April 2: Psalm 92; Exodus 38; Esther 5; 1 Corinthians 10–11:1 - a podcast by Crossway

Psalm 92(Listen)

How Great Are Your Works

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.

92   It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2   to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
    and your faithfulness by night,
3   to the music of the lute and the harp,
    to the melody of the lyre.
4   For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
    at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5   How great are your works, O LORD!
    Your thoughts are very deep!
6   The stupid man cannot know;
    the fool cannot understand this:
7   that though the wicked sprout like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
  they are doomed to destruction forever;
8     but you, O LORD, are on high forever.
9   For behold, your enemies, O LORD,
    for behold, your enemies shall perish;
    all evildoers shall be scattered.
10   But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
    you have poured over me¹fresh oil.
11   My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
    my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
12   The righteous flourish like the palm tree
    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13   They are planted in the house of the LORD;
    they flourish in the courts of our God.
14   They still bear fruit in old age;
    they are ever full of sap and green,
15   to declare that the LORD is upright;
    he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

(ESV)

Exodus 38(Listen)

Making the Altar of Burnt Offering

38 He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. Five cubits¹was its length, and five cubits its breadth. It was square, and three cubits was its height.2 He made horns for it on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze.3 And he made all the utensils of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire pans. He made all its utensils of bronze.4 And he made for the altar a grating, a network of bronze, under its ledge, extending halfway down.5 He cast four rings on the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the poles.6 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.7 And he put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it with them. He made it hollow, with boards.

Making the Bronze Basin

8 He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Making the Court

9 And he made the court. For the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits;10 their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.11 And for the north side there were hangings of a hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their ten pillars, and their ten bases; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.13 And for the front to the east, fifty cubits.14 The hangings for one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases.15 And so for the other side. On both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases.16 All the hangings around the court were of fine twined linen.17 And the bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. The overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.18 And the screen for the gate of the court was embroidered with needlework in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It was twenty cubits long and five cubits high in its breadth, corresponding to the hangings of the court.19 And their pillars were four in number. Their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver.20 And all the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze.

Materials for the Tabernacle

21 These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.22 Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses;23 and with him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.

24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels,²by the shekel of the sanctuary.25 The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded was a hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary:26 a beka³a head (that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men.27 The hundred talents of silver were for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil; a hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent a base.28 And of the 1,775 shekels he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their capitals and made fillets for them.29 The bronze that was offered was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels;30 with it he made the bases for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar,31 the bases around the court, and the bases of the gate of the court, all the pegs of the tabernacle, and all the pegs around the court.

(ESV)

Esther 5(Listen)

Esther Prepares a Banquet

5 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace.2 And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.3 And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.”4 And Esther said, “If it please the king,¹let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.”5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared.6 And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”²7 Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is:8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king³to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”

Haman Plans to Hang Mordecai

9 And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai.10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh.11 And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king.12 Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king.13 Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows⁴fifty cubits⁵high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.

(ESV)

1 Corinthians 10–11:1(Listen)

Warning Against Idolatry

10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,¹that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,3 and all ate the same spiritual food,4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown²in the wilderness.

6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.9 We must not put Christ³to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.18 Consider the people of Israel:⁴are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Do All to the Glory of God

23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience—29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience?30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God,33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

11 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

(ESV)