15He took up his discourse and said,
“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
16The oracle of him who hears the words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered.
17I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
A scepter shall rise from Israel,
And shall crush through the forehead of Moab,
And tear down all the sons of Sheth.
18Edom shall be a possession,
Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
19One from Jacob shall have dominion,
And will destroy the remnant from the city.”
20And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,
“Amalek was the first of the nations,
But his end shall be destruction.”
21And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,
“Your dwelling place is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.
22Nevertheless Kain will be consumed;
How long will Asshur keep you captive?”
23Then he took up his discourse and said,
“Alas, who can live except God has ordained it?
24But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim,
And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict Eber;
So they also will come to destruction.”
25Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way.
19For Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens,
You who have done great things;
O God, who is like You?
20You who have shown me many troubles and distresses
Will revive me again,
And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
21May You increase my greatness
And turn to comfort me.
22I will also praise You with a harp,
Even Your truth, O my God;
To You I will sing praises with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
23My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You;
And my soul, which You have redeemed.
24My tongue also will utter Your righteousness all day long;
For they are ashamed, for they are humiliated who seek my hurt.
The Visit of the Magi
1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
6‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
7Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
1) How does the prophecy of the star foretell Messiah’s reign?
2) Why do nations rejoice at His light?
3) What distinguishes righteous rule from tyranny?
PSALM 97
The Lord’s Power and Dominion.
1The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many islands be glad.
2Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries round about.
4His lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and trembled.
5The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen His glory.
7Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images,
Who boast themselves of idols;
Worship Him, all you gods.
8Zion heard this and was glad,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, O Lord.
9For You are the Lord Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.
10Hate evil, you who love the Lord,
Who preserves the souls of His godly ones;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11Light is sown like seed for the righteous
And gladness for the upright in heart.
12Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.
The Temptation of Jesus
1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ”
5Then the devil *took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command His angels concerning You’;
and
‘On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”
7Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
8Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ” 11Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; 13and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
15“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned.”
17From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The First Disciples
18Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Ministry in Galilee
23Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.
24The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. 25Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.