Your Input Is Needed!

This blog was established by the NCD Team of St. Paul's, Glenside, as a spirituality tool. The goal was that folks would read the daily lectionary reading and leave comments as to how the reading impacted their lives. The hope was for some real conversation to happen through the comments.

It hasn't gone according to plan.

Some of the people who take the time each day (well, most days) to put the reading up are wondering if we should continue. If the blog isn't meeting a need, then perhaps it is time to reconsider.

A Poll has been established in the sidebar. This poll will be open until January 13, and on that date a decision will be made as to how we will proceed.

If you have an opinion, please participate in the poll. It is totally anonymous; there is no way we can track who you are!

Thank you so much. And, of course, you can still leave a comment . . . .

December 11, 2007

Isaiah 41:14-20 (NRSV)

God will not forget the poor of Israel

Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you insect Israel!
I will help you, says the Lord;
your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
Now, I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, and having teeth;
you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,
and you shall make the hills like chaff.
You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them away,
and the tempest shall scatter them.
Then you shall rejoice in the Lord;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
so that all may see and know,
all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.

December 10, 2007

Isaiah 24:1-16a (NRSV)

Judgment is coming, but glorify God

Now the Lord is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate,
and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;
as with the slave, so with his master;
as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller;
as with the lender, so with the borrower;
as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled;
for the Lord has spoken this word.

The earth dries up and withers,
the world languishes and withers;
the heavens languish together with the earth.
The earth lies polluted
under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse devours the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the earth dwindled,
and few people are left.
The wine dries up,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
The mirth of the timbrels is stilled,
the noise of the jubilant has ceased,
the mirth of the lyre is stilled.
No longer do they drink wine with singing;
strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
The city of chaos is broken down,
every house is shut up so that no one can enter.
There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;
all joy has reached its eventide;
the gladness of the earth is banished.
Desolation is left in the city,
the gates are battered into ruins.
For thus it shall be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is ended.

They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;
they shout from the west over the majesty of the Lord.
Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
in the coastlands of the sea glorify the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,
of glory to the Righteous One.

December 9, 2007

Matthew 3:1-12 (NRSV)

Prepare the way of the Lord

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.' "

Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

"I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

December 8, 2007

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 (NRSV)

The righteous shall flourish

Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king's son.
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.

May he live while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more. ...

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.

December 7, 2007

Acts 13:16-25 (NRSV)

Paul's testimony concerning John the Baptist

So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak:

"You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. After he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance for about four hundred fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, 'I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.' Of this man's posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised; before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his work, he said, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet.'

December 6, 2007

Acts 1:12-17, 21-26 (NRSV)

Beginnings of the apostolic ministry

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, "Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus - for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry." ...

So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us - one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection." So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

December 5, 2007

Matthew 24:23-35 (NRSV)

The end is coming

Then if anyone says to you, 'Look! Here is the Messiah!' or 'There he is!' - do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Take note, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, 'Look! He is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look! He is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

"Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven,and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see 'the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven' with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away

December 4, 2007

Genesis 9:1-17 (NRSV)

Command to be fruitful; sign of the rainbow

God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. For your own lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning: from every animal I will require it and from human beings, each one for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life.

Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person's blood be shed; for in his own image God made humankind. And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it."

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."

December 3, 2007

Genesis 8:1-19 (NRSV)

The flood waters subside

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided; the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters gradually receded from the earth. At the end of one hundred fifty days the waters had abated; and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared.

At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him. He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more.

In the six hundred first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. Then God said to Noah, "Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh - birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth - so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth." So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives. And every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out of the ark by families.

December 2, 2007

Matthew 24:36-44 (NRSV)

The sudden coming of salvation

"But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. "

December 1, 2007

Isaiah 1:21-31

See how the faithful city has become a harlot!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her— but now murderers!

Your silver has become dross,
your choice wine is diluted with water.
Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves;
they all love bribes and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow's case does not come before them.

Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
"Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies.

I will turn my hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities.

I will restore your judges as in days of old,
your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City."

Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness.

But rebels and sinners will both be broken,
and those who forsake the LORD will perish.
"You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen.
You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water.
The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark;
both will burn together, with no one to quench the fire."

Luke 1:1-4 (NRSV)

That you may know the truth

Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.

Isaiah 33:17-22 (NRSV)
Our God rules

Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;
they will behold a land that stretches far away.
Your mind will muse on the terror:
"Where is the one who counted?
Where is the one who weighed the tribute?
Where is the one who counted the towers?"
No longer will you see the insolent people,
the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend, stammering in a language that you cannot understand.
Look on Zion, the city of our appointed festivals!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a quiet habitation, an immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be pulled up,
and none of whose ropes will be broken.
But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
a place of broad rivers and streams,
where no galley with oars can go,
nor stately ship can pass.
For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler,
the Lord is our king; he will save us.

zlukr 23;33-43 (NRSV)

11/25/2007

Christ the King

Jesus crucified with two thieves

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God,
his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour
wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was
also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Areyou not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying,
"Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deservefor our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell you,today you will be with me in Paradise."

Psalm 46 (NRSV)

11/24/2007

The God of Jacob is our stronghold

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah

Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
"Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth."
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah

1 Peter 1:3-9 (NRSV)

11/23/2007

An imperishable inheritance

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he
has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith - being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and
honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love
him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice
with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Hebrews 9:23-28 (NRSV)

11/22/2007

Christ has appeared once for all

Thus it was necessary for the sketches of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves need better sacrifices than
these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy
of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high
priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the
world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear
the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to
save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Matthew 23:37-24:14 (NRSV)

11/21/2007

The last things

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say. 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"


As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to
point out to him the buildings of the temple. Then he asked them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Messiah!' and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you arenot alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

"Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you
will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away,and
they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the
love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.

11/20/2007 Ezekiel 39:21-40:4 (NRSV)

Mercy on the house of Israel

I will display my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my
judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. The house
of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from that day forward. And the
nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity,
because they dealt treacherously with me. So I hid my face from them and gave
them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their transgressions, and hid my face
from them.

Therefore thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and
have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name.
They shall forget their shame, and all the treachery they have practiced against
me, when they live securely in their land with no one to make them afraid, when I
have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies'
lands, and through them have displayed my holiness in the sight of many
nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God because I sent them
into exile among the nations, and then gathered them into their own land. I will
leave none of them behind; and I will never again hide my face from them, when
I pour out my spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God.

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day
of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very
day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me there. He brought
me, in visions of God, to the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high
mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. When he brought me
there, a man was there, whose appearance shone like bronze, with a linen cord
and a measuring reed in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway. The man
said to me, "Mortal, look closely and listen attentively, and set your mind upon all
that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to
you; declare all that you see to the house of Israel."

Ezekiel 11:14-25 (NRSV)

Judgment and promised restoration

Then the word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, your kinsfolk, your own kin, your
fellow exiles, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the
inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, "They have gone far from the Lord; to us this
land is given for a possession." Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Though
I removed them far away among the nations, and though I scattered them among
the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the
countries where they have gone. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I will
gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you
have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. When they come
there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. I
will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart
of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow
my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my
people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their
detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own
heads, says the Lord God.

Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them; and the
glory of the God of Israel was above them. And the glory of the Lord ascended
from the middle of the city, and stopped on the mountain east of the city. The
spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to
the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me. And I told the exiles all the
things that the Lord had shown me.

Ezekiel 11:14-25 (NRSV)
Judgment and promised restoration Then the word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, your kinsfolk, your own kin, your fellow exiles, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, "They have gone far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession." Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far away among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. When they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord God. Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. And the glory of the Lord ascended from the middle of the city, and stopped on the mountain east of the city. The spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me. And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.

11/13/2007

Job 21:1, 17-34 (NRSV)

Poor and rich lie down in the dust

Then Job answered: ...

"How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does calamity come upon them?
How often does God distribute pains in his anger?
How often are they like straw before the wind,
and like chaff that the storm carries away?
You say, 'God stores up their iniquity for their children.'
Let it be paid back to them, so that they may know it.
Let their own eyes see their destruction,
and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
For what do they care for their household after them,
when the number of their months is cut off?
Will any teach God knowledge,
seeing that he judges those that are on high?
One dies in full prosperity,
being wholly at ease and secure,
his loins full of milk
and the marrow of his bones moist.
Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having tasted of good.
They lie down alike in the dust,
and the worms cover them.

"Oh, I know your thoughts,
and your schemes to wrong me.
For you say, 'Where is the house of the prince?
Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?'
Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
and do you not accept their testimony,
that the wicked are spared in the day of calamity,
and are rescued in the day of wrath?
Who declares their way to their face,
and who repays them for what they have done?
When they are carried to the grave,
a watch is kept over their tomb.
The clods of the valley are sweet to them;
everyone will follow after,
and those who went before are innumerable.
How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood."