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First Reading: Judges Chapter 21 and Ruth Chapter 1
Judges 21
21:1 The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: "Not one of us will
give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite."
2 The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising
their voices and weeping bitterly. 3 "O LORD, the God of Israel,"
they cried, "why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing
from Israel today?"
4 Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings
and fellowship offerings.
5 Then the Israelites asked, "Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed
to assemble before the LORD?" For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone
who failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah should certainly be put to
death.
6 Now the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites. "Today
one tribe is cut off from Israel," they said. 7 "How can we provide
wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the LORD not to
give them any of our daughters in marriage?" 8 Then they asked, "Which
one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah?"
They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the
assembly. 9 For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people
of Jabesh Gilead were there.
10 So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go
to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women
and children. 11 "This is what you are to do," they said. "Kill
every male and every woman who is not a virgin." 12 They found among the
people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept
with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.
13 Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock
of Rimmon. 14 So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women
of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.
15 The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a gap in the tribes
of Israel. 16 And the elders of the assembly said, "With the women of Benjamin
destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? 17 The Benjamite
survivors must have heirs," they said, "so that a tribe of Israel
will not be wiped out. 18 We can't give them our daughters as wives, since we
Israelites have taken this oath: 'Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.'
19 But look, there is the annual festival of the LORD in Shiloh, to the north
of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the
south of Lebonah."
20 So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, "Go and hide in the vineyards
21 and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then
rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh
and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 When their fathers or brothers complain to
us, we will say to them, 'Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not
get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give
your daughters to them.'"
23 So that is what the Benjamites did. While the girls were dancing, each man
caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance
and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.
24 At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes
and clans, each to his own inheritance.
25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
Ruth 1
1:1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and
a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to
live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man's name was Elimelech, his
wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They
were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.
4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they
had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi
was left without her two sons and her husband.
6 When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by
providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home
from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had
been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of
Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to
your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to
your dead and to me. 9 May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in
the home of another husband."
Then she kissed them and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, "We will go
back with you to your people."
11 But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with
me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return
home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought
there was still hope for me-even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth
to sons- 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for
them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's
hand has gone out against me!"
14 At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but
Ruth clung to her.
15 "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her
people and her gods. Go back with her."
16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you.
Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be
my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will
be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but
death separates you and me." 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined
to go with her, she stopped urging her.
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived
in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed,
"Can this be Naomi?"
20 "Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because
the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the LORD
has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the
Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law,
arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
Second Reading: Psalms Chapter 51 and 52
Psalms 51
51:1 For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, O God,according to your unfailing love;according to your
great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and
cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you,
you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,so that you are
proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful
at birth,sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth
in the inner parts;you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;wash me, and I will be whiter
than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness;let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore
to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,the God who saves me,and my tongue will sing
of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips,and my mouth will declare your
praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;you do not take
pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;a
broken and contrite heart,O God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,whole burnt offerings to delight
you;then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Psalms 52
52:1 For the director of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: "David has gone to the house of Ahimelech."
Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man?Why do you boast all day long,you
who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? 2 Your tongue plots destruction;it is
like a sharpened razor,you who practice deceit. 3 You love evil rather than
good,falsehood rather than speaking the truth.Selah 4 You love every harmful
word,O you deceitful tongue!
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:He will snatch you up and
tear you from your tent;he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
6 The righteous will see and fear;they will laugh at him, saying, 7 "Here
now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great
wealth and grew strong by destroying others!"
8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God;I trust in God's
unfailing love for ever and ever. 9 I will praise you forever for what you have
done;in your name I will hope, for your name is good.I will praise you in the
presence of your saints.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
RUTH
The book of Ruth is dated during the period of the Judges. It shows that in a time of national decline and immorality, God preserved a remnant who could serve as the core for a future revival. This would be accomplished in Ruth's descendant, David, from whom the Messiah would come. No indication of the author is given. It is thought that the book was written after the period of the Judges and describes customs of that time period.
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