Through the Bible – Day 52

₁The people of Israel arrived at the Zin Desert during the first month and set up camp near the town of Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and was buried.

₁The Canaanite king of Arad lived in the Southern Desert of Canaan, and when he heard that the Israelites were on their way to the village of Atharim, he attacked and took some of them hostage.

₂The Israelites prayed, “Our LORD, if you will help us defeat these Canaanites, we will completely destroy their towns and everything in them, to show that they belong to you.”

₃The LORD answered their prayer and helped them wipe out the Canaanite army and completely destroy their towns. That's why one of the towns is named Hormah, which means “Destroyed Place”.

₄The Israelites had to go around the territory of Edom, so when they left Mount Hor, they headed south towards the Red Sea. But along the way, the people became so impatient ₅that they complained against God and said to Moses, “Did you bring us out of Egypt, just to let us die in the desert? There's no water out here, and we can't stand this awful food!”

₆Then the LORD sent poisonous snakes that bit and killed many of them.

₇Some of the people went to Moses and admitted, “It was wrong of us to insult you and the LORD. Now please ask him to make these snakes go away.”

Moses prayed, ₈and the LORD answered, “Make a snake out of bronze and place it on top of a pole. Anyone who gets bitten can look at the snake and won't die.”

₉Moses obeyed the LORD. And all of those who looked at the bronze snake lived, even though they had been bitten by the poisonous snakes.

₁₀As the Israelites continued their journey to Canaan, they camped at Oboth, ₁₁then at Iye-Abarim in the desert east of Moab, ₁₂and then in the Zered Gorge. ₁₃After that, they crossed the gorge of the River Arnon and camped in the Moabite desert bordering Amorite territory. The Arnon was the border between the Moabites and the Amorites. ₁₄A song in The Book of the LORD's Battles mentions the town of Waheb with its creeks in the territory of Suphah. It also mentions the River Arnon, ₁₅with its valleys that lie beside the Moabite border and extend to the town of Ar.

₁₆From the Arnon, the Israelites went to the well near the town of Beer, where the LORD had said to Moses, “Call the people together, and I will give them water to drink.”

₁₇That's also the same well the Israelites sang about in this song:

The Israelites left the desert and camped near the town of Mattanah, ₁₉then at Nahaliel, and then at Bamoth. ₂₀Finally, they reached Moabite territory, where they camped near Mount Pisgah in a valley overlooking the desert north of the Dead Sea.

₂₁The Israelites sent this message to King Sihon of the Amorites:

₂₃But Sihon refused to let Israel travel through his land. Instead, he called together his entire army and marched into the desert to attack Israel near the town of Jahaz. ₂₄Israel defeated them and took over the Amorite territory from the gorge of the River Arnon in the south to the gorge of the River Jabbok in the north. Beyond the Jabbok was the territory of the Ammonites, who were much stronger than Israel.

₂₅The Israelites settled in the Amorite towns, including the capital city of Heshbon with its surrounding villages. ₂₆King Sihon had ruled from Heshbon, after defeating the Moabites and taking over their land north of the Arnon gorge. ₂₇That's why the Amorites had written this poem about Heshbon:

₃₁After the Israelites had settled in the Amorite territory, ₃₂Moses sent some men to explore the town of Jazer. Later, the Israelites captured the villages surrounding it and forced out the Amorites who lived there.

₃₃The Israelites headed towards the region of Bashan, where King Og ruled, and he led his entire army to Edrei to meet Israel in battle.

₃₄The LORD said to Moses, “Don't be afraid of Og. I will help you defeat him and his army, just as you did King Sihon who ruled in Heshbon. Og's territory will be yours.”

₃₅So the Israelites wiped out Og, his family, and his entire army—there were no survivors. Then Israel took over the land of Bashan.

₁Israel moved from there to the hills of Moab, where they camped across the River Jordan from the town of Jericho.

₁Jesus went back to Capernaum, and a few days later people heard that he was at home. ₂Then so many of them came to the house that there wasn't even standing room left in front of the door.

Jesus was still teaching ₃when four people came up, carrying a crippled man on a mat. ₄But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they made a hole in the roof above him and let the man down in front of everyone.

₅When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the crippled man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.”

₆Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were sitting there. They started wondering, ₇“Why would he say such a thing? He must think he is God! Only God can forgive sins.”

₈Straight away, Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said, “Why are you thinking such things? ₉Is it easier for me to tell this crippled man that his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and pick up his mat and go on home? ₁₀I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.” So Jesus said to the man, ₁₁“Get up! Pick up your mat and go on home.”

₁₂The man got straight up. He picked up his mat and went out while everyone watched in amazement. They praised God and said, “We have never seen anything like this!”

₁₃Once again, Jesus went to the shore of Lake Galilee. A large crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. ₁₄As he walked along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at the place for paying taxes, and Jesus said to him, “Come with me!” So he got up and went with Jesus.

₁₅Later, Jesus and his disciples were having dinner at Levi's house. Many tax collectors and other sinners had become followers of Jesus, and they were also guests at the dinner.

₁₆Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees, and they saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors. So they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

₁₇Jesus heard them and answered, “Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn't come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.”

₁₈The followers of John the Baptist and the Pharisees often went without eating. Some people came and asked Jesus, “Why do the followers of John and those of the Pharisees often go without eating, while your disciples never do?”

₁₉Jesus answered: