{"id":1167,"date":"2020-03-24T23:38:16","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T23:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/?p=1167"},"modified":"2020-03-24T23:38:16","modified_gmt":"2020-03-24T23:38:16","slug":"lectionary-readings-for-wednesday-march-25th-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/2020\/03\/24\/lectionary-readings-for-wednesday-march-25th-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Lectionary Readings for Wednesday, March 25th, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Weekday Sabbath<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\"><strong>Book of God&#8217;s Word Chapter 5, Chapter 6<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Chapter 5<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">1. When the day arrived for the slaughter of the male infants, not more than a thousand<br \/>\nmothers appeared at the place of execution with their infants, the others having risen in<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"fontstyle0\">the night previous and departed out of the gates, upward of eighty-nine thousand mothers.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">2. When the king went to the place of execution, having set apart the day as a holiday,<br \/>\nand not finding but a thousand infants present, he inquired the reason, and, having been<br \/>\ntold, he said: Can it be that mothers love their offspring more than they respect the<br \/>\ndecrees of the king? Asha was standing near, having stripped himself ready for execution,<br \/>\nand he answered the king, saying:<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">3. Because they love their offspring, is it not the love of the flesh? And doth not the law<br \/>\nstand above all flesh? In this matter, then, because they have evaded the law, they have<br \/>\nadjudged themselves also to death.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">4. Then came Betraj, the king&#8217;s wife, bringing the infant. Betraj said: Here is thy son, O<br \/>\nking, ready for the sacrifice. Asha reasonest well; there must be an All Highest, which<br \/>\nnever erreth; which is the law of the king. Take thou my flesh and blood and prove thy<br \/>\ndecrees. What! Why hesitate? If thou swerve one jot or tittle, then shalt thou open the<br \/>\ndoor for all men to find an excuse against the law. Doth not the sun blight a harvest when<br \/>\nhe will? Yea, and strike dead our most beloved? Art thou not descended from the Sun<br \/>\nGods? Who will obey the laws if thou, thyself, do not?<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">5. The king said: Behold, it is yet early morn; let the officers go fetch all who have<br \/>\nescaped beyond the walls, and both mothers and children shall be put to death. Till<br \/>\nthen, let the proceedings be suspended. Now there had congregated a vast multitude,<br \/>\nanxious to witness the slaughter; and when the king suspended matters, there went up<br \/>\ncries of disappointment. And many said: When a thing toucheth the king, he is a coward.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">6. The king returned for his palace, leaving Asha standing stripped for the execution. And<br \/>\nthe multitude cried out: More is Asha like a king than So-qi. Let us make him king.<br \/>\nKing So-qi! We will not have a sheep for a king! And none could stay them, or be<br \/>\nheard above their noise; and they ran after the king and slew him with stones, and they<br \/>\nmade Asha King of the Sun. And there was not one infant slain according to the decrees.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">7. God saith: Think not, O man, that things happen without a cause, or that all things are<br \/>\nleft to chance. In my works I go beforehand and plan the way, even more carefully than a<br \/>\ncaptain lieth siege to a city. Before Zarathustra was born I sent ashars to choose out my<br \/>\npersonages. Think not that Asha made his own arguments; but by virtue of the presence<br \/>\nof my ashars, whom he saw not, he spake and behaved in my commandments, not<br \/>\nknowing it. And even so was it with the king&#8217;s wife; my angels also inspired her to speak<br \/>\nbefore the king. And those that fled out of the city, were inspired by my hosts of angels.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">8. God said: Yet with the king&#8217;s decree I had no part, for I foresaw he would do this of<br \/>\nhis own will; and with the multitude in slaying the king I had no part, for I saw they<br \/>\nwould do this on their own account. Neither would the multitude hear my voice, even<br \/>\nthough I had spoken to every man&#8217;s soul; for in them tetracts were the ascendant power.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">9. God saith: The multitude slew the king because he had gone so far from me he heeded<br \/>\nme not. And I made Asha king, because he came so near me my power was with him<br \/>\nthrough my ashars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Chapter 6<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">1. During the infant age of Zarathustra, God manifested no more through him; but he sent<br \/>\nEjah, one of his Lords, to be with Zarathustra, day and night. And Ejah taught the infant<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"fontstyle0\">wisdom in all things, but showed himself to none else.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">2. When Zarathustra was half grown, the Lord began to manifest through him, giving<br \/>\nsigns and miracles and prophecy before the Listians who lived in the Forest of Goats.<br \/>\nThis forest was of the width in every direction, save the east, of forty days&#8217;journey for a<br \/>\nman, and in all that region there were no houses, the inhabitants living in tents made of<br \/>\nbark and skins.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">3. The Lord inspired Zarathustra to teach them to build houses, and tame the goats, and to<br \/>\nlive in cities, and otherwise subdue the earth through righteousness; the chief center of<br \/>\ntheir habitations being on the river Apherteon and its tributaries. And it was from these<br \/>\ninhabitants that sprang in after years the migrants called Fonece&#8217;ans, signifying, out of the<br \/>\nmountains. Nevertheless, these people were I&#8217;huans, but because of the cruelties of the<br \/>\nPar&#8217;si&#8217;ean kings, they fled and lived in the forests.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">4. The Lord said to Zarathustra: Behold the people who fly from the kings! I have made<br \/>\nthem kings over goats and over the beasts of the fields.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">5. And from this time forth the Listians styled themselves shepherd kings. And<br \/>\nZarathustra taught them of the Lord, that man should have dominion over the beasts of<br \/>\nthe forests, but that no man should hold dominion over his neighbor. Consequently,<br \/>\nevery man of the Listians styled himself a king, and every woman styled herself a queen.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">6. Again the Lord said to Zarathustra: Go thou, my son, whither I will lead thee, and thou<br \/>\nshalt find a people sacred to the Great Spirit. So Zarathustra wandered beyond the Forest<br \/>\nof Goats, and came to Hara&#8217;woetchij, to the south of the mountains of Oe&#8217;tahka, where<br \/>\nwere three large cities and twelve small ones, inhabited by I&#8217;hins.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">7. And the Lord had been with the I&#8217;hins, and foretold them Zarathustra was coming, so<br \/>\nthat it was proven on both sides. The Lord said to the high priest: Thou shalt suffer<br \/>\nZarathustra to come within the walls of the cities, for he is pure.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">8. So Zarathustra went in, and, in the time of worship before the altar of God, the Lord<br \/>\nappeared in a great light and commanded the high priest, saying: Behold, I have brought<br \/>\nmy son to thee. Him shalt thou anoint as a priest according to the I&#8217;hin laws; and thou<br \/>\nshalt teach him the rites and ceremonies of the ancients.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">9. Accordingly Zarathustra was made a priest and was otherwise accepted as an I&#8217;hin, and<br \/>\nbestowed under the rod with water and with fire. And he also taught the sacred words and<br \/>\nthe art of writing and making tablets; and of weaving cloth and making clothes from flax.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">10. Seven years Zarathustra remained with the I&#8217;hins, fasting and praying, and singing and<br \/>\ndancing before the Lord. And then the Lord commanded him to return through the Forest<br \/>\nof Goats, the which he did, teaching before the Listians whithersoever he halted for a rest,<br \/>\nand the Lord was with him, working miracles.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">11. At the end of another seven years the Lord said to Zarathustra: Behold, the dawn of<br \/>\nlight is come! Thou shalt, therefore, bestow thy mother with thy people, and I will lead<br \/>\nthee to the city of thy birth. Zarathustra said: Tell me, O Lord, of the city of my birth?<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">12. The Lord said: It is a great city, but it shall fall before thy hand; for I&#8217;hua&#8217;Mazda hath<br \/>\nturned his favor away from its kings.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">13. In two days&#8217;journey Zarathustra came to Oas, and entered into the city, but he brought<br \/>\nno provender with him. Now, it was a law of Oas, that all strangers coming into the city,<br \/>\nshould bring provender as a testimony of fidelity to the laws and to the king. So, when he<br \/>\ncame to the inner gate, the keeper asked him for provender; but Zarathustra answered<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"fontstyle0\">him, saying:<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">14. Naked I came into the world, and Ormazd asked me not for provender. Is thy king<br \/>\ngreater than the Creator?<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">15. The keeper said: I know not thy words; shall a servant explain laws? To which<br \/>\nZarathustra said: Thou art wise; neither shalt thou suffer for disobedience in letting me<br \/>\npass. The Lord will give thee food.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">16. When he had spoken thus, there fell at the feet of the keeper an abundance of fruit,<br \/>\nand the keeper feared and stood aside, suffering Zarathustra to pass in. The keeper not<br \/>\nonly told the people of the miracle, but ran and told the king, likewise. This was Asha,<br \/>\nwho had reigned since the death of So-qi; and Asha no sooner heard of the miracle than<br \/>\nhe imagined the person to be the same whom he had seen in infancy.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">17. Asha, the king, sent officers at once to find Zarathustra, and bring him before<br \/>\nthe court. But the Lord knowing these things, inspired Zarathustra to go on his own<br \/>\naccount; and he went accordingly before the king, even before the officers returned.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">18. The king said: Who art thou? and for what purpose hast thou come before the king?<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">19. Then spake I&#8217;hua&#8217;Mazda through Zarathustra, saying: I am I&#8217;hua&#8217;Mazda, God of the<br \/>\nI&#8217;huans. He through whom I speak, is Zarathustra, whom thou sawest in his mother&#8217;s<br \/>\narms. We twain are one. I have come before thee, O king, because of two reasons: thou<br \/>\nhast sent for me; and I desire to use thee.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">20. The king said: Speak further, stranger, that I may approve of thy words.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">21. In the time of So-qi, said I&#8217;hua&#8217;Mazda, I made thee king of Oas, and from that day<br \/>\nto this my ashars have been with thee and heard thee oft praying privately for<br \/>\ninformation of the infant thou sawest; for it resteth heavily on thy judgment whether or no<br \/>\nman be immortal. Sit thou with me this night privily, and I will show thee So-qi&#8217;s soul.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"fontstyle0\">22. Asha said: Thou wert to smite the city and it would fall. Behold, it standeth! Yet I<br \/>\ndesire not to stand in my own light. Then Zarathustra spake on his own account, saying:<br \/>\nFear not, O king, for this philosophy. As thou wouldst bend a straw, so do the Gods wield<br \/>\nthe nations of the earth. The city will fall ere six years pass, and thou shalt be reduced to<br \/>\nbeggary, and yet thou shalt be happier than now.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Weekday Sabbath Book of God&#8217;s Word Chapter 5, Chapter 6 Chapter 5 1. When the day arrived for the slaughter of the male infants, not more than a thousand mothers appeared at the place of execution with their infants, the others having risen in the night previous and departed out of the gates, upward of &#8230; <span class=\"more\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/2020\/03\/24\/lectionary-readings-for-wednesday-march-25th-2020\/\">[Read more&#8230;]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[46,40,39,34,36,35,38,33,41,31,32,47,50,48,44,45,43,42],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-lightofgod","4":"post-1167","6":"format-standard","7":"category-lectionary-readings","8":"post_tag-calendar","9":"post_tag-daily-readings","10":"post_tag-eloih","11":"post_tag-faithism","12":"post_tag-faithist-church","13":"post_tag-faithists","14":"post_tag-jehovih","15":"post_tag-kosmon-era","16":"post_tag-lectionary-readings","17":"post_tag-oahspe","18":"post_tag-oahspe-bible","19":"post_tag-observances","20":"post_tag-religion-of-light","21":"post_tag-sabbath","22":"post_tag-united-covenant","23":"post_tag-united-covenant-of-light","24":"post_tag-yeshua","25":"post_tag-yoshu"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1167"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1168,"href":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1167\/revisions\/1168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/religionoflight.org\/ns\/lightofgod\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}