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Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

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Deuteronomy 8:17-18

Numbers 8-9 ( Listen ) The Seven Lamps 8:1? Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand.” And Aaron did so: he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as the LORD commanded Moses. And this was the workmanship of the lampstand, hammered work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was hammered work; according to the pattern that the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the lampstand. Cleansing of the Levites And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them. Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification upon them, and let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. Then let them take a bull from the herd and its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another bull from the herd for a sin offering. And you shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel. When you bring the Levites before the LORD, the people of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites, and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the LORD. Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the LORD to make atonement for the Levites. And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as a wave offering to the LORD. “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine. And after that the Levites shall go in to serve at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a wave offering. For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. Instead of all who open the womb, the firstborn of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself. For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary.” Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites. According to all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. And the Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes, and Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the LORD, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons; as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them. Retirement of the Levites And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “This applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. They minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.” The Passover Celebrated 9:1? And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did. And there were certain men who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing the LORD’s offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you.” The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the LORD. In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it. But if anyone who is clean and is not on a journey fails to keep the Passover, that person shall be cut off from his people because he did not bring the LORD’s offering at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.” The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. At the command of the LORD the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the LORD they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the LORD and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the LORD they remained in camp; then according to the command of the LORD they set out. And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses. Psalm 67 ( Listen ) Make Your Face Shine upon Us To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. 67:1? May God be gracious to us and bless us ?? and make his face to shine upon us, ???? Selah that your way may be known on earth, ?? your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; ?? let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, ?? for you judge the peoples with equity ?? and guide the nations upon earth. ???? Selah Let the peoples praise you, O God; ?? let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; ?? God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; ?? let all the ends of the earth fear him! John 7 ( Listen ) Jesus at the Feast of Booths 7:1? After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee. But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him. About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Can This Be the Christ? Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from? But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’ ?” Rivers of Living Water On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Division Among the People When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” [The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.] The Woman Caught in Adultery [[They went each to his own house, ( ESV ) Footnotes [1] 8:24 Hebrew he ; also verses 25, 26 [2] 8:26 Hebrew He ministers [3] 9:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks by day [4] 7:1 Or Judeans [5] 7:3 Or brothers and sisters ; also verses 5, 10 [6] 7:8 Some manuscripts add yet [7] 7:15 Or this man knows his letters [8] 7:17 Greek his [9] 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. As [10] 7:53 Some manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11; others add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations in the text This reading plan is from the ESV Daily Reading Bible .

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March 12: Numbers 8-9, Psalm 67, John 7

Psalm 95 ( Listen ) Let Us Sing Songs of Praise 95:1? Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; ?? let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; ?? let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, ?? and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; ?? the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, ?? and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; ?? let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, ?? and we are the people of his pasture, ?? and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, ?? do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, ?? as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test ?? and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation ?? and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, ?? and they have not known my ways.” Therefore I swore in my wrath, ?? “They shall not enter my rest.” Psalm 88 ( Listen ) I Cry Out Day and Night Before You A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. 88:1? O LORD, God of my salvation; ?? I cry out day and night before you. Let my prayer come before you; ?? incline your ear to my cry! For my soul is full of troubles, ?? and my life draws near to Sheol. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; ?? I am a man who has no strength, like one set loose among the dead, ?? like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, ?? for they are cut off from your hand. You have put me in the depths of the pit, ?? in the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, ?? and you overwhelm me with all your waves. ???? Selah You have caused my companions to shun me; ?? you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; ?? my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O LORD; ?? I spread out my hands to you. Do you work wonders for the dead? ?? Do the departed rise up to praise you? ???? Selah Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, ?? or your faithfulness in Abaddon? Are your wonders known in the darkness, ?? or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But I, O LORD, cry to you; ?? in the morning my prayer comes before you. O LORD, why do you cast my soul away? ?? Why do you hide your face from me? Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, ?? I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. Your wrath has swept over me; ?? your dreadful assaults destroy me. They surround me like a flood all day long; ?? they close in on me together. You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; ?? my companions have become darkness. Psalm 91 ( Listen ) My Refuge and My Fortress 91:1? He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High ?? will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, ?? my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler ?? and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, ?? and under his wings you will find refuge; ?? his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, ?? nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, ?? nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ?? ten thousand at your right hand, ?? but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes ?? and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— ?? the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, ?? no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you ?? to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, ?? lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; ?? the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; ?? I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; ?? I will be with him in trouble; ?? I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him ?? and show him my salvation.” Psalm 92 ( Listen ) How Great Are Your Works A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. 92:1? It is good to give thanks to the LORD, ?? to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, ?? and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, ?? to the melody of the lyre. For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; ?? at the works of your hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O LORD! ?? Your thoughts are very deep! The stupid man cannot know; ?? the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass ?? and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; ?? but you, O LORD, are on high forever. For behold, your enemies, O LORD, ?? for behold, your enemies shall perish; ?? all evildoers shall be scattered. But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; ?? you have poured over me fresh oil. My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; ?? my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. The righteous flourish like the palm tree ?? and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; ?? they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; ?? they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; ?? he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Genesis 47:1-26 ( Listen ) Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen 47:1? So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.” Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents. Joseph and the Famine Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.” So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s. As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other. Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land. Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s. 1 Corinthians 9:16-27 ( Listen ) For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. Mark 6:47-56 ( Listen ) And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. Footnotes [1] 88:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms [2] 88:8 Or an abomination [3] 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 88:18 Or darkness has become my only companion [5] 91:2 Septuagint He will say [6] 91:9 Or For you, O Lord , are my refuge! You have made the Most High your dwelling place [7] 92:10 Compare Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [8] 47:21 Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew he removed them to the cities [9] 9:27 Greek I pummel my body and make it a slave [10] 6:48 That is, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright ??2001 by Crossway Bibles , a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Quotation information . This reading plan is adapted from the Daily Office Lectionary found in The Book of Common Prayer .

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March 12 (3 Lent): Ps. 95, 88; Ps. 91, 92; Gen. 47:1-26; 1 Cor. 9:16-27; Mark 6:47-56 (ESV)