AME Zion Universal Reading January 30th 2022
- Artisans Called by God
- Jan 27, 2022
- 20 min read
First Portion
Exodus Chapter 21
1And these are the ordinances that you shall set before them.2Should you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall work [for] six years, and in the seventh [year], he shall go out to freedom without charge.3If he comes [in] alone, he shall go out alone; if he is a married man, his wife shall go out with him.4If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone.5But if the slave says, "I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go free,"6his master shall bring him to the judges, and he shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.7Now if a man sells his daughter as a maidservant, she shall not go free as the slaves go free.8If she is displeasing to her master, who did not designate her [for himself], then he shall enable her to be redeemed; he shall not rule over her to sell her to another person, when he betrays her.9And if he designates her for his son, he shall deal with her according to the law of the daughters [of Israel].10If he takes another [wife] for himself, he shall not diminish her sustenance, her clothing, or her marital relations.11And if he does not do these three things for her, she shall go free without charge, without [payment of] money.12One who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.13But one who did not stalk [him], but God brought [it] about into his hand, I will make a place for you to which he shall flee.14But if a man plots deliberately against his friend to slay him with cunning, [even] from My altar you shall take him to die.15And one who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.16And whoever kidnaps a man and sells him, and he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death.17And one who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.18And if men quarrel, and one strikes the other with a stone or with a fist, and he does not die but is confined to [his] bed,19if he gets up and walks about outside on his support, the assailant shall be cleared; he shall give only [payment] for his [enforced] idleness, and he shall provide for his cure.
Sunday
Deuteronomy 24:10–21 (NLT):
10 “If you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to pick up the item he is giving as security. 11 You must wait outside while he goes in and brings it out to you. 12 If your neighbor is poor and gives you his cloak as security for a loan, do not keep the cloak overnight. 13 Return the cloak to its owner by sunset so he can stay warm through the night and bless you, and the Lord your God will count you as righteous.
14 “Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. 15 You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.
16 “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.
17 “True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt. 18 Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command.
19 “When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all you do. 20 When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don’t go over the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. 21 When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don’t glean the vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.
Second Portion
Exodus Chapter 21
20And should a man strike his manservant or his maidservant with a rod, and [that one] die under his hand, he shall surely be avenged.21But if he survives for a day or for two days, he shall not be avenged, because he is his property.22And should men quarrel and hit a pregnant woman, and she miscarries but there is no fatality, he shall surely be punished, when the woman's husband makes demands of him, and he shall give [restitution] according to the judges' [orders].23But if there is a fatality, you shall give a life for a life,24an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,25a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.26And if a man strikes the eye of his manservant or the eye of his maidservant and destroys it, he shall set him free in return for his eye,27and if he knocks out the tooth of his manservant or the tooth of his maidservant, he shall set him free in return for his tooth.28And if a bull gores a man or a woman and [that one] dies, the bull shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten, and the owner of the bull is clear.29But if it is a [habitually] goring bull since yesterday and the day before yesterday, and its owner had been warned, but he did not guard it, and it puts to death a man or a woman, the bull shall be stoned, and also its owner shall be put to death,30insofar as ransom shall be levied upon him, he shall give the redemption of his soul according to all that is levied upon him.31Or if it gores a young boy or a young girl, according to this ordinance shall be done to him.32If the bull gores a manservant or a maidservant, he shall give silver [in the amount of] thirty shekels to his master, and the bull shall be stoned.33And if a person opens a pit, or if a person digs a pit and does not cover it, and a bull or a donkey falls into it,34the owner of the pit shall pay; he shall return money to its owner, and the dead body shall be his.35And if a man's bull strikes his friend's bull and it dies, they shall sell the live bull and divide the money received for it, and they shall also divide the dead body.36Or if it was known that it was a [habitually] goring bull since yesterday and the day before yesterday, and its owner does not watch it, he shall surely pay a bull for a bull, and the dead body shall be his.37If a man steals a bull or a lamb and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five cattle for the bull or four sheep for the lamb.Exodus Chapter 22 1If, while breaking in, the thief is discovered, and he is struck and dies, [it is as if] he has no blood.2If the sun shone upon him, [it is as if] he has blood; he shall surely pay. If he has no [money], he shall be sold for his theft.3If the stolen article is found in his possession whether a bull, a donkey, or a lamb live ones he shall pay twofold.
Monday
Psalm 140:1–13 (NLT):
1 O Lord, rescue me from evil people.
Protect me from those who are violent,
2 those who plot evil in their hearts
and stir up trouble all day long.
3 Their tongues sting like a snake;
the venom of a viper drips from their lips.
Interlude
4 O Lord, keep me out of the hands of the wicked.
Protect me from those who are violent,
for they are plotting against me.
5 The proud have set a trap to catch me;
they have stretched out a net;
they have placed traps all along the way.
Interlude
6 I said to the Lord, “You are my God!”
Listen, O Lord, to my cries for mercy!
7 O Sovereign Lord, the strong one who rescued me,
you protected me on the day of battle.
8 Lord, do not let evil people have their way.
Do not let their evil schemes succeed,
or they will become proud.
Interlude
9 Let my enemies be destroyed
by the very evil they have planned for me.
10 Let burning coals fall down on their heads.
Let them be thrown into the fire
or into watery pits from which they can’t escape.
11 Don’t let liars prosper here in our land.
Cause great disasters to fall on the violent.
12 But I know the Lord will help those they persecute;
he will give justice to the poor.
13 Surely righteous people are praising your name;
the godly will live in your presence.
Third Portion
Exodus Chapter 22
4If a man leads his animals into a field or a vineyard, or lets his animal loose and it eats in another's field, the best of his field or the best of his vineyard he shall pay.5If a fire goes forth and finds thorns, and a stack of grain or standing grain or the field be consumed, the one who ignited the fire shall surely pay.6If a man gives his neighbor money or articles for safekeeping, and it is stolen from the man's house, if the thief is found, he shall pay twofold.7If the thief is not found, the homeowner shall approach the judges, [to swear] that he has not laid his hand upon his neighbor's property.8For any sinful word, for a bull, for a donkey, for a lamb, for a garment, for any lost article, concerning which he will say that this is it, the plea[s] of both parties shall come to the judges, [and] whoever the judges declare guilty shall pay twofold to his neighbor.9If a man gives his neighbor a donkey, a bull, a lamb, or any animal for safekeeping, and it dies, breaks a limb, or is captured, and no one sees [it],10the oath of the Lord shall be between the two of them provided that he did not lay his hand upon his neighbor's property, and its owner shall accept [it], and he shall not pay.11But if it is stolen from him, he shall pay its owner.12If it is torn apart, he shall bring witness for it; [for] the torn one he shall not pay.13And if a person borrows [an animal] from his neighbor and it breaks a limb or dies, if its owner is not with him, he shall surely pay.14If its owner is with him, he shall not pay; if it is a hired [animal], it has come for its hire.15If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall provide her with a marriage contract as a wife.16If her father refuses to give her to him [in marriage], he shall weigh out money according to the dowry of the virgins.17You shall not allow a sorceress to live.18Whoever lies [carnally] with an animal shall surely be put to death.19He who slaughters [a sacrifice] to the gods shall be destroyed, except to the Lord alone.20And you shall not mistreat a stranger, nor shall you oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.21You shall not oppress any widow or orphan.22If you oppress him, [beware,] for if he cries out to Me, I will surely hear his cry.23My wrath will be kindled, and I will slay you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children orphans.24When you lend money to My people, to the poor person [who is] with you, you shall not behave toward him as a lender; you shall not impose interest upon him.25If you take your neighbor's garment as security, until sunset you shall return it to him,26for it is his only covering; it is his garment for his skin. With what shall he lie? And it shall be [that] if he cries out to Me, I will hear because I am gracious.
Tuesday
Deuteronomy 26:1–11 (NLT): Harvest Offerings and Tithes
“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession and you have conquered it and settled there, 2 put some of the first produce from each crop you harvest into a basket and bring it to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. 3 Go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, ‘With this gift I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land he swore to our ancestors he would give us.’ 4 The priest will then take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God.
5 “You must then say in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘My ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live as a foreigner in Egypt. His family arrived few in number, but in Egypt they became a large and mighty nation. 6 When the Egyptians oppressed and humiliated us by making us their slaves, 7 we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard our cries and saw our hardship, toil, and oppression. 8 So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and powerful arm, with overwhelming terror, and with miraculous signs and wonders. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey! 10 And now, O Lord, I have brought you the first portion of the harvest you have given me from the ground.’ Then place the produce before the Lord your God, and bow to the ground in worship before him. 11 Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household. Remember to include the Levites and the foreigners living among you in the celebration.
Fourth Portion
Exodus Chapter 22
27You shall not curse a judge, neither shall you curse a prince among your people.28Your fullness offering and your heave offering you shall not delay; the firstborn of your sons you shall give Me.29So shall you do with your cattle and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother, on the eighth day you may give it to Me.30And you shall be holy people to Me, and flesh torn in the field you shall not eat; you shall throw it to the dog[s].
Exodus Chapter 23
1You shall not accept a false report; do not place your hand with a wicked person to be a false witness.2You shall not follow the majority for evil, and you shall not respond concerning a lawsuit to follow many to pervert [justice].3Neither shall you glorify a poor man in his lawsuit.4If you come upon your enemy's bull or his stray donkey, you shall surely return it to him.5If you see your enemy's donkey lying under its burden would you refrain from helping him? You shall surely help along with him.
Wednesday
James 5:1–11 (NLT): Warning to the Rich
Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. 2 Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. 4 For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
5 You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you.
Patience and Endurance
7 Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. 8 You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
9 Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!
10 For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
Fifth Portion
Exodus Chapter 23
6You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor man in his lawsuit.7Distance yourself from a false matter; and do not kill a truly innocent person or one who has been declared innocent, for I will not vindicate a guilty person.8You shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe will blind the clear sighted and corrupt words that are right.9And you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, since you were strangers in the land of Egypt.10Six years you may sow your land and gather in its produce.11But in the seventh [year] you shall release it and abandon it; the poor of your people shall eat [it], and what they leave over, the beasts of the field shall eat. So shall you do to your vineyard [and] to your olive tree[s].12Six days you may do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, in order that your ox and your donkey shall rest, and your maidservant's son and the stranger shall be refreshed.13Concerning all that I have said to you you shall beware, and the name of the gods of others you shall not mention; it shall not be heard through your mouth.14Three times you shall slaughter sacrifices to Me during the year.15You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread as I have commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of springtime, for then you left Egypt, and they shall not appear before Me empty handed.16And the festival of the harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you will sow in the field, and the festival of the ingathering at the departure of the year, when you gather in [the products of] your labors from the field.17Three times during the year, all your males shall appear before the Master, the Lord.18You shall not sacrifice the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, and the fat of My festive sacrifice shall not stay overnight until morning.19The choicest of the first fruits of your soil you shall bring to the house of the Lord, your God. You shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk.
Thursday
Psalm 82 (NLT):
1 God presides over heaven’s court;
he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings:
2 “How long will you hand down unjust decisions
by favoring the wicked?
Interlude
3 “Give justice to the poor and the orphan;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
4 Rescue the poor and helpless;
deliver them from the grasp of evil people.
5 But these oppressors know nothing;
they are so ignorant!
They wander about in darkness,
while the whole world is shaken to the core.
6 I say, ‘You are gods;
you are all children of the Most High.
7 But you will die like mere mortals
and fall like every other ruler.’ ”
8 Rise up, O God, and judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to you.
Sixth Portion
Exodus Chapter 23
20Behold, I am sending an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.21Beware of him and obey him; do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your transgression, for My Name is within him.22For if you hearken to his voice and do all that I say, I will hate your enemies and oppress your adversaries.23For My angel will go before you, and bring you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them.24You shall not prostrate yourself before their gods, and you shall not worship them, and you shall not follow their practices, but you shall tear them down and you shall utterly shatter their monuments.25And you shall worship the Lord, your God, and He will bless your food and your drink, and I will remove illness from your midst.
Friday
Matthew 9:27–38 (NLT): Jesus Heals the Blind
27 After Jesus left the girl’s home, two blind men followed along behind him, shouting, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
28 They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can make you see?”
“Yes, Lord,” they told him, “we do.”
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.” 30 Then their eyes were opened, and they could see! Jesus sternly warned them, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” 31 But instead, they went out and spread his fame all over the region.
32 When they left, a demon-possessed man who couldn’t speak was brought to Jesus. 33 So Jesus cast out the demon, and then the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed. “Nothing like this has ever happened in Israel!” they exclaimed.
34 But the Pharisees said, “He can cast out demons because he is empowered by the prince of demons.”
The Need for Workers
35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”
Seventh Portion
Exodus Chapter 23
26There will be no bereaved or barren woman in your land; I will fill the number of your days.27I will send My fear before you, and I will confuse all the people among whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.28And I will send the tzir'ah before you, and it will drive out the Hivvites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you.29I will not drive them away from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field outnumber you.30I will drive them out from before you little by little, until you have increased and can occupy the land.31And I will make your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the river, for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and you shall drive them out from before you.32You shall not form a covenant for them or for their gods.33They shall not dwell in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me, that you will worship their gods, which will be a snare for you.
Exodus Chapter 24
1And to Moses He said, "Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and prostrate yourselves from afar.2And Moses alone shall approach the Lord but they shall not approach, and the people shall not ascend with him."3So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances, and all the people answered in unison and said, "All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do."4And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and he arose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve monuments for the twelve tribes of Israel.5And he sent the youths of the children of Israel, and they offered up burnt offerings, and they slaughtered peace offerings to the Lord, bulls.6And Moses took half the blood and put it into the basins, and half the blood he cast onto the altar.7And he took the Book of the Covenant and read it within the hearing of the people, and they said, "All that the Lord spoke we will do and we will hear."8And Moses took the blood and sprinkled [it] on the people, and he said, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has formed with you concerning these words."9And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended,10and they perceived the God of Israel, and beneath His feet was like the forming of a sapphire brick and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity.11And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand, and they perceived God, and they ate and drank.12And the Lord said to Moses, "Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets, the Law and the commandments, which I have written to instruct them."13So Moses and Joshua, his servant, arose, and Moses ascended to the mount of God.14And to the elders he said, "Wait for us here until we return to you, and here Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a case, let him go to them."15And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.16And the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days, and He called to Moses on the seventh day from within the cloud.17And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire atop the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel.18And Moses came within the cloud, and he went up to the mountain, and Moses was upon the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Saturday
Leviticus 19:32–37 (NLT):
32 “Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the Lord.
33 “Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. 34 Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
35 “Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume. 36 Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry materials or liquids must be accurate. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
37 “You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the Lord.”
Maftir Portion
Exodus Chapter 24
16And the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days, and He called to Moses on the seventh day from within the cloud.17And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire atop the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel.18And Moses came within the cloud, and he went up to the mountain, and Moses was upon the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Haftarah
Jeremiah Chapter 34
8The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to proclaim freedom to them;9That every man should let his manservant and every man his maidservant, a Jew and a Jewess go free, that none should hold his Jewish brother as a slave.10Now all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant hearkened that every one should let his manservant and everyone his maidservant go free, no longer holding them in slavery; then they obeyed and let them go.11But afterwards they turned and brought back the manservants and the maidservants whom they had let free, and forcibly made them into manservants and maidservants.12Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:13So says the Lord God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers on the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves, saying:14"At the end of seven years you shall let go every man his brother Jew who has been sold to you, and when he has served you for six years you shall let him go free from you"; but your forefathers did not obey Me, nor did they incline their ear[s].15And now this day you turned and did what was right in My sight by proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before Me in the House upon which My Name is called.16But then you turned and profaned My Name, and you took back, each man his manservant and each man his maidservant, whom you had let free to themselves, and forced them to be manservants and maidservants to you.17Therefore, so says the Lord: You have not hearkened to Me to proclaim freedom, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor; behold I proclaim freedom to you, says the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine, and I will make you an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.18And I will deliver the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not kept the words of the covenant which they made before Me when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts.19The princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the officers and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf.20I will deliver them into the hand[s] of their enemies and into the hand[s] of those who seek their lives, and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth.21And Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his princes I will deliver into the hand[s] of their enemies and into the hand[s] of those who seek their lives, and into the hand[s] of the army of the king of Babylon who have gone up away from you.22Behold I command, says the Lord, and I will return them to this city, and they shall fight against it and capture it, and burn it with fire, and the cities of Judah I will make desolate without an inhabitant.
Jeremiah Chapter 33
25So said the Lord: If not My covenant with the day and the night, that the statutes of heaven and earth I did not place,26Also will I reject the seed of Jacob and David, My servant, not to take from his seed rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when I bring back their captivity and have mercy upon them.
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