Daily Devotions · February 4
Reading for February 4
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Exodus 37–38 · Psalm 19 · Acts 11
Exodus 37–38 · Psalm 19 · Acts 11, Berean Standard Bible
Exodus 37
Bezalel went on to construct the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. 2 He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. 3 And he cast four gold rings for its four feet, two rings on one side and two on the other. 4 Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 5 He inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry it. 6 He constructed a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 7 He made two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat, 8 one cherub on one end and one on the other, all made from one piece of gold. 9 And the cherubim had wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the mercy seat. 10 He also made the table of acacia wood two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. 11 He overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold molding around it. 12 And he made a rim around it a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. 13 He cast four gold rings for the table and fastened them to the four corners at its four legs. 14 The rings were placed close to the rim, to serve as holders for the poles used to carry the table. 15 He made the poles of acacia wood for carrying the table and overlaid them with gold. 16 He also made the utensils for the table out of pure gold: its plates and dishes, as well as its bowls and pitchers for pouring drink offerings. 17 Then he made the lampstand out of pure hammered gold, all of one piece: its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals. 18 Six branches extended from the sides, three on one side and three on the other. 19 There were three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the first branch, each with buds and petals, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches that extended from the lampstand. 20 And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals. 21 A bud was under the first pair of branches that extended from the lampstand, a bud under the second pair, and a bud under the third pair. 22 The buds and branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold. 23 He also made its seven lamps, its wick trimmers, and trays of pure gold. 24 He made the lampstand and all its utensils from a talent of pure gold. 25 He made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high. Its horns were of one piece. 26 And he overlaid with pure gold the top and all the sides and horns. Then he made a molding of gold around it. 27 He made two gold rings below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles used to carry it. 28 And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 29 He also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense, the work of a perfumer.
Exodus 38
Bezalel constructed the altar of burnt offering from acacia wood. It was square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. 2 He made a horn at each of its four corners, so that the horns and altar were of one piece, and he overlaid the altar with bronze. 3 He made all the altar’s utensils of bronze—its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks, and firepans. 4 He made a grate of bronze mesh for the altar under its ledge, halfway up from the bottom. 5 At the four corners of the bronze grate he cast four rings as holders for the poles. 6 And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 7 Then he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar for carrying it. He made the altar with boards so that it was hollow. 8 Next he made the bronze basin and its stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 9 Then he constructed the courtyard. The south side of the courtyard was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely spun linen, 10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 11 The north side was also a hundred cubits long, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases. The hooks and bands of the posts were silver. 12 The west side was fifty cubits long and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. The hooks and bands of the posts were silver. 13 And the east side, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits long. 14 The curtains on one side of the entrance were fifteen cubits long, with three posts and three bases. 15 And the curtains on the other side were also fifteen cubits long, with three posts and three bases as well. 16 All the curtains around the courtyard were made of finely spun linen. 17 The bases for the posts were bronze, the hooks and bands were silver, and the plating for the tops of the posts was silver. So all the posts of the courtyard were banded with silver. 18 The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. It was twenty cubits long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits high, 19 with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks were silver, as well as the bands and the plating of their tops. 20 All the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the surrounding courtyard were bronze. 21 This is the inventory for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, as recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. 22 Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the LORD had commanded Moses. 23 With him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, designer, and embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen. 24 All the gold from the wave offering used for the work on the sanctuary totaled 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. 25 The silver from those numbered among the congregation totaled 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel— 26 a beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone twenty years of age or older who had crossed over to be numbered, a total of 603,550 men. 27 The hundred talents of silver were used to cast the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent per base. 28 With the 1,775 shekels of silver he made the hooks for the posts, overlaid their tops, and supplied bands for them. 29 The bronze from the wave offering totaled 70 talents and 2,400 shekels. 30 He used it to make the bases for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the bronze altar and its bronze grating, all the utensils for the altar, 31 the bases for the surrounding courtyard and its gate, and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and its surrounding courtyard.
Psalm 19
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard, 4 their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 Like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course, 6 it rises at one end of the heavens and runs its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. 7 The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. 11 By them indeed Your servant is warned; in keeping them is great reward. 12 Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. 13 Keep Your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed of great transgression. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Acts 11
The apostles and brothers throughout Judea soon heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him 3 and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained to them the whole sequence of events: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me. 6 I looked at it closely and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’ 8 ‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But the voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven. 11 Just then three men sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s home. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will convey to you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.’ 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift He gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder the work of God?” 18 When they heard this, they had no further objections, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” 19 Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews. 20 But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22 When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. 27 In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.) 29 So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.
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
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.