Daily Devotions · February 13
Reading for February 13
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Leviticus 20–22 · Acts 20
Leviticus 20–22 · Acts 20, Berean Standard Bible
Leviticus 20
Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him. 3 And I will set My face against that man and cut him off from his people, because by giving his offspring to Molech, he has defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name. 4 And if the people of the land ever hide their eyes and fail to put to death the man who gives one of his children to Molech, 5 then I will set My face against that man and his family and cut off from among their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves with Molech. 6 Whoever turns to mediums or spiritists to prostitute himself with them, I will also set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. 8 And you shall keep My statutes and practice them. I am the LORD who sanctifies you. 9 If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him. 10 If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death. 11 If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both must surely be put to death. They have acted perversely; their blood is upon them. 13 If a man lies with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 14 If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that there will be no depravity among you. 15 If a man lies carnally with an animal, he must be put to death. And you are also to kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you must kill both the woman and the animal. They must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 17 If a man marries his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered the nakedness of his sister; he shall bear his iniquity. 18 If a man lies with a menstruating woman and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood. Both of them must be cut off from among their people. 19 You must not have sexual relations with the sister of your mother or your father, for it is exposing one’s own kin; both shall bear their iniquity. 20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered the nakedness of his uncle. They will bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. He has uncovered the nakedness of his brother; they shall be childless. 22 You are therefore to keep all My statutes and ordinances, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out. 23 You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. 24 But I have told you that you will inherit their land, since I will give it to you as an inheritance—a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the peoples. 25 You are therefore to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and birds. Do not become contaminated by any animal or bird, or by anything that crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you. 26 You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own. 27 A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’”
Leviticus 21
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people, 2 except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, 3 or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband. 4 He is not to defile himself for those related to him by marriage, and so profane himself. 5 Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies. 6 They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the food offerings, the food of their God, they must be holy. 7 A priest must not marry a woman defiled by prostitution or divorced by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God. 8 You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart. 9 If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire. 10 The priest who is highest among his brothers, who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair hang loose or tear his garments. 11 He must not go near any dead body; he must not defile himself, even for his father or mother. 12 He must not leave or desecrate the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him. I am the LORD. 13 The woman he marries must be a virgin. 14 He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people, 15 so that he does not defile his offspring among his people, for I am the LORD who sanctifies him.” 16 Then the LORD said to Moses, 17 “Say to Aaron, ‘For the generations to come, none of your descendants who has a physical defect may approach to offer the food of his God. 18 No man who has any defect may approach—no man who is blind, lame, disfigured, or deformed; 19 no man who has a broken foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect, a festering rash, scabs, or a crushed testicle. 21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall approach to present the food offerings to the LORD. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God. 22 He may eat the most holy food of his God as well as the holy food, 23 but because he has a defect, he must not go near the veil or approach the altar, so as not to desecrate My sanctuaries. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’” 24 Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
Leviticus 22
Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the LORD. 3 Tell them that for the generations to come, if any of their descendants in a state of uncleanness approaches the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, that person must be cut off from My presence. I am the LORD. 4 If a descendant of Aaron has a skin disease or a discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is clean. Whoever touches anything defiled by a corpse or by a man who has an emission of semen, 5 or whoever touches a crawling creature or a person that makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be— 6 the man who touches any of these will remain unclean until evening. He must not eat from the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water. 7 When the sun has set, he will become clean, and then he may eat from the sacred offerings, for they are his food. 8 He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD. 9 The priests must keep My charge, lest they bear the guilt and die because they profane it. I am the LORD who sanctifies them. 10 No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired hand eat it. 11 But if a priest buys a slave with his own money, or if a slave is born in his household, that slave may eat his food. 12 If the priest’s daughter is married to a man other than a priest, she is not to eat of the sacred contributions. 13 But if a priest’s daughter with no children becomes widowed or divorced and returns to her father’s house, she may share her father’s food as in her youth. But no outsider may share it. 14 If anyone eats a sacred offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the sacred offering to the priest. 15 The priests must not profane the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the LORD 16 by allowing the people to eat the sacred offerings and thus to bear the punishment for guilt. For I am the LORD who sanctifies them.” 17 Then the LORD said to Moses, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, 19 must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf. 20 You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. 21 When a man presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or flock to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without blemish or defect to be acceptable. 22 You are not to present to the LORD any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as a food offering to the LORD. 23 You may present as a freewill offering an ox or sheep that has a deformed or stunted limb, but it is not acceptable in fulfillment of a vow. 24 You are not to present to the LORD an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn, or cut; you are not to sacrifice them in your land. 25 Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’” 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, 27 “When an ox, a sheep, or a goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a food offering presented to the LORD. 28 But you must not slaughter an ox or a sheep on the same day as its young. 29 When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, offer it so that it may be acceptable on your behalf. 30 It must be eaten that same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the LORD. 31 You are to keep My commandments and practice them. I am the LORD. 32 You must not profane My holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy among the Israelites. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”
Acts 20
When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples. And after encouraging them, he said goodbye to them and left for Macedonia. 2 After traveling through that area and speaking many words of encouragement, he arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months. And when the Jews formed a plot against him as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4 Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 5 These men went on ahead and waited for us in Troas. 6 And after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we sailed from Philippi, and five days later we rejoined them in Troas, where we stayed seven days. 7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Since Paul was ready to leave the next day, he talked to them and kept on speaking until midnight. 8 Now there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a certain young man named Eutychus, seated in the window, was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down, threw himself on the young man, and embraced him. “Do not be alarmed!” he said. “He is still alive!” 11 Then Paul went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. And after speaking until daybreak, he departed. 12 And the people were greatly relieved to take the boy home alive. 13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, where we were to take Paul aboard. He had arranged this because he was going there on foot. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15 Sailing on from there, we arrived the next day opposite Chios. The day after that we arrived at Samos, and on the following day we came to Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, because he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost. 17 From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. 18 When they came to him, he said, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, especially in the trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews. 20 I did not shrink back from declaring anything that was helpful to you as I taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in town after town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions await me. 24 But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. 25 Now I know that none of you among whom I have preached the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. 29 I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert and remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 32 And now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions. 35 In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” 36 When Paul had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept openly as they embraced Paul and kissed him. 38 They were especially grieved by his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Your SOAP journal
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Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.