Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Exodus 17:8-15 and Mark 12:1-12 (NLT)

Exodus 17:8-15
The Amalekites Defeated

8    While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek attacked them. 
9    Moses commanded Joshua, “Choose some men to go out and fight the army of Amalek for us. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill, holding the staff of God in my hand.”
10  So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. 
11  As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. 
12  Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. 
13  As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.
14  After the victory, the Lord instructed Moses, “Write this down on a scroll as a permanent reminder, and read it aloud to Joshua: I will erase the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 
15  Moses built an altar there and named it Yahweh-Nissi (which means “the Lord is my banner”).

Mark 12:1-12
The Parable of the Tenants

1    Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 
2   At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. 
3   But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. 
4   The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head. 
5   The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed, 
6    until there was only one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
7    “But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 
8    So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9    “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others. 
10   Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?  ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
11   This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’
12   The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.

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