1 Chron. 19:10–19
19:10 When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel’s best men and deployed them against the Arameans. 11He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the army, and they were deployed against the Ammonites. 12Joab said, “If the Arameans start to overpower me, you come to my rescue. If the Ammonites start to overpower you, I will come to your rescue. 13Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!” 14So Joab and his men marched toward the Arameans to do battle, and they fled before him. 15When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before Joab’s brother Abishai and withdrew into the city. Joab went back to Jerusalem.
16When the Arameans realized they had been defeated by Israel, they sent for reinforcements from beyond the Euphrates River, led by Shophach the commanding general of Hadadezer’s army. 17When David was informed, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and marched against them. David deployed his army against the Arameans for battle and they fought against him. 18The Arameans fled before Israel. David killed 7,000 Aramean charioteers and 40,000 infantrymen; he also killed Shophach the commanding general. 19When Hadadezer’s subjects saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.
(NET Bible)Ps. 119:65–72
119:65 ט (Tet)
You are good to your servant,
O Lord, just as you promised.
66Teach me proper discernment and understanding.
For I consider your commands to be reliable.
67Before I was afflicted I used to stray off,
but now I keep your instructions.
68You are good and you do good.
Teach me your statutes.
69Arrogant people smear my reputation with lies,
but I observe your precepts with all my heart.
70Their hearts are calloused,
but I find delight in your law.
71It was good for me to suffer
so that I might learn your statutes.
72The law you have revealed is more important to me
than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
(NET Bible)1 Cor. 3
3:1 So, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2I fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready. In fact, you are still not ready, 3for you are still influenced by the flesh. For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like unregenerate people? 4For whenever someone says, “I am with Paul,” or “I am with Apollos,” are you not merely human?
5What is Apollos, really? Or what is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, and each of us in the ministry the Lord gave us. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow. 7So neither the one who plants counts for anything, nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth. 8The one who plants and the one who waters work as one, but each will receive his reward according to his work. 9We are coworkers belonging to God. You are God’s field, God’s building. 10According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master-builder I laid a foundation, but someone else builds on it. And each one must be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13each builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done. 14If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15If someone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
16Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, which is what you are.
18Guard against self-deception, each of you. If someone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become foolish so that he can become wise. 19For the wisdom of this age is foolishness with God. As it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” 20And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” 21So then, no more boasting about mere mortals! For everything belongs to you, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. Everything belongs to you, 23and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
(NET Bible)
It was self-evident to Luther that the evangelists gave consideration to the plan according to which they would relate the history of Jesus and, with that in mind, selected and arranged their materials accordingly, abbreviating here and expanding there. In the Church Postil Luther says in the Sermon for the Twenty- fifth Sunday after Trinity (St. Matt. 24:15-28): “In this chapter is described the conclu-sion and end of both kingdoms, that of Judah and that of the whole world. But the two evangelists, Matthew and Mark, mingle the two and do not keep the order that has been preserved in Luke, for they are concerned only about telling and repeating the words without troubling themselves as to the order in which the words were spoken.” “So understand that Matthew here weaves together and combines the end of the Jewish nation and of the world, mixes them into one dish. But if you wish to understand it you must separate it and apply the parts to their respective ends.” (60–61)
–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.