Exodus 32, John 11, Proverbs 8, Ephesians 1

Exodus 32,

1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."
 
2 Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me."
 
3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.
 
4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."
 
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD."
 
6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
 
7 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.
 
8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'
 
9 "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people.
 
10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation."
 
11 But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. "O LORD," he said, "why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?
 
12 Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.
 
13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.' "
 
14 Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
 
15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.
 
16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
 
17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, "There is the sound of war in the camp."
 
18 Moses replied: "It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear."
 
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
 
20 And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
 
21 He said to Aaron, "What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?"
 
22 "Do not be angry, my lord," Aaron answered. "You know how prone these people are to evil.
 
23 They said to me, 'Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.'
 
24 So I told them, 'Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.' Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!"
 
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies.
 
26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me." And all the Levites rallied to him.
 
27 Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.' "
 
28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.
 
29 Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day."
 
30 The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
 
31 So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold.
 
32 But now, please forgive their sin-but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written."
 
33 The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.
 
34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."
 
35 And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

John 11,

1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
 
2 This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.
 
3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."
 
4 When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."
 
5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
 
6 Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.
 
7 Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."
 
8 "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"
 
9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light.
 
10 It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."
 
11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."
 
12 His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better."
 
13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
 
14 So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead,
 
15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."
 
16 Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
 
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.
 
18 Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem,
 
19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.
 
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
 
21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
 
22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
 
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
 
24 Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
 
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
 
26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
 
27 "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
 
28 And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you."
 
29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
 
30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.
 
31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
 
32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
 
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
 
34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.
 
35 Jesus wept.
 
36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
 
37 But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
 
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
 
39 "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
 
40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
 
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
 
42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
 
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
 
44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
 
45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.
 
46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
 
47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. "What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs.
 
48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."
 
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all!
 
50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."
 
51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation,
 
52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.
 
53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
 
54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead he withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.
 
55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover.
 
56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one another, "What do you think? Isn't he coming to the Feast at all?"
 
57 But the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.

Proverbs 8,

1 Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?
 
 
2 On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
 
 
3 beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud:
 
 
4 "To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind.
 
 
5 You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, gain understanding.
 
 
6 Listen, for I have worthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right.
 
 
7 My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness.
 
 
8 All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse.
 
 
9 To the discerning all of them are right; they are faultless to those who have knowledge.
 
 
10 Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold,
 
 
11 for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.
 
 
12 "I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion.
 
 
13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
 
 
14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power.
 
 
15 By me kings reign and rulers make laws that are just;
 
 
16 by me princes govern, and all nobles who rule on earth.
 
 
17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.
 
 
18 With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.
 
 
19 My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.
 
 
20 I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice,
 
 
21 bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full.
 
 
22 "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old;
 
 
23 I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began.
 
 
24 When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water;
 
 
25 before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth,
 
 
26 before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world.
 
 
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
 
 
28 when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
 
 
29 when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
 
 
30 Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,
 
 
31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.
 
 
32 "Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways.
 
 
33 Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it.
 
 
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.
 
 
35 For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from the LORD.
 
 
36 But whoever fails to find me harms himself; all who hate me love death."

Ephesians 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
 
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
 
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
 
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-
 
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
 
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace
 
8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
 
9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
 
10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment-to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
 
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
 
12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
 
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
 
14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory.
 
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
 
16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
 
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
 
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
 
19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
 
20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
 
21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
 
22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
 
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.