The One Year Bible TLB (55 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
March 8Now the Lord said to Moses, “Make two trumpets of beaten silver to be used for summoning the people to assemble and for signaling the breaking of camp.
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When both trumpets are blown, the people will know that they are to gather at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
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But if only one is blown, then only the chiefs of the tribes of Israel shall come to you.
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“Different trumpet blasts will be necessary to distinguish between the summons to assemble and the signal to break camp and move onward.
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When the travel signal is blown, the tribes camped on the east side of the Tabernacle shall leave first; at the second signal, the tribes on the south shall go.
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Only the priests are permitted to blow the trumpets. This is a permanent instruction to be followed from generation to generation.
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“When you arrive in the Promised Land and go to war against your enemies, God will hear you and save you from your enemies when you sound the alarm with these trumpets.
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Use the trumpets in times of gladness, too, blowing them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month to rejoice over your burnt offerings and peace offerings. And God will be reminded of his covenant with you. For I am Jehovah, your God.”
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The Cloud lifted from the Tabernacle on the twentieth day of the second month
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of the second year of Israel’s leaving Egypt;
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so the Israelites left the wilderness of Sinai, and followed the Cloud until it stopped in the wilderness of Paran.
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This was their first journey after having received the Lord’s travel instructions to Moses.
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At the head of the march was the tribe of Judah grouped behind its flag and led by Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.
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Next came the tribe of Issachar, led by Nethanel, the son of Zuar,
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and the tribe of Zebulun, led by Eliab, the son of Helon.
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The Tabernacle was taken down and the men of the Gershon and Merari divisions of the tribe of Levi were next in the line of march, carrying the Tabernacle upon their shoulders.
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Then came the flag of the camp of Reuben, with Elizur the son of Shedeur leading his people.
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Next was the tribe of Simeon headed by Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai;
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and the tribe of Gad led by Eliasaph, the son of Deuel.
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Next came the Kohathites carrying the items from the inner sanctuary. (The Tabernacle was already erected in its new location by the time they arrived.)
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Next in line was the tribe of Ephraim behind its flag, led by Elishama, the son of Ammihud;
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and the tribe of Manasseh led by Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur;
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and the tribe of Benjamin, led by Abidan the son of Gideoni.
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Last of all were the tribes headed by the flag of the tribe of Dan under the leadership of Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai;
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the tribe of Asher, led by Pagiel, the son of Ochran;
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and the tribe of Naphtali, led by Ahira, the son of Enan.
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That was the order in which the tribes traveled.
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One day Moses said to his brother-in-law, Hobab (son of Reuel, the Midianite), “At last we are on our way to the Promised Land. Come with us and we will do you good; for the Lord has given wonderful promises to Israel!”
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But his brother-in-law replied, “No, I must return to my own land and kinfolk.”
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“Stay with us,” Moses pleaded, “for you know the ways of the wilderness and will be a great help to us.
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If you come, you will share in all the good things the Lord does for us.”
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They traveled for three days after leaving Mount Sinai,
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with the Ark at the front of the column to choose a place for them to stop.
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It was daytime when they left, with the Cloud moving along ahead of them as they began their march.
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As the Ark was carried forward, Moses cried out, “Arise, O Lord, and scatter your enemies; let them flee before you.”
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And when the Ark was set down he said, “Return, O Lord, to the millions of Israel.”
11:
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The people were soon complaining about all their misfortunes, and the Lord heard them. His anger flared out against them because of their complaints, so the fire of the Lord began destroying those at the far end of the camp.
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They screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed for them the fire stopped.
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Ever after, the area was known as “The Place of Burning,”
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because the fire from the Lord burned among them there.
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Then the Egyptians who had come with them began to long for the good things of Egypt. This added to the discontent of the people of Israel and they wept, “Oh, for a few bites of meat! Oh, that we had some of the delicious fish we enjoyed so much in Egypt, and the wonderful cucumbers and melons, leeks, onions, and garlic!
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But now our strength is gone, and day after day we have to face this manna!”
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The manna was the size of small seeds, whitish yellow in color.
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The people gathered it from the ground and pounded it into flour, then boiled it, and then made pancakes from it—they tasted like pancakes fried in vegetable oil.
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The manna fell with the dew during the night.
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Moses heard all the families standing around their tent doors weeping, and the anger of the Lord grew hot; Moses too was highly displeased.
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Moses said to the Lord, “Why pick on me, to give me the burden of a people like this?
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Are they
my
children? Am I their father? Is that why you have given me the job of nursing them along like babies until we get to the land you promised their ancestors?
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Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? For they weep to me saying, ‘Give us meat!’
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I can’t carry this nation by myself! The load is far too heavy!
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If you are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now; it will be a kindness! Let me out of this impossible situation!”
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Then the Lord said to Moses, “Summon before me seventy of the leaders of Israel; bring them to the Tabernacle, to stand there with you.
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I will come down and talk with you there, and I will take of the Spirit which is on you and will put it upon them also; they shall bear the burden of the people along with you, so that you will not have the task alone.
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“And tell the people to purify themselves, for tomorrow they shall have meat to eat. Tell them, ‘The Lord has heard your tearful complaints about all you left behind in Egypt, and he is going to give you meat. You shall eat it,
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not for just a day or two, or five or ten or even twenty! For one whole month you will have meat until you vomit it from your noses; for you have rejected the Lord who is here among you, and you have wept for Egypt.’”
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But Moses said, “There are 600,000 men alone besides all the women and children,
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and yet you promise them meat for a whole month!
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If we butcher all our flocks and herds it won’t be enough! We would have to catch every fish in the ocean to fulfill your promise!”
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Then the Lord said to Moses, “When did I become weak? Now you shall see whether my word comes true or not!”
The Passover observance began two days later—an annual Jewish holiday when no bread made with yeast was eaten. The chief priests and other Jewish leaders were still looking for an opportunity to arrest Jesus secretly and put him to death.
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“But we can’t do it during the Passover,” they said, “or there will be a riot.”
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Meanwhile Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper; during supper a woman came in with a beautiful flask of expensive perfume. Then, breaking the seal, she poured it over his head.
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Some of those at the table were indignant among themselves about this “waste,” as they called it.
“Why, she could have sold that perfume for a fortune and given the money to the poor!” they snarled.
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But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why berate her for doing a good thing?
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You always have the poor among you, and they badly need your help, and you can aid them whenever you want to; but I won’t be here much longer.
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“She has done what she could and has anointed my body ahead of time for burial.
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And I tell you this in solemn truth, that wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and praised.”
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Then Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, went to the chief priests to arrange to betray Jesus to them.
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When the chief priests heard why he had come, they were excited and happy and promised him a reward. So he began looking for the right time and place to betray Jesus.
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On the first day of the Passover, the day the lambs were sacrificed, his disciples asked him where he wanted to go to eat the traditional Passover supper.
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He sent two of them into Jerusalem to make the arrangements.
“As you are walking along,”
he told them,
“you will see a man coming toward you carrying a pot of water. Follow him.
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At the house he enters, tell the man in charge, ‘Our Master sent us to see the room you have ready for us, where we will eat the Passover supper this evening!’
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He will take you upstairs to a large room all set up. Prepare our supper there.”
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So the two disciples went on ahead into the city and found everything as Jesus had said, and prepared the Passover.
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In the evening Jesus arrived with the other disciples,
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and as they were sitting around the table eating, Jesus said,
“I solemnly declare that one of you will betray me, one of you who is here eating with me.”
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A great sadness swept over them, and one by one they asked him, “Am I the one?”
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He replied,
“It is one of you twelve eating with me now.
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I
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must die, as the prophets declared long ago; but, oh, the misery ahead for the man by whom I am betrayed. Oh, that he had never been born!”
Written after Nathan the prophet had come to inform David of God’s judgment against him because of his adultery with Bathsheba, and his murder of Uriah, her husband.
O loving and kind God, have mercy. Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my transgressions.
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Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt. Let me be pure again.
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For I admit my shameful deed—it haunts me day and night.
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It is against you and you alone I sinned and did this terrible thing. You saw it all, and your sentence against me is just.
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But I was born a sinner, yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
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You deserve honesty from the heart; yes, utter sincerity and truthfulness. Oh, give me this wisdom.
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Sprinkle me with the cleansing blood
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and I shall be clean again. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
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And after you have punished me, give me back my joy again.
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Don’t keep looking at my sins—erase them from your sight.
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Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires.
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Don’t toss me aside, banished forever from your presence. Don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
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Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
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Then I will teach your ways to other sinners, and they—guilty like me—will repent and return to you.
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Don’t sentence me to death. O my God, you alone can rescue me. Then I will sing of your forgiveness,
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for my lips will be unsealed—oh, how I will praise you.
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You don’t want penance;
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if you did, how gladly I would do it! You aren’t interested in offerings burned before you on the altar.
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It is a broken spirit you want—remorse and penitence. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not ignore.
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And Lord, don’t punish Israel for my sins—help your people and protect Jerusalem.
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And when my heart is right,
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then you will rejoice in the good that I do and in the bullocks I bring to sacrifice upon your altar.