Tuesday in Advent

1Verse 1. Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2Verse 2. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD. 3Verse 3. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what His eyes see, and He will not decide by what His ears hear, 4Verse 4. but with righteousness He will judge the poor, and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips. 5Verse 5. Righteousness will be the belt around His hips, and faithfulness the sash around His waist. 6Verse 6. The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them. 7Verse 7. The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8Verse 8. The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest. 9Verse 9. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.

20Verse 20. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 21Verse 21. “Separate yourselves from this congregation so that I may consume them in an instant.” 22Verse 22. But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?” 23Verse 23. Then the LORD said to Moses, 24Verse 24. “Tell the congregation to move away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” 25Verse 25. So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26Verse 26. And he warned the congregation, “Move away now from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” 27Verse 27. So they moved away from the dwellings of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram had come out and stood at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children and infants. 28Verse 28. Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things, for it was not my own doing: 29Verse 29. If these men die a natural death, or if they suffer the fate of all men, then the LORD has not sent me. 30Verse 30. But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt.” 31Verse 31. As soon as Moses had finished saying all this, the ground beneath them split open, 32Verse 32. and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households — all Korah’s men and all their possessions. 33Verse 33. They went down alive into Sheol with all they owned. The earth closed over them, and they vanished from the assembly. 34Verse 34. At their cries, all the people of Israel who were around them fled, saying, “The earth may swallow us too!” 35Verse 35. And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

23Verse 23. So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. 24Verse 24. Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe. 25Verse 25. They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit was right when He spoke to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: 26Verse 26. ‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” 27Verse 27. For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’ 28Verse 28. Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” 30Verse 30. Paul stayed there two full years in his own rented house, welcoming all who came to visit him. 31Verse 31. Boldly and freely he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.