1 Samuel 4

• 1. At that time Israel was at war with the Philistines. The Israelite army was camped near Ebenezer, and the Philistines were at Aphek.
• 2. The Philistines attacked and defeated the army of Israel, killing four thousand men.
• 3. After the battle was over, the army of Israel retreated to their camp, and their leaders asked, "Why did the LORD allow us to be defeated by the Philistines?" Then they said, "Let's bring the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD from Shiloh. If we carry it into battle with us, it will save us from our enemies."
• 4. So they sent men to Shiloh to bring back the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, helped carry the Ark of God to where the battle was being fought.
• 5. When the Israelites saw the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD coming into the camp, their shout of joy was so loud that it made the ground shake!
• 6. "What's going on?" the Philistines asked. "What's all the shouting about in the Hebrew camp?" When they were told it was because the Ark of the LORD had arrived,
• 7. they panicked. "The gods have come into their camp!" they cried. "This is a disaster! We have never had to face anything like this before!
• 8. Who can save us from these mighty gods of Israel? They are the same gods who destroyed the Egyptians with plagues when Israel was in the wilderness.
• 9. Fight as you never have before, Philistines! If you don't, we will become the Hebrews' slaves just as they have been ours!"
• 10. So the Philistines fought desperately, and Israel was defeated again. The slaughter was great; thirty thousand Israelite men died that day. The survivors turned and fled to their tents.
• 11. The Ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were killed.
• 12. A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefront and arrived at Shiloh later that same day. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head to show his grief.
• 13. Eli was waiting beside the road to hear the news of the battle, for his heart trembled for the safety of the Ark of God. When the messenger arrived and told what had happened, an outcry resounded throughout the town.
• 14. "What is all the noise about?" Eli asked. The messenger rushed over to Eli,
• 15. who was ninety-eight years old and blind.
• 16. He said to Eli, "I have just come from the battlefront--I was there this very day.What happened?" Eli demanded.
• 17. "Israel has been defeated," the messenger replied. "Thousands of Israelite troops are dead on the battlefield. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed, too. And the Ark of God has been captured."
• 18. When the messenger mentioned what had happened to the Ark, Eli fell backward from his seat beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and very fat. He had led Israel for forty years.
• 19. Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her husband and father-in-law were dead, her labor pains suddenly began.
• 20. She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. "Don't be afraid," they said. "You have a baby boy!" But she did not answer or respond in any way.
• 21. She named the child Ichabod--"Where is the glory?"--murmuring, "Israel's glory is gone." She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her husband and her father-in-law were dead.
• 22. Then she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured."

Romans 4

• 1. Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What were his experiences concerning this question of being saved by faith?
• 2. Was it because of his good deeds that God accepted him? If so, he would have had something to boast about. But from God's point of view Abraham had no basis at all for pride.
• 3. For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous."
• 4. When people work, their wages are not a gift. Workers earn what they receive.
• 5. But people are declared righteous because of their faith, not because of their work.
• 6. King David spoke of this, describing the happiness of an undeserving sinner who is declared to be righteous:
• 7. "Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.
• 8. Yes, what joy for those whose sin is no longer counted against them by the Lord."
• 9. Now then, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it for Gentiles, too? Well, what about Abraham? We have been saying he was declared righteous by God because of his faith.
• 10. But how did his faith help him? Was he declared righteous only after he had been circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? The answer is that God accepted him first, and then he was circumcised later!
• 11. The circumcision ceremony was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous--even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are made right with God by faith.
• 12. And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.
• 13. It is clear, then, that God's promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was not based on obedience to God's law, but on the new relationship with God that comes by faith.
• 14. So if you claim that God's promise is for those who obey God's law and think they are "good enough" in God's sight, then you are saying that faith is useless. And in that case, the promise is also meaningless.
• 15. But the law brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)
• 16. So that's why faith is the key! God's promise is given to us as a free gift. And we are certain to receive it, whether or not we follow Jewish customs, if we have faith like Abraham's. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.
• 17. That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, "I have made you the father of many nations." This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who brings into existence what didn't exist before.
• 18. When God promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations, Abraham believed him. God had also said, "Your descendants will be as numerous as the stars," even though such a promise seemed utterly impossible!
• 19. And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though he knew that he was too old to be a father at the age of one hundred and that Sarah, his wife, had never been able to have children.
• 20. Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.
• 21. He was absolutely convinced that God was able to do anything he promised.
• 22. And because of Abraham's faith, God declared him to be righteous.
• 23. Now this wonderful truth--that God declared him to be righteous--wasn't just for Abraham's benefit.
• 24. It was for us, too, assuring us that God will also declare us to be righteous if we believe in God, who brought Jesus our Lord back from the dead.
• 25. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised from the dead to make us right with God.

Jeremiah 42

• 1. Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, approached
• 2. Jeremiah the prophet. They said, "Please pray to the LORD your God for us. As you know, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before.
• 3. Beg the LORD your God to show us what to do and where to go."
• 4. "All right," Jeremiah replied. "I will pray to the LORD your God, and I will tell you everything he says. I will hide nothing from you."
• 5. Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do!
• 6. Whether we like it or not, we will obey the LORD our God to whom we send you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us."
• 7. Ten days later, the LORD gave his reply to Jeremiah.
• 8. So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest.
• 9. He said to them, "You sent me to the LORD, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply:
• 10. `Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry for all the punishment I have had to bring upon you.
• 11. Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore, says the LORD. For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power.
• 12. I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.'
• 13. "But if you refuse to obey the LORD your God and say, `We will not stay here,'
• 14. and if you insist on going to live in Egypt where you think you will be free from war, famine, and alarms,
• 15. then this is what the LORD says to the remnant of Judah. The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: `If you insist on going to Egypt,
• 16. the war and famine you fear will follow close behind you, and you will die there.
• 17. That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape from the disaster I will bring upon you there.'
• 18. "For the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: `Just as my anger and fury were poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so they will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will become an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. And you will never see your homeland again.'
• 19. "Listen, you remnant of Judah. The LORD has told you: `Do not go to Egypt!' Don't forget this warning I have given you today.
• 20. For you were deceitful when you sent me to pray to the LORD your God for you, saying, `Just tell us what the LORD our God says, and we will do it!'
• 21. And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey the LORD your God any better now than you have in the past.
• 22. So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going."

New Living Translation: 226 of 365 days.