READ THE BIBLE IN A YEAR - VERSES OF THE DAY - NUMBERS 20, LUKE 16, PROVERBS 18

Joyce Meyer - Gifts and Fruit (1)

Numbers 20

Water From the Rock

 ¹ In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
 ² Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. ³ They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! ⁴ Why did you bring the LORD’s
community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? ⁵ Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
 ⁶ Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. ⁷ The LORD said to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

 ⁹ So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. ¹⁰ He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

 ¹² But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
 ¹³ These were the waters of Meribah,^[d] where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD and where he was proved holy among them.

Edom Denies Israel Passage

 ¹⁴ Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying:

   “This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come on us. ¹⁵ Our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors, ¹⁶ but when we cried out to the LORD, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.

   “Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷ Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”
 ¹⁸ But Edom answered:
   “You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.”
 ¹⁹ The Israelites replied:
   “We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”
 ²⁰ Again they answered:
   “You may not pass through.”
   Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army. ²¹ Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them.

The Death of Aaron

 ²² The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. ²³ At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁴ “Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. ²⁶ Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will die there.”

 ²⁷ Moses did as the LORD commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. ²⁸ Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, ²⁹ and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, all the Israelites mourned for him thirty days.

Luke 16

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

 ¹ Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. ² So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
   ³ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
   ⁵ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
   ⁶ “‘Nine hundred gallons^[c] of olive oil,’ he replied.
   “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
   ⁷ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
   “‘A thousand bushels^[d] of wheat,’ he replied.
   “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

   ⁸ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. ⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

   ¹⁰ “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

   ¹³ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

 ¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Additional Teachings

    ¹⁶ “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. ¹⁷ It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
   ¹⁸ “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

    ¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰ At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
   ²² “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴ So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
   ²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
   ²⁷ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
   ²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
   ³⁰ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
   ³¹ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Proverbs 18

 ¹ An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends
   and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.

 ² Fools find no pleasure in understanding
   but delight in airing their own opinions.

 ³ When wickedness comes, so does contempt,
   and with shame comes reproach.
 ⁴ The words of the mouth are deep waters,
   but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.
 ⁵ It is not good to be partial to the wicked
   and so deprive the innocent of justice.
 ⁶ The lips of fools bring them strife,
   and their mouths invite a beating.

 ⁷ The mouths of fools are their undoing,
   and their lips are a snare to their very lives.

 ⁸ The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
   they go down to the inmost parts.
 ⁹ One who is slack in his work
   is brother to one who destroys.
 ¹⁰ The name of the LORD is a fortified tower;
   the righteous run to it and are safe.

 ¹¹ The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;
   they imagine it a wall too high to scale.

 ¹² Before a downfall the heart is haughty,
   but humility comes before honor.
 ¹³ To answer before listening—
   that is folly and shame.

 ¹⁴ The human spirit can endure in sickness,
   but a crushed spirit who can bear?

 ¹⁵ The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge,
   for the ears of the wise seek it out.

 ¹⁶ A gift opens the way
   and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.

 ¹⁷ In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right,
   until someone comes forward and cross-examines.

 ¹⁸ Casting the lot settles disputes
   and keeps strong opponents apart.

 ¹⁹ A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city;
   disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.

 ²⁰ From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled;
   with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.

 ²¹ The tongue has the power of life and death,
   and those who love it will eat its fruit.

 ²² He who finds a wife finds what is good
   and receives favor from the LORD.

 ²³ The poor plead for mercy,
   but the rich answer harshly.

 ²⁴ One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
   but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.