April 4: Psalm 94; Exodus 40; Esther 7; 1 Corinthians 12 - a podcast by Crossway

Psalm 94(Listen)

TheLordWill Not Forsake His People

94   O LORD, God of vengeance,
    O God of vengeance, shine forth!
2   Rise up, O judge of the earth;
    repay to the proud what they deserve!
3   O LORD, how long shall the wicked,
    how long shall the wicked exult?
4   They pour out their arrogant words;
    all the evildoers boast.
5   They crush your people, O LORD,
    and afflict your heritage.
6   They kill the widow and the sojourner,
    and murder the fatherless;
7   and they say, “The LORD does not see;
    the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8   Understand, O dullest of the people!
    Fools, when will you be wise?
9   He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
  He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10   He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
  He who teaches man knowledge—
11     the LORD—knows the thoughts of man,
    that they are but a breath.¹
12   Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD,
    and whom you teach out of your law,
13   to give him rest from days of trouble,
    until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14   For the LORD will not forsake his people;
    he will not abandon his heritage;
15   for justice will return to the righteous,
    and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16   Who rises up for me against the wicked?
    Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17   If the LORD had not been my help,
    my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18   When I thought, “My foot slips,”
    your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
19   When the cares of my heart are many,
    your consolations cheer my soul.
20   Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
    those who frame²injustice by statute?
21   They band together against the life of the righteous
    and condemn the innocent to death.³
22   But the LORD has become my stronghold,
    and my God the rock of my refuge.
23   He will bring back on them their iniquity
    and wipe them out for their wickedness;
    the LORD our God will wipe them out.

(ESV)

Exodus 40(Listen)

The Tabernacle Erected

40 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,2 “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.3 And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil.4 And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.5 And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle.6 You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting,7 and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.8 And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.

9 “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy.10 You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy.11 You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it.12 Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water13 and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest.14 You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them,15 and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

16 This Moses did; according to all that the LORD commanded him, so he did.17 In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected.18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars.19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the LORD had commanded Moses.20 He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark.21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses.22 He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil,23 and arranged the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.24 He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle,25 and set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.26 He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil,27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses.28 He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle.29 And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses.30 He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing,31 with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet.32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the LORD commanded Moses.33 And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

The Glory of theLord

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out.37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up.38 For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

(ESV)

Esther 7(Listen)

7 So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther.2 And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”3 Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request.4 For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared¹to do this?”6 And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.

Haman Is Hanged

7 And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king.8 And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face.9 Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows²that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits³high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.”10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.

(ESV)

1 Corinthians 12(Listen)

Spiritual Gifts

12 Now concerning¹spiritual gifts,²brothers,³I do not want you to be uninformed.2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

One Body with Many Members

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves⁴or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?20 As it is, there are many parts,⁵yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

(ESV)