The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday April 24, 2018 (NIV)

Judges 2:10-3:31

10 That whole generation had joined their ancestors in death. So another generation grew up after them. They had no personal experience with the Lord or with what he had done for Israel.

The Sin of the Next Generation

11 The people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil. They began to serve other gods—the Baals. 12 The Israelites abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors, the God who brought them out of Egypt. They followed the other gods of the people around them. They worshiped these gods, and that made the Lord angry. 13 They abandoned the Lord to serve the god Baal and the goddess Astarte. 14 So the Lord became angry with the people of Israel. He handed them over to people who robbed them. He also used their enemies around them to defeat them. They could no longer stand up against their enemies. 15 Whenever the Israelites went to war, the power of the Lord brought disaster on them. This was what the Lord said he would do in an oath. So he made them suffer a great deal.

16 Then the Lord would send judges[a] to rescue them from those who robbed them. 17 But the people wouldn’t listen to the judges. The Israelites chased after other gods as though they were prostitutes and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors who had obeyed the Lord’s commands. They refused to be like their ancestors. 18 But when the Lord appointed judges for the Israelites, he was with each judge. The Lord rescued them from their enemies as long as that judge was alive. The Lord was moved by the groaning of those who were tormented and oppressed. 19 But after each judge died, the people went back to their old ways and acted more corruptly than their parents. They followed, served, and worshiped other gods. They never gave up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

The Lord Allows the Nations to Stay in Order to Test His People

20 The Lord became angry with Israel. He said, “Because the people of this nation have rejected the promise I gave their ancestors and have not obeyed me, 21 I will no longer force out the nations Joshua left behind when he died. 22 I will test the people of Israel with these nations to see whether or not they will carefully follow the Lord’s ways as their ancestors did.” 23 So the Lord let these nations stay. He had not handed them over to Joshua or forced them out quickly.

These are the nations the Lord left behind to test all the Israelites who had not experienced any war in Canaan. The Lord left them to teach Israel’s descendants about war, at least those who had known nothing about it in the past. He left the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to the border of Hamath. These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out if they would obey the commands the Lord had given their ancestors through Moses.

The People Fail the Test

So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. The Israelites allowed their sons and daughters to marry these people. Israel also served their gods.

Othniel Defeats Cushan Rishathaim

The people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil. They forgot the Lord their God and served other gods and goddesses—the Baals and the Asherahs. The Lord became angry with the people of Israel. He used King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim to defeat them. So Israel served Cushan Rishathaim for eight years.

Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent a savior to rescue them. It was Othniel, son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz. 10 When the Lord’s Spirit came over him, he became the judge of Israel. He went out to war. The Lord handed King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim over to him, and Othniel overpowered him. 11 So there was finally peace in the land for 40 years. Then Othniel, son of Kenaz, died.

Ehud Defeats Moab

12 Once again, the people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil. So the Lord made King Eglon of Moab stronger than Israel, because Israel did what the Lord considered evil. 13 Eglon got the Ammonites and the Amalekites to help him, and they defeated the Israelites and occupied the City of Palms. 14 The Israelites served King Eglon of Moab for 18 years.

15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent a savior to rescue them. It was Ehud, a left-handed man from the tribe of Benjamin. (Ehud was the son of Gera.)

The people sent him with their tax payment to King Eglon of Moab. 16 Ehud made a two-edged dagger for himself. He fastened it to his right side under his clothes. 17 Then he brought the tax payment to King Eglon. (Eglon was a very fat man.) 18 When Ehud had finished delivering the payment, he sent back the men who had carried it. 19 However, Ehud turned around at the stone idols near Gilgal and returned to Eglon. He said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”

The king replied, “Keep quiet!” Then all his advisers left the room.

20 Ehud came up to him as he sat alone in his room on the roof. He said to the king, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his throne, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right side, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly. 22 Even the handle went in after the blade. Eglon’s fat covered the blade because Ehud didn’t pull the dagger out. The blade stuck out in back. [b] 23 Ehud left the room.[c] (He had closed and locked the doors of the room before he left.)

24 After Ehud went out, Eglon’s advisers came in. They were surprised that the doors were locked. “He must be using the toilet,” they said. 25 They waited and waited, but Eglon didn’t open the doors. So they took the key and opened the door. They were shocked to see their ruler lying on the floor, dead.

26 While they had been waiting, Ehud escaped. He went past the stone idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived there, he blew a ram’s horn in the mountains of Ephraim to summon the troops. So the troops of Israel came down from the mountains with him, and he led them. 28 He told them, “Follow me! The Lord will hand your enemy Moab over to you.”

They followed him and captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River that led to Moab and refused to let anyone cross. 29 At that time they killed about ten thousand of Moab’s best fighting men. Not one of them escaped. 30 The power of Moab was crushed by Israel that day. So there was finally peace in the land for 80 years.

Shamgar Defeats the Philistines

31 After Ehud came Shamgar, son of Anath. He killed 600 Philistines with a sharp stick used for herding oxen. So he, too, rescued Israel.

Footnotes:

  1. Judges 2:16 The judges served as God-appointed political/religious leaders of Israel.
  2. Judges 3:23 Hebrew meaning uncertain.
  3. Judges 3:23 Hebrew meaning uncertain.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Luke 22:14-34

14 When it was time to eat the Passover meal, Jesus and the apostles were at the table. 15 Jesus said to them, “I’ve had a deep desire to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 I can guarantee that I won’t eat it again until it finds its fulfillment in God’s kingdom.” 17 Then he took a cup and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He said, “Take this, and share it. 18 I can guarantee that from now on I won’t drink this wine until God’s kingdom comes.”

The Lord’s Supper(A)

19 Then Jesus took bread and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He broke the bread, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given up for you. Do this to remember me.”

20 When supper was over, he did the same with the cup. He said, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new promise[a] made with my blood.”

Jesus Knows Who Will Betray Him(B)

21 “The hand of the one who will betray me is with me on the table. 22 The Son of Man is going to die the way it has been planned for him. But how horrible it will be for that person who betrays him.”

23 So they began to discuss with each other who could do such a thing.

An Argument about Greatness

24 Then a quarrel broke out among the disciples. They argued about who should be considered the greatest.

25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of nations have power over their people, and those in authority call themselves friends of the people. 26 But you’re not going to be that way! Rather, the greatest among you must be like the youngest, and your leader must be like a servant. 27 Who’s the greatest, the person who sits at the table or the servant? Isn’t it really the person who sits at the table? But I’m among you as a servant.

28 “You have stood by me in the troubles that have tested me. 29 So as my Father has given me a kingdom, I’m giving it to you. 30 You will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. You will also sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial(C)

31 Then the Lord said, “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to have you apostles for himself. He wants to separate you from me as a farmer separates wheat from husks. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. So when you recover, strengthen the other disciples.”

33 But Peter said to him, “Lord, I’m ready to go to prison with you and to die with you.”

34 Jesus replied, “Peter, I can guarantee that the rooster won’t crow tonight until you say three times that you don’t know me.”

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 22:20 Or “testament,” or “covenant.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Psalm 92-93

Psalm 92

A psalm; a song; for the day of rest—a holy day.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to make music to praise your name, O Most High.
It is good to announce your mercy in the morning
and your faithfulness in the evening
on a ten-stringed instrument and a harp
and with a melody on a lyre.

You made me find joy in what you have done, O Lord.
I will sing joyfully about the works of your hands.
How spectacular are your works, O Lord!
How very deep are your thoughts!

A stupid person cannot know
and a fool cannot understand
that wicked people sprout like grass
and all troublemakers blossom like flowers,
only to be destroyed forever.

But you, O Lord, are highly honored forever.
Now look at your enemies, O Lord.
Now look at your enemies.
They disappear, and all troublemakers are scattered.

10 But you make me as strong as a wild bull,
and soothing lotion is poured on me.
11 My eyes gloat over those who spy on me.
My ears hear the cries of evildoers attacking me.

12 Righteous people flourish like palm trees
and grow tall like the cedars in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the Lord’s house.
They blossom in our God’s courtyards.
14 Even when they are old, they still bear fruit.
They are always healthy and fresh.
15 They make it known that the Lord is decent.
He is my rock.
He is never unfair.

Psalm 93

The Lord rules as king! He is clothed with majesty.
The Lord has clothed himself; he has armed himself with power.
The world was set in place; it cannot be moved.

Your throne was set in place a long time ago.
You are eternal.

The ocean rises, O Lord.
The ocean rises with a roar.
The ocean rises with its pounding waves.
The Lord above is mighty—
mightier than the sound of raging water,
mightier than the foaming waves of the sea.

Your written testimonies are completely reliable.
O Lord, holiness is what makes your house beautiful for days without end.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Proverbs 14:1-2

Wise People Live Righteously

The wisest of women builds up her home,
but a stupid one tears it down with her own hands.
Whoever lives right fears the Lord,
but a person who is devious in his ways despises him.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group