Lent

Monday in Lent

Monday, March 13, 2028

FIRST READING

Exodus 33:1-6

Verse 1. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of the land of Egypt, and go to the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ Verse 2. And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Verse 3. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way.” Verse 4. When the people heard this bad news, they went into mourning, and no one put on any of his jewelry. Verse 5. For the LORD had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I should go with you for a single moment, I would destroy you. Now take off your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.’” Verse 6. So the Israelites stripped themselves of their jewelry from Mount Horeb onward.

PSALM

Psalm 105:1-42

Verse 1. Give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the nations.
Verse 2. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonders.
Verse 3. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Verse 4. Seek out the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.
Verse 5. Remember the wonders He has done, His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced,
Verse 6. O offspring of His servant Abraham, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones.
Verse 7. He is the LORD our God; His judgments carry throughout the earth.
Verse 8. He remembers His covenant forever, the word He ordained for a thousand generations—
Verse 9. the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac.
Verse 10. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
Verse 11. “I will give you the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.”
Verse 12. When they were few in number, few indeed, and strangers in the land,
Verse 13. they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
Verse 14. He let no man oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf:
Verse 15. “Do not touch My anointed ones! Do no harm to My prophets!”
Verse 16. He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
Verse 17. He sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave.
Verse 18. They bruised his feet with shackles and placed his neck in irons,
Verse 19. until his prediction came true and the word of the LORD proved him right.
Verse 20. The king sent and released him; the ruler of peoples set him free.
Verse 21. He made him master of his household, ruler over all his substance,
Verse 22. to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.
Verse 23. Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
Verse 24. And the LORD made His people very fruitful, more numerous than their foes,
Verse 25. whose hearts He turned to hate His people, to conspire against His servants.
Verse 26. He sent Moses His servant, and Aaron, whom He had chosen.
Verse 27. They performed His miraculous signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.
Verse 28. He sent darkness, and it became dark— yet they defied His words.
Verse 29. He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.
Verse 30. Their land teemed with frogs, even in their royal chambers.
Verse 31. He spoke, and insects swarmed— gnats throughout their country.
Verse 32. He gave them hail for rain, with lightning throughout their land.
Verse 33. He struck their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country.
Verse 34. He spoke, and the locusts came— young locusts without number.
Verse 35. They devoured every plant in their land and consumed the produce of their soil.
Verse 36. Then He struck all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their vigor.
Verse 37. He brought Israel out with silver and gold, and none among His tribes stumbled.
Verse 38. Egypt was glad when they departed, for the dread of Israel had fallen on them.
Verse 39. He spread a cloud as a covering and a fire to light up the night.
Verse 40. They asked, and He brought quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
Verse 41. He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.
Verse 42. For He remembered His holy promise to Abraham His servant.

SECOND READING

Romans 4:1-12

Verse 1. What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has discovered? Verse 2. If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God. Verse 3. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Verse 4. Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation. Verse 5. However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. Verse 6. And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Verse 7. “Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Verse 8. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” Verse 9. Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Verse 10. In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before. Verse 11. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. Verse 12. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.