December 16
Micah 1-3 11 Yahweh’s word that came to Micah the Morashtite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. 2 Hear, you peoples, all of you. Listen, O earth, and all that is therein: and let the Lord Yahweh be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. 3 For, behold, Yahweh comes out of his place, and will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. 4 The mountains melt under him, and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like waters that are poured down a steep place. 5 “All this is for the disobedience of Jacob, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the disobedience of Jacob? Isn’t it Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Aren’t they Jerusalem? 6 Therefore I will make Samaria like a rubble heap of the field, like places for planting vineyards; and I will pour down its stones into the valley, and I will uncover its foundations. 7 All her idols will be beaten to pieces, and all her temple gifts will be burned with fire, and all her images I will destroy; for of the hire of a prostitute has she gathered them, and to the hire of a prostitute shall they return.” 8 For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will howl like the jackals, and moan like the daughters of owls. 9 For her wounds are incurable; for it has come even to Judah. It reaches to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. 10 Don’t tell it in Gath. Don’t weep at all. At Beth Ophrah I have rolled myself in the dust. 11 Pass on, inhabitant of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame. The inhabitant of Zaanan won’t come out. The wailing of Beth Ezel will take from you his protection. 12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waits anxiously for good, because evil has come down from Yahweh to the gate of Jerusalem. 13 Harness the chariot to the swift steed, inhabitant of Lachish. She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion; For the transgressions of Israel were found in you. 14 Therefore you will give a parting gift to Moresheth Gath. The houses of Achzib will be a deceitful thing to the kings of Israel. 15 I will yet bring to you, inhabitant of Mareshah. He who is the glory of Israel will come to Adullam. 16 Shave your heads, and cut off your hair for the children of your delight. Enlarge your baldness like the vulture; for they have gone into captivity from you! 21 Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil on their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. 2 They covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. 3 Therefore Yahweh says: “Behold, I am planning against these people a disaster, from which you will not remove your necks, neither will you walk haughtily; for it is an evil time. 4 In that day they will take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, saying, ‘We are utterly ruined! My people’s possession is divided up. Indeed he takes it from me and assigns our fields to traitors!’ ” 5 Therefore you will have no one who divides the land by lot in Yahweh’s assembly. 6 “Don’t prophesy!” They prophesy. “Don’t prophesy about these things. Disgrace won’t overtake us.” 7 Shall it be said, O house of Jacob: “Is Yahweh’s Spirit angry? Are these his doings? Don’t my words do good to him who walks blamelessly?” 8 But lately my people have risen up as an enemy. You strip the robe and clothing from those who pass by without a care, returning from battle. 9 You drive the women of my people out from their pleasant houses; from their young children you take away my blessing forever. 10 Arise, and depart! For this is not your resting place, because of uncleanness that destroys, even with a grievous destruction. 11 If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood lies: “I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink;” he would be the prophet of this people. 12 I will surely assemble, Jacob, all of you; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the middle of their pasture; they will swarm with people. 13 He who breaks open the way goes up before them. They break through the gate, and go out. And their king passes on before them, with Yahweh at their head. 31 I said, “Please listen, you heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: Isn’t it for you to know justice? 2 You who hate the good, and love the evil; who tear off their skin, and their flesh from off their bones; 3 who also eat the flesh of my people, and peel their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as meat within the cauldron. 4 Then they will cry to Yahweh, but he will not answer them. Yes, he will hide his face from them at that time, because they made their deeds evil.” 5 Yahweh says concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; for those who feed their teeth, they proclaim, “Peace!” and whoever doesn’t provide for their mouths, they prepare war against him: 6 “Therefore night is over you, with no vision, and it is dark to you, that you may not divine; and the sun will go down on the prophets, and the day will be black over them. 7 The seers shall be disappointed, and the diviners confounded. Yes, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer from God.” 8 But as for me, I am full of power by Yahweh’s Spirit, and of judgment, and of might, to declare to Jacob his disobedience, and to Israel his sin. 9 Please listen to this, you heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice, and pervert all equity. 10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. 11 Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, “Isn’t Yahweh among us? No disaster will come on us.” 12 Therefore Zion for your sake will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble, and the mountain of the temple like the high places of a forest.
Job 34:1-20
341 Moreover Elihu answered, 2 “Hear my words, you wise men. Give ear to me, you who have knowledge. 3 For the ear tries words, as the palate tastes food. 4 Let us choose for us that which is right. Let us know among ourselves what is good. 5 For Job has said, ‘I am righteous, God has taken away my right: 6 Notwithstanding my right I am considered a liar. My wound is incurable, though I am without disobedience.’ 7 What man is like Job, who drinks scorn like water, 8 Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity, and walks with wicked men? 9 For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.’ 10 “Therefore listen to me, you men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness, from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity. 11 For the work of a man he will render to him, and cause every man to find according to his ways. 12 Yes surely, God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert justice. 13 Who put him in charge of the earth? Or who has appointed him over the whole world? 14 If he set his heart on himself, if he gathered to himself his spirit and his breath, 15 all flesh would perish together, and man would turn again to dust. 16 “If now you have understanding, hear this. Listen to the voice of my words. 17 Should even one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty?— 18 Who says to a king, ‘Vile!’ or to nobles, ‘Wicked!’? 19 He doesn’t respect the persons of princes, nor respect the rich more than the poor; for they all are the work of his hands. 20 In a moment they die, even at midnight. The people are shaken and pass away. The mighty are taken away without a hand.
John 18:19-27 1819 The high priest therefore asked Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues, and in the temple, where the Jews always meet. I said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them. Behold, they know the things which I said.” 22 When he had said this, one of the officers standing by slapped Jesus with his hand, saying, “Do you answer the high priest like that?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, testify of the evil; but if well, why do you beat me?” 24 Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. 25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, “You aren’t also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the servants of the high priest, being a relative of him whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” 27 Peter therefore denied it again, and immediately the rooster crowed.
Revelation 11:15-19
1115 The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!” 16 The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God’s throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was; because you have taken your great power and reigned. 18 The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your bondservants the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints, and those who fear your name, to the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” 19 God’s temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed.
Proud vs. Broken
Proud
Proud people keep others at arms’ length.
Broken
Broken people are willing to risk getting close to others and to take risks of loving intimately.
Meditate on this
Matthew 5:28 NKJV
But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
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