Scriptures for Rural Life

Genesis 2:15
"The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it."

Leviticus 26:11-13
"I will set my dwelling among you, and will not disdain you. Ever present in your midst, I will be your God and you will be my people. For it is I, the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of the Egyptians and freed you from their slavery, breaking the yoke they had laid upon you and letting you walk erect."

Deuteronomy 24:17-22
"You shall not violate the rights of the alien or the orphan, nor take the clothing of the widow as a pledge. For remember, you were once slaves in Egypt, and the Lord, your God, ransomed you from there, that is why I command you to observe this rule.
"When you reap the harvest on your field and overlook a sheaf there, you shall not go back and get it, let it be for the alien, the orphan, or the widow, that the Lord, your God, may bless you in all your undertakings.
"When you knock down the print of your olive trees, your shall not go over the branches a second time, let what remains be for the aliens, the orphan and the widow.
When you pick your grapes, you shall not go over the vineyard a second time, let what remains be for the alien, the orphan and the widow.
"For remember that you were once slaves in Egypt; that is why I command you to observe this rule."

I Samuel 8:1-18
In his old age Samuel appointed his sons judges over Israel. His first-born was named Joel, his second son, Abijah; they judged at Beer-sheba. His sons did not follow his example but sought illicit gain and accepted bribes, perverting justice. There fore all the elders of Israel came in a body to Samuel at Ramhah and said to him, "Now that you are old, and your sons do not follow your example, appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge us.
Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them. He prayed to the LORD, however, who said in answer: "Grant the people’s every request. It is not you they reject; they are rejecting me as their king. As they have treated me constantly from the day I brought them up from Egypt to this day, deserting me and worshiping strange gods, so do they treat you too. Now grant their request; but at the same time, warn them solemnly and inform them of the rights of the king who will rule them."
Samuel delivered the message of the LORD in full to those who were asking him for a king. He told them: "The rights of the king who will rule you will be as follows: He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariot. He will also appoint form among them his commanders of groups of a thousand and of a hundred soldiers. He will set them to do his plowing and harvesting, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will use your daughters as ointment-makers, as cooks, and as bakers. He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give the revenue to his eunuchs and female servants, as well as your best oxen and your asses, and use them to do his work. He will tithe your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves. When this takes place, you will complain against the king whom you have chosen, but on that day the LORD will not answer you."
The people however refused to listen to Samuel’s warning and said, "Not so! There must be a king over us. We too must be like other nations, with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare and fight our battles."

Isaiah 5:8
Woe to you who join house to house,
who connect field with field,
Till no room remains and you are
left to dwell alone in the midst of the land.


Micah 2-3
"Alas for those who devise wickedness and evil deeds on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in their power. They covet fields and seize them; houses, and take them away; they oppress householder and house, people and their inheritance."
Therefore thus says the Lord: Now I am devising against this family an evil from which you cannot remove their necks; and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be an evil time.
"Do not preach" thus they preach--"one should not preach of such things." Do not my words do good to one who walks upright?
The women of my people you drive out from their pleasant houses; from their young children you take away my glory forever. If someone were to go about uttering empty falsehoods, saying, "I will preach to you of wine and strong drink, " such a one would be the preacher for this people.

And I said, "Listen you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Should you not know justice? You who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin off my people, and the flesh off their bones; who eat the flesh of my people, flay their skin off them, break their bones in pieces, and chop them up like meat in a kettle, like flesh in a caldron."

What God Requires: "With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"

He has told you, "O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

The voice of the Lord cries to the city (it is sound wisdom to fear your name) Hear, O tribe and assembly of the city! Can I tolerate wicked scales and a bag of dishonest weights?

Matthew 4:4
It is written: "One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God."

Mark 4:14-22:
"Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread thoughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."


Isaiah 61:1-11
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly,
to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
To announce a year of favor from the Lord
and a day of vindication by our God,
to comfort those who mourn;
To place on those who mourn in Zion
a diadem instead of ashes,
To give them oil of gladness in place of mourning,
a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit.
They will be called oaks of justice,
planted by the Lord to show his glory.

They shall rebuild the ancient ruins,
the former wastes they shall raise up
And restore the ruined cities,
desolate now for generations.
Strangers shall stand ready to pasture your flocks,
foreigners shall be your farmers and vinedressers.


For I, the Lord, love what is right,
I hate robbery and injustice;
I will give them their recompense faithfully,
a lasting covenant I will make with them.
Their descendants shall be renowned among the nations,
and their offspring among the peoples;
All who see them shall acknowledge them
as a race the Lord has blessed.

I rejoice heartily in the Lord,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
For he has clothed me with a robe of salvation,
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
So will the Lord God make the justice and praise,
spring up before all the nations.

"The Lord delights in you, and makes your land his spouse."

Isaiah 62:8-9
The Lord has sworn by his right hand
and his might arm:
No more will I give your grain
as food to your enemies;
Nor shall foreigners drink your wine,
for which you toiled.
But you who harvest the grain shall eat it,
and you shall praise the Lord;
You who gather the grapes shall drink the wine
in the courts of my sanctuary.

Matthew 6:9
This is how you are to pray:
Our Father, in Heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven,

Give us today day our daily bread
and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors;
And do not subject us to the final test,
but deliver us from the evil one.

Amen.