Deuteronomy 7:12-26 and Acts 13:1-3 (New Living Translation)

DEUTERONOMY 7:12-26
THE BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE
12  “If you listen to these regulations and faithfully obey them, the Lord your God will keep his covenant of unfailing love with you, as he promised with an oath to your ancestors.
13  He will love you and bless you, and he will give you many children. He will give fertility to your land and your animals. When you arrive in the land he swore to give your ancestors, you will have large harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and great herds of cattle, sheep, and goats.
14  You will be blessed above all the nations of the earth. None of your men or women will be childless, and all your livestock will bear young.
15  And the Lord will protect you from all sickness. He will not let you suffer from the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all your enemies!
16  “You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Show them no mercy, and do not worship their gods, or they will trap you.
17  Perhaps you will think to yourselves, ‘How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?’
18  But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt.
19  Remember the great terrors the Lord your God sent against them. You saw it all with your own eyes! And remember the miraculous signs and wonders, and the strong hand and powerful arm with which he brought you out of Egypt. The Lord your God will use this same power against all the people you fear.
20  And then the Lord your God will send terror to drive out the few survivors still hiding from you!
21  “No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God.
22  The Lord your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you.
23  But the Lord your God will hand them over to you. He will throw them into complete confusion until they are destroyed.
24  He will put their kings in your power, and you will erase their names from the face of the earth. No one will be able to stand against you, and you will destroy them all.
25  “You must burn their idols in fire, and you must not covet the silver or gold that covers them. You must not take it or it will become a trap to you, for it is detestable to the Lord your God.
26  Do not bring any detestable objects into your home, for then you will be destroyed, just like them. You must utterly detest such things, for they are set apart for destruction.

ACTS 13:1-3
BARNABAS AND SAUL ARE CHOSEN AND SENT
1  Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul.
2  One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” 
So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

Deuteronomy 7:1-11 and Acts 12:20-25 (New Living Translation)

DEUTERONOMY 7:1-11
THE LORD'S OWN PEOPLE

1    “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. 

2    When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. 

3    You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters,

4    for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you. 

5    This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols. 

6    For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.

7    “The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! 

8    Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. 

9    Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. 

10  But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. 

11  Therefore, you must obey all these commands, decrees, and regulations I am giving you today.

ACTS 12:20-25

THE DEATH OF HEROD

20  Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod’s country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant, 

21  and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. 

22  The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”

23  Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

24  Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.

25  When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, taking John Mark with them.

Deuteronomy 6:10-25 and Acts 12:6-19 (New Living Translation)

DEUTERONOMY 6:10-25
WARNING AGAINST DISOBEDIENCE
10  “The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build.
11  The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land,
12  be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.
13  You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name.
14  “You must not worship any of the gods of neighboring nations,
15  for the Lord your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you, and he will wipe you from the face of the earth.
16  You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah.
17  You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you.
18  Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so all will go well with you. Then you will enter and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to give your ancestors.
19  You will drive out all the enemies living in the land, just as the Lord said you would.
20  “In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the Lord our God has commanded us to obey?’
21  “Then you must tell them, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand.
22  The Lord did miraculous signs and wonders before our eyes, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people.
23  He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land he had sworn to give our ancestors.
24  And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day.
25  For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.’

ACTS 12:6-19
PETER IS SET FREE FROM PRISON

6    The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. 

7    Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. 

8    Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.

9    So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. 

10  They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

11  Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”

12  When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. 

13  He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. 

14  When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”

15  “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”

16  Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. 

17  He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.

18  At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. 

19  Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.