Daily Bible GNT February 12 Scroll

Earthly and Heavenly Worship

Hebrews 9 The first covenant had rules for worship and a place made for worship as well. ²A tent was put up, the outer one, which was called the Holy Place. In it were the lampstand and the table with the bread offered to God. ³Behind the second curtain was the tent called the Most Holy Place. ⁴In it were the gold altar for the burning of incense and the Covenant Box all covered with gold and containing the gold jar with the manna in it, Aaron's stick that had sprouted leaves, and the two stone tablets with the commandments written on them. ⁵Above the Box were the winged creatures representing God's presence, with their wings spread over the place where sins were forgiven. But now is not the time to explain everything in detail.

⁶This is how those things have been arranged. The priests go into the outer tent every day to perform their duties, ⁷but only the high priest goes into the inner tent, and he does so only once a year. He takes with him blood which he offers to God on behalf of himself and for the sins which the people have committed without knowing they were sinning. ⁸The Holy Spirit clearly teaches from all these arrangements that the way into the Most Holy Place has not yet been opened as long as the outer tent still stands. ⁹This is a symbol which points to the present time. It means that the offerings and animal sacrifices presented to God cannot make the worshiper's heart perfect, ¹⁰since they have to do only with food, drink, and various purification ceremonies. These are all outward rules, which apply only until the time when God will establish the new order.

¹¹But Christ has already come as the High Priest of the good things that are already here. The tent in which he serves is greater and more perfect; it is not a tent made by human hands, that is, it is not a part of this created world. ¹²When Christ went through the tent and entered once and for all into the Most Holy Place, he did not take the blood of goats and bulls to offer as a sacrifice; rather, he took his own blood and obtained eternal salvation for us. ¹³The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a burnt calf are sprinkled on the people who are ritually unclean, and this purifies them by taking away their ritual impurity. ¹⁴Since this is true, how much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ! Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will purify our consciences from useless rituals, so that we may serve the living God.

¹⁵For this reason Christ is the one who arranges a new covenant, so that those who have been called by God may receive the eternal blessings that God has promised. This can be done because there has been a death which sets people free from the wrongs they did while the first covenant was in effect.

¹⁶In the case of a will it is necessary to prove that the person who made it has died, ¹⁷for a will means nothing while the person who made it is alive; it goes into effect only after his death. ¹⁸That is why even the first covenant went into effect only with the use of blood. ¹⁹First, Moses proclaimed to the people all the commandments as set forth in the Law. Then he took the blood of bulls and goats, mixed it with water, and sprinkled it on the book of the Law and all the people, using a sprig of hyssop and some red wool. ²⁰He said, "This is the blood which seals the covenant that God has commanded you to obey." ²¹In the same way Moses also sprinkled the blood on the Sacred Tent and over all the things used in worship. ²²Indeed, according to the Law almost everything is purified by blood, and sins are forgiven only if blood is poured out.

The LORD's Command to Moses and Aaron

Exodus 6²⁸When the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹he said, "I am the LORD. Tell the king of Egypt everything I tell you."

³⁰But Moses answered, "You know that I am such a poor speaker; why should the king listen to me?"
Exodus 7 The LORD said, "I am going to make you like God to the king, and your brother Aaron will speak to him as your prophet. ²Tell Aaron everything I command you, and he will tell the king to let the Israelites leave his country. ^3-4But I will make the king stubborn, and he will not listen to you, no matter how many terrifying things I do in Egypt. Then I will bring severe punishment on Egypt and lead the tribes of my people out of the land. ⁵The Egyptians will then know that I am the LORD, when I raise my hand against them and bring the Israelites out of their country." ⁶Moses and Aaron did what the LORD commanded. ⁷At the time when they spoke to the king, Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three.

Aaron's Walking Stick

⁸The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ⁹"If the king demands that you prove yourselves by performing a miracle, tell Aaron to take his walking stick and throw it down in front of the king, and it will turn into a snake." ¹⁰So Moses and Aaron went to the king and did as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his walking stick down in front of the king and his officers, and it turned into a snake. ¹¹Then the king called for his wise men and magicians, and by their magic they did the same thing. ¹²They threw down their walking sticks, and the sticks turned into snakes. But Aaron's stick swallowed theirs. ¹³The king, however, remained stubborn and, just as the LORD had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

Disasters Strike Egypt
Blood

¹⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, "The king is very stubborn and refuses to let the people go. ¹⁵So go and meet him in the morning when he goes down to the Nile. Take with you the walking stick that was turned into a snake, and wait for him on the riverbank. ¹⁶Then say to the king, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to tell you to let his people go, so that they can worship him in the desert. But until now you have not listened. ¹⁷Now, Your Majesty, the LORD says that you will find out who he is by what he is going to do. Look, I am going to strike the surface of the river with this stick, and the water will be turned into blood. ¹⁸The fish will die, and the river will stink so much that the Egyptians will not be able to drink from it.'"

¹⁹The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron to take his stick and hold it out over all the rivers, canals, and pools in Egypt. The water will become blood, and all over the land there will be blood, even in the wooden tubs and stone jars."

²⁰Then Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded. In the presence of the king and his officers, Aaron raised his stick and struck the surface of the river, and all the water in it was turned into blood. ²¹The fish in the river died, and it smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink from it. There was blood everywhere in Egypt. ²²Then the king's magicians did the same thing by means of their magic, and the king was as stubborn as ever. Just as the LORD had said, the king refused to listen to Moses and Aaron. ²³Instead, he turned and went back to his palace without paying any attention even to this. ²⁴All the Egyptians dug along the bank of the river for drinking water, because they were not able to drink water from the river.

²⁵Seven days passed after the LORD struck the river.

Frogs

Exodus 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the king and tell him that the LORD says, 'Let my people go, so that they can worship me. ²If you refuse, I will punish your country by covering it with frogs. ³The Nile will be so full of frogs that they will leave it and go into your palace, your bedroom, your bed, the houses of your officials and your people, and even into your ovens and baking pans. ⁴They will jump up on you, your people, and all your officials.'"

⁵The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron to hold out his walking stick over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and make frogs come up and cover the land of Egypt." ⁶So Aaron held it out over all the water, and the frogs came out and covered the land. ⁷But the magicians used magic, and they also made frogs come up on the land.

⁸The king called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to the LORD to take away these frogs, and I will let your people go, so that they can offer sacrifices to the LORD."

⁹Moses replied, "I will be glad to pray for you. Just set the time when I am to pray for you, your officers, and your people. Then you will be rid of the frogs, and there will be none left except in the Nile."

¹⁰The king answered, "Pray for me tomorrow."

Moses said, "I will do as you ask, and then you will know that there is no other god like the LORD, our God. ¹¹You, your officials, and your people will be rid of the frogs, and there will be none left except in the Nile." ¹²Then Moses and Aaron left the king, and Moses prayed to the LORD to take away the frogs which he had brought on the king. ¹³The LORD did as Moses asked, and the frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died. ¹⁴The Egyptians piled them up in great heaps, until the land stank with them. ¹⁵When the king saw that the frogs were dead, he became stubborn again and, just as the LORD had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

Gnats

¹⁶The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron to strike the ground with his stick, and all over the land of Egypt the dust will change into gnats." ¹⁷So Aaron struck the ground with his stick, and all the dust in Egypt was turned into gnats, which covered the people and the animals. ¹⁸The magicians tried to use their magic to make gnats appear, but they failed. There were gnats everywhere, ¹⁹and the magicians said to the king, "God has done this!" But the king was stubborn and, just as the LORD had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron.

Flies

²⁰The LORD said to Moses, "Early tomorrow morning go and meet the king as he goes to the river, and tell him that the LORD says, 'Let my people go, so that they can worship me. ²¹I warn you that if you refuse, I will punish you by sending flies on you, your officials, and your people. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies, and the ground will be covered with them. ²²But I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live, so that there will be no flies there. I will do this so that you will know that I, the LORD, am at work in this land. ²³I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This miracle will take place tomorrow.'" ²⁴The LORD sent great swarms of flies into the king's palace and the houses of his officials. The whole land of Egypt was brought to ruin by the flies.

²⁵Then the king called for Moses and Aaron and said, "Go and offer sacrifices to your God here in this country."

²⁶"It would not be right to do that," Moses answered, "because the Egyptians would be offended by our sacrificing the animals that we offer to the LORD our God. If we use these animals and offend the Egyptians by sacrificing them where they can see us, they will stone us to death. ²⁷We must travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, just as he commanded us."

²⁸The king said, "I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD, your God, in the desert, if you do not go very far. Pray for me."

²⁹Moses answered, "As soon as I leave, I will pray to the LORD that tomorrow the flies will leave you, your officials, and your people. But you must not deceive us again and prevent the people from going to sacrifice to the LORD."

³⁰Moses left the king and prayed to the LORD, ³¹and the LORD did as Moses asked. The flies left the king, his officials, and his people; not one fly remained. ³²But even this time the king became stubborn, and again he would not let the people go.

The Rewards of Wisdom

Proverbs 2 My child, learn what I teach you and never forget what I tell you to do. ²Listen to what is wise and try to understand it. ³Yes, beg for knowledge; plead for insight. ⁴Look for it as hard as you would for silver or some hidden treasure. ⁵If you do, you will know what it means to fear the LORD and you will succeed in learning about God. ⁶It is the LORD who gives wisdom; from him come knowledge and understanding. ⁷He provides help and protection for those who are righteous and honest. ⁸He protects those who treat others fairly, and guards those who are devoted to him.

⁹If you listen to me, you will know what is right, just, and fair. You will know what you should do. ¹⁰You will become wise, and your knowledge will give you pleasure. ¹¹Your insight and understanding will protect you ¹²and prevent you from doing the wrong thing. They will keep you away from people who stir up trouble by what they say-- ¹³those who have abandoned a righteous life to live in the darkness of sin, ¹⁴those who find pleasure in doing wrong and who enjoy senseless evil, ¹⁵unreliable people who cannot be trusted.

¹⁶You will be able to resist any immoral woman who tries to seduce you with her smooth talk, ¹⁷who is faithless to her own husband and forgets her sacred vows. ¹⁸If you go to her house, you are traveling the road to death. To go there is to approach the world of the dead. ¹⁹No one who visits her ever comes back. He never returns to the road to life. ²⁰So you must follow the example of good people and live a righteous life. ²¹Righteous people--people of integrity--will live in this land of ours. ²²But God will snatch the wicked from the land and pull sinners out of it like plants from the ground.

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.