THursday, April 20, 2023

Proverbs 3:1–18

¹My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, ²for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.

³Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁴Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. ⁸This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; ¹⁰then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

¹¹My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, ¹²because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

¹³Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, ¹⁴for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. ¹⁵She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. ¹⁶Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. ¹⁷Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. ¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

 

 

Psalm 99

¹The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. ²Great is the LORD in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. ³Let them praise your great and awesome name-- he is holy. ⁴The King is mighty, he loves justice-- you have established equity; in Jacob you have done what is just and right. ⁵Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. ⁶Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the LORD and he answered them. ⁷He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them. ⁸O LORD our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds. ⁹Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.

 

 

Hebrews 7:11–28

¹¹If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come--one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? ¹²For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. ¹³He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. ¹⁵And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, ¹⁶one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷For it is declared:

"You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

¹⁸The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless ¹⁹(for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

²⁰And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, ²¹but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:

"The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever.' "

²²Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

²³Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

²⁶Such a high priest meets our need--one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.