Seventy Times Seven!!!
www.moravian.org/daily_texts/
Readings for Today - Go to www.biblegateway.com to access online for full readings
Psalm 30:1-5
A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple.[b] Of David.
1 I will exalt you, LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 LORD my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.
4 Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Exodus 1:1-2:10;
Exodus 2
The Birth of Moses
1 Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” 8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”
Matthew 18:15-35
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Our psalmist reminds us that as he called out to the Lord that he received his healing. He reminds his people to sing praises to the Lord despite their circumstances. He states for God’s anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may last for the night but joy comes in the morning.
And indeed we see, as the story of salvation continues after the death of Joseph, that God continues to show favor to the Israelites through their prospering and growing in number, but it is a dread to the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh is afraid of losing his earthly power, so he tries to thwart God’s plan but killing all the young Hebrew boys. At first his plan is thwarted, but he tries even harder. In the midst of this genocide, Moses is born, and his mom covertly covers him in tar and pitch, and floats him down the Nile, praying somehow God might deliver him. Sure enough Pharaoh’s own daughter rescues him and after finding the mom, he gets to grow up in the household of the King. God’s covenant promise continues albeit a circuitous route.
Finally, in our gospel, Jesus teaches Peter how relationships should look in the covenant community. There is a prescription for confronting sin “person to person”, and then bringing it to the church if a person doesn’t repent. And then Peter asks how many times a person should be forgiven, should he be forgiven seven times? Peter thinks he is being really generous, as seven is the number of completeness in the Jewish world. But Jesus tells him seventy times seven, basically meaning unlimited forgiveness for those who truly repent. Jesus then tells them a parable about the unmerciful servant who is a forgiven a huge amount by his master only to go back and demand payment for a smaller amount from a fellow servant. Jesus denounces this behavior as those who are forgiven much should show similar mercy to their colleagues. Importantly Jesus says this forgiveness should come from the heart not just be token.
Who do you need to show mercy to today? As you think about it, may your heart be guarded by the abundant forgiveness Jesus has given you when you needed it the most. That would be every day!
Precious Lord, we rejoice with the angels and the disciples in the salvation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died for our sins and was raised as King of kings. Amen.
Readings for Today - Go to www.biblegateway.com to access online for full readings
Psalm 30:1-5
A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple.[b] Of David.
1 I will exalt you, LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 LORD my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.
4 Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Exodus 1:1-2:10;
Exodus 2
The Birth of Moses
1 Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. 5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” 8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”
Matthew 18:15-35
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Our psalmist reminds us that as he called out to the Lord that he received his healing. He reminds his people to sing praises to the Lord despite their circumstances. He states for God’s anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may last for the night but joy comes in the morning.
And indeed we see, as the story of salvation continues after the death of Joseph, that God continues to show favor to the Israelites through their prospering and growing in number, but it is a dread to the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh is afraid of losing his earthly power, so he tries to thwart God’s plan but killing all the young Hebrew boys. At first his plan is thwarted, but he tries even harder. In the midst of this genocide, Moses is born, and his mom covertly covers him in tar and pitch, and floats him down the Nile, praying somehow God might deliver him. Sure enough Pharaoh’s own daughter rescues him and after finding the mom, he gets to grow up in the household of the King. God’s covenant promise continues albeit a circuitous route.
Finally, in our gospel, Jesus teaches Peter how relationships should look in the covenant community. There is a prescription for confronting sin “person to person”, and then bringing it to the church if a person doesn’t repent. And then Peter asks how many times a person should be forgiven, should he be forgiven seven times? Peter thinks he is being really generous, as seven is the number of completeness in the Jewish world. But Jesus tells him seventy times seven, basically meaning unlimited forgiveness for those who truly repent. Jesus then tells them a parable about the unmerciful servant who is a forgiven a huge amount by his master only to go back and demand payment for a smaller amount from a fellow servant. Jesus denounces this behavior as those who are forgiven much should show similar mercy to their colleagues. Importantly Jesus says this forgiveness should come from the heart not just be token.
Who do you need to show mercy to today? As you think about it, may your heart be guarded by the abundant forgiveness Jesus has given you when you needed it the most. That would be every day!
Precious Lord, we rejoice with the angels and the disciples in the salvation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died for our sins and was raised as King of kings. Amen.
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