Daily Devotion and Prayer for October 12th

+ DAILY PRAYER +

Micah’s Idolatry There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim; his name was Micah. And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, and about which you also pronounced a curse ?in my hearing?, are with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by Yahweh.”….

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 119:97-104

97  Mem Oh how I love your law!

It is my meditation all the day. 

98  Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,

for it is ever with me. 

99  I have more understanding than all my teachers,

for your testimonies are my meditation. 

100  I understand more than the aged,

for I keep your precepts. 

101  I hold back my feet from every evil way,

in order to keep your word. 

102  I do not turn aside from your rules,

for you have taught me. 

103  How sweet are your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth! 

104  Through your precepts I get understanding;

therefore I hate every false way. 

Reading for Thursday October 12th         Judges 17

Micah’s Idolatry

17 There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim; his name was Micah. And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, and about which you also pronounced a curse ?in my hearing?, are with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by Yahweh.” He returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother thought, “I will certainly consecrate to Yahweh the pieces of silver from my hand for my son to make an idol of cast metal; now then, I will return them to you.” When he returned the pieces of silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and she gave it to the smith, and he made it into an idol of cast metal; and it was in the house of Micah. The man Micah had for himself ?a shrine?, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and ?he appointed one of his sons? who became a priest for him. In those days there was no king in Israel, and each one did what was right in his own eyes.

There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, from the clan of Judah; he was a Levite and was dwelling as a foreigner there. And the man went from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to live as a foreigner wherever he could find a place. And he came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, to continue his journey. And Micah said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah; I am going to dwell as a foreigner wherever I can find a place.” 10 And Micah said to him, “Stay with me and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give to you ten pieces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your food.” So the Levite went with him. 11 The Levite agreed to stay with the man; and the young man became as one of his sons. 12 So Micah ?appointed the Levite?, and the young man became a priest for him; and he was in the house of Micah. 13 And Micah said, “Now I know Yahweh will make me prosperous, because the Levite has become my priest.”

Lord’s Prayer

Daily Prayer

     Lord of the Sabbath, You gave Your servant David the bread of the Presence on the Sabbath to teach him that You desire mercy and not sacrifice.  Be merciful to us by healing us from all our sins and diseases, that we may be merciful to others as You have been merciful to us; 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.

[1] W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jdg 13:1–25.