THEINC-HIM Daily Bible Meditation

Ten Commandments

NOVEMBER 21

PSALMS: 21, 51, 81, 111, 141

PROVERBS: 21

OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS 30:11 -31:18

NEW TESTAMENT: MATTHEW 26:47 – 68

PSALMS: 21

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.

How great is his joy in the victories you give!

²You have granted him the desire of his heart

and have not withheld the request of his lips.

Selah

³You welcomed him with rich blessings

and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.

⁴He asked you for life, and you gave it to him–

length of days, for ever and ever.

⁵Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;

you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.

⁶Surely you have granted him eternal blessings

and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

⁷For the king trusts in the LORD;

through the unfailing love of the Most High

he will not be shaken.

⁸Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;

your right hand will seize your foes.

⁹At the time of your appearing

you will make them like a fiery furnace.

In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up,

and his fire will consume them.

¹⁰You will destroy their descendants from the earth,

their posterity from mankind.

¹¹Though they plot evil against you

and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed;

¹²for you will make them turn their backs

when you aim at them with drawn bow. ¹

¹³Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength;

we will sing and praise your might. ²

PSALMS: 51

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

¹Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

²Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

³For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

⁴Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are proved right when you speak

and justified when you judge.

⁵Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

⁶Surely you desire truth in the inner parts ^A;

you teach ^B me wisdom in the inmost place.

⁷Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

⁹Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquity. ³

¹⁰Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will turn back to you.

¹⁴Save me from bloodguilt, O God,

the God who saves me,

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

¹⁵O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

¹⁷The sacrifices of God are ^C a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart,

O God, you will not despise.

¹⁸In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;

build up the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then there will be righteous sacrifices,

whole burnt offerings to delight you;

then bulls will be offered on your altar. ⁴

PSALMS: 81

For the director of music. According to gittith. ^A Of Asaph.

¹Sing for joy to God our strength;

shout aloud to the God of Jacob!

²Begin the music, strike the tambourine,

play the melodious harp and lyre.

³Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,

and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast;

⁴this is a decree for Israel,

an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

⁵He established it as a statute for Joseph

when he went out against Egypt,

where we heard a language we did not understand. ^B

⁶He says, “I removed the burden from their shoulders;

their hands were set free from the basket.

⁷In your distress you called and I rescued you,

I answered you out of a thundercloud;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Selah

⁸“Hear, O my people, and I will warn you–

if you would but listen to me, O Israel!

⁹ You shall have no foreign god among you;

you shall not bow down to an alien god.

¹⁰ I am the LORD your God,

who brought you up out of Egypt.

Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. ⁵

¹¹“But my people would not listen to me;

Israel would not submit to me.

¹² So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts

to follow their own devices.

¹³“If my people would but listen to me,

if Israel would follow my ways,

¹⁴ how quickly would I subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes!

¹⁵ Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him,

and their punishment would last forever.

¹⁶ But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;

with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” ⁶

PSALMS: 111

¹Praise ^A the LORD. ^B

I will extol the LORD with all my heart

in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

²Great are the works of the LORD;

they are pondered by all who delight in them.

³Glorious and majestic are his deeds,

and his righteousness endures forever.

⁴He has caused his wonders to be remembered;

the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

⁵He provides food for those who fear him;

he remembers his covenant forever.

⁶He has shown his people the power of his works,

giving them the lands of other nations.

⁷The works of his hands are faithful and just;

all his precepts are trustworthy.

⁸They are steadfast for ever and ever,

done in faithfulness and uprightness.

⁹He provided redemption for his people;

he ordained his covenant forever–

holy and awesome is his name.

¹⁰The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

To him belongs eternal praise. ⁷

PSALMS: 141

A psalm of David.

¹O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me.

Hear my voice when I call to you.

²May my prayer be set before you like incense;

may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

³Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;

keep watch over the door of my lips.

⁴Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil,

to take part in wicked deeds

with men who are evildoers;

let me not eat of their delicacies.

⁵Let a righteous man ^A strike me–it is a kindness;

let him rebuke me–it is oil on my head.

My head will not refuse it.

Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers;

⁶their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs,

and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.

⁷They will say, “As one plows and breaks up the earth,

so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave. ^B“

⁸But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD;

in you I take refuge–do not give me over to death.

⁹Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,

from the traps set by evildoers.

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

while I pass by in safety. ⁸

PROVERBS: 21

21 ¹ The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD;

he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.

²All a man’s ways seem right to him,

but the LORD weighs the heart.

³To do what is right and just

is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

⁴Haughty eyes and a proud heart,

the lamp of the wicked, are sin!

⁵The plans of the diligent lead to profit

as surely as haste leads to poverty.

⁶A fortune made by a lying tongue

is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare. ^A

⁷The violence of the wicked will drag them away,

for they refuse to do what is right.

⁸The way of the guilty is devious,

but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

⁹Better to live on a corner of the roof

than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

¹⁰The wicked man craves evil;

his neighbor gets no mercy from him. ⁹

¹¹When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;

when a wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.

¹²The Righteous One ^B takes note of the house of the wicked

and brings the wicked to ruin.

¹³If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

he too will cry out and not be answered.

¹⁴A gift given in secret soothes anger,

and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.

¹⁵When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous

but terror to evildoers.

¹⁶A man who strays from the path of understanding

comes to rest in the company of the dead.

¹⁷He who loves pleasure will become poor;

whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.

¹⁸The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,

and the unfaithful for the upright.

¹⁹Better to live in a desert

than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.

²⁰In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil,

but a foolish man devours all he has.

²¹He who pursues righteousness and love

finds life, prosperity ^C and honor. ¹⁰

²²A wise man attacks the city of the mighty

and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³He who guards his mouth and his tongue

keeps himself from calamity.

²⁴The proud and arrogant man–“Mocker” is his name;

he behaves with overweening pride.

²⁵The sluggard’s craving will be the death of him,

because his hands refuse to work.

²⁶All day long he craves for more,

but the righteous give without sparing.

²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable–

how much more so when brought with evil intent!

²⁸A false witness will perish,

and whoever listens to him will be destroyed forever. ^D

²⁹A wicked man puts up a bold front,

but an upright man gives thought to his ways.

³⁰There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan

that can succeed against the LORD.

³¹The horse is made ready for the day of battle,

but victory rests with the LORD. ¹¹

OLD TESTAMENT: EXODUS 30:11 -31:18

¹¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹²“When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. ¹³Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, ^B according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD. ¹⁴ All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the LORD. ¹⁵ The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives. ¹⁶ Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives.”

¹⁷ Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹⁸“Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

¹⁹ Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. ²⁰ Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the LORD by fire,

²¹ they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.“

²²Then the LORD said to Moses, ²³“Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels ^C of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, ²⁴500 shekels of cassia–all according to the sanctuary shekel–and a hin ^D of olive oil. ²⁵ Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. ²⁶ Then use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, ²⁷ the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, ²⁸ the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand.

²⁹ You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.

³⁰“Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.

³¹ Say to the Israelites, `This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come.

³² Do not pour it on men’s bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. ³³ Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.’“

³⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices–gum resin, onycha and galbanum–and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, ³⁵ and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. ³⁶ Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. ³⁷ Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the LORD. ³⁸ Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from his people.”

31 ¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ²“See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have filled him with the ¹² Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts– ⁴to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, ⁵ to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. ⁶ Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you: ⁷ the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent—⁸ the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, ⁹ the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand—¹⁰ and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, ¹¹ and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”

¹²Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹³“Say to the Israelites, `You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. ^A

¹⁴“`Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. ¹⁵ For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. ¹⁶ The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. ¹⁷ It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’“

¹⁸When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God. ¹³

NEW TESTAMENT: MATTHEW 26:47 – 68

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” ⁴⁹Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.

⁵⁰Jesus replied, “Friend, do what you came for.” ^D

Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

⁵²“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴ But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?“

⁵⁵At that time Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me. ⁵⁶ But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.

⁵⁷Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. ⁵⁸But Peter followed him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.

⁵⁹The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. ⁶⁰But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

Finally two came forward ⁶¹and declared, “This fellow said, `I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’ “

⁶²Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶³But Jesus remained silent.

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, ^E the Son of God.”

⁶⁴“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶⁵Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. ⁶⁶What do you think?”

“He is worthy of death,” they answered.

⁶⁷Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him ⁶⁸and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?” ¹⁴