+ DAILY PRAYER +
Reading Deut 2020 “If you go out to war against your enemies and you see a horse and a chariot, ?an army? larger than you, you shall not be afraid because of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, the one who brought you from the land of Egypt…
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 82
1 A Psalm of Asaph.
God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!
Reading Deut 20
20 “If you go out to war against your enemies and you see a horse and a chariot, ?an army? larger than you, you shall not be afraid because of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, the one who brought you from the land of Egypt. 2 ?And then? when you approach the battle, then the priest shall come near and speak to the troops. 3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, Israel, you are near ?today? to the battle against your enemies; ?do not lose heart?; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not panic, and you shall not be terrified ?because of them?, 4 for Yahweh your God is going with you to fight for you against your enemies to help you.’ 5 And the officials shall speak to the troops, ?saying?, ‘Who is the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to this house, so that he does not die in battle and ?another man? dedicates it. 6 And who is the man that has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed it? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and ?another man? enjoys it. 7 And who is the man who got engaged to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and ?another man? marries her.’ 8 And the officials shall continue to speak to the troops, and they shall say, ‘?What man? is afraid ?and disheartened?? Let him go, and let him return to his house, and let him not cause the heart of his brothers to melt like his.’ 9 And ?when the officials have finished speaking? to the army troops, then they shall appoint commanders of divisions at the head of the troops.
10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, ?you must offer it peace?. 11 ?And then? if ?they accept your terms of peace? and ?they surrender to you?, ?and then? all the people ?inhabiting it? shall be forced labor for you, and they shall serve you. 12 But if they ?do not accept your terms of peace? and they want to make war with you, then you shall lay siege against it. 13 And Yahweh your God will give it into your hand, and you shall kill all its males with the ?edge? of the sword. 14 Only the women and the little children and the domestic animals and all that shall be in the city, all of its spoil you may loot for yourselves, and you may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that Yahweh your God has given to you. 15 Thus you shall do to all the far cities from you, which are not from the cities of these nations located ?nearby?.
16 But from the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not let anything live that breathes. 17 Rather, you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, just as Yahweh your God has commanded you, 18 so that they may not teach you to do like all their detestable things that they do for their gods and thereby you sin against Yahweh your God.
19 “If you besiege a town for many days to make war against it in order to seize it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them, for you may eat from them, and so you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field humans that they should come in siege ?against you?? 20 Only the trees that you know ?are not fruit trees? you may destroy and you may cut down, and you may build siege works against that city that is making war with you ?until it falls?.”
Lord’s Prayer
Daily Prayer
Our Lord Jesus, Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. Keep us from becoming burdened by laws fulfilled in You, and help us to live lives sanctified by Your Spirit that we might bear witness that in You all things have been made new; 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.
