He lifted up his eyes to his disciples and said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.” Luke 6:20

Deuteronomy 2-3

Deuteronomy 2

Moses Describes Wandering in the Wilderness

¹ Then we turned and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and we encircled Mount Seir for many days.

² The Lord spoke to me, saying, ³ “You have been circling this mountain long enough. Turn northward. ⁴ Command the people, saying, ‘You are to pass through the border of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who are living in Seir, and they will be afraid of you. Therefore be careful. ⁵ Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land; no, not so much as for the sole of your foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. ⁶ You shall purchase food from them with money, so that you may eat. You shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.’ ”

⁷ For the Lord your God has blessed the work of your hands. He has known of your walking through this great wilderness. These 40 years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.

⁸ So we passed by from our brothers, Esau’s descendants, who live in Seir, from the way of the Arabah from Elath and from Ezion Geber. We turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

⁹ The Lord said to me, “Do not bother Moab and do not contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to Lot’s descendants for a possession.”

¹⁰ The Emim lived there before, a great and numerous people and tall as the Anakim. ¹¹ These also are considered to be Rephaim, as the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim. ¹² The Horites also lived in Seir in the past, but Essau’s descendants succeeded them. They destroyed the Horites from before them and lived in their place, as Israel did to the land of his possession, which the Lord gave to them.

¹³ “Now rise up and cross over the brook Zered.” We went over the brook Zered.

¹⁴ It was 38 years from the time we came from Kadesh Barnea until we had come over the brook Zered, until the entire generation of the men of war were consumed from the midst of the camp, as the Lord swore to them. ¹⁵ Moreover the Lord’s hand was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed.

¹⁶ So, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, ¹⁷ the Lord spoke to me, saying, ¹⁸ “You are to pass over Ar, the border of Moab, today. ¹⁹ When you come near the border of the Ammonites, do not bother them, nor contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of Ammon’s descendants as a possession, because I have given it to Lot’s descendants as a possession.”

²⁰ That also is considered a land of Rephaim. Rephaim lived there in the past, but the Ammonites called them Zamzummim,²¹ a mighty people, numerous and tall, as the Anakim. The Lord destroyed the Rephaim from before Israel, and they succeeded them and lived in their place, ²² as he did for the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They succeeded them and lived in their place even to this day. ²³ Then the Caphtorites, who came from Caphtor, destroyed the Avvites, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, and dwelt in their place.

King Sihon Defeated

²⁴ “Rise up, take your journey, and cross over the valley of the Arnon. I have given into your hand, Sihon the Amorite, King of Heshbon, and his land. Confront him in battle and begin taking possession of it. ²⁵ Today I will begin to put the fear and dread of you on everyone under the heavens. They will hear the report of you, and will tremble in fear because of you.”

²⁶ I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, ²⁷ “Let me pass through your land. I will go along by the highway. I will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left. ²⁸ You shall sell food to me with money, that I may eat, and give water to me with money, that I may drink. Just let me pass through on foot, ²⁹ as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did to me; until I pass over the Jordan into the land which the Lord your God gives us.” ³⁰ But Sihon, King of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as he is doing today.

³¹ The Lord said to me, “I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before you. Begin taking possession, that you may inherit his land.”

³² Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. ³³ The Lord our God delivered him up before us, and we struck him, his sons, and all his people. ³⁴ We took all his cities at that time and utterly destroyed every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones. We left no one remaining. ³⁵ We took only the livestock as plunder for ourselves, along with the plunder of the cities which we had taken. ³⁶ From Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the valley, to Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. The Lord our God delivered up everyone before us. ³⁷ Only to the land of the Ammonites you did not come near–all the banks of the river Jabbok, and the cities of the hill country, and wherever the Lord our God forbade us.

Deuteronomy 3

King Og Defeated

¹ Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan. Og, King of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. ² The Lord said to me, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him, with all his people, and his land, into your hand. You shall do to him as you did to Sihon, King of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”

³ So the Lord our God also delivered Og, King of Bashan into our hand, and all his people. We struck him until no one was left remaining to him. ⁴ We took all his cities at that time. There was not a city which we did not take from them: 60 cities, the entire region of Argob, Kingdom of Og in Bashan. ⁵ All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, in addition to a great many villages without walls. ⁶ We utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon, King of Heshbon, utterly destroying every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones. ⁷ But all the livestock, and the plunder of the cities, we took as plunder for ourselves. ⁸ We took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon. ⁹ (The Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir.) ¹⁰ We took all the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, to Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ¹¹ For only Og, King of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bedstead was a bedstead of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? It was thirteen and a half feet long and six feet wide.

Division of the Land

¹² This is the land we took possession of at that time: from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites; ¹³ and the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh—all the region of Argob, all Bashan, which is also called the land of Rephaim. ¹⁴ Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called them Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth Jair, to this day. ¹⁵ I gave Gilead to Machir. ¹⁶ To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead to the valley of the Arnon, the middle of the valley, and its border, to the river Jabbok, which is the border of the Ammonites; ¹⁷ the Arabah also, and the Jordan and its border, from Chinnereth to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward.

¹⁸ I commanded you at that time, saying, “The Lord your God has given you this land to possess it. All of you men of valor shall pass over, armed before your brothers, the Israelites. ¹⁹ But your wives, and your little ones, and your livestock, (I know that you have much livestock), shall live in your cities which I have given you, ²⁰ until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. Then you shall each return to his own possession, which I have given you.”

²¹ I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, “Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So shall the Lord do to all the kingdoms where you go over. ²² You shall not fear them, for the Lord your God himself fights for you.”

Moses Forbidden to Cross the Jordan

²³ I begged the Lord at that time, saying, ²⁴ “Lord God, you have begun to show your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth that can do works like yours, and mighty acts like yours? ²⁵ Please let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that fine mountain, and Lebanon.”

²⁶ But the Lord was angry with me because of you and did not listen to me. The Lord said to me, “That is enough! Speak no more to me of this matter. ²⁷ Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes; for you shall not go over this Jordan. ²⁸ But commission Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see.”

²⁹ So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.

Luke 6:12-38

The Twelve Apostles

¹² During this time, Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God. ¹³ When it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles:

¹⁴ Simon, whom he also named Peter;
Andrew, his brother;
James and John;
Philip and Bartholomew;
¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas;
James, the son of Alphaeus and Simon, who was called the Zealot;
¹⁶ Judas the son of James and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor.

Jesus Ministers to a Great Crowd

¹⁷ He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a crowd of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon. They came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, ¹⁸ and those who were tormented by unclean spirits were healed.  ¹⁹ The whole crowd sought to touch him, for power came from him and healed all of them.

The Beatitudes

²⁰ He looked up at his disciples and said,
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.

²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.

²² Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude and mock you, and slander your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.

²³ Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets.

Woes

²⁴ But woe to you who are rich!
For you have received your consolation.

²⁵ Woe to you, you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.

²⁶ Woe to you, when men speak well of you,
for their fathers did the same thing to the false prophets.

Love Your Enemies

²⁷ But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your coat also. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask him who takes away your goods to give them back again.

³¹ As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them. ³² If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive back as much. ³⁵ But love your enemies and do good and lend, expecting nothing back, and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.

³⁶ Therefore be merciful, just as your Father is also merciful.

Do Not Judge

³⁷ Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free.

³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure, it will be measured back to you.”

Psalm 67

May God Cause His Face to Shine Upon Us

For the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song.

¹ May God be merciful to us, bless us,
and cause his face to shine on us,

Selah.

² that your way may be known on earth,
and your salvation among all nations.
³ Let the peoples praise you, O God.
Let all the peoples praise you.
⁴ Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you will judge the peoples with equity,
and govern the nations on earth.

Selah.

⁵ Let the peoples praise you, O God.
Let all the peoples praise you.
⁶ The earth has yielded its increase.
God–our own God–will bless us.
⁷ God will bless us,
that all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Proverbs 11:27

²⁷ He who diligently seeks good seeks favor,
but he who searches after evil, it shall come to him.

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