Mark 10:32-52; 2 Samuel 24; Hosea 4:1-11

Mark 10:32-52

32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. They were astonished, but those who followed Him were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, He began to tell them the things that would happen to Him.

33 "Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death. Then they will hand Him over to the Gentiles,

34 and they will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him, and kill Him, and He will rise after three days."

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Him and said, "Teacher, we want You to do something for us if we ask You."

36 "What do you want Me to do for you?" He asked them.

37 They answered Him, "Allow us to sit at Your right and at Your left in Your glory."

38 But Jesus said to them, "You don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"

39 "We are able," they told Him. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.

40 But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to give; instead, it is for those it has been prepared for."

41 When the [other] 10 [disciples] heard this, they began to be indignant with James and John.

42 Jesus called them over and said to them, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them.

43 But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all.

45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life-a ransom for many."

46 They came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the road.

47 When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, "Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!"

48 Many people told him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, "Have mercy on me, Son of David!"

49 Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called the blind man and said to him, "Have courage! Get up; He's calling for you."

50 He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

51 Then Jesus answered him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" "Rabbouni," the blind man told Him, "I want to see!"

52 "Go your way," Jesus told him. "Your faith has healed you." Immediately he could see and began to follow Him on the road.

2 Samuel 24

1 The Lord's anger burned against Israel again, and it stirred up David against them to say: "Go, count [the people of] Israel and Judah."

2 So the king said to Joab, the commander of his army, "Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the troops so I can know their number."

3 Joab replied to the king, "May the Lord your God multiply the troops 100 times more than they are-while my lord the king looks on! But why does my lord the king want to do this?"

4 Yet the king's order prevailed over Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army left the king's presence to register the troops of Israel.

5 They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, south of the town in the middle of the valley, and then [proceeded] toward Gad and Jazer.

6 They went to Gilead and to the land of the Hittites and continued on to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon.

7 They went to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites. Afterwards, they went to the Negev of Judah at Beer-sheba.

8 When they had gone through the whole land, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and 20 days.

9 Joab gave the king the total of the registration of the troops. There were 800,000 fighting men from Israel and 500,000 men from Judah.

10 David's conscience troubled him after he had taken a census of the troops. He said to the Lord, "I have sinned greatly in what I've done. Now, Lord, because I've been very foolish, please take away Your servant's guilt."

11 When David got up in the morning, a revelation from the Lord had come to the prophet Gad, David's seer:

12 "Go and say to David, 'This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three [choices]. Choose one of them, and I will do it to you.' "

13 So Gad went to David, told him [the choices], and asked him, "Do you want three years of famine to come on your land, to flee from your foes three months while they pursue you, or to have a plague in your land three days? Now, think it over and decide what answer I should take back to the One who sent me."

14 David answered Gad, "I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the Lord's hands because His mercies are great, but don't let me fall into human hands."

15 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and from Dan to Beer-sheba 70,000 men died.

16 Then the angel extended his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, but the Lord relented concerning the destruction and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough, withdraw your hand now!" The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

17 When David saw the angel striking the people, he said to the Lord, "Look, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one who has done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand be against me and my father's family."

18 Gad came to David that day and said to him, "Go up and set up an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."

19 David went up in obedience to Gad's command, just as the Lord had commanded.

20 Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, so he went out and bowed to the king with his face to the ground.

21 Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" David replied, "To buy the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to the Lord, so the plague on the people may be halted."

22 Araunah said to David, "My lord the king may take whatever he wants and offer it. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.

23 [My] king, Araunah gives everything here to the king." Then he said to the king, "May the Lord your God accept you."

24 The king answered Araunah, "No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost [me] nothing." David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 ounces of silver.

25 He built an altar to the Lord there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered prayer on behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel ended.

Hosea 4:1-11

1 Hear the word of the Lord, people of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth, no faithful love, and no knowledge of God in the land!

2 Cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.

3 For this reason the land mourns, and everyone who lives in it languishes, along with the wild animals and the birds of the sky; even the fish of the sea disappear.

4 But let no one dispute; let no one argue, for My case is against you priests.

5 You will stumble by day; the prophet will also stumble with you by night. And I will destroy your mother.

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.

7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me. I will change their honor into disgrace.

8 They feed on the sin of My people; they have an appetite for their transgressions.

9 [The same judgment] will happen to both people and priests. I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.

10 They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply; for they have abandoned their devotion to the Lord.

11 Promiscuity, wine, and new wine take away [one's] understanding.