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MARCH 24
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no longer. For the LORD your God is God of name.” So they made signs to his father—
gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty what he would have him called.
and awesome, who shows no partiality nor 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and
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takes a bribe. He administers justice for the wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all
fatherless and the widow, and loves the strang- marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was
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er, giving him food and clothing. Therefore opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke,
love the stranger, for you were strangers in praising God. Then fear came on all who
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the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD dwelt around them; and all these sayings were
your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him discussed throughout all the hill country of
you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His Judea. And all those who heard them kept
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name. He is your praise, and He is your God, them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of
who has done for you these great and awe- child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord
some things which your eyes have seen. was with him.
22 Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy 67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with
persons, and now the LORD your God has made the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
you as the stars of heaven in multitude. 68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His
Psalm 37:12–17
people,
12 The wicked plots against the just, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation
And gnashes at him with his teeth. for us
13 The Lord laughs at him, In the house of His servant David,
For He sees that his day is coming. 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy
14 The wicked have drawn the sword prophets,
And have bent their bow, Who have been since the world began,
To cast down the poor and needy, 71 That we should be saved from our
To slay those who are of upright enemies
conduct. And from the hand of all who hate us,
15 Their sword shall enter their own 72 To perform the mercy promised to our
heart, fathers
And their bows shall be broken. And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to our father
16 A little that a righteous man has Abraham:
Is better than the riches of many 74 To grant us that we,
wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be Being delivered from the hand of our
enemies,
broken, Might serve Him without fear,
But the LORD upholds the 75 In holiness and righteousness before
righteous. Him all the days of our life.
Proverbs 12:11 76 “And you, child, will be called the
prophet of the Highest;
11 He who tills his land will be satisfied
with bread,
But he who follows frivolity is devoid
of understanding.
1:80 was in the deserts. Several groups of
Luke 1:57–80 ascetics inhabited the wilderness regions east
Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to
57 of Jerusalem. One was the famous Qumran
be delivered, and she brought forth a son. community, source of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
When her neighbors and relatives heard how
58 John’s parents, already old when he was born,
the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they might have given him over to the care of
someone with ties to such a community. In a
rejoiced with her.
So it was, on the eighth day, that they came the Lord by entrusting him to Eli (1 Sam.
59 similar way, Hannah consecrated Samuel to
to circumcise the child; and they would have 1:22–28). However, there is nothing concrete
called him by the name of his father, in Scripture to suggest that John was part of
Zacharias. His mother answered and said, any such group. On the contrary, he is painted
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“No; he shall be called John.” as a solitary figure, in the spirit of Elijah.
But they said to her, “There is no one
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among your relatives who is called by this
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