. ⁴⁴Assuming He was in their company, they traveled on for a day before they began to look for Him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵When they could not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. ⁴⁶Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. “Child, why have You done this to us?” His mother asked. “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.” ⁴⁹“Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” ⁵⁰But they did not understand the statement He was making to them. ⁵¹Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart. ⁵²And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Old Testament·Numbers 29–30

¹“On the first day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly, and you must not do any regular work. This will be a day for you to sound the trumpets. ²As a pleasing aroma to the LORD, you are to present a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ³together with their grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil—three-tenths of an ephah with the bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram, ⁴and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven male lambs. ⁵Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. ⁶These are in addition to the monthly and daily burnt offerings with their prescribed grain offerings and drink offerings. They are a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. ⁷On the tenth day of this seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly, and you shall humble yourselves; you must not do any work. ⁸Present as a pleasing aroma to the LORD a burnt offering of one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ⁹together with their grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil—three-tenths of an ephah with the bull, two-tenths of an ephah with the ram, ¹⁰and a tenth of an ephah with each of the seven lambs. ¹¹Include one male goat for a sin offering, in addition to the sin offering of atonement and the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offerings. ¹²On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work, and you shall observe a feast to the LORD for seven days. ¹³As a pleasing aroma to the LORD, you are to present an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ¹⁴along with the grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil with each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths of an ephah with each of the two rams, ¹⁵and a tenth of an ephah with each of the fourteen lambs. ¹⁶Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. ¹⁷On the second day you are to present twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ¹⁸along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. ¹⁹Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. ²⁰On the third day you are to present eleven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ²¹along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. ²²Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. ²³On the fourth day you are to present ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ²⁴along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. ²⁵Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. ²⁶On the fifth day you are to present nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ²⁷along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. ²⁸Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. ²⁹On the sixth day you are to present eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ³⁰along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. ³¹Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. ³²On the seventh day you are to present seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ³³along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. ³⁴Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. ³⁵On the eighth day you are to hold a solemn assembly; you must not do any regular work. ³⁶As a pleasing aroma to the LORD, you are to present an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of one bull, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished, ³⁷along with the grain and drink offerings for the bulls, rams, and lambs, according to the number prescribed. ³⁸Include one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular burnt offering with its grain offering and drink offering. ³⁹You are to present these offerings to the LORD at your appointed times, in addition to your vow and freewill offerings, whether burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, or peace offerings.” ⁴⁰So Moses spoke all this to the Israelites just as the LORD had commanded him.

30Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ²If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised. ³And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the LORD or obligates herself by a pledge, ⁴and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁵But if her father prohibits her on the day he hears about it, then none of the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. The LORD will absolve her because her father has prohibited her. ⁶If a woman marries while under a vow or rash promise by which she has bound herself, ⁷and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her on that day, then the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ⁸But if her husband prohibits her when he hears of it, he nullifies the vow that binds her or the rash promise she has made, and the LORD will absolve her. ⁹Every vow a widow or divorced woman pledges to fulfill is binding on her. ¹⁰If a woman in her husband’s house has made a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath, ¹¹and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her and does not prohibit her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. ¹²But if her husband nullifies them on the day he hears of them, then nothing that came from her lips, whether her vows or pledges, shall stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the LORD will absolve her. ¹³Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow or any sworn pledge to deny herself. ¹⁴But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all the vows and pledges that bind her. He has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard about them. ¹⁵But if he nullifies them after he hears of them, then he will bear her iniquity.” ¹⁶These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the relationship between a man and his wife, and between a father and a young daughter still in his home.