Daily Devotions · February 19
Reading for February 19
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Numbers 5–6 · Psalm 22 · Acts 26
Numbers 5–6 · Psalm 22 · Acts 26, Berean Standard Bible
Numbers 5
Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body. 3 You must send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.” 4 So the Israelites did this, sending such people outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses. 5 And the LORD said to Moses, 6 “Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD by committing any sin against another, that person is guilty 7 and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution, add a fifth to its value, and give all this to the one he has wronged. 8 But if the man has no relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest along with the ram of atonement, by which the atonement is made for him. 9 Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest shall belong to him. 10 Each man’s sacred gifts are his own, but whatever he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.” 11 Then the LORD said to Moses, 12 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him 13 by sleeping with another man, and it is concealed from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she was not caught in the act), 14 and if a feeling of jealousy comes over her husband and he suspects his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he suspects her even though she has not defiled herself— 15 then he is to bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring for her an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of memorial as a reminder of iniquity. 16 The priest is to bring the wife forward and have her stand before the LORD. 17 Then he is to take some holy water in a clay jar and put some of the dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. 18 After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of memorial, which is the grain offering for jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. 19 And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse. 20 But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority and have defiled yourself and lain carnally with a man other than your husband’— 21 and the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse—‘then may the LORD make you an attested curse among your people by making your thigh shrivel and your belly swell. 22 May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’ 23 And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. 24 He is to have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and may cause her bitter suffering. 25 The priest shall take from her hand the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD, and bring it to the altar. 26 Then the priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar; after that he is to have the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children. 29 This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, 30 or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law. 31 The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”
Numbers 6
And the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, 3 he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4 All the days of his separation, he is not to eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins. 5 For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long. 6 Throughout the days of his separation to the LORD, he must not go near a dead body. 7 Even if his father or mother or brother or sister should die, he is not to defile himself, because the symbol of consecration to his God is upon his head. 8 Throughout the time of his separation, he is holy to the LORD. 9 If someone suddenly dies in his presence and defiles his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day. 10 On the eighth day he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 11 And the priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him, because he has sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. On that day he must consecrate his head again. 12 He must rededicate his time of separation to the LORD and bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. But the preceding days shall not be counted, because his separation was defiled. 13 Now this is the law of the Nazirite when his time of separation is complete: He must be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, 14 and he is to present an offering to the LORD of an unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, an unblemished year-old female lamb as a sin offering, and an unblemished ram as a peace offering— 15 together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—and a basket of unleavened cakes made from fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers coated with oil. 16 The priest is to present all these before the LORD and make the sin offering and the burnt offering. 17 He shall also offer the ram as a peace offering to the LORD, along with the basket of unleavened bread. And the priest is to offer the accompanying grain offering and drink offering. 18 Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head, take the hair, and put it on the fire under the peace offering. 19 And the priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands of the Nazirite who has just shaved the hair of his consecration. 20 The priest shall then wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. This is a holy portion for the priest, in addition to the breast of the wave offering and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine. 21 This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD for his separation, in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes, according to the law of his separation.” 22 Then the LORD said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons: This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 ‘May the LORD bless you and keep you; 25 may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’ 27 So they shall put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
Psalm 22
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning? 2 I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest. 3 Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4 In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. 5 They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads: 8 “He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD deliver him; let the LORD rescue him, since He delights in him.” 9 Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure at my mother’s breast. 10 From birth I was cast upon You; from my mother’s womb You have been my God. 11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. 12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13 They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet. 17 I can count all my bones; they stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. 19 But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. 20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of wild dogs. 21 Save me from the mouth of the lion; at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me! 22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the assembly. 23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All descendants of Jacob, honor Him! All offspring of Israel, revere Him! 24 For He has not despised or detested the torment of the afflicted. He has not hidden His face from him, but has attended to his cry for help. 25 My praise for You resounds in the great assembly; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You. 26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him. 28 For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations. 29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—even those unable to preserve their lives. 30 Posterity will serve Him; they will declare the Lord to a new generation. 31 They will come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn—all that He has done.
Acts 26
Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently. 4 Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from my earliest childhood among my own people, and also in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion. 6 And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers, 7 the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hope, O king, that I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? 9 So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them. 12 In this pursuit I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’ 19 So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen: 23 that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.” 24 At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!” 25 But Paul answered, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus; I am speaking words of truth and sobriety. 26 For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak freely to him. I am confident that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.” 28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?” 29 “Short time or long,” Paul replied, “I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am, except for these chains.” 30 Then the king and the governor rose, along with Bernice and those seated with them. 31 On their way out, they said to one another, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
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.
-
Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
-
Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
-
Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
-
Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Your SOAP journal
Write your SOAP here. Tap any verse in the reading to add it to Scripture. Your journal saves on this device only, so no one else sees it.
Added to your journal. Go to journal
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.