7-Day Devotional: Torn Between Two Worlds – Embracing God’s Gifts Amid Unmet Longings

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The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

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Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJOS">
 <div class="chapter ch21" data-usfm="JOS.21">
 <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1">Towns for the Levites</div><div class="p"> 1Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel 2at Shiloh in Canaan and said to them, &#8220;The Lord commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.&#8221; 3So, as the Lord had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:</div><div class="p"> 4The first lot came out for the Kohathites, according to their clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. 5The rest of Kohath&#8217;s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.</div><div class="p"> 6The descendants of Gershon were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.</div><div class="p"> 7The descendants of Merari, according to their clans, received twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.</div><div class="p"> 8So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="m"> 9From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name 10(these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):</div><div class="pi1"> 11They gave them Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) 12But the fields and villages around the city they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.</div><div class="pi1"> 13So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Libnah, 14Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15Holon, Debir, 16Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh, together with their pasturelands&#8212;nine towns from these two tribes.</div><div class="pi1"> 17And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them: Gibeon, Geba, 18Anathoth and Almon, together with their pasturelands&#8212;four towns.</div><div class="m"> 19The total number of towns for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="m"> 20The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim:</div><div class="pi1"> 21In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer, 22Kibzaim and Beth Horon, together with their pasturelands&#8212;four towns.</div><div class="pi1"> 23Also from the tribe of Dan they received: Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24Aijalon and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands&#8212;four towns.</div><div class="pi1"> 25From half the tribe of Manasseh they received: Taanach and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands&#8212;two towns.</div><div class="m"> 26All these ten towns and their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="m"> 27The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given:</div><div class="li4">from the half-tribe of Manasseh,</div><div class="li4">Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Be Eshterah, together with their pasturelands&#8212;two towns;</div><div class="li4"> 28from the tribe of Issachar,</div><div class="li4">Kishion, Daberath, 29Jarmuth and En Gannim, together with their pasturelands&#8212;four towns;</div><div class="li4"> 30from the tribe of Asher,</div><div class="li4">Mishal, Abdon, 31Helkath and Rehob, together with their pasturelands&#8212;four towns;</div><div class="li4"> 32from the tribe of Naphtali,</div><div class="li4">Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together with their pasturelands&#8212;three towns.</div><div class="m"> 33The total number of towns of the Gershonite clans came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="m"> 34The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given:</div><div class="li4">from the tribe of Zebulun,</div><div class="li4">Jokneam, Kartah, 35Dimnah and Nahalal, together with their pasturelands&#8212;four towns;</div><div class="li4"> 36from the tribe of Reuben,</div><div class="li4">Bezer, Jahaz, 37Kedemoth and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands&#8212;four towns;</div><div class="li4"> 38from the tribe of Gad,</div><div class="li4">Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim, 39Heshbon and Jazer, together with their pasturelands&#8212;four towns in all.</div><div class="m"> 40The total number of towns allotted to the Merarite clans, who were the rest of the Levites, came to twelve.</div><div class="p"> 41The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands. 42Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it; this was true for all these towns.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 43So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. 45Not one of all the Lord&#8217;s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkJOS">
 <div class="chapter ch22" data-usfm="JOS.22">
 <div class="label">22</div><div class="s1">Eastern Tribes Return Home</div><div class="p"> 1Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2and said to them, &#8220;You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. 3For a long time now&#8212;to this very day&#8212;you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you. 4Now that the Lord your God has given them rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6Then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. 7(To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan along with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them, 8saying, &#8220;Return to your homes with your great wealth&#8212;with large herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and a great quantity of clothing&#8212;and divide the plunder from your enemies with your fellow Israelites.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan to return to Gilead, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses.</div><div class="p"> 10When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan. 11And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, 12the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.</div><div class="p"> 13So the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead&#8212;to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 14With him they sent ten of the chief men, one from each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans.</div><div class="p"> 15When they went to Gilead&#8212;to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh&#8212;they said to them: 16&#8220;The whole assembly of the Lord says: &#8216;How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the Lord and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now? 17Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the Lord! 18And are you now turning away from the Lord?</div><div class="p">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel. 19If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the Lord&#8217;s land, where the Lord&#8217;s tabernacle stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the Lord our God. 20When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful in regard to the devoted things,#22:20 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them. did not wrath come on the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the clans of Israel: 22&#8220;The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day. 23If we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account.</div><div class="p"> 24&#8220;No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, &#8216;What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you&#8212;you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord.&#8217; So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 26&#8220;That is why we said, &#8216;Let us get ready and build an altar&#8212;but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.&#8217; 27On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, &#8216;You have no share in the Lord.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 28&#8220;And we said, &#8216;If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the Lord&#8217;s altar, which our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 29&#8220;Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 30When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community&#8212;the heads of the clans of the Israelites&#8212;heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. 31And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, &#8220;Today we know that the Lord is with us, because you have not been unfaithful to the Lord in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord&#8217;s hand.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites. 33They were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived.</div><div class="p"> 34And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us&#8212;that the Lord is God.</div>
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New International Version

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkLUK">
 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="LUK.6.1+LUK.6.2+LUK.6.3+LUK.6.4+LUK.6.5+LUK.6.6+LUK.6.7+LUK.6.8+LUK.6.9+LUK.6.10+LUK.6.11+LUK.6.12+LUK.6.13+LUK.6.14+LUK.6.15+LUK.6.16+LUK.6.17+LUK.6.18+LUK.6.19+LUK.6.20+LUK.6.21+LUK.6.22+LUK.6.23+LUK.6.24+LUK.6.25+LUK.6.26">
 <div class="p">1One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2Some of the Pharisees asked, &#8220;Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3Jesus answered them, &#8220;Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.&#8221; 5Then Jesus said to them, &#8220;The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 8But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, &#8220;Get up and stand in front of everyone.&#8221; So he got up and stood there.</div><div class="p"> 9Then Jesus said to them, &#8220;I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, &#8220;Stretch out your hand.&#8221; He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.</div><div class="s1">The Twelve Apostles</div><div class="p"> 12One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.</div><div class="s1">Blessings and Woes</div><div class="p"> 17He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.</div><div class="p"> 20Looking at his disciples, he said:</div><div class="q1"> &#8220;Blessed are you who are poor,</div><div class="q2"> for yours is the kingdom of God.</div><div class="q1"> 21 Blessed are you who hunger now,</div><div class="q2"> for you will be satisfied.</div><div class="q1"> Blessed are you who weep now,</div><div class="q2"> for you will laugh.</div><div class="q1"> 22 Blessed are you when people hate you,</div><div class="q2"> when they exclude you and insult you</div><div class="q2"> and reject your name as evil,</div><div class="q3"> because of the Son of Man.</div><div class="p"> 23 &#8220;Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.</div><div class="q1"> 24 &#8220;But woe to you who are rich,</div><div class="q2"> for you have already received your comfort.</div><div class="q1"> 25 Woe to you who are well fed now,</div><div class="q2"> for you will go hungry.</div><div class="q1"> Woe to you who laugh now,</div><div class="q2"> for you will mourn and weep.</div><div class="q1"> 26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,</div><div class="q2"> for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.</div>
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