One Year Pray for America Bible - Flipbook - Page 18
January 2
8
“He is a voice shouting in the
wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s
coming!
Clear the road for him!’”*
MATTHEW 2:13–3:6
After the wise men were gone, an
angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph
in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with
the child and his mother,” the angel
said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search
for the child to kill him.”
14 That night Jo
seph left for Egypt
with the child and Mary, his mother,
15 and they stayed there until Herod’s
death. This fulfilled what the Lord had
spoken through the prophet: “I called
my Son out of Egypt.”*
16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted
him. He sent soldiers to kill all the
boys in and around Bethlehem who
were two years old and under, based
on the wise men’s report of the star’s
first appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken
through the prophet Jeremiah:
18
“A cry was heard in Ramah—
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.”*
19 When Herod died, an angel of the
Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph
in Egypt. 20 “Get up!” the angel said.
“Take the child and his mother back to
the land of Israel, because those who
were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21 So Joseph got up and returned to
the land of Israel with Jesus and his
mother. 22 But when he learned that
the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s
son Archelaus, he was afraid to go
there. Then, after being warned in a
dream, he left for the region of Gali
lee. 23 So the family went and lived in
a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled
what the prophets had said: “He will
be called a Nazarene.”
3:1 In those days John the Baptist came
to the Judean wilderness and began
preaching. His message was, 2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for
the Kingdom of Heaven is near.*” 3 The
prophet Isaiah was speaking about
John when he said,
4 John’s clothes were woven from
coarse camel hair, and he wore a
leather belt around his waist. For food
he ate locusts and wild honey. 5 People
from Jerusalem and from all of Judea
and all over the Jordan Valley went out
to see and hear John. 6 And when they
confessed their sins, he baptized them
in the Jordan River.
2:15 Hos 11:1. 2:18 Jer 31:15. 3:2 Or has come, or is
coming soon.
3:3 Isa 40:3 (Greek version).
PSALM 2:112
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Why are the nations so angry?
Why do they waste their time
with futile plans?
The kings of the earth prepare for
battle;
the rulers plot together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.
“Let us break their chains,” they cry,
“and free ourselves from slavery
to God.”
But the one who rules in heaven
laughs.
The Lord scoffs at them.
Then in anger he rebukes them,
terrifying them with his fierce
fury.
For the Lord declares, “I have
placed my chosen king on the
throne
in Jerusalem,* on my holy
mountain.”
The king proclaims the Lord’s
decree:
“The Lord said to me, ‘You are
my son.*
Today I have become your
Father.*
Only ask, and I will give you the
nations as your inheritance,
the whole earth as your
possession.
You will break* them with an
iron rod
and smash them like clay pots.’”
