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First Reading: Isaiah Chapter 15 and 16 and 17

Isaiah 15

15:1 Proclamation Against Moab

The burden against Moab.
Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste And destroyed,Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste And destroyed, 2 He has gone up to the temple and Dibon,To the high places to weep.Moab will wail over Nebo and over Medeba;On all their heads will be baldness,And every beard cut off. 3 In their streets they will clothe themselves with sackcloth;On the tops of their houses And in their streets Everyone will wail, weeping bitterly. 4 Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out,Their voice shall be heard as far as Jahaz;Therefore the armed soldiers of Moab will cry out;His life will be burdensome to him.
5 "My heart will cry out for Moab;His fugitives shall flee to Zoar,Like a three-year-old heifer. For by the Ascent of LuhithThey will go up with weeping;For in the way of HoronaimThey will raise up a cry of destruction, 6 For the waters of Nimrim will be desolate,For the green grass has withered away;The grass fails, there is nothing green. 7 Therefore the abundance they have gained,And what they have laid up,They will carry away to the Brook of the Willows. 8 For the cry has gone all around the borders of Moab,Its wailing to EglaimAnd its wailing to Beer Elim. 9 For the waters of Dimon will be full of blood;Because I will bring more upon Dimon, Lions upon him who escapes from Moab,And on the remnant of the land."

Isaiah 16

16:1 Moab Destroyed

Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,From Sela to the wilderness,To the mount of the daughter of Zion. 2 For it shall be as a wandering bird thrown out of the nest;So shall be the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon.
3 "Take counsel, execute judgment;Make your shadow like the night in the middle of the day;Hide the outcasts,Do not betray him who escapes. 4 Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab;Be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler.For the extortioner is at an end,Devastation ceases,The oppressors are consumed out of the land. 5 In mercy the throne will be established;And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David,Judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness."
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab — He is very proud — Of his haughtiness and his pride and his wrath;But his lies shall not be so. 7 Therefore Moab shall wail for Moab;Everyone shall wail.For the foundations of Kir Hareseth you shall mourn;Surely they are stricken.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish,And the vine of Sibmah;The lords of the nations have broken down its choice plants,Which have reached to JazerAnd wandered through the wilderness.Her branches are stretched out,They are gone over the sea. 9 Therefore I will bewail the vine of Sibmah,With the weeping of Jazer;I will drench you with my tears,O Heshbon and Elealeh;For battle cries have fallen Over your summer fruits and your harvest.
10 Gladness is taken away,And joy from the plentiful field;In the vineyards there will be no singing,Nor will there be shouting;No treaders will tread out wine in the presses;I have made their shouting cease. 11 Therefore my heart shall resound like a harp for Moab,And my inner being for Kir Heres.
12 And it shall come to pass,When it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place,That he will come to his sanctuary to pray;But he will not prevail.
13 This is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, "Within three years, as the years of a hired man, the glory of Moab will be despised with all that great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and feeble."

Isaiah 17

17:1 Proclamation Against Syria and Israel

The burden against Damascus.
"Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,And it will be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. 3 The fortress also will cease from Ephraim,The kingdom from Damascus,And the remnant of Syria;They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,"Says the LORD of hosts.
4 "In that day it shall come to pass That the glory of Jacob will wane,And the fatness of his flesh grow lean. 5 It shall be as when the harvester gathers the grain,And reaps the heads with his arm;It shall be as he who gathers heads of grain In the Valley of Rephaim. 6 Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it,Like the shaking of an olive tree,Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough,Four or five in its most fruitful branches,"Says the LORD God of Israel.
7 In that day a man will look to his Maker,And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars,The work of his hands;He will not respect what his fingers have made,Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.
9 In that day his strong cities will be as a forsaken bough And an uppermost branch, Which they left because of the children of Israel;And there will be desolation.
10 Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation,And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold,Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out foreign seedlings; 11 In the day you will make your plant to grow,And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish;But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people Who make a noise like the roar of the seas,And to the rushing of nations That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 13 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters;But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away,And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind,Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 14 Then behold, at eventide, trouble!And before the morning, he is no more.This is the portion of those who plunder us,And the lot of those who rob us.

Second Reading: Ephesians Chapter 6

Ephesians 6

6:1 Children and Parents
(Ex 20:12; Deut 5:16)

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise: 3 "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth."
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
5 Bondservants and Masters

Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
10 The Whole Armor of God

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints — 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
21 A Gracious Greeting

But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.
23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Bible Background

SUPER HEROES OF THE BIBLE

ISAIAH

Part 2 of 2

The call of Isaiah is recorded in chapter 6. He records a vision that he sees and is convinced he has seen the glory of God. He is humbled and calls himself "a man of unclean lips." He expects to die because he is so unworthy to see this vision. But God sends a seraph to touch is lips with a live coal and God declares that his guilt is removed and his sin atoned for. After Isaiah goes through this experience God questions him: "Whom shall I send? and who will go for us?" Isaiah's immediate answer is:

"Here am I. Send me!"

 

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