Daily Lectionary

January 24, 2019

January 23, 2019 January 25, 2019

These daily readings from the EHV follow the one-year daily lectionary provided in Christian Worship: Hymnal, the Lutheran Service Book, and the Treasury of Daily Prayer. In this lectionary, two readings of 15-25 verses each are provided for each day. Under this plan, nearly all of the New Testament and approximately one-third of the Old Testament are read each year. These readings fit well within the daily offices of Matins, Vespers, or Compline as daily family devotions.

Joel 3:1-21

The Promise of Judgment Against the Nations

3¹Look! In those days and at that time,

when I restore the fortunes^[] of Judah and Jerusalem,^[]

²I will gather all nations

and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.^[]

There I will enter into judgment against them

for the sake of my possession, my people Israel,

whom they scattered among the nations.

The nations also divided up my land.

³They cast lots for my people

and traded boys to pay prostitutes.

They sold girls for wine so that they could drink.

⁴Tell me, what do you have against me,

Tyre and Sidon, and all you regions of Philistia?

Are you repaying me for something I have done?

If you are paying me back,

I will swiftly and speedily repay onto your own heads what you have done,

⁵because you took my silver and my gold,

and you carried off my best treasures to your temples.

⁶You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,

in order to send them far from their own borders.

⁷See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,

and I will make what you have done return on your own heads.

⁸I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah,

and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.^[]

Yes, the Lord has spoken.

The Prophet's Response

⁹Proclaim this among the nations:

Consecrate yourselves for war!

Rouse the strong warriors!

Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

¹⁰Beat your plowshares into swords,

and your pruning knives into spears.

Let the weakling say, “I am a strong warrior!”

¹¹Come quickly to help, all you nations from every side,

and assemble there.

Bring down your strong warriors, O Lord!

The Lord's Promise

¹²Let the nations be roused.

Let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,

for there I will be seated to judge all the nations.

¹³Swing the sickle,

for the harvest is ripe.

Come, trample the grapes,

for the winepress is full and the vats overflow,

because the nations' wickedness is so great!

¹⁴Multitudes, multitudes in the Valley of Decision!

For the Day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Decision.

¹⁵The sun and moon will be darkened,

and the stars will stop shining.

¹⁶The Lord will roar from Zion

and shout from Jerusalem.

The sky and the earth will tremble.

But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,

a stronghold for the people of Israel.

¹⁷Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwell in Zion,

my holy mountain.

Jerusalem will be holy.

Foreigners will not pass through her again.

¹⁸In that day the mountains will drip sweet wine,

and the hills will flow with milk.

All the stream beds of Judah will run with water.

A fountain will flow out of the Lord's house.

It will water the Valley of Acacias.

¹⁹Egypt will be desolate.

Edom will be a desolate wilderness,

because of violence they committed against the people of Judah,

in whose land they shed innocent blood.

²⁰Judah will be inhabited forever,

and Jerusalem through all generations.

²¹I will pardon^[] their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned.

The Prophet's Final Praise

The Lord dwells in Zion!

Romans 12:14-13:14

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who are rejoicing; weep with those who are weeping. ¹⁶Have the same respect for one another. Do not be arrogant, but associate with the humble. Do not think too highly of yourselves.

¹⁷Do not pay anyone back evil for evil. Focus on those things that everyone considers noble. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, maintain peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,”^[] says the Lord. ²⁰But:

If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him a drink.

For by doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.^[]

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Governments Are Established by God

13¹Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. For no authority exists except by God, and the authorities that do exist have been established by God. ²Therefore the one who rebels against the authority is opposing God's institution, and those who oppose will bring judgment on themselves.

³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to evil. Would you like to have no fear of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will receive praise from him, ⁴because he is God's servant for your benefit. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because he does not carry the sword without reason. He is God's servant, a punisher to bring wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore it is necessary to submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of conscience.

⁶For this reason you also pay taxes, because the authorities are God's ministers, who are employed to do this very thing. ⁷Pay what you owe to all of them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, and honor to whom honor is owed.

Love One Another

⁸Do not owe anyone anything except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹For the commandments—do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal,^[] do not covet^[] (and if there is any other commandment)—are summed up in this statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^[] ¹⁰Love does no harm to a neighbor, so love is the fulfillment of the law.

The End of the World Is Approaching

¹¹And do this since you understand the present time. It is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹²The night is almost over, and the day is drawing near. So let us put away the deeds of darkness and put on the weapons of light. ¹³Let us walk decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual sin and wild living, not in strife and jealousy. ¹⁴Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not give any thought to satisfying the desires of your sinful flesh.