The One Year Bible TLB (40 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
Happy is the man with a level-headed son; sad the mother of a rebel.
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Ill-gotten gain brings no lasting happiness; right living does.
February 18And the Lord said to Moses,
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“If anyone sins against me by refusing to return a deposit on something borrowed or rented, or by refusing to return something entrusted to him, or by robbery, or by oppressing his neighbor,
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or by finding a lost article and lying about it, swearing that he doesn’t have it—
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on the day he is found guilty of any such sin, he shall restore what he took, adding a 20 percent fine, and give it to the one he has harmed; and on the same day he shall bring his guilt offering to the Tabernacle.
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His guilt offering shall be a ram without defect, and must be worth whatever value you demand. He shall bring it to the priest,
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and the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven.”
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Then the Lord said to Moses,
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“Give Aaron and his sons these regulations concerning the burnt offering:
“The burnt offering shall be left upon the hearth of the altar all night, with the altar fire kept burning.
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The next morning the priest shall put on his linen undergarments and his linen outer garments, and clean out the ashes of the burnt offering, and put them beside the altar.
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Then he shall change his clothes and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean.
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Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be kept burning—it must not go out. The priest shall put on fresh wood each morning, and lay the daily burnt offering on it, and burn the fat of the daily peace offering.
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The fire must be kept burning upon the altar continually. It must never go out.
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“These are the regulations concerning the grain offering:
“Aaron’s sons shall stand in front of the altar to offer it before the Lord.
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The priest shall then take out a handful of the finely ground flour, with the olive oil and the incense mixed into it, and burn it upon the altar as a representative portion for the Lord; and it will be received with pleasure by the Lord.
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After taking out this handful, the remainder of the flour will belong to Aaron and his sons for their food; it shall be eaten without yeast in the courtyard of the Tabernacle.
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(Stress this instruction, that if it is baked, it must be without yeast.) I have given to the priests this part of the burnt offerings made to me. However, all of it is most holy, just as is the entire sin offering and the entire guilt offering.
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It may be eaten by any male descendant of Aaron, any priest, generation after generation. But only the priests
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may eat these offerings made by fire to the Lord.”
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And Jehovah said to Moses, “On the day Aaron and his sons are anointed and inducted into the priesthood, they shall bring to the Lord a regular grain offering—a tenth of a bushel of fine flour, half to be offered in the morning and half in the evening.
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It shall be cooked on a griddle, using olive oil, and should be well cooked, then brought to the Lord as an offering that pleases him very much.
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As the sons of the priests replace their fathers, they shall be inducted into office by offering this same sacrifice on the day of their anointing. This is a perpetual law. These offerings shall be entirely burned up before the Lord; none of it shall be eaten.”
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Then the Lord said to Moses,
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“Tell Aaron and his sons that these are the instructions concerning the sin offering:
“This sacrifice is most holy, and shall be killed before the Lord at the place where the burnt offerings are killed.
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The priest who performs the ceremony shall eat it in the courtyard of the Tabernacle.
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Only those who are sanctified—the priests—may touch this meat; if any blood sprinkles onto their clothing, it must be washed in a holy place.
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Then the clay pot in which the clothing is boiled shall be broken; or if a bronze kettle is used, it must be scoured and rinsed out thoroughly.
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Every male among the priests may eat this offering, but only they, for it is most holy.
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No sin offering may be eaten by the priests if any of its blood is taken into the Tabernacle to make atonement in the Holy Place. That carcass must be entirely burned with fire before the Lord.
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“Here are the instructions concerning the most holy offering for guilt:
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“The sacrificial animal shall be killed at the place where the burnt offering sacrifices are slain, and its blood shall be sprinkled back and forth upon the altar.
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The priest will offer upon the altar all its fat, including the tail, the fat that covers the insides,
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the two kidneys and the loin fat, and the gall bladder—all shall be set aside for sacrificing.
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The priests will burn them upon the altar as a guilt offering to the Lord.
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Only males among the priests may then eat the carcass, and it must be eaten in a holy place, for this is a most holy sacrifice.
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“The same instructions apply to both the sin offering and the guilt offering—the carcass shall be given to the priest who is in charge of the atonement ceremony, for his food.
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(When the offering is a burnt sacrifice, the priest who is in charge shall also be given the animal’s hide.)
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The priests who present the people’s grain offerings to the Lord shall be given whatever remains of the sacrifice after the ceremony is completed. This rule applies whether the sacrifice is baked, fried, or grilled.
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All other grain offerings, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, are the common property of all sons of Aaron.
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“Here are the instructions concerning the sacrifices given to the Lord as special peace offerings:
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“If it is an offering of thanksgiving, unleavened short bread
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shall be included with the sacrifice, along with unleavened wafers spread with olive oil and loaves from a batter of flour mixed with olive oil.
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This thanksgiving peace offering shall be accompanied with loaves of leavened bread.
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Part of this sacrifice shall be presented to the Lord by a gesture of waving it before the altar, then it shall be given to the assisting priest, the one who sprinkles the blood of the animal presented for the sacrifice.
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After the animal has been sacrificed and presented to the Lord as a peace offering to show special appreciation and thanksgiving to him, its meat is to be eaten that same day, and none left to be eaten the next day.
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“However, if someone brings a sacrifice that is not for thanksgiving, but is because of a vow or is simply a voluntary offering to the Lord, any portion of the sacrifice that is not eaten the day it is sacrificed may be eaten the next day.
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But anything left over until the third day shall be burned. For if any of it is eaten on the third day, the Lord will not accept it; it will have no value as a sacrifice, and there will be no credit to the one who brought it to be offered; and the priest who eats it shall be guilty, for it is detestable to the Lord, and the person who eats it must answer for his sin.
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“Any meat that comes into contact with anything that is ceremonially unclean shall not be eaten, but burned; and as for the meat that may be eaten, it may be eaten only by a person who is ceremonially clean.
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Any priest who is ceremonially unclean but eats the thanksgiving offering anyway, shall be cut off from his people, for he has defiled what is sacred.
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Anyone who touches anything that is ceremonially unclean, whether it is uncleanness from man or beast, and then eats the peace offering, shall be cut off from his people, for he has defiled what is holy.”
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Then the Lord said to Moses,
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“Tell the people of Israel never to eat fat, whether from oxen, sheep, or goats.
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The fat of an animal that dies of disease, or is attacked and killed by wild animals, may be used for other purposes, but never eaten.
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Anyone who eats fat from an offering sacrificed by fire to the Lord shall be outlawed from his people.
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“Never eat blood, whether of birds or animals. Anyone who does shall be excommunicated from his people.”
Meanwhile, Jesus and his disciples withdrew to the beach, followed by a huge crowd from all over Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, from beyond the Jordan River, and even from as far away as Tyre and Sidon. For the news about his miracles had spread far and wide and vast numbers came to see him for themselves.
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He instructed his disciples to bring around a boat and to have it standing ready to rescue him in case he was crowded off the beach.
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For there had been many healings that day and as a result great numbers of sick people were crowding around him, trying to touch him.
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And whenever those possessed by demons caught sight of him they would fall down before him shrieking, “You are the Son of God!”
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But he strictly warned them not to make him known.
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Afterwards he went up into the hills and summoned certain ones he chose, inviting them to come and join him there; and they did.
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Then he selected twelve of them to be his regular companions and to go out to preach and to cast out demons.
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These are the names of the twelve he chose: Simon (he renamed him “Peter”), James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus called them “Sons of Thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon (a member of a political party advocating violent overthrow of the Roman government), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).
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When he returned to the house where he was staying, the crowds began to gather again, and soon it was so full of visitors that he couldn’t even find time to eat.
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When his friends heard what was happening, they came to try to take him home with them.
“He’s out of his mind,” they said.
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But the Jewish teachers of religion who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “His trouble is that he’s possessed by Satan, king of demons. That’s why demons obey him.”
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Jesus summoned these men and asked them (using proverbs they all understood),
“How can Satan cast out Satan?
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A kingdom divided against itself will collapse.
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A home filled with strife and division destroys itself.
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And if Satan is fighting against himself, how can he accomplish anything? He would never survive.
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Satan must be bound before his demons are cast out,
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just as a strong man must be tied up before his house can be ransacked and his property robbed.
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“I solemnly declare that any sin of man can be forgiven, even blasphemy against me;
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but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven. It is an eternal sin.”
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He told them this because they were saying he did his miracles by Satan’s power instead of acknowledging it was by the Holy Spirit’s power.
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Never envy the wicked!
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Soon they fade away like grass and disappear.
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Trust in the Lord instead. Be kind and good to others; then you will live safely here in the land and prosper, feeding in safety.
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Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart’s desires.
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Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it, and he will.
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Your innocence will be clear to everyone. He will vindicate you with the blazing light of justice shining down as from the noonday sun.
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Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for him to act. Don’t be envious of evil men who prosper.
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Stop your anger! Turn off your wrath. Don’t fret and worry—it only leads to harm.
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For the wicked shall be destroyed, but those who trust the Lord shall be given every blessing.
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Only a little while and the wicked shall disappear. You will look for them in vain.
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But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing and shall have wonderful peace.