+ DAILY PRAYER +
This Daily Devotion covers the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy also called the Books of Moses or the Pentateuch, in a period of one year in a Monday through Friday format, the Psalms and order of devotion follow those presented in The Treasury of Daily Prayer from Concordia Publishing House.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
He will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 26:1-3, 8-12
1 Of David. Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2 Prove me, O LORD, and try me;
test my heart and my mind.
3 For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in your faithfulness.
8 O LORD, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.
9 Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly I will bless the LORD.
Reading Num 8
The Seven Lamps
8 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron, and say to him: ‘When you are setting up the lamps, the seven lamps will give light in front of the face of the lampstand.’ ” 3 And Aaron did so; he set up the lampstand in front of the face of its lamps, just as Yahweh commanded Moses. 4 And this is ?how the lampstand was made?, a hammered-work of gold; from its base up to its blossom, it was hammered-work according to the pattern that Yahweh showed Moses; so he made the lampstand.
Moses Consecrates the Levites
5 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Take the Levites from the midst of the ?Israelites? and purify them. 7 So you will do to them, to purify them: sprinkle on them waters of purification, and ?they will shave their whole body? and wash their garments. 8 And they will take a ?young bull? and its grain offering of finely milled flour mixed with oil, and you will take a second ?young bull? as a sin offering. 9 You will bring the Levites ?before? the tent of assembly, and you will summon the entire community of the ?Israelites?. 10 And you will bring the Levites ?before Yahweh?, and the ?Israelites? will lay their hands on the Levites, 11 and ?Aaron will offer? the Levites as a wave offering ?before Yahweh? from the ?Israelites?, and they will do the work of Yahweh. 12 And the Levites will lay their hands on the head of the one bull and offer it as a sin offering and the other one as a burnt offering to Yahweh, to make atonement for the Levites. 13 And you will present the Levites ?before? Aaron and ?before? his sons, and he ?will offer? them as a wave offering to Yahweh.
14 “And you will separate the Levites from the midst of the ?Israelites?, and the Levites will be for me. 15 And after this the Levites will come to serve at the tent of assembly, and you will purify them, and you ?will offer? them as a wave offering. 16 For they are given to me exclusively from the midst of the ?Israelites?. I have taken them for myself in place of the firstborn of every womb, every firstborn from the ?Israelites?. 17 For every firstborn among the ?Israelites? is mine, both humankind and animal. On the day I destroyed every firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them to me, 18 and I have taken the Levites in the place of every firstborn among the ?Israelites?. 19 And I have given the Levites; they are given to Aaron and his sons from the midst of the ?Israelites? to do the work of the ?Israelites? in the tent of the assembly and to make atonement for the ?Israelites?, so a plague will not be among the ?Israelites? when the ?Israelites? come near the sanctuary.”
20 And Moses and Aaron and the entire community of the ?Israelites? did to the Levites; everything that Yahweh commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the ?Israelites? did to them. 21 And the Levites purified themselves, and they washed their garments, and ?Aaron offered them? as a wave offering ?before Yahweh?; and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them. 22 After this the Levites came to do their work in the tent of assembly before Aaron and his sons. Just as Yahweh commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “This is what is for the Levites: ?those twenty-five years old? and above will come to help with the service in the work of the tent of assembly; 25 and ?those fifty years old? will return from the service of the work and will serve no longer. 26 They can attend their brothers in the tent of assembly to keep their responsibilities, but they will not do work. This is what you will do concerning the Levites and their responsibilities.”
Lord’s Prayer
Daily Prayer
Lord Jesus, in Your ministry of teaching, casting out demons, and healing the sick, You proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom of God. Send us into all the world to announce that today, in You, Scripture has been fulfilled, the new creation has come, and the healing of the nations is here; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Concluding Prayer
Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts to direct and rule us according to Your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
