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First Reading: 2 Samuel Chapter 21 and 22
2 Samuel 21
21:1 David Avenges the Gibeonites
Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year;
and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, "It is because of
Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites." 2 So
the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not
of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children
of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in
his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
3 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? And
with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the
LORD?"
4 And the Gibeonites said to him, "We will have no silver or gold from
Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us."
So he said, "Whatever you say, I will do for you."
5 Then they answered the king, "As for the man who consumed us and plotted
against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories
of Israel, 6 let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will
hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD chose."
And the king said, "I will give them."
7 But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because
of the LORD's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son
of Saul. 8 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah
the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of Michal the
daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite;
9 and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them
on the hill before the LORD. So they fell, all seven together, and were put
to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley
harvest.
10 Now Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself
on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them
from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day
nor the beasts of the field by night.
11 And David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul,
had done. 12 Then David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan
his son, from the men of Jabesh Gilead who had stolen them from the street of
Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had
struck down Saul in Gilboa. 13 So he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones
of Jonathan his son from there; and they gathered the bones of those who had
been hanged. 14 They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country
of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all
that the king commanded. And after that God heeded the prayer for the land.
15 Philistine Giants Destroyed
(1 Chron 20:4-8)
When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with
him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. 16 Then
Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze
spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could
kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the
Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying,"You
shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel."
18 Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines
at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the sons of
the giant. 19 Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan
the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite,
the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
20 Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature,
who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number;
and he also was born to the giant. 21 So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the
son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him.
22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David
and by the hand of his servants.
2 Samuel 22
22:1 Praise for God's Deliverance
(Ps 18)
Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD
had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
2 And he said:
"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 3 The God of my
strength, in whom I will trust;My shield and the horn of my salvation,My stronghold
and my refuge;My Savior, You save me from violence. 4 I will call upon the LORD,
who is worthy to be praised;So shall I be saved from my enemies.
5 "When the waves of death surrounded me,The floods of ungodliness made
me afraid. 6 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;The snares of death confronted
me. 7 In my distress I called upon the LORD,And cried out to my God;He heard
my voice from His temple,And my cry entered His ears.
8 "Then the earth shook and trembled;The foundations of heaven quaked and
were shaken,Because He was angry. 9 Smoke went up from His nostrils,And devouring
fire from His mouth;Coals were kindled by it. 10 He bowed the heavens also,
and came down With darkness under His feet. 11 He rode upon a cherub, and flew;And
He was seen upon the wings of the wind. 12 He made darkness canopies around
Him,Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 13 From the brightness before
Him Coals of fire were kindled.
14 "The LORD thundered from heaven,And the Most High uttered His voice.
15 He sent out arrows and scattered them;Lightning bolts, and He vanquished
them. 16 Then the channels of the sea were seen,The foundations of the world
were uncovered,At the rebuke of the LORD,At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.
17 "He sent from above, He took me,He drew me out of many waters. 18 He
delivered me from my strong enemy,From those who hated me;For they were too
strong for me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,But the LORD
was my support. 20 He also brought me out into a broad place;He delivered me
because He delighted in me.
21 "The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;According to the
cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. 22 For I have kept the ways of
the LORD,And have not wickedly departed from my God. 23 For all His judgments
were before me;And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. 24 I was
also blameless before Him,And I kept myself from my iniquity. 25 Therefore the
LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness,According to my cleanness
in His eyes.
26 "With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful;With a blameless
man You will show Yourself blameless; 27 With the pure You will show Yourself
pure;And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. 28 You will save the
humble people;But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down.
29 "For You are my lamp, O LORD;The LORD shall enlighten my darkness. 30
For by You I can run against a troop;By my God I can leap over a wall. 31 As
for God, His way is perfect;The word of the LORD is proven;He is a shield to
all who trust in Him.
32 "For who is God, except the LORD?And who is a rock, except our God?
33 God is my strength and power, And He makes my way perfect. 34 He makes my
feet like the feet of deer,And sets me on my high places. 35 He teaches my hands
to make war,So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
36 "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;Your gentleness
has made me great. 37 You enlarged my path under me;So my feet did not slip.
38 "I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them;Neither did I turn back
again till they were destroyed. 39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them,So
that they could not rise;They have fallen under my feet. 40 For You have armed
me with strength for the battle;You have subdued under me those who rose against
me. 41 You have also given me the necks of my enemies,So that I destroyed those
who hated me. 42 They looked, but there was none to save;Even to the LORD, but
He did not answer them. 43 Then I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;I
trod them like dirt in the streets,And I spread them out.
44 "You have also delivered me from the strivings of my people;You have
kept me as the head of the nations.A people I have not known shall serve me.
45 The foreigners submit to me;As soon as they hear, they obey me. 46 The foreigners
fade away,And come frightened from their hideouts.
47 "The LORD lives!Blessed be my Rock!Let God be exalted,The Rock of my
salvation! 48 It is God who avenges me,And subdues the peoples under me; 49
He delivers me from my enemies.You also lift me up above those who rise against
me;You have delivered me from the violent man. 50 Therefore I will give thanks
to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles,And sing praises to Your name.
51 He is the tower of salvation to His king,And shows mercy to His anointed,To
David and his descendants forevermore."
Galatians 2
2:1 Defending the Gospel
(cf. Acts 15:1-21)
Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also
took Titus with me. 2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them
that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were
of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain. 3 Yet not
even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.
4 And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came
in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they
might bring us into bondage), 5 to whom we did not yield submission even for
an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
6 But from those who seemed to be something — whatever they were, it makes
no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man — for those
who seemed to be something added nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary, when
they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as
the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter 8(for He who worked effectively
in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me
toward the Gentiles), 9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars,
perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the
right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the
circumcised. 10 They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very
thing which I also was eager to do.
11 No Return to the Law
Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he
was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with
the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing
those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played
the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the
gospel, I said to Peter before them all,"If you, being a Jew, live in the
manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as
Jews? 15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ,
even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in
Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh
shall be justified.
17 "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also
are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! 18
For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have
been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in
me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of
God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
GALATIANS
Part 2 of 2
The book of Galatians contains the following:
"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26
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