The Wartburg Project

Daily Lectionary

April 16, 2025

April 15, 2025 April 17, 2025

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.

Exodus 10:21-11:10

The Ninth Plague: Darkness
21Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness that can be felt.” 22Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days. 23No one could see anyone else, and for three days none of them moved from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived.
24Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord. Even your families may also go with you. But you must leave your flocks and herds behind.”
25But Moses said, “You must also let us take sacrifices with us and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. 26Our livestock must also go with us. Not a hoof is to be left behind, for we must take some of them to serve the Lord our God. We will not know, however, what we will need to serve the Lord until we get there.”
27But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. 28Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die!”
29Moses said, “Just as you have spoken: I will never see your face again.”
The Tenth Plague: The Death of the Firstborn
111Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will certainly drive you completely out of here. 2Now tell the people that both the men and the women are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” 3(The Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Even the man Moses was highly regarded in the land of Egypt in the sight of Pharaoh's officials and the people.)
4So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says. About midnight I will go throughout Egypt, 5and every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the female slave who is behind the hand mill, even all the firstborn of the livestock. 6There will be a loud outcry in the entire land of Egypt, unlike anything that happened before or anything that will take place again. 7But among all the Israelites, not a dog will bark[] at a person or animal, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8All these officials of yours will come and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that, I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, went out from Pharaoh.
9The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you so that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord made Pharaoh's heart hard, and he did not let the Israelites go out of his land.

Hebrews 4:1-16

Some Will Enter God's Rest
41Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be fearful that any one of you may be judged to have failed to reach it. 2In fact, we have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did. But the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united in faith with those who did listen. 3Indeed, we who believe are going to enter his rest.
It happened just as he vowed when he said:
So I swore an oath in my wrath,
“They will never enter my rest.”[]
And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in this way:
And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.[]
5And again in this statement:
They will never enter my rest.[]
6Therefore, since it is still the case that some do enter this rest, and yet those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not enter because of disobedience, 7God again set a certain day, namely, “today,” when he later said through David, as quoted before:
Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.[]
8For, if Joshua had given them rest, then God would not have spoken later about another day.
9So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10For the one who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God rested from his work. 11Therefore, let us make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.
12For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to the point of dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, even being able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart. 13And there is no creature hidden from him, but everything is uncovered and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we will give an account.
Jesus Is Our High Priest
14Therefore, since we have a great high priest, who has gone through the heavens, namely, Jesus the Son of God, let us continue to hold on to our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. 16So let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.