Daily Bible CEV February 13 Scroll

Christ's Great Sacrifice

Hebrews 9 ²³These things are only copies of what is in heaven, and so they had to be made holy by these ceremonies. But the real things in heaven must be made holy by something better. ²⁴This is why Christ did not go into a tent that had been made by humans and was only a copy of the real one. Instead, he went into heaven and is now there with God to help us.

²⁵Christ did not have to offer himself many times. He wasn't like a high priest who goes into the most holy place each year to offer the blood of an animal. ²⁶If he had offered himself every year, he would have suffered many times since the creation of the world. But instead, near the end of time he offered himself once and for all, so that he could be a sacrifice that does away with sin.

²⁷We die only once, and then we are judged. ²⁸So Christ died only once to take away the sins of many people. But when he comes again, it will not be to take away sin. He will come to save everyone who is waiting for him.
Hebrews 10 The Law of Moses is like a shadow of the good things to come. This shadow isn't the good things themselves, because it cannot free people from sin by the sacrifices that are offered year after year. ²If there were worshipers who already have their sins washed away and their consciences made clear, there would not be any need to go on offering sacrifices. ^3-4But the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. It only reminds people of their sins from one year to the next.

⁵When Christ came into the world, he said to God,

"Sacrifices and offerings are not what you want,

but you have given me my body.

⁶No, you are not pleased with animal sacrifices

and offerings for sin."

⁷Then Christ said,

"And so, my God, I have come to do what you want,

as the Scriptures say."

⁸The Law teaches that offerings and sacrifices must be made because of sin. But why did Christ mention these things and say that God did not want them? ⁹Well, it was to do away with offerings and sacrifices and to replace them. That is what he meant by saying to God, "I have come to do what you want." ¹⁰So we are made holy because Christ obeyed God and offered himself once for all.

¹¹The priests do their work each day, and they keep on offering sacrifices that can never take away sins. ¹²But Christ offered himself as a sacrifice that is good forever. Now he is sitting at God's right side, ¹³and he will stay there until his enemies are put under his power. ¹⁴By his one sacrifice he has forever set free from sin the people he brings to God.

¹⁵The Holy Spirit also speaks of this by telling us that the Lord said,

¹⁶"When the time comes,

I will make an agreement with them.

I will write my laws on their minds and hearts.

¹⁷Then I will forget about their sins

and no longer remember their evil deeds."

¹⁸When sins are forgiven, there is no more need to offer sacrifices.

Dead Animals

Exodus 9 The LORD sent Moses with this message for the king of Egypt:

The LORD God of the Hebrews commands you to let his people go, so they can worship him. ²If you keep refusing, ³he will bring a terrible disease on your horses and donkeys, your camels and cattle, and your sheep and goats. ⁴But the LORD will protect the animals that belong to the people of Israel, and none of theirs will die. ⁵Tomorrow is the day the LORD has set to do this.

⁶It happened the next day--all of the animals belonging to the Egyptians died, but the Israelites did not lose even one. ⁷When the king found out, he was still too stubborn to let the people go.

Sores

⁸The LORD said to Moses and Aaron:

Take a few handfuls of ashes from a stove and have Moses throw them into the air. Be sure the king is watching. ⁹The ashes will blow across the land of Egypt, causing sores to break out on people and animals.

¹⁰So they took a few handfuls of ashes and went to the king. Moses threw them into the air, and sores immediately broke out on the Egyptians and their animals. ¹¹The magicians were suffering so much from the sores, that they could not even come to Moses. ¹²Everything happened just as the LORD had told Moses--he made the king too stubborn to listen to Moses and Aaron.

Hailstones

¹³The LORD told Moses to get up early the next morning and say to the king:

The LORD God of the Hebrews commands you to let his people go, so they can worship him! ¹⁴If you don't, he will send his worst plagues to strike you, your officials, and everyone else in your country. Then you will find out that no one can oppose the LORD. ¹⁵In fact, he could already have sent a terrible disease and wiped you from the face of the earth. ¹⁶But he has kept you alive, just to show you his power and to bring honor to himself everywhere in the world.

¹⁷You are still determined not to let the LORD's people go. ¹⁸All right. At this time tomorrow, he will bring on Egypt the worst hailstorm in its history. ¹⁹You had better give orders for every person and every animal in Egypt to take shelter. If they don't, they will die.

²⁰Some of the king's officials were frightened by what the LORD had said, and they hurried off to make sure their slaves and animals were safe. ²¹But others paid no attention to his threats and left their slaves and animals out in the open.

²²Then the LORD told Moses, "Stretch your arm toward the sky, so that hailstones will fall on people, animals, and crops in the land of Egypt." ^23-24Moses pointed his walking stick toward the sky, and hailstones started falling everywhere. Thunder roared, and lightning flashed back and forth, striking the ground. This was the worst storm in the history of Egypt. ²⁵People, animals, and crops were pounded by the hailstones, and bark was stripped from trees. ²⁶Only Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was safe from the storm.

²⁷The king sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, "Now I have really sinned! My people and I are guilty, and the LORD is right. ²⁸We can't stand any more of this thunder and hail. Please ask the LORD to make it stop. Your people can go--you don't have to stay in Egypt any longer."

²⁹Moses answered, "As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my arms in prayer. When the thunder and hail stop, you will know that the earth belongs to the LORD. ³⁰But I am certain that neither you nor your officials really fear the LORD God."

³¹Meanwhile, the flax and barley crops had been destroyed by the storm because they were ready to ripen. ³²But the wheat crops ripen later, and they were not damaged.

³³After Moses left the royal palace and the city, he lifted his arms in prayer to the LORD, and the thunder, hail, and drenching rain stopped. ³⁴When the king realized that the storm was over, he disobeyed once more. He and his officials were so stubborn ³⁵that he refused to let the Israelites go. This was exactly what the LORD had said would happen.

Locusts

Exodus 10 The LORD said to Moses:

Go back to the king. I have made him and his officials stubborn, so that I could work these miracles. ²I did this because I want you to tell your children and your grandchildren about my miracles and about my harsh treatment of the Egyptians. Then all of you will know that I am the LORD.

³Moses and Aaron went to the king and told him that the LORD God of the Hebrews had said:

How long will you stubbornly refuse to obey? Release my people so they can worship me. ⁴Do this by tomorrow, or I will cover your country with so many locusts ⁵that you won't be able to see the ground. Most of your crops were ruined by the hailstones, but these locusts will destroy what little is left, including the trees. ⁶Your palace, the homes of your officials, and all other houses in Egypt will overflow with more locusts than have ever been seen in this country.

After Moses left the palace, ⁷the king's officials asked, "Your Majesty, how much longer is this man going to be a troublemaker? Why don't you let the people leave, so they can worship the LORD their God? Don't you know that Egypt is a disaster?"

⁸The king had Moses and Aaron brought back, and he said, "All right, you may go and worship the LORD your God. But first tell me who will be going."

⁹"Everyone, young and old," Moses answered. "We will even take our sheep, goats, and cattle, because we want to hold a celebration in honor of the LORD."

¹⁰The king replied, "The LORD had better watch over you on the day I let you leave with your families! You're up to no good. ¹¹Do you want to worship the LORD? All right, take only the men and go." Then Moses and Aaron were chased out of the palace.

¹²The LORD told Moses, "Stretch your arm toward Egypt. Swarms of locusts will come and eat everything left by the hail."

¹³Moses held out his walking stick, and the LORD sent an east wind that blew across Egypt the rest of the day and all that night. By morning, locusts ¹⁴were swarming everywhere. Never before had there been so many locusts in Egypt, and never again will there be so many. ¹⁵The ground was black with locusts, and they ate everything left on the trees and in the fields. Nothing green remained in Egypt--not a tree or a plant.

¹⁶At once the king sent for Moses and Aaron. He told them, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. ¹⁷Forgive me one more time and ask the LORD to stop these insects from killing every living plant."

¹⁸Moses left the palace and prayed. ¹⁹Then the LORD sent a strong west wind that swept the locusts into the Red Sea. Not one locust was left anywhere in Egypt, ²⁰but the LORD made the king so stubborn that he still refused to let the Israelites go.

Darkness

²¹The LORD said to Moses, "Stretch your arm toward the sky, and everything will be covered with darkness thick enough to touch." ²²Moses stretched his arm toward the sky, and Egypt was covered with darkness for three days. ²³During that time, the Egyptians could not see each other or leave their homes, but there was light where the Israelites lived.

²⁴The king sent for Moses and told him, "Go worship the LORD! And take your families with you. Just leave your sheep, goats, and cattle."

²⁵"No!" Moses replied. "You must let us offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, ²⁶and we won't know which animals we will need until we get there. That's why we can't leave even one of them here."

²⁷This time the LORD made the king so stubborn ²⁸that he said to Moses, "Get out and stay out! If you ever come back, you're dead!"

²⁹"Have it your way," Moses answered. "You won't see me again."

Trust God

Proverbs 3 My child, remember my teachings and instructions

and obey them completely.

²They will help you live a long and prosperous life.

³Let love and loyalty always show like a necklace,

and write them in your mind.

⁴God and people will like you and consider you a success.

⁵With all your heart you must trust the LORD

and not your own judgment.

⁶Always let him lead you,

and he will clear the road for you to follow.

⁷Don't ever think that you are wise enough,

but respect the LORD and stay away from evil.

⁸This will make you healthy, and you will feel strong.

⁹Honor the LORD by giving him your money

and the first part of all your crops.

¹⁰Then you will have more grain and grapes

than you will ever need.

¹¹My child, don't turn away or become bitter

when the LORD corrects you.

¹²The LORD corrects everyone he loves,

just as parents correct their favorite child.

The Value of Wisdom

¹³God blesses everyone who has wisdom and common sense.

¹⁴Wisdom is worth more than silver;

it makes you much richer than gold.

¹⁵Wisdom is more valuable than precious jewels;

nothing you want compares with her.

¹⁶In her right hand Wisdom holds a long life,

and in her left hand are wealth and honor.

¹⁷Wisdom makes life pleasant and leads us safely along.

¹⁸Wisdom is a life-giving tree,

the source of happiness for all who hold on to her.

¹⁹By his wisdom and knowledge

the LORD created heaven and earth.

²⁰By his understanding he let the ocean break loose

and clouds release the rain.

²¹My child, use common sense and sound judgment!

Always keep them in mind.

²²They will help you to live a long and beautiful life.

²³You will walk safely and never stumble;

²⁴

you will rest without a worry and sleep soundly.

²⁵So don't be afraid of sudden disasters

or storms that strike those who are evil.

²⁶You can be sure

that the LORD will protect you from harm.

²⁷Do all you can for everyone who deserves your help.

²⁸Don't tell your neighbor to come back tomorrow,

if you can help today.

²⁹Don't try to be mean to neighbors who trust you.

³⁰Don't argue just to be arguing,

when you haven't been hurt.

³¹Don't be jealous of cruel people or follow their example.

³²The LORD doesn't like anyone who is dishonest,

but he lets good people be his friends.

³³He places a curse on the home of everyone who is evil,

but he blesses the home of every good person.

³⁴The LORD sneers at those who sneer at him,

but he is kind to everyone who is humble.

³⁵You will be praised if you are wise,

but you will be disgraced if you are a stubborn fool.

These daily Bible readings from the Contemporary English Version (CEV) are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. BibleCard® images copyright iCreative. All rights reserved.