Crossing the Read Sea

Jonah 3:1-5 

A Season of National Repentance

1 Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: 

2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.”

3 This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. 

4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” 

5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 19

1 God spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to the entire community of the Israelites, saying to them, ‘You must be holy, for I, God, your God, am holy.

3 Everyone must fear his mother and his father. You must observe My Sabbaths; I am God, your God.

4 Do not turn your thoughts toward worshiping idols, in order that you not come to believe in them and make them molten deities for yourselves; I am God, your God.

5 When you slaughter a peace-promoting feast-offering to God, you must slaughter it such that it attain My favor for you, i.e.,

6 with the intention that it be eaten on the day you slaughter it and on the next day. Anything left over until the third day must be burned in fire.

7 If it is eaten on the third day, it is contemptible; it will not be accepted as valid.

8Whoever eats it will bear his sin, because he has profaned what is holy to God. That person will be cut off from his people.

9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you must not fully reap the last corner of your field. Nor may you gather the gleanings of your harvest that fall from your hand.

10 You must not glean the young grapes of your vineyard. Nor may you collect the fallen individual grapes of your vineyard. You must leave them for the poor and the convert; I am God, your God.

11 You must not steal. You must not falsely deny a claim. You must not lie to one another.

12 You must not swear falsely by My Name, thereby profaning the Name of your God; I am God.

13 You must not oppress your fellow. You must not rob. The hired day-worker’s wage must not remain with you through the night until morning.

14 You must not curse a deaf person. You must not place an obstacle before a blind person. You must fear your God; I am God.

Jonah 4:6-11 

God’s Compassion for All

6 And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.

7 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. 

8 And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.

9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”

“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”

10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 

11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 19

15 You must commit no injustice in judgment. You must not be partial to a poor litigant; you must not show misplaced respect to a great litigant. You must judge your fellow with righteousness.

16 You must not go around as a gossipmonger among your people. You must not stand idly by when you see your fellow’s blood being shed; I am God.

17 You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must indeed rebuke your fellow, but you must not commit the sin of embarrassing someone in public on his account.

18 You must neither take revenge on nor bear a grudge against the members of your people. You must love your fellow as yourself; I am God.

19 You must observe My rules: You must not crossbreed your animals. You must not sow your field with a mixture of species. You must not wear a garment made out of a mixture of wool and linen that has been pressed, woven, or twisted together.

20 If a man conducts carnal relations with a woman, and she is a non-Jewish bondwoman who has been designated for a Jewish bondman, and she has not yet been fully redeemed, nor has freedom been granted her, there must be an investigation. If she is not fully free, they must not be put to death, because she had not been completely freed.

21 The paramour must bring his guilt-offering to God, i.e., into the Courtyard outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting—a ram as a guilt-offering.

22 The priest must effect atonement for him before God—by means of the guilt-offering ram—for the sin that he committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin that he committed.

Genesis 2:4a-10, 15 

God Ordains Productive Work

4 This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth.

The Man and Woman in Eden

When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 5 neither wild plants nor grains were growing on the earth. For the Lord God had not yet sent rain to water the earth, and there were no people to cultivate the soil. 6 Instead, springs came up from the ground and watered all the land. 7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.

8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. 11 The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. 12 The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. 13 The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush. 14 The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 19

23 When you enter the land and you plant any tree that produces food, you must block its fruit from use: it must be blocked from you for use for three years. It must not be eaten.

24 In the fourth year, all its fruit will be holy, i.e., it must be eaten in the Temple city, where you will offer praises to God.

25 In the fifth year, you may eat its fruit freely. Fulfill these commandments in order that the tree increase its produce for you; I am God, your God.

26 You must not eat an animal before its blood is fully shed. You must not act on the basis of omens or supposedly auspicious times.

27 You must not round off the hair of the corner of your head. You must not destroy any edge of your beard.

28 You must not make cuts in your flesh for a person who died. You may not etch a tattoo on yourselves; I am God.

29 You must not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land “engage in prostitution” and the land be filled with immorality.

30 You must observe My Sabbaths. You must revere My Sanctuary; I am God.

31 You must not practice spirit-divination or yadu’a-divination. You must not seek to spiritually defile yourselves through them; I am God, your God.

32 You must rise before an elderly person, and you must respect a person who is elderly. You must fear your God; I am God.

Proverbs 16:1-3, 8-9 

Commit Your Work to the Lord

1 We can make our own plans,
    but the Lord gives the right answer.

2 

People may be pure in their own eyes,
    but the Lord examines their motives.

3 

Commit your actions to the Lord,
    and your plans will succeed.

4 

The Lord has made everything for his own purposes,
    even the wicked for a day of disaster.

5 

The Lord detests the proud;
    they will surely be punished.

6 

Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin.
    By fearing the Lord, people avoid evil.

7 

When people’s lives please the Lord,
    even their enemies are at peace with them.

8 

Better to have little, with godliness,
    than to be rich and dishonest.

9 

We can make our plans,
    but the Lord determines our steps.

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 19

33 When a convert dwells with you in your land, you must not taunt him.

34 The convert who dwells with you must be treated as a native from among you, and you must love him as you love yourself, for you were strangers in Egypt; I am God, your God.

35 You must not commit a perversion of justice with regard to measures of length, area, weight, or liquid or dry volume.

36 You must have accurate scales, accurate weights, an accurate container holding an ephah, and an accurate container holding a hin. I am God, your God, who brought you out of Egypt.

37 You must safeguard all My rules and all My ordinances and fulfill them; I am God.’”

Psalm 8 

Caring for the Work of God’s Hands

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.

1 

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
    Your glory is higher than the heavens.

2 

You have taught children and infants
    to tell of your strength,
silencing your enemies
    and all who oppose you.

3 

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
    the moon and the stars you set in place—

4 

what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
    human beings that you should care for them?

5 

Yet you made them only a little lower than God
    and crowned them with glory and honor.

6 

You gave them charge of everything you made,
    putting all things under their authority—

7 

the flocks and the herds
    and all the wild animals,

8 

the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
    and everything that swims the ocean currents.

9 

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 20

1 God spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “You must tell the Israelites: ‘Any individual Israelite or any convert who dwells among the nation of Israel who hands over any of his offspring to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land must pelt him with stones.

3 I will set My attention upon that man, and I will cut him off from amid his people because he gave of his offspring to Molech, thereby defiling My holy people and profaning My holy Name.

4 If the people of the land ignore that man when he gives of his offspring to Molech, neglecting to put him to death,

5 I will set My attention upon that man and upon his family. I will cut off from amid their people him and all who stray after the Molech-worshiper by themselves straying after the cult of Molech.

6 Regarding the person who practices spirit-divination or yadu’a-divination, thus straying after them, I will set My attention upon that person, and I will cut him off from amid his people.

7 You must sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am God, your God.

Exodus 31:12-17 

The Sabbath Is a Perpetual Covenant

12 The Lord then gave these instructions to Moses: 

13 “Tell the people of Israel: ‘Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. It is given so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. 

14 You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. 

15 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death. 

16 The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. 

17 It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.’”

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 20

8 You must safeguard My rules and fulfill them; I am God, who sanctifies you.

9 For any man who curses his father or mother must be put to death. He cursed his father or his mother; the shedding of his blood is his own fault.

10 Regarding a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, committing adultery with the wife of his fellow Israelite, the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

11 A man who “lies with” his father’s wife has “uncovered his father’s nakedness”: Both of them must be put to death. The shedding of their blood is their own fault.

12 Regarding a man who “lies with” his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed a despicable act. The shedding of their blood is their own fault.

13 Regarding a man who “lies with” a male as one would with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death. The shedding of their blood is their own fault.

14 Regarding a man who takes a woman as a wife and then fornicates with her mother, such a union is the counsel of their evil inclination. They must burn him and them in fire, in order that there be no repercussions of such evil counsel in your midst.

15 A man who “lies with” an animal must be put to death, and you must kill the animal.

16 Regarding a woman who approaches any animal in order to fornicate with it, you must kill the woman and the animal. They must be put to death. The shedding of their blood is their own fault.

17 Regarding a man who takes his sister and fornicates with her, whether she be his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and thus he “sees her nakedness” and she “sees his nakedness,” it is a disgraceful act. They will be cut off for all the members of their people to see. Since the man “uncovered his sister’s nakedness,” he must bear the consequence of his transgression.

18 Regarding a man who “lies with” a woman who is undergoing a menstrual flow, he has thereby “uncovered her nakedness.” Since he has “uncovered” her “fountain of blood” and she has “uncovered” the “fountain of her blood,” both of them will be cut off from amid their people.

19 You must not “uncover the nakedness” of your mother’s sister or your father’s sister, for one who does so has “uncovered the nakedness” of his close relative; they must bear the consequences of their sin.

20 Regarding a man who “lies with” his aunt, he has “uncovered his uncle’s nakedness”; they must bear the consequences of their transgression: they will die childless.

21 Regarding a man who takes his brother’s wife to “lie with” her, it is a repulsive act; he has “uncovered his brother’s nakedness”; they will remain childless.

22 You must safeguard all My rules and all My ordinances and fulfill them, so the land to which I am bringing you to dwell therein not vomit you out.

John 5:8-11, 16-17 

Working and Healing on the Sabbath

8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 

10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”

11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

12 “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.

13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 

14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” 

15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Jesus Claims to Be the Son of God

16 So the Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. 

17 But Jesus replied, “My Father is always working, and so am I.” 

Vayikra (Leviticus) Chapter 20

23 You must not follow the practices of the nations whom I am sending out of Canaan from before you, for they committed all these sins, and I was disgusted with them.

24 So I said to you, “You will take possession of their land in their stead, for I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and date- and fig-honey.” I am God, your God, who has distinguished you from other peoples.

25 You must be able to distinguish between that which renders an animal spiritually undefiled and that which renders it spiritually defiled, and between that which renders a fowl spiritually defiled and that which renders it spiritually undefiled. Thus, you will not make yourselves disgusting by consuming any spiritually defiled animal or fowl, or by consuming any creature that crawls on the earth that I have distinguished by prohibiting it to you, since consuming it renders you spiritually defiled.

26 You must be holy to Me, for I, God, am holy. I have distinguished you from all peoples by giving you all these laws in order that you be Mine.

27 Regarding a man or a woman who is a spirit-diviner or is a yadu’a-diviner, the offenders must be put to death; the people must pelt them with stones. The shedding of their blood is their own fault.’”

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) Chapter 66

1 So says the Lord, "The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool; which is the house that you will build for Me, and which is the place of My rest?

2 And all these My hand made, and all these have become," says the Lord. "But to this one will I look, to one poor and of crushed spirit, who hastens to do My bidding.

3 Whoever slaughters an ox has slain a man; he who slaughters a lamb is as though he beheads a dog; he who offers up a meal-offering is [like] swine blood; he who burns frankincense brings a gift of violence; they, too, chose their ways, and their soul desired their abominations.

4 I, too, will choose their mockeries, and their fears I will bring to them, since I called and no one answered, I spoke and they did not hearken, and they did what was evil in My eyes, and what I did not wish they chose.

5 Hearken to the word of the Lord, who quake at His word, "Your brethren who hate you, who cast you out, said, "For the sake of my name, the Lord shall be glorified," but we will see your joy, and they shall be ashamed.

6 There is a sound of stirring from the city, a sound from the Temple, the voice of the Lord, recompensing His enemies.

7 When she has not yet travailed, she has given birth; when the pang has not yet come to her, she has been delivered of a male child.

8 Who heard [anything] like this? Who saw [anything] like these? Is a land born in one day? Is a nation born at once, that Zion both experienced birth pangs and bore her children?

9 "Will I bring to the birth stool and not cause to give birth?" says the Lord. "Am I not He who causes to give birth, now should I shut the womb?" says your God.

10 Rejoice with Jerusalem and exult in her all those who love her: rejoice with her a rejoicing, all who mourn over her.

11 In order that you suck and become sated from the breast of her consolations in order that you drink deeply and delight from her approaching glory.

12 For so says the Lord, "Behold, I will extend peace to you like a river, and like a flooding stream the wealth of the nations, and you shall suck thereof; on the side you shall be borne, and on knees you shall be dandled.

13 Like a man whose mother consoles him, so will I console you, and in Jerusalem, you shall be consoled.

14 And you shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall bloom like grass, and the hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants, and He shall be wroth with His enemies.

15 For behold, the Lord shall come with fire, and like a tempest, His chariots, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.

16 For with fire, will the Lord contend, and with His sword with all flesh, and those slain by the Lord shall be many.

17 "Those who prepare themselves and purify themselves to the gardens, [one] after another in the middle, those who eat the flesh of the swine and the detestable thing and the rodent, shall perish together," says the Lord.

18 And I-their deeds and their thoughts have come to gather all the nations and the tongues, and they shall come and they shall see My glory.

19 And I will place a sign upon them, and I will send from them refugees to the nations, Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, the distant islands, who did not hear of My fame and did not see My glory, and they shall recount My glory among the nations.

20 And they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a tribute to the Lord, with horses and with chariots, and with covered wagons and with mules and with joyous songs upon My holy mount, Jerusalem," says the Lord, "as the children of Israel bring the offering in a pure vessel to the house of the Lord.

21 And from them too will I take for priests and for Levites," says the Lord.

22 "For, as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making, stand before Me," says the Lord, "so shall your seed and your name stand.

23 And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, that all flesh shall come to prostrate themselves before Me," says the Lord.

24 "And they shall go out and see the corpses of the people who rebelled against Me, for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring for all flesh."

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) Chapter 66

23And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, that all flesh shall come to prostrate themselves before Me," says the Lord.