The One Year Bible TLB (59 page)
Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
When an evil man dies, his hopes all perish, for they are based upon this earthly life.
March 13The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Here is another of my laws: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, one that has never been yoked. Give her to Eleazar the priest and he shall take her outside the camp and someone shall kill her as he watches.
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Eleazar shall take some of her blood upon his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tabernacle.
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Then someone shall burn the heifer as he watches—her hide, meat, blood, and dung.
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Eleazar shall take cedar wood and hyssop branches and scarlet thread, and throw them into the burning pile.
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“Then he must wash his clothes, and bathe, and afterwards return to the camp and be ceremonially defiled until the evening.
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And the one who burns the animal must wash his clothes and bathe, and he too shall be defiled until evening.
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Then someone who is not ceremonially defiled shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and place them in some purified place outside the camp, where they shall be kept for the people of Israel as a source of water for the purification ceremonies, for removal of sin.
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And the one who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and be defiled until evening; this is a permanent law for the benefit of the people of Israel and any foreigners living among them.
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“Anyone who touches a dead human body shall be defiled for seven days,
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and must purify himself the third and seventh days with water run through the ashes of the red heifer
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; then he will be purified; but if he does not do this on the third day, he will continue to be defiled even after the seventh day.
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Anyone who touches a dead person and does not purify himself in the manner specified has defiled the Tabernacle of the Lord, and shall be excommunicated from Israel. The cleansing water was not sprinkled upon him, so the defilement continues.
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“When a man dies in a tent, these are the various regulations: Everyone who enters the tent, and those who are in it at the time, shall be defiled seven days.
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Any container in the tent without a lid over it is defiled.
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“If someone out in a field touches the corpse of someone who has been killed in battle or who has died in any other way, or if he even touches a bone or a grave, he shall be defiled seven days.
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To become purified again, ashes from the red heifer sin offering
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are to be added to spring water in a kettle.
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Then a person who is not defiled shall take hyssop branches and dip them into the water and sprinkle the water upon the tent and upon all the pots and pans in the tent, and upon anyone who has been defiled by being in the tent, or by touching a bone, or touching someone who has been killed or is otherwise dead, or has touched a grave.
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This shall take place on the third and seventh days; then the defiled person must wash his clothes and bathe himself, and that evening he will be out from under the defilement.
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“But anyone who is defiled and doesn’t purify himself shall be excommunicated, for he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord, and the water to cleanse him has not been sprinkled upon him; so he remains defiled.
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This is a permanent law. The man who sprinkles the water must afterwards wash his clothes; and anyone touching the water shall be defiled until evening.
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And anything a defiled person touches shall be defiled until evening.”
20:
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The people of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zin in April
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and camped at Kadesh, where Miriam died and was buried.
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There was not enough water to drink at that place, so the people again rebelled against Moses and Aaron. A great mob formed,
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and they held a protest meeting.
“Would that we too had died with our dear brothers the Lord killed!” they shouted at Moses.
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“You have deliberately brought us into this wilderness to get rid of us, along with our flocks and herds.
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Why did you ever make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this evil place? Where is the fertile land of wonderful crops—the figs, vines, and pomegranates you told us about? Why, there isn’t even water enough to drink!”
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Moses and Aaron turned away and went to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where they fell face downward before the Lord; and the glory of Jehovah appeared to them.
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And he said to Moses,
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“Get Aaron’s rod;
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then you and Aaron must summon the people. As they watch, speak to that rock over there and tell it to pour out its water! You will give them water from a rock, enough for all the people and all their cattle!”
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So Moses did as instructed. He took the rod from the place where it was kept before the Lord;
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then Moses and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock; and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels! Must we bring you water from this rock?”
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Then Moses lifted the rod and struck the rock twice, and water gushed out; and the people and their cattle drank.
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But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe me
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and did not sanctify me in the eyes of the people of Israel, you shall not bring them into the land I have promised them!”
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This place was named Meribah (meaning “Rebel Waters”), because it was where the people of Israel fought against Jehovah, and where he showed himself to be holy before them.
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While Moses was at Kadesh he sent messengers to the king of Edom: “We are the descendants of your brother, Israel,”
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he declared. “You know our sad history,
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how our ancestors went down to visit Egypt and stayed there so long, and became slaves of the Egyptians.
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But when we cried to the Lord he heard us and sent an Angel who brought us out of Egypt, and now we are here at Kadesh, encamped on the borders of your land.
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Please let us pass through your country. We will be careful not to go through your planted fields, nor through your vineyards; we won’t even drink water from your wells, but will stay on the main road and not leave it until we have crossed your border on the other side.”
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But the king of Edom said, “Stay out! If you attempt to enter my land, I will meet you with an army!”
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“But, sir,” protested the Israeli ambassadors, “we will stay on the main road and will not even drink your water unless we pay whatever you demand for it. We only want to pass through and nothing else.”
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But the king of Edom was adamant. “Stay out!” he warned, and, mobilizing his army, he marched to the frontier with a great force.
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Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel turned back and journeyed from Kadesh to Mount Hor.
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Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at the border of the land of Edom,
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“The time has come for Aaron to die—for he shall not enter the land I have given the people of Israel, for the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the water at Meribah.
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Now take Aaron and his son Eleazar and lead them up onto Mount Hor.
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There you shall remove Aaron’s priestly garments from him and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron shall die there.”
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So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. The three
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of them went up together into Mount Hor as all the people watched.
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When they reached the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on his son Eleazar; and Aaron died on the top of the mountain. Moses and Eleazar returned,
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and when the people were informed of Aaron’s death, they mourned for him for thirty days.
Dear friend who loves God:
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Several biographies of Christ have already been written using as their source material the reports circulating among us from the early disciples and other eyewitnesses.
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However, it occurred to me that it would be well to recheck all these accounts from first to last and after thorough investigation to pass this summary on to you,
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to reassure you of the truth of all you were taught.
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My story begins with a Jewish priest, Zacharias, who lived when Herod was king of Judea. Zacharias was a member of the Abijah division of the Temple service corps. (His wife, Elizabeth, was, like himself, a member of the priest tribe of the Jews, a descendant of Aaron.)
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Zacharias and Elizabeth were godly folk, careful to obey all of God’s laws in spirit as well as in letter.
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But they had no children, for Elizabeth was barren; and now they were both very old.
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One day as Zacharias was going about his work in the Temple—for his division was on duty that week—the honor fell to him by lot
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to enter the inner sanctuary and burn incense before the Lord.
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Meanwhile, a great crowd stood outside in the Temple court, praying as they always did during that part of the service when the incense was being burned.
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Zacharias was in the sanctuary when suddenly an angel appeared, standing to the right of the altar of incense! Zacharias was startled and terrified.
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But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias! For I have come to tell you that God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John.
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You will both have great joy and gladness at his birth, and many will rejoice with you.
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For he will be one of the Lord’s great men. He must never touch wine or hard liquor—and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from before his birth!
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And he will persuade many a Jew to turn to the Lord his God.
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He will be a man of rugged
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spirit and power like Elijah, the prophet of old; and he will precede the coming of the Messiah, preparing the people for his arrival. He will soften adult hearts to become like little children’s, and will change disobedient minds to the wisdom of faith.”
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Zacharias said to the angel, “But this is impossible! I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
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Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to you with this good news!
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And now, because you haven’t believed me, you are to be stricken silent, unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time.”
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Meanwhile the crowds outside were waiting for Zacharias to appear and wondered why he was taking so long.
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When he finally came out, he couldn’t speak to them, and they realized from his gestures that he must have seen a vision in the Temple.
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He stayed on at the Temple for the remaining days of his Temple duties and then returned home.
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Soon afterwards Elizabeth his wife became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months.
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“How kind the Lord is,” she exclaimed, “to take away my disgrace of having no children!”
Lord, have mercy on me; all day long the enemy troops press in. So many are proud to fight against me; how they long to conquer me.
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But when I am afraid, I will put my confidence in you. Yes, I will trust the promises of God. And since I am trusting him, what can mere man do to me?
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They are always twisting what I say. All their thoughts are how to harm me.
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They meet together to perfect their plans; they hide beside the trail, listening for my steps, waiting to kill me.
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They expect to get away with it. Don’t let them, Lord. In anger cast them to the ground.
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You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book.
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The very day I call for help, the tide of battle turns. My enemies flee! This one thing I
know: God is for me!
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I am trusting God—oh, praise his promises! I am not afraid of anything mere man can do to me! Yes, praise his promises.
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I will surely do what I have promised, Lord, and thank you for your help.
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For you have saved me from death and my feet from slipping, so that I can walk before the Lord in the land of the living.