The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday April 14, 2018 (NIV)

³ But the people of Gibeon, who were Hivites, heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ and they decided to deceive him. They went and got some food and loaded their donkeys with worn-out sacks and patched-up wineskins. ⁵ They put on ragged clothes and worn-out sandals that had been mended. The bread they took with them was dry and moldy. ⁶ Then they went to the camp at Gilgal and said to Joshua and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant land. We want you to make a treaty with us.”

^7 (A)But the Israelites said, “Why should we make a treaty with you? Maybe you live nearby.”

⁸ They said to Joshua, “We are at your service.”

Joshua asked them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”

⁹ Then they told him this story: “We have come from a very distant land, sir, because we have heard of the Lord your God. We have heard about everything that he did in Egypt ^10 (B)and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan: King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ Our leaders and all the people that live in our land told us to get some food ready for a trip and to go and meet you. We were told to put ourselves at your service and ask you to make a treaty with us. ¹² Look at our bread. When we left home with it and started out to meet you, it was still warm. But look! Now it is dry and moldy. ¹³ When we filled these wineskins, they were new, but look! They are torn. Our clothes and sandals are worn out from the long trip.”

¹⁴ The Israelites accepted some food from them, but did not consult the Lord about it. ¹⁵ Joshua made a treaty of friendship with the people of Gibeon and allowed them to live. The leaders of the community of Israel gave their solemn promise to keep the treaty.

¹⁶ Three days after the treaty had been made, the Israelites learned that these people did indeed live nearby. ¹⁷ So the people of Israel started out and three days later arrived at the cities where these people lived: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. ¹⁸ But the Israelites could not kill them, because their leaders had made a solemn promise to them in the name of the Lord, Israel's God. All the people complained to the leaders about this, ¹⁹ but they answered, “We have made our solemn promise to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. Now we cannot harm them. ²⁰ We must let them live because of our promise; if we don't, God will punish us. ²¹ Let them live, but they will have to cut wood and carry water for us.” This was what the leaders suggested.

²² Joshua ordered the people of Gibeon to be brought to him, and he asked them, “Why did you deceive us and tell us that you were from far away, when you live right here? ²³ Because you did this, God has condemned you. Your people will always be slaves, cutting wood and carrying water for the sanctuary of my God.”

²⁴ They answered, “We did it, sir, because we learned that it was really true that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to kill the people living in it as you advanced. We did it because we were terrified of you; we were in fear of our lives. ²⁵ Now we are in your power; do with us what you think is right.” ²⁶ So this is what Joshua did: he protected them and did not allow the people of Israel to kill them. ²⁷ But at the same time he made them slaves, to cut wood and carry water for the people of Israel and for the Lord's altar. To this day they have continued to do this work in the place where the Lord has chosen to be worshiped.

The Amorites Are Defeated

10 Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem,^[a] heard that Joshua had captured and totally destroyed Ai and had killed its king, just as he had done to Jericho and its king. He also heard that the people of Gibeon had made peace with the Israelites and were living among them. ² The people of Jerusalem were greatly alarmed at this because Gibeon was as large as any of the cities that had a king; it was larger than Ai, and its men were good fighters. ³ So Adonizedek sent the following message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon: ⁴ “Come and help me attack Gibeon, because its people have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” ⁵ These five Amorite kings, the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, joined forces, surrounded Gibeon, and attacked it.

⁶ The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: “Do not abandon us, sir! Come at once and help us! Save us! All the Amorite kings in the hill country have joined forces and have attacked us!”

⁷ So Joshua and his whole army, including the best troops, started out from Gilgal. ⁸ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. I have already given you the victory. Not one of them will be able to stand against you.” ⁹ All night Joshua and his army marched from Gilgal to Gibeon, and they made a surprise attack on the Amorites. ¹⁰ The Lord made the Amorites panic at the sight of Israel's army. The Israelites slaughtered them at Gibeon and pursued them down the mountain pass at Beth Horon, keeping up the attack as far south as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ While the Amorites were running down the pass from the Israelite army, the Lord made large hailstones fall down on them all the way to Azekah. More were killed by the hailstones than by the Israelites.

¹² On the day that the Lord gave the men of Israel victory over the Amorites, Joshua spoke to the Lord. In the presence of the Israelites he said,

^13 (C)The sun stood still and the moon did not move until the nation had conquered its enemies. This is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and did not go down for a whole day.

¹⁴ Never before, and never since, has there been a day like it, when the Lord obeyed a human being. The Lord fought on Israel's side!

¹⁵ After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.

Joshua Captures the Five Amorite Kings

¹⁶ The five Amorite kings, however, had escaped and were hiding in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷ Someone found them, and Joshua was told where they were hiding. ¹⁸ He said, “Roll some big stones in front of the entrance to the cave. Place some guards there, ¹⁹ but don't stay there yourselves. Keep on after the enemy and attack them from the rear; don't let them get to their cities! The Lord your God has given you victory over them.” ²⁰ Joshua and the men of Israel slaughtered them, although some managed to find safety inside their city walls and were not killed. ²¹ Then all of Joshua's men came back safe to him at the camp at Makkedah.

No one in the land dared even to speak against the Israelites.

²² Then Joshua said, “Open the entrance to the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” ²³ So the cave was opened, and the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon were brought out ²⁴ and taken to Joshua. Joshua then called all the men of Israel to him and ordered the officers who had gone with him to come and put their feet on the necks of the kings. They did so. ²⁵ Then Joshua said to his officers, “Don't be afraid or discouraged. Be determined and confident because this is what the Lord is going to do to all your enemies.” ²⁶ Then Joshua killed the kings and hanged them on five trees, where their bodies stayed until evening. ²⁷ At sundown Joshua gave orders, and their bodies were taken down and thrown into the same cave where they had hidden earlier. Large stones were placed at the entrance to the cave, and they are still there.

Joshua Captures More Amorite Territory

²⁸ Joshua attacked and captured Makkedah and its king that day. He put everyone in the city to death; no one was left alive. He did to the king of Makkedah what he had done to the king of Jericho.

²⁹ After this, Joshua and his army went on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. ³⁰ The Lord also gave the Israelites victory over this city and its king. They spared no one, but killed every person in it. They did to the king what they had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹ After this, Joshua and his army went on from Libnah to Lachish, surrounded it and attacked it. ³² The Lord gave the Israelites victory over Lachish on the second day of the battle. Just as they had done at Libnah, they spared no one, but killed every person in the city. ³³ King Horam of Gezer came to the aid of Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army and left none of them alive.

³⁴ Next, Joshua and his army went on from Lachish to Eglon, surrounded it and attacked it. ³⁵ They captured it the same day and put everyone there to death, just as they had done at Lachish.

³⁶ After this, Joshua and his army went from Eglon up into the hills to Hebron, attacked it ³⁷ and captured it. They killed the king and everyone else in the city as well as in the nearby towns. Joshua condemned the city to total destruction, just as he had done to Eglon. No one in it was left alive.

³⁸ Then Joshua and his army turned back to Debir and attacked it. ³⁹ He captured it, with its king and all the nearby towns. They put everyone there to death. Joshua did to Debir and its king what he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.

⁴⁰ Joshua conquered the whole land. He defeated the kings of the hill country, the eastern slopes, and the western foothills, as well as those of the dry country in the south. He spared no one; everyone was put to death. This was what the Lord God of Israel had commanded. ⁴¹ Joshua's campaign took him from Kadesh Barnea in the south to Gaza near the coast, including all the area of Goshen, and as far north as Gibeon. ⁴² Joshua conquered all these kings and their territory in one campaign because the Lord, Israel's God, was fighting for Israel. ⁴³ After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day. ²⁰ There was also a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who used to be brought to the rich man's door, ²¹ hoping to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores. ²² The poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the feast in heaven. The rich man died and was buried, ^23 (A)and in Hades,^[a] where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. ²⁴ So he called out, ‘Father Abraham! Take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue, because I am in great pain in this fire!’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Remember, my son, that in your lifetime you were given all the good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. But now he is enjoying himself here, while you are in pain. ²⁶ Besides all that, there is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are.’ ²⁷ The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father's house, ²⁸ where I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them so that they, at least, will not come to this place of pain.’ ²⁹ Abraham said, ‘Your brothers have Moses and the prophets to warn them; your brothers should listen to what they say.’ ³⁰ The rich man answered, ‘That is not enough, father Abraham! But if someone were to rise from death and go to them, then they would turn from their sins.’ ³¹ But Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death.’”

Sin^(B)

17 Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen! ² It would be better for him if a large millstone were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. ^3 (C)So watch what you do!

“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ If he sins against you seven times in one day, and each time he comes to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Faith

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith greater.”

⁶ The Lord answered, “If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.

A Servant's Duty

⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant who is plowing or looking after the sheep. When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry along and eat his meal? ⁸ Of course not! Instead, you say to him, ‘Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may have your meal.’ ⁹ The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? ¹⁰ It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’”

A Prayer for the Defeat of Israel's Enemies^[a]

⁴ No matter how much a lazy person may want something, he will never get it. A hard worker will get everything he wants.