1 Samuel 12

SAMUEL’S FINAL PUBLIC SPEECH
Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you.
2 Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I’m old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until now. 3 Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and his anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Who have I wronged or mistreated? Who gave me a bribe to overlook something? I will return it to you.”

4 “You haven’t wronged us, you haven’t mistreated us, and you haven’t taken anything from anyone,” they responded.

5 He said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you, and his anointed is a witness today that you haven’t found anything in my hand.”

“He is a witness,” they said.

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord, who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt, is a witness. 7 Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the Lord about all the righteous acts he has done for you and your ancestors.

8 “When Jacob went to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord, and he sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 But they forgot the Lord their God, so he handed them over to Sisera commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. These enemies fought against them. 10 Then they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, for we abandoned the Lord and worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Now rescue us from the power of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ 11 So the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel. He rescued you from the power of the enemies around you, and you lived securely. 12 But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king reign over us’ ​— ​even though the Lord your God is your king.

13 “Now here is the king you’ve chosen, the one you requested. Look, this is the king the Lord has placed over you. 14 If you fear the Lord, worship and obey him, and if you don’t rebel against the Lord’s command, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. 15 However, if you disobey the Lord and rebel against his command, the Lord’s hand will be against you as it was against your ancestors.

16 “Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 Isn’t the wheat harvest today? I will call on the Lord, and he will send thunder and rain so that you will recognize what an immense evil you committed in the Lord’s sight by requesting a king for yourselves.” 18 Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so we won’t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.”

20 Samuel replied, “Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from following the Lord. Instead, worship the Lord with all your heart. 21 Don’t turn away to follow worthless things that can’t profit or rescue you; they are worthless. 22 The Lord will not abandon his people, because of his great name and because he has determined to make you his own people.

23 “As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the good and right way. 24 Above all, fear the Lord and worship him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things he has done for you. 25 However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

Romans 10

RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH ALONE
Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation.
2 I can testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 Since they are ignorant of the righteousness of God and attempted to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes, 5 since Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: The one who does these things will live by them. 6 But the righteousness that comes from faith speaks like this: Do not say in your heart, “Who will go up to heaven? ” that is, to bring Christ down 7 or, “Who will go down into the abyss? ” that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. 8 On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: 9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, 12 since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

ISRAEL’S REJECTION OF THE MESSAGE
14 How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. 16 But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? 17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ. 18 But I ask, “Did they not hear? ” Yes, they did:

Their voice has gone out to the whole earth,

and their words to the ends of the world.

19 But I ask, “Did Israel not understand? ” First, Moses said,

I will make you jealous

of those who are not a nation;

I will make you angry by a nation

that lacks understanding.

20 And Isaiah says boldly,

I was found

by those who were not looking for me;

I revealed myself

to those who were not asking for me.

21 But to Israel he says, All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and defiant people.

Jeremiah 49

PROPHECIES AGAINST AMMON
About the Ammonites, this is what the Lord says:

Does Israel have no sons?
Is he without an heir?
Why then has Milcom dispossessed Gad
and his people settled in their cities?
2 Therefore look, the days are coming —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
when I will make the shout of battle heard
against Rabbah of the Ammonites.
It will become a desolate mound,
and its surrounding villages will be set on fire.
Israel will dispossess their dispossessors,
says the Lord.
3 Wail, Heshbon, for Ai is devastated;
cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Clothe yourselves with sackcloth, and lament;
run back and forth within your walls,
because Milcom will go into exile
together with his priests and officials.
4 Why do you boast about your valleys,
your flowing valley,
you faithless daughter —
you who trust in your treasures
and say, “Who can attack me? ”
5 Look, I am about to bring terror on you —
this is the declaration of the Lord God of Armies —
from all those around you.
You will be banished, each person headlong,
with no one to gather up the fugitives.
6 But after that, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

PROPHECIES AGAINST EDOM
7 About Edom, this is what the Lord of Armies says:

Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their wisdom rotted away?
8 Run! Turn back! Lie low,
residents of Dedan,
for I will bring Esau’s calamity on him
at the time I punish him.
9 If grape harvesters came to you,
wouldn’t they leave a few grapes?
Were thieves to come in the night,
they would destroy only what they wanted.
10 But I will strip Esau bare;
I will uncover his secret places.
He will try to hide, but he will be unable.
His descendants will be destroyed
along with his relatives and neighbors.
He will exist no longer.
11 Abandon your fatherless; I will preserve them;
let your widows trust in me.
12 For this is what the Lord says: “If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, can you possibly remain unpunished? You will not remain unpunished, for you must drink it too. 13 For by myself I have sworn” ​— ​this is the Lord’s declaration ​— ​“Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and an example for cursing, and all its surrounding cities will become ruins forever.”

14 I have heard an envoy from the Lord;
a messenger has been sent among the nations:
Assemble yourselves to come against her.
Rise up for war!
15 I will certainly make you insignificant among the nations,
despised among humanity.
16 As to the terror you cause,
your arrogant heart has deceived you.
You who live in the clefts of the rock,
you who occupy the mountain summit,
though you elevate your nest like the eagles,
even from there I will bring you down.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
17 “Edom will become a desolation. Everyone who passes by her will be appalled and scoff because of all her wounds. 18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,” says the Lord, “no one will live there; no human being will stay in it even temporarily.

19 “Look, it will be like a lion coming from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered grazing land. I will chase Edom away from her land in a flash. I will appoint whoever is chosen for her. For who is like me? Who will issue me a summons? Who is the shepherd who can stand against me? ”

20 Therefore, hear the plans that the Lord has drawn up against Edom and the strategies he has devised against the people of Teman: The flock’s little lambs will certainly be dragged away, and their grazing land will be made desolate because of them. 21 At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; the sound of her cry will be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Look! It will be like an eagle soaring upward, then swooping down and spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman with contractions.

PROPHECIES AGAINST DAMASCUS
23 About Damascus:

Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,
for they have heard a bad report and are agitated,
like the anxious sea that cannot be calmed.
24 Damascus has become weak;
she has turned to run;
panic has gripped her.
Distress and labor pains have seized her
like a woman in labor.
25 How can the city of praise not be abandoned,
the town that brings me joy?
26 Therefore, her young men will fall in her public squares;
all the warriors will perish in that day.
This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.
27 I will set fire to the wall of Damascus;
it will consume Ben-hadad’s citadels.

PROPHECIES AGAINST KEDAR AND HAZOR
28 About Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated, this is what the Lord says:

Rise up, attack Kedar,
and destroy the people of the east!
29 They will take their tents and their flocks
along with their tent curtains and all their equipment.
They will take their camels for themselves.
They will call out to them,
“Terror is on every side! ”
30 Run! Escape quickly! Lie low,
residents of Hazor —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
has drawn up a plan against you;
he has devised a strategy against you.
31 Rise up, attack a nation at ease,
one living in security.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
They have no doors, not even a gate bar;
they live alone.
32 Their camels will become plunder,
and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil.
I will scatter them to the wind in every direction,
those who clip the hair on their temples;
I will bring calamity on them across all their borders.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
33 Hazor will become a jackals’ den,
a desolation forever.
No one will live there;
no human being will stay in it even temporarily.

PROPHECIES AGAINST ELAM
34 This is the word of the Lord that came to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. 35 This is what the Lord of Armies says:

I am about to shatter Elam’s bow,
the source of their might.
36 I will bring the four winds against Elam
from the four corners of the heavens,
and I will scatter them to all these winds.
There will not be a nation
to which Elam’s banished ones will not go.
37 I will devastate Elam before their enemies,
before those who intend to take their lives.
I will bring disaster on them,
my burning anger.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will send the sword after them
until I finish them off.
38 I will set my throne in Elam,
and I will destroy the king and officials from there.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
39 Yet, in the last days,
I will restore the fortunes of Elam.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Luke 17

WARNINGS FROM JESUS
He said to his disciples,“Offenses will certainly come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

FAITH AND DUTY
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

6 “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” the Lord said,“you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

7 “Which one of you having a servant tending sheep or plowing will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 Instead, will he not tell him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did what was commanded? 10 In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we’ve only done our duty.’ ”

TEN MEN HEALED
11 While traveling to Jerusalem, he passed between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten men with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! ”

14 When he saw them, he told them,“Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And while they were going, they were cleansed.

15 But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and, with a loud voice, gave glory to God. 16 He fell facedown at his feet, thanking him. And he was a Samaritan.

17 Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Didn’t any return to give glory to God except this foreigner? ” 19 And he told him, “Get up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.”

THE COMING OF THE KINGDOM
20 When he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them,“The kingdom of God is not coming with something observable; 21 no one will say, ‘See here! ’ or ‘There! ’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

22 Then he told the disciples, “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you won’t see it. 23 They will say to you, ‘See there! ’ or ‘See here! ’ Don’t follow or run after them. 24 For as the lightning flashes from horizon to horizon and lights up the sky, so the Son of Man will be in his day. 25 But first it is necessary that he suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: 27 People went on eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage until the day Noah boarded the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 It will be the same as it was in the days of Lot: People went on eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building. 29 But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 It will be like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, a man on the housetop, whose belongings are in the house, must not come down to get them. Likewise the man who is in the field must not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to make his life secure will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, on that night two will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

37 “Where, Lord? ” they asked him.

He said to them,“Where the corpse is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”

— 1 Samuel 12, Romans 10, Jeremiah 49, Luke 17 (CSB)