The Wartburg Project

Daily Lectionary

December 6, 2023

December 5, 2023 December 7, 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 14:1-12

Mercy for Israel
141Yes, the Lord will have compassion on Jacob,
and he will choose Israel once again.
He will settle them in their own land.
Aliens will join them.
They will unite with the house of Jacob.
2The peoples will take Israel
and bring them back to their own place.
In the Lord's land the house of Israel will possess the nations
as male and female servants.
They will take their captors captive.
They will rule over their oppressors.
3On that day, when the Lord will give you rest from your sorrow, rest from your trouble, and rest from the bondage forced upon you, 4you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
“How the oppressor has ceased!
How his fury[] has ended!”
5The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers,
6who struck down peoples with fury, blow after blow,
who ruled the nations in anger,
with a persecution that no one restrained.
7The whole earth is at rest and is quiet.
Everything breaks into song.
8Yes, the fir trees rejoice with you,
along with the cedars of Lebanon.
They say, “Since the time you were humbled,
no woodcutter has come to cut us down.”
9The grave below is ready to meet you when you come.
It stirs up the departed spirits to meet you—
all those who once were the rulers of the earth.
It makes all those who were kings over nations
rise from their thrones.
10They will all respond to you, Babylon.
The spirits all will ask you,
“Have you also become as weak as we are?
Have you become like us?”
11Your pomp has been brought down to the grave,
along with the sound of your harps.
Maggots are spread out beneath you,
and worms cover you.
12How you have fallen from heaven,
you bright morning star,[] son of the dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low!

2 Peter 3:1-18

The Destruction of the World Is Coming
31Dear friends, this is now the second letter that I have written to you. I wrote both of them to stir up your sincere mind with a reminder 2for you to remember the words spoken earlier by the holy prophets and the command of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.
3First, know this: In the last days scoffers will come with their mocking, following their own lusts. 4They will say, “Where is this promised coming of his? For from the time that our fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have from the beginning of the creation.” 5You see, what they are intentionally forgetting is that the heavens came into existence long ago by the word of God and that the earth came together out of the water and between the waters.[] 6Through these waters the former world perished, when it was flooded with water. 7And now, by that same word, the heavens and earth have been stored up for fire, since they are being kept until the day of judgment and the destruction of the ungodly. 8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: For the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9The Lord is not slow to do what he promised, as some consider slowness. Instead, he is patient for your sakes,[] not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance.
Live a Holy Life
10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.[] On that day the heavens will pass away with a roar, the elements will be dissolved as they burn with great heat, and the earth and what was done on it will be burned up.[] 11Therefore,[] since all these things will be destroyed, what kind of people ought you to be, living in holiness and godliness, 12as you look forward to and hasten the coming of the day of God? That day will cause the heavens to be set on fire and destroyed, and the elements to melt as they burn with great heat. 13But according to his promise we look forward to new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
14Therefore, dear friends, as you look forward to these things, make every effort to be found in peace, spotless and blameless in his sight. 15Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom that was given to him. 16He spoke about these things the same way in all of his letters. There are some matters that are hard to understand in his letters, which the ignorant and unstable distort, as they also do with the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Conclusion
17Therefore, dear friends, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you do not fall from your own firm position by being led astray through the error of the wicked. 18Instead grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, both now and forever. Amen.