March 13: Psalm 72; Exodus 18; Ezra 8; Romans 8:18–39 - a podcast by Crossway

Psalm 72(Listen)

Give the King Your Justice

Of Solomon.

72   Give the king your justice, O God,
    and your righteousness to the royal son!
2   May he judge your people with righteousness,
    and your poor with justice!
3   Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
    and the hills, in righteousness!
4   May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
    give deliverance to the children of the needy,
    and crush the oppressor!
5   May they fear you¹while the sun endures,
    and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
6   May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
    like showers that water the earth!
7   In his days may the righteous flourish,
    and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8   May he have dominion from sea to sea,
    and from the River²to the ends of the earth!
9   May desert tribes bow down before him,
    and his enemies lick the dust!
10   May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
    render him tribute;
  may the kings of Sheba and Seba
    bring gifts!
11   May all kings fall down before him,
    all nations serve him!
12   For he delivers the needy when he calls,
    the poor and him who has no helper.
13   He has pity on the weak and the needy,
    and saves the lives of the needy.
14   From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
    and precious is their blood in his sight.
15   Long may he live;
    may gold of Sheba be given to him!
  May prayer be made for him continually,
    and blessings invoked for him all the day!
16   May there be abundance of grain in the land;
    on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
    may its fruit be like Lebanon;
  and may people blossom in the cities
    like the grass of the field!
17   May his name endure forever,
    his fame continue as long as the sun!
  May people be blessed in him,
    all nations call him blessed!
18   Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
    who alone does wondrous things.
19   Blessed be his glorious name forever;
    may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
      Amen and Amen!
20   The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

(ESV)

Exodus 18(Listen)

Jethro’s Advice

18 Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.2 Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home,3 along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a sojourner¹in a foreign land”),4 and the name of the other, Eliezer²(for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”).5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God.6 And when he sent word to Moses, “I,³your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,”7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.8 Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

10 Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.”⁴12 And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening.14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?”15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God;16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.”17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good.18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God,20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do.21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.26 And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.

(ESV)

Ezra 8(Listen)

Genealogy of Those Who Returned with Ezra

8 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylonia, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king:2 Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom. Of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel. Of the sons of David, Hattush.3 Of the sons of Shecaniah, who was of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, with whom were registered 150 men.4 Of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men.5 Of the sons of Zattu,¹Shecaniah the son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men.6 Of the sons of Adin, Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men.7 Of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men.8 Of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him 80 men.9 Of the sons of Joab, Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men.10 Of the sons of Bani,²Shelomith the son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men.11 Of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, the son of Bebai, and with him 28 men.12 Of the sons of Azgad, Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men.13 Of the sons of Adonikam, those who came later, their names being Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men.14 Of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur, and with them 70 men.

Ezra Sends for Levites

15 I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped three days. As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found there none of the sons of Levi.16 Then I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of insight,17 and sent them to Iddo, the leading man at the place Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his brothers and³the temple servants at the place Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for the house of our God.18 And by the good hand of our God on us, they brought us a man of discretion, of the sons of Mahli the son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah with his sons and kinsmen, 18;19 also Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his kinsmen and their sons, 20;20 besides 220 of the temple servants, whom David and his officials had set apart to attend the Levites. These were all mentioned by name.

Fasting and Prayer for Protection

21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods.22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.”23 So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

Priests to Guard Offerings

24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them.25 And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered.26 I weighed out into their hand 650 talents⁴of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents,⁵and 100 talents of gold,27 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics,⁶and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold.28 And I said to them, “You are holy to the LORD, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers.29 Guard them and keep them until you weigh them before the chief priests and the Levites and the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel at Jerusalem, within the chambers of the house of the LORD.”30 So the priests and the Levites took over the weight of the silver and the gold and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God.

31 Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way.32 We came to Jerusalem, and there we remained three days.33 On the fourth day, within the house of our God, the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed into the hands of Meremoth the priest, son of Uriah, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui.34 The whole was counted and weighed, and the weight of everything was recorded.

35 At that time those who had come from captivity, the returned exiles, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and as a sin offering twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the LORD.36 They also delivered the king’s commissions to the king’s satraps⁷and to the governors of the province Beyond the River, and they aided the people and the house of God.

(ESV)

Romans 8:18–39(Listen)

Future Glory

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because¹the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,²for those who are called according to his purpose.29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

God’s Everlasting Love

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be³against us?32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.⁴35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?36 As it is written,

  “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(ESV)