March 21: Psalm 80; Exodus 25; Nehemiah 6; Romans 15:14–33 - a podcast by Crossway

Psalm 80(Listen)

Restore Us, O God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.

80   Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
  You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
2     Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
  stir up your might
    and come to save us!
3   Restore us,¹O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!
4   O LORD God of hosts,
    how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
5   You have fed them with the bread of tears
    and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6   You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
    and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7   Restore us, O God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8   You brought a vine out of Egypt;
    you drove out the nations and planted it.
9   You cleared the ground for it;
    it took deep root and filled the land.
10   The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
11   It sent out its branches to the sea
    and its shoots to the River.²
12   Why then have you broken down its walls,
    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13   The boar from the forest ravages it,
    and all that move in the field feed on it.
14   Turn again, O God of hosts!
    Look down from heaven, and see;
  have regard for this vine,
15     the stock that your right hand planted,
    and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
16   They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
    may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
17   But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18   Then we shall not turn back from you;
    give us life, and we will call upon your name!
19   Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
    Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

(ESV)

Exodus 25(Listen)

Contributions for the Sanctuary

25 The LORD said to Moses,2 “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.3 And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze,4 blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair,5 tanned rams’ skins, goatskins,¹acacia wood,6 oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,7 onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

The Ark of the Covenant

10 “They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits²and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.11 You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it.12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them.15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.16 And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you.

17 “You shall make a mercy seat³of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.19 Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends.20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.

The Table for Bread

23 “You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.24 You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it.25 And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth⁴wide, and a molding of gold around the rim.26 And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs.27 Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as holders for the poles to carry the table.28 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these.29 And you shall make its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold.30 And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.

The Golden Lampstand

31 “You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it.32 And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it;33 three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.34 And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers,35 and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand.36 Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it a single piece of hammered work of pure gold.37 You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it.38 Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold.39 It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent⁵of pure gold.40 And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.

(ESV)

Nehemiah 6(Listen)

Conspiracy Against Nehemiah

6 Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates),2 Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm.3 And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”4 And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.5 In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand.6 In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem¹also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king.7 And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.”8 Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.”9 For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God,²strengthen my hands.

10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.”11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live?³I will not go in.”12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.

The Wall Is Finished

15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.17 Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them.18 For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah: and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife.19 Also they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid.

(ESV)

Romans 15:14–33(Listen)

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,¹that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,21 but as it is written,

  “Those who have never been told of him will see,
    and those who have never heard will understand.”

Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome

22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you,24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while.25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints.26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,²I will leave for Spain by way of you.29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing³of Christ.

30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

(ESV)