Home > Reading > Daily Reading – April 30, 2020

2 Chron. 35:1–19

35:1 Josiah observed a Passover festival for the Lord in Jerusalem. They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2He appointed the priests to fulfill their duties and encouraged them to carry out their service in the Lord’s temple. 3He told the Levites, who instructed all Israel about things consecrated to the Lord, “Place the holy ark in the temple which King Solomon son of David of Israel built. Don’t carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel! 4Prepare yourselves by your families according to your divisions, as instructed in writing by King David of Israel and his son Solomon. 5Stand in the sanctuary and, together with the Levites, represent the family divisions of your countrymen. 6Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your countrymen to celebrate according to the Lord’s message which came through Moses.”

7From his own royal flocks and herds, Josiah supplied the people with 30,000 lambs and goats for the Passover sacrifice, as well as 3,000 cattle. 8His officials also willingly contributed to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the leaders of God’s temple, gave the priests 2,600 Passover sacrifices and 300 cattle. 9Konaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, along with Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the officials of the Levites, supplied the Levites with 5,000 Passover sacrifices and 500 cattle. 10Preparations were made, and the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions as prescribed by the king. 11They slaughtered the Passover lambs and the priests splashed the blood, while the Levites skinned the animals. 12They reserved the burnt offerings and the cattle for the family divisions of the people to present to the Lord, as prescribed in the scroll of Moses. 13They cooked the Passover sacrifices over the open fire as prescribed and cooked the consecrated offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. They quickly served them to all the people. 14Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering burnt sacrifices and fat portions until evening. The Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 15The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, manned their posts, as prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet. The guards at the various gates did not need to leave their posts, for their fellow Levites made preparations for them. 16So all the preparations for the Lord’s service were made that day, as the Passover was observed and the burnt sacrifices were offered on the altar of the Lord, as prescribed by King Josiah. 17So the Israelites who were present observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18A Passover like this had not been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had observed a Passover like the one celebrated by Josiah, the priests, the Levites, all the people of Judah and Israel who were there, and the residents of Jerusalem. 19This Passover was observed in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign.

(NET Bible)

Ps. 110

110:1 A psalm of David.

Here is the Lord’s proclamation to my lord:

“Sit down at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”

2The Lord extends your dominion from Zion.

Rule in the midst of your enemies.

3Your people willingly follow you when you go into battle.

On the holy hills at sunrise the dew of your youth belongs to you.

4The Lord makes this promise on oath and will not revoke it:

“You are an eternal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.”

5O Lord, at your right hand

he strikes down kings in the day he unleashes his anger.

6He executes judgment against the nations.

He fills the valleys with corpses;

he shatters their heads over the vast battlefield.

7From the stream along the road he drinks;

then he lifts up his head.

(NET Bible)

Luke 18:15–30

18:15 Now people were even bringing their babies to him for him to touch. But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them. 16But Jesus called for the children, saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

18Now a certain leader asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” 21The man replied, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws since my youth.” 22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 23But when the man heard this, he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy. 24When Jesus noticed this, he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?” 27He replied, “What is impossible for mere humans is possible for God.” 28And Peter said, “Look, we have left everything we own to follow you! 29Then Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom 30who will not receive many times more in this age—and in the age to come, eternal life.”

(NET Bible)

Wilhelm Walther truthfully says: “It never entered the mind of Luther to deny all authority in the Church. Rather, by dethroning the mass of false authorities to which men bowed during the Catholic period, he enthroned another authority as the only one duly authenticated. Indeed, only to this end did he militate against the infallibility of the Church Fathers, Popes, Councils, and universities with such force, to make room for the ‘Empress’ who alone is worthy of all sovereignty, the Holy Scripture. Anyone to whom this must rst be proved lacks even elementary knowledge in the eld of the history of the Reformation. (19)

–Johann Michael Reu, Luther on the Scriptures

This daily Bible reading guide, Reading the Word of God, was conceived and prepared as a result of the ongoing discussions between representatives of three church bodies: Lutheran Church—Canada (LCC), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The following individuals have represented their church bodies and approved this introduction and the reading guide: LCC: President Robert Bugbee; NALC: Bishop John Bradosky, Revs. Mark Chavez, James Nestingen, and David Wendel; LCMS: Revs. Albert Collver, Joel Lehenbauer, John Pless, and Larry Vogel.

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