Through the Bible – Day 64

_1-2Some day a prophet may come along who is able to perform miracles or tell what will happen in the future. Then the prophet may say, “Let's start worshipping some new gods—some gods that we know nothing about.” ₃If the prophet says this, don't listen! The LORD your God will be watching to find out whether or not you love him with all your heart and soul. ₄You must be completely faithful to the LORD. Worship and obey only the LORD and do this with fear and trembling, ₅because he rescued you from slavery in Egypt.

If a prophet tells you to disobey the LORD your God and to stop worshipping him, then that prophet is evil and must be put to death.

_6-10Someone else may say to you, “Let's worship other gods.” That person may be your best friend, your brother or sister, your son or daughter, or your own dear wife or husband. But you must not listen to people who say such things. Instead, you must stone them to death. You must be the first to throw the stones, then others from the community will finish the job. Don't show any pity.

The gods worshipped by other nations have never done anything for you or your ancestors. People who ask you to worship other gods are trying to get you to stop worshipping the LORD, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. So put to death anyone who asks you to worship another god. ₁₁And when the rest of Israel hears about it, they will be afraid, and no one else will ever do such an evil thing again.

₁₂After the LORD your God gives you towns to live in, you may hear a rumour about one of the towns. ₁₃You may hear that some worthless people have talked everyone there into worshipping other gods, even though these gods had never done anything for them. ₁₄You must carefully find out if the rumour is true. Then if the people of that town have actually done such a disgusting thing in your own country, ₁₅you must take your swords and kill every one of them, and their livestock too. _16-17Gather all the possessions of the people who lived there, and pile them up in the market place, without keeping anything for yourself. Set the pile and the whole town on fire, and don't ever rebuild the town. The whole town will be a sacrifice to the LORD your God. Then he won't be angry any more, and he will have mercy on you and make you successful, just as he promised your ancestors. ₁₈That's why you must do what the LORD your God says is right. I am giving you his laws and teachings today, and you must obey them.

₁People of Israel, you are the LORD's children, so when you mourn for the dead, you must not cut yourselves or shave your forehead. ₂Out of all the nations on this earth, the LORD your God chose you to be his own. You belong to the LORD, so don't behave like those who worship other gods.

₃Don't eat any disgusting animals.

_4-5You may eat the meat of cattle, sheep, and goats; wild sheep and goats; and gazelles, antelopes, and all kinds of deer. ₆It is all right to eat meat from any animals that have divided hoofs and also chew the cud.

₇But don't eat camels, rabbits, and rock badgers. These animals chew the cud but do not have divided hoofs. You must treat them as unclean. ₈And don't eat pork, since pigs have divided hoofs, but they do not chew their cud. Don't even touch a dead pig!

₉You can eat any fish that has fins and scales. But there are other creatures that live in the water, ₁₀and if they do not have fins and scales, you must not eat them. Treat them as unclean.

₁₁You can eat any clean bird. _12-18But don't eat the meat of any of the following birds: eagles, vultures, falcons, kites, ravens, ostriches, owls, seagulls, hawks, pelicans, ospreys, cormorants, storks, herons, and hoopoes. You must not eat bats. ₁₉Swarming insects are unclean, so don't eat them. ₂₀However, you are allowed to eat certain kinds of winged insects.

₂₁You belong to the LORD your God, so if you happen to find a dead animal, don't eat its meat. You may give it to foreigners who live in your town or sell it to foreigners who are visiting your town.

Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

₂₂People of Israel, every year you must set aside ten per cent of your grain harvest. ₂₃Also set aside ten per cent of your wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of every cow, sheep, and goat. Take these to the place where the LORD chooses to be worshipped, and eat them there. This will teach you to always respect the LORD your God.

₂₄But suppose you can't carry that ten per cent of your harvest to the place where the LORD chooses to be worshipped. If you live too far away, or if the LORD gives you a big harvest, ₂₅then sell this part and take the money there instead. ₂₆When you and your family arrive, spend the money on food for a big celebration. Buy cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, and if there are any other kinds of food that you want, buy those too. ₂₇And since people of the Levi tribe won't own any land for growing crops, remember to ask the Levites to celebrate with you.

₂₈Every third year, instead of using the ten per cent of your harvest for a big celebration, bring it into town and put it in a community storehouse. ₂₉The Levites have no land of their own, so you must give them food from the storehouse. You must also give food to the poor who live in your town, including orphans, widows, and foreigners. If they have enough to eat, then the LORD your God will be pleased and make you successful in everything you do.

_1-2Every seven years you must announce, “The LORD says loans do not need to be paid back.” Then if you have loaned money to another Israelite, you can no longer ask for payment. ₃This law applies only to loans you have made to other Israelites. Foreigners will still have to pay back what you have loaned them.

_4-6No one in Israel should ever be poor. The LORD your God is giving you this land, and he has promised to make you very successful, if you obey his laws and teachings that I'm giving you today. You will lend money to many nations, but you won't have to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they won't rule you.

₇After the LORD your God gives land to each of you, there may be poor Israelites in the town where you live. If there are, then don't be mean and selfish with your money. ₈Instead, be kind and lend them what they need. ₉Be careful! Don't say to yourself, “Soon it will be the seventh year, and then I won't be able to get my money back.” It would be horrible for you to think that way and to be so selfish that you refuse to help the poor. They are your relatives, and if you don't help them, they may ask the LORD to decide whether you have done wrong. And he will say that you are guilty. ₁₀You should be happy to give the poor what they need, because then the LORD will make you successful in everything you do.

₁₁There will always be some Israelites who are poor and needy. That's why I am commanding you to be generous with them.

₁₂If any of you buy Israelites as slaves, you must set them free after six years. ₁₃And don't just tell them they are free to leave— ₁₄give them sheep and goats and a good supply of grain and wine. The more the LORD has given you, the more you should give them. ₁₅I am commanding you to obey the LORD as a reminder that you were slaves in Egypt before he set you free. ₁₆But one of your slaves may say, “I love you and your family, and I would be better off staying with you, so please don't make me leave.” ₁₇Take the slave to the door of your house and push a sharp metal rod through one ear lobe and into the door. Such slaves will belong to you for life, whether they are men or women.

₁₈Don't complain when you have to set a slave free. After all, you got six years of service at half the cost of hiring someone to do the work.

₁₉If the firstborn animal of a cow or sheep or goat is a male, it must be given to the LORD. Don't put firstborn cattle to work or cut wool from firstborn sheep. ₂₀Instead, each year you must take the firstborn of these animals to the place where the LORD your God chooses to be worshipped. You and your family will sacrifice them to the LORD and then eat them as part of a sacred meal.

₂₁But if the animal is lame or blind or has something else wrong with it, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. ₂₂You can butcher it where you live, and eat it just like the meat of a deer or gazelle that you kill while hunting. Even those people who are unclean and unfit for worship can have some. ₂₃But you must never eat the blood of an animal—let it drain out on the ground.

₂₇Jesus and his disciples went to the villages near the town of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “What do people say about me?”

₂₈The disciples answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist or perhaps Elijah. Others say you are one of the prophets.”

₂₉Then Jesus asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

“You are the Messiah!” Peter replied.

₃₀Jesus warned the disciples not to tell anyone about him.

₃₁Jesus began telling his disciples what would happen to him. He said, “The nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. He will be rejected and killed, but three days later he will rise to life.” ₃₂Then Jesus explained clearly what he meant.

Peter took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that. ₃₃But when Jesus turned and saw the disciples, he corrected Peter. He said to him, “Satan, get away from me! You are thinking like everyone else and not like God.”

₃₄Jesus then told the crowd and the disciples to come closer, and he said:

₂Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him. They went up on a high mountain, where they could be alone. There in front of the disciples, Jesus was completely changed. ₃And his clothes became much whiter than any bleach on earth could make them. ₄Then Moses and Elijah were there talking with Jesus.

₅Peter said to Jesus, “Teacher, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ₆But Peter and the others were terribly frightened, and he did not know what he was talking about.

₇The shadow of a cloud passed over and covered them. From the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, and I love him. Listen to what he says!” ₈At once the disciples looked around, but they saw only Jesus.

₉As Jesus and his disciples were coming down the mountain, he told them not to say a word about what they had seen, until the Son of Man had been raised from death. ₁₀So they kept it to themselves. But they wondered what he meant by the words “raised from death”.

₁₁The disciples asked Jesus, “Don't the teachers of the Law of Moses say that Elijah must come before the Messiah does?”

₁₂Jesus answered: