Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
The One Year Bible TLB (53 page)
A lazy fellow is a pain to his employers—like smoke in their eyes or vinegar that sets the teeth on edge.
March 6The Lord gave Moses these further instructions for the people of Israel: “When either a man or a woman takes the special vow of a Nazirite, consecrating himself to the Lord in a special way,
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he must not thereafter, during the entire period of his special consecration to the Lord, taste strong drink or wine or even fresh wine, grape juice, grapes, or raisins! He may eat nothing that comes from grapevines, not even the seeds or skins!
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“Throughout that time he must never cut his hair, for he is holy and consecrated to the Lord; that is why he must let his hair grow.
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“And he may not go near any dead body during the entire period of his vow, even if it is the body of his father, mother, brother, or sister; for his vow of consecration remains in effect,
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and he is consecrated to the Lord throughout the entire period.
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If he is defiled by having someone fall dead beside him, then seven days later he shall shave his defiled head; he will then be cleansed from the contamination of being in the presence of death.
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The next day, the eighth day, he must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle.
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The priest shall offer one of the birds for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for his defilement. And he must renew his vows that day and let his hair begin to grow again.
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The days of his vow that were fulfilled before his defilement no longer count. He must begin all over again with a new vow, and must bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering.
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“At the conclusion of the period of his vow of separation to the Lord, he must go to the entrance of the Tabernacle
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and offer a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, a year-old lamb without defect. He must also offer a sin offering, a yearling ewe lamb without defect; a peace offering, a ram without defect;
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a basket of bread made without yeast; pancakes made of fine flour mixed with olive oil; unleavened wafers spread with oil; and the accompanying grain offering and drink offerings.
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The priest shall present these offerings before the Lord: first the sin offering and the burnt offering;
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then the ram for a peace offering, along with the basket of bread made without yeast; and finally the grain offering along with the drink offering.
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“Then the Nazirite shall shave his long hair—the sign of his vow of separation. This shall be done at the entrance of the Tabernacle, after which the hair shall be put in the fire under the peace offering sacrifice.
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After the man’s head has been shaved, the priest shall take the roasted shoulder of the lamb, one of the pancakes (made without yeast), and one of the wafers (also made without yeast), and put them all into the man’s hands.
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The priest shall then wave it all back and forth before the Lord in a gesture of offering; all of it is a holy portion for the priest, as are the rib piece and shoulder that were waved before the Lord. After that the Nazirite may again drink wine, for he is freed from his vow.
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“These are the regulations concerning a Nazirite and his sacrifices at the conclusion of his period of special dedication. In addition to these sacrifices he must bring any further offering he promised at the time he took his vow to become a Nazirite.”
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Now the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons that they are to give this special blessing to the people of Israel:
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‘May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.’
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This is how Aaron and his sons shall call down my blessings
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upon the people of Israel; and I myself will personally bless them.”
7:
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Moses anointed and sanctified each part of the Tabernacle, including the altar and its utensils, on the day he finished setting it up.
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Then the leaders of Israel—the chiefs of the tribes, the men who had organized the census—brought their offerings.
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They brought six covered wagons, each drawn by two oxen—a wagon for every two leaders and an ox for each one; and they presented them to the Lord in front of the Tabernacle.
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“Accept their gifts,” the Lord told Moses, “and use these wagons for the work of the Tabernacle. Give them to the Levites for whatever needs they may have.”
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So Moses presented the wagons and the oxen to the Levites.
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Two wagons and four oxen were given to the Gershon division for their use,
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and four wagons and eight oxen were given to the Merari division, which was under the leadership of Ithamar, Aaron’s son.
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None of the wagons or teams was given to the Kohath division, for they were required to carry their portion of the Tabernacle upon their shoulders.
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The leaders also presented dedication gifts on the day the altar was anointed, placing them before the altar.
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The Lord said to Moses, “Let each of them bring his gift on a different day for the dedication of the altar.”
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So Nahshon, the son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah, brought his gift the first day.
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It consisted of a silver platter weighing three pounds and a silver bowl of about two pounds, both filled with grain offerings of fine flour mixed with oil.
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He also brought a tiny
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gold box of incense which weighed only about four ounces.
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He brought a young bull, a ram, and a male yearling lamb as burnt offerings;
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a male goat for a sin offering;
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and for the peace offerings two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male yearling lambs.
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The next day Nethanel, the son of Zuar, chief of the tribe of Issachar, brought his gifts and offerings. They were exactly the same as Nahshon had presented on the previous day.
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On the third day Eliab, the son of Helon, chief of the tribe of Zebulun, came with his offerings—the same as those presented on the previous days.
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On the fourth day the gifts were presented by Elizur, son of Shedeur, chief of the tribe of Reuben; his gifts and offerings were the same as those given on the previous days.
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On the fifth day came Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, chief of the tribe of Simeon, with the same gifts.
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The next day it was Eliasaph’s turn, son of Deuel, chief of the tribe of Gad. He, too, offered the same gifts and sacrifices.
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On the seventh day, Elishama, the son of Ammihud, chief of the tribe of Ephraim, brought his gifts, the same as those presented on the previous days.
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Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, prince of the tribe of Manasseh, came the eighth day with the same offerings.
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On the ninth day it was Abidan the son of Gideoni, chief of the tribe of Benjamin, with his gifts, the same as those offered by the others.
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Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, brought his gifts on the tenth day. He was the chief of the tribe of Dan and his offerings were the same as those on the previous days.
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Pagiel, son of Ochran, chief of the tribe of Asher, brought his gifts on the eleventh day—the same gifts and offerings as the others.
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On the twelfth day came Ahira, son of Enan, chief of the tribe of Naphtali, with his offerings; they were identical to those brought by the others.
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So, beginning the day the altar was anointed, it was dedicated by these gifts from the chiefs of the tribes of Israel. Their combined offerings were as follows:
12 silver platters (each weighing about three pounds);
12 silver bowls (each weighing about two pounds); (so the total weight of the silver was about sixty pounds);
12 gold trays (the trays weighing about four ounces apiece); (so the total weight of gold was about three pounds).
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For the burnt offerings they brought:
12 bulls, 12 rams,
12 yearling male goats (with the grain offerings that accompanied them).
For sin offerings they brought:
12 male goats.
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For the peace offerings they brought:
24 young bulls,
60 rams, 60 male goats,
60 male lambs one year old.
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When Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with God, he heard the Voice speaking to him from above the place of mercy over the Ark, between the statues of the two Guardian Angels.
Here are some of the other things he [Jesus] taught them at this time:
“Beware of the teachers of religion! For they love to wear the robes of the rich and scholarly, and to have everyone bow to them as they walk through the markets.
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They love to sit in the best seats in the synagogues and at the places of honor at banquets—
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but they shamelessly cheat widows out of their homes and then, to cover up the kind of men they really are, they pretend to be pious by praying long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment will be the greater.”
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Then he went over to the collection boxes in the Temple and sat and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Some who were rich put in large amounts.
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Then a poor widow came and dropped in two pennies.
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He called his disciples to him and remarked,
“That poor widow has given more than all those rich men put together! For they gave a little of their extra fat,
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while she gave up her last penny.”
13:
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As he was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, what beautiful buildings these are! Look at the decorated stonework on the walls.”
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Jesus replied,
“Yes, look! For not one stone will be left upon another, except as ruins.”
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And as he sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives across the valley from Jerusalem, Peter, James, John, and Andrew got alone with him and asked him, “Just when is all this going to happen to the Temple? Will there be some warning ahead of time?”
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So Jesus launched into an extended reply.
“Don’t let anyone mislead you,” he said,
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“for many will come declaring themselves to be your Messiah and will lead many astray.
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And wars will break out near and far, but this is not the signal of the end-time.
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“For nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other, and there will be earthquakes in many lands, and famines. These herald only the early stages of the anguish ahead.
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But when these things begin to happen, watch out! For you will be in great danger. You will be dragged before the courts, and beaten in the synagogues, and accused before governors and kings of being my followers. This is your opportunity to tell them the Good News.
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And the Good News must first be made known in every nation before the end-time finally comes.
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But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry about what to say in your defense. Just say what God tells you to. Then you will not be speaking, but the Holy Spirit will.
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“Brothers will betray each other to death, fathers will betray their own children, and children will betray their parents to be killed.
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And everyone will hate you because you are mine. But all who endure to the end without renouncing me shall be saved.”
Listen, everyone! High and low, rich and poor, all around the world—listen to my words,
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for they are wise and filled with insight.
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I will tell in song accompanied by harps the answer to one of life’s most perplexing problems:
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There is no need to fear when times of trouble come,
even though surrounded by enemies!
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They trust in their wealth and boast about how rich they are,
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yet not one of them, though rich as kings, can ransom his own brother from the penalty of sin! For God’s forgiveness does not come that way.
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For a soul is far too precious to be ransomed by mere earthly wealth. There is not enough of it in all the earth to buy eternal life for just one soul, to keep it out of hell.
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Rich man! Proud man! Wise man! You must die like all the rest! You have no greater lease on life than foolish, stupid men. You must leave your wealth to others.
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You name your estates after yourselves as though your lands could be forever yours and you could live on them eternally.
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But man with all his pomp must die like any animal.
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Such is the folly of these men, though after they die they will be quoted as having great wisdom.
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Death is the shepherd of all mankind. And “in the morning” those who are evil will be the slaves of those who are good. For the power of their wealth is gone when they die;
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they cannot take it with them.
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But as for me, God will redeem my soul from the power of death, for he will receive me.
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So do not be dismayed when evil men grow rich and build their lovely homes.
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For when they die, they carry nothing with them! Their honors will not follow them.
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Though a man calls himself happy all through his life—and the world loudly applauds success—
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yet in the end he dies like everyone else and enters eternal darkness.
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For man with all his pomp
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must die like any animal.