The Wartburg Project

Daily Lectionary

December 4, 2023

December 3, 2023 December 5, 2023

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.

Isaiah 10:12-27, 33-34

12But it will not happen that way. When the Lord has completed all of his work against Mount Zion and against Jerusalem, I[] will bring punishment against the bloated fruit of[] the willful heart of the king of Assyria and against the glare in his haughty eyes. 13For he has said:
By the strength of my hand I have done this,
and by my wisdom,
for I have understanding.
I have abolished the borders of the peoples
and have plundered their treasures.
Like a mighty warrior I have brought down their inhabitants.[]
14My hand has found the riches of the peoples like eggs in a nest.
I have gathered all the earth the way one gathers abandoned eggs.
Not one of them flapped its wings
or opened its mouth or chirped.
15Should an ax brag that it is better than the woodsman who chops with it?
Should a saw think that it is greater than the one who saws with it?
That would be like a scepter waving the one who raised it up,
or like a club lifting up a person, who is not made of wood.
16Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Armies, will make the sturdy Assyrians waste away,
and in place of their glory, he will light a fire, a blazing fire.
17The Light of Israel will be a fire, and his Holy One a flame, and it will burn and devour its thorns and its briers in a single day. 18He will consume the splendor of its forest and of its fruitful field completely.[] It will be like a sick man wasting away. 19The remaining trees in its forest will be so few that a child could record their number.
A Remnant of Israel Will Return
20It will come about in that day that those who remain from Israel and those from the house of Jacob who have survived will never again lean on the one who struck them, but they will truly lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 21A remnant will return to the mighty God, namely, the remnant of Jacob.
22Although your people, Israel, are like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return. Complete destruction has been decreed—overwhelming, but righteous. 23For the Lord, the Lord of Armies, will bring about the destruction decreed for the whole earth.
24Therefore the Lord, the Lord of Armies, says, “You my people who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian, though he strikes you with the rod and lifts up his club against you as Egypt did. 25For in a very little while, my rage against you will be finished, and my anger will be directed to his destruction.”
26The Lord of Armies will raise up a whip against him, as he did in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb. His rod will stretch over the sea, and he will lift it up as he did against Egypt. 27In that day he will remove the burden that he placed on your shoulder and the yoke he placed on your neck. The yoke will be destroyed because your neck has grown so fat.[]
33But look! The Lord, the Lord of Armies,
will chop off his branches with terrifying power.
The tall trees will be cut down,
and the lofty will be laid low.
34He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron ax,
and mighty Lebanon will fall.[]

2 Peter 1:1-21

Greeting
11Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained the same kind of faith as ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
2Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus[] our Lord.
Keep on Growing
3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own[] glory and excellence. 4Through these he has given us his precious and great promises so that through them you may share in the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that sinful lust causes in the world.
5And, for this very reason, after applying every effort, add moral excellence to your faith. To moral excellence, add knowledge. 6To knowledge, add self-control. To self-control, add patient endurance. To patient endurance, add godliness. 7To godliness, add brotherly affection. And to brotherly affection, add love. 8For if you have these qualities and they are increasing, they are going to keep you from being idle or unfruitful in regard to your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9Indeed, the person who lacks these qualities is shortsighted and, in fact, blind, because he has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
Make Your Calling and Election Sure
10Therefore, brothers,[] be more eager to make your calling and election sure for yourselves.[] For if you do these things, you will never stumble. 11In fact, in this way you will be richly supplied with an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12That is why I intend[] always to keep reminding you of these things, even though you already know them and are established in the truth you now have. 13I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to keep you wide awake by reminding you, 14because I know that the putting off of my tent is going to happen soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15I will also make every effort so that after my departure you always have a reminder of these things.
We Have God's Inspired Word
16To be sure, we were not following cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the powerful appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when the voice came to him from within the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”[] 18We heard this voice, which came out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.
19We also have the completely reliable prophetic word. You do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts, 20since we know this above all else: No prophecy of Scripture comes about from someone's own interpretation. 21In fact, no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spoke from God[] as they were being carried along by the Holy Spirit.