LEVITICUS 7:28-9:6
MARK 3:31-4:25
PSALM 37:12-29
PROVERBS 10:5
LEVITICUS 7:28-9:6
Then the LORD said to Moses, 29 " Give these further instructions to the Israelites: When you present a peace offering to the LORD, bring part of it as a special gift to the LORD. 30 Present it to him with your own hands as an offering given to the LORD by fire. Bring the fat of the animal, together with the breast, and present it to the LORD by lifting it up before him. 31 Then the priest will burn the fat on the altar, but the breast will belong to Aaron and his sons. 32 You are to give the right thigh of your peace offering to the priest as a gift. 33 The right thigh must always be given to the priest who sprinkles the blood and offers the fat of the peace offering. 34 For I have designated the breast and the right thigh for the priests. It is their regular share of the peace offerings brought by the Israelites. 35 This is their share. It has been set apart for Aaron and his descendants from the offerings given to the LORD by fire from the time they were appointed to serve the LORD as priests. 36 The LORD commanded that the Israelites were to give these portions to the priests as their regular share from the time of the priests' anointing. This regulation applies throughout the generations to come." 37 These are the instructions for the whole burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering, and the peace offering. 38 The LORD gave these instructions to Moses on Mount Sinai when he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai.8:1 THE LORD said to Moses, 2 " Now bring Aaron and his sons, along with their special clothing, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread 3 to the entrance of the Tabernacle. Then call the entire community of Israel to meet you there." 4 So Moses followed the LORD's instructions, and all the people assembled at the Tabernacle entrance. 5 Moses announced to them, " The LORD has commanded what I am now going to do!" 6 Then he presented Aaron and his sons and washed them with water. 7 He clothed Aaron with the embroidered tunic and tied the sash around his waist. He dressed him in the robe of the ephod, along with the ephod itself, and attached the ephod with its decorative sash. 8 Then Moses placed the chestpiece on Aaron and put the Urim and the Thummim inside it. 9 He placed on Aaron's head the turban with the gold medallion at its front, just as the LORD had commanded him. 10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Tabernacle and everything in it, thus making them holy. 11 He sprinkled the altar seven times, anointing it and all its utensils and the washbasin and its pedestal, making them holy. 12 Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head, thus anointing him and making him holy for his work. 13 Next Moses presented Aaron's sons and clothed them in their embroidered tunics, their sashes, and their turbans, just as the LORD had commanded him. 14 Then Moses brought in the bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head 15 as Moses slaughtered it. Moses took some of the blood, and with his finger he put it on the four horns of the altar to purify it. He poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. In this way, he set the altar apart as holy and made atonement for it. 16 He took all the fat around the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat, and he burned them all on the altar. 17 The rest of the bull, including its hide, meat, and dung, was burned outside the camp, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 18 Then Moses presented the ram to the LORD for the whole burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head 19 as Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took the ram's blood and sprinkled it against the sides of the altar. 20 Next he cut the ram into pieces and burned the head, some of its pieces, and the fat on the altar. 21 After washing the internal organs and the legs with water, Moses burned the entire ram on the altar as a whole burnt offering. It was an offering given to the LORD by fire, very pleasing to the LORD. All this was done just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 22 Next Moses presented the second ram, which was the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head 23 as Moses slaughtered it. Then Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. 24 Next he presented Aaron's sons and put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ears, the thumb of their right hands, and the big toe of their right feet. He then sprinkled the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. 25 Next he took the fat, including the fat from the tail, the fat around the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, along with the right thigh. 26 On top of these he placed a loaf of unleavened bread, a cake of unleavened bread soaked with olive oil, and a thin wafer spread with olive oil. All these were taken from the basket of bread made without yeast that was placed in the LORD's presence. 27 He gave all of these to Aaron and his sons, and he presented the portions by lifting them up before the LORD. 28 Moses then took all the offerings back and burned them on the altar on top of the burnt offering as an ordination offering. It was an offering given to the LORD by fire, very pleasing to the LORD. 29 Then Moses took the breast and lifted it up in the LORD's presence. This was Moses' share of the ram of ordination, just as the LORD had commanded him. 30 Next Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, and he sprinkled them on Aaron and his clothing and on his sons and their clothing. In this way, he made Aaron and his sons and their clothing holy.31 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons, " Boil the rest of the meat at the Tabernacle entrance, and eat it along with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, just as I commanded you. 32 Any meat or bread that is left over must then be burned up. 33 Do not leave the Tabernacle entrance for seven days, for that is the time it will take to complete the ordination ceremony. 34 What has been done today was commanded by the LORD in order to make atonement for you. 35 Remember, you must stay at the entrance of the Tabernacle day and night for seven days, doing everything the LORD requires. If you fail in this, you will die. This is what the LORD has said." 36 So Aaron and his sons did everything the LORD had commanded through Moses. 9:1 AFTER the ordination ceremony, on the eighth day, Moses called together Aaron and his sons and the leaders of Israel. 2 He said to Aaron, " Take a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a whole burnt offering, both with no physical defects, and present them to the LORD. 3 Then tell the Israelites to take a male goat for a sin offering for themselves and a year-old calf and a year-old lamb for a whole burnt offering, each with no physical defects. 4 Also tell them to take a bull and a ram for a peace offering and flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering. Tell them to present all these offerings to the LORD because the LORD will appear to them today." 5 So the people brought all of these things to the entrance of the Tabernacle, just as Moses had commanded, and the whole community came and stood there in the LORD's presence. 6 Then Moses told them, " When you have followed these instructions from the LORD, the glorious presence of the LORD will appear to you."
MARK 3:31-4:25
Jesus' mother and brothers arrived at the house where he was teaching. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them. 32 There was a crowd around Jesus, and someone said, " Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." 33 Jesus replied, " Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" 34 Then he looked at those around him and said, " These are my mother and brothers. 35 Anyone who does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." 4:1 ONCE again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. There was such a large crowd along the shore that he got into a boat and sat down and spoke from there. 2 He began to teach the people by telling many stories such as this one: 3 " Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4 As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plant sprang up quickly, 6 but it soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades so that it produced no grain. 8 Still other seed fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted." Then he said, 9 " Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!" 10 Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him, " What do your stories mean?" 11 He replied, " You are permitted to understand the secret about the Kingdom of God. But I am using these stories to conceal everything about it from outsiders, 12 so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ` They see what I do,
but they don't perceive its meaning.
They hear my words,
but they don't understand.
So they will not turn from their sins
and be forgiven.'
13 " But if you can't understand this story, how will you understand all the others I am going to tell? 14 The farmer I talked about is the one who brings God's message to others. 15 The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the message, but then Satan comes at once and takes it away from them. 16 The rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy. 17 But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted because they believe the word. 18 The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, 19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for nice things, so no crop is produced. 20 But the good soil represents those who hear and accept God's message and produce a huge harvest--thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted." 21 Then Jesus asked them, " Would anyone light a lamp and then put it under a basket or under a bed to shut out the light? Of course not! A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light will shine. 22 " Everything that is now hidden or secret will eventually be brought to light. 23 Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand! 24 And be sure to pay attention to what you hear. The more you do this, the more you will understand--and even more, besides. 25 To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But to those who are not listening, even what they have will be taken away from them."
PSALM 37:12-29
The wicked plot against the godly;
they snarl at them in defiance.
13 But the Lord just laughs,
for he sees their day of judgment coming.
14 The wicked draw their swords
and string their bows
to kill the poor and the oppressed,
to slaughter those who do right.
15 But they will be stabbed through the heart with their own swords,
and their bows will be broken.
16 It is better to be godly and have little
than to be evil and possess much.
17 For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,
but the LORD takes care of the godly.
18 Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent,
and they will receive a reward that lasts forever.
19 They will survive through hard times;
even in famine they will have more than enough.
20 But the wicked will perish.
The LORD's enemies are like flowers in a field--
they will disappear like smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and never repay,
but the godly are generous givers.
22 Those blessed by the LORD will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will die.
23 The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
24 Though they stumble, they will not fall,
for the LORD holds them by the hand.
25 Once I was young, and now I am old.
Yet I have never seen the godly forsaken,
nor seen their children begging for bread.
26 The godly always give generous loans to others,
and their children are a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good,
and you will live in the land forever.
28 For the LORD loves justice,
and he will never abandon the godly.
He will keep them safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will perish.
29 The godly will inherit the land
and will live there forever.
PROVERBS 10:5
A wise youth works hard all summer; a youth who sleeps away the hour of opportunity brings shame.
