Through the Bible – Day 31

₁Use acacia wood to build an altar two and a quarter metres square and one and a third metres high, ₂and make each of the four top corners stick up like the horn of a bull. Then cover the whole altar with bronze, including the four horns. ₃All the equipment for the altar must also be made of bronze—the pans for the hot ashes, the shovels, the sprinkling bowls, the meat forks, and the fire pans. _4-5Half-way up the altar build a ledge around it, and cover the bottom half of the altar with a decorative bronze grating. Then attach a bronze ring beneath the ledge at the four corners of the altar. _6-7Cover two acacia wood poles with bronze and put them through the rings for carrying the altar. ₈Construct the altar in the shape of an open box, just as you were shown on the mountain.

_9-15Surround the sacred tent with a courtyard forty-four metres long on the south and north and twenty-two metres wide on the east and west. Use twenty bronze posts on bronze stands for the south and north and ten for the west. Then hang a curtain of fine linen on the posts along each of these three sides by using silver hooks and rods.

Place three bronze posts on each side of the entrance at the east and hang a curtain six and two thirds metres wide on each set of posts. ₁₆Use four more of these posts for the entrance way, then hang on them an embroidered curtain of fine linen nine metres long and woven with blue, purple, and red wool.

_17-18The curtains that surround the courtyard must be two and a quarter metres high and are to be hung from the bronze posts with silver hooks and rods. ₁₉The rest of the equipment for the sacred tent must be made of bronze, including the pegs for the tent and for the curtain surrounding the courtyard.

₂₀Command the people of Israel to supply you with the purest olive oil. Do this so the lamp will keep burning ₂₁in front of the curtain that separates the holy place from the most holy place, where the sacred chest is kept. Aaron and his sons are responsible for keeping the lamp burning every night in the sacred tent. The Israelites must always obey this command.

₁Send for your brother Aaron and his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. They are the ones I have chosen from Israel to serve as my priests. ₂Make Aaron some beautiful clothes that are worthy of a high priest. ₃Aaron is to be dedicated as my high priest, and his clothes must be made only by persons who possess skills that I have given them. ₄Here are the items that need to be made: a breastpiece, a priestly apron, a robe, an embroidered shirt, a turban, and a sash. These sacred clothes are to be made for your brother Aaron and his sons who will be my priests. ₅Only gold and fine linen, woven with blue, purple, and red wool, are to be used for making these clothes.

_6-8The entire priestly apron must be made of fine linen skilfully woven with blue, purple, and red wool, and decorated with gold. It is to have two shoulder straps to support it and a sash that fastens around the waist.

_9-12Put two onyx stones in gold settings, then attach one to each of the shoulder straps. On one of these stones engrave the names of Israel's first six sons in the order of their birth. And do the same with his remaining six sons on the other stone. In this way Aaron will always carry the names of the tribes of Israel when he enters the holy place, and I will never forget my people.

_13-14Attach two gold settings to the shoulder straps and fasten them with two braided chains of pure gold.

₁₅From the same costly material make a breastpiece for the high priest to use in learning what I want my people to do. ₁₆It is to be twenty-two centimetres square and folded double ₁₇with four rows of three precious stones: in the first row put a carnelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald; ₁₈in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; ₁₉in the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ₂₀and in the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. Mount the stones in delicate gold settings ₂₁and engrave on each of them the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

_22-25Attach two gold rings to the upper front corners of the breastpiece and fasten them with two braided gold chains to gold settings on the shoulder straps. ₂₆Attach two other gold rings to the lower inside corners next to the apron ₂₇and two more near the bottom of the shoulder straps just above the sash. ₂₈Then take a blue cord and tie the two lower rings on the breastpiece to those on the apron. This will keep the breastpiece in place.

₂₉In this way Aaron will have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on his heart each time he enters the holy place, and I will never forget my people. ₃₀He must also wear on his breastpiece the two small objects that he uses to receive answers from me.

₃₁Under his apron Aaron must wear a robe of blue wool ₃₂with an opening in the centre for his head. Be sure to bind the material around the collar to keep it from fraying. _33-34Along the hem of the robe weave pomegranates of blue, purple, and red wool with a gold bell between each of them. ₃₅If Aaron wears these clothes when he enters the holy place as my high priest, the sound of the bells will be heard, and his life will not be in danger.

₃₆On a narrow strip of pure gold engrave the words: “Dedicated to the LORD”. ₃₇Fasten it to the front of Aaron's turban with a blue cord, ₃₈so he can wear it on his forehead. This will show that he will take on himself the guilt for any sins the people of Israel commit in offering their gifts to me, and I will forgive them.

₃₉Make Aaron's robe and turban of fine linen and decorate his sash with fine needlework.

₄₀Since Aaron's sons are priests, they should also look dignified. So make robes, sashes, and special caps for them. ₄₁Then dress Aaron and his sons in these clothes, pour olive oil on their heads, and ordain them as my priests.

₄₂Make linen shorts for them that reach from the waist down to the thigh, so they won't expose themselves. ₄₃Whenever they enter the sacred tent or serve at the altar or enter the holy place, they must wear these shorts, or else they will be guilty and die. This same rule applies to any of their descendants who serve as priests.

₁When you ordain one of Aaron's sons as my priest, choose a young bull and two rams that have nothing wrong with them. ₂Then from your finest flour make three batches of dough without yeast. Shape some of it into larger loaves, some into smaller loaves mixed with olive oil, and the rest into thin wafers brushed with oil. ₃Put all this bread in a basket and bring it when you come to sacrifice the three animals to me.

₄Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the sacred tent and make them wash themselves. ₅Dress Aaron in the priestly shirt, the robe that goes under the sacred apron, the apron itself, the breastpiece, and the sash. ₆Put on his turban with its narrow strip of engraved gold ₇and then ordain him by pouring olive oil on his head.

₈Next, dress Aaron's sons in their special shirts ₉and caps and their sashes, then ordain them, because they and their descendants will always be priests.

₁₀Lead the bull to the entrance of the sacred tent, where Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on its head. ₁₁Kill the bull near my altar in front of the tent. ₁₂Use a finger to smear some of its blood on each of the four corners of the altar and pour out the rest of the blood on the ground next to the altar. ₁₃Then take the fat from the animal's insides, as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and send them up in smoke on the altar. ₁₄But the meat, the skin, and the food still in the bull's stomach must be burnt outside the camp as an offering to ask forgiveness for the sins of the priests.

₁₅Bring one of the rams to Aaron and his sons and make them lay their hands on its head. ₁₆Kill the ram and splatter its blood against all four sides of the altar. ₁₇Cut up the ram, wash its insides and legs, and lay all its parts on the altar, including the head. ₁₈Then make sure that the whole animal goes up in smoke with a smell that pleases me.

₁₉Bring the other ram to Aaron and his sons and make them lay their hands on its head. ₂₀Kill the ram and place some of its blood on Aaron's right ear lobe, his right thumb, and the big toe of his right foot. Do the same for each of his sons and splatter the rest of the blood against the four sides of the altar. ₂₁Then take some of the blood from the altar, mix it with the oil used for ordination, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his clothes, and also on his sons and their clothes. This will show that they and their clothes have been dedicated to me.

₂₂This ram is part of the ordination service. So remove its right hind leg, its fat tail, the fat on its insides, as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat. ₂₃Take one loaf of each kind of bread from the basket, ₂₄and put this bread, together with the meat, into the hands of Aaron and his sons. Then they will lift it all up to show that it is dedicated to me. ₂₅After this, the meat and bread are to be placed on the altar and sent up in smoke with a smell that pleases me.

₂₆You may eat the choice ribs from this second ram, but you must first lift them up to show that this meat is dedicated to me.

_27-28In the future, when anyone from Israel offers the ribs and a hind leg of a ram either to ordain a priest or to ask for my blessing, the meat belongs to me, but it may be eaten by the priests. This law will never change.

_29-30After Aaron's death, his priestly clothes are to be handed down to each descendant who succeeds him as high priest, and these clothes must be worn during the seven-day ceremony of ordination.

₃₁Boil the meat of the ordination ram in a sacred place, ₃₂then Aaron and his sons are to eat it together with the three kinds of bread at the entrance to the sacred tent. ₃₃At their ordination, a ceremony of forgiveness was performed for them with this sacred food, and only they have the right to eat it. ₃₄If any of the sacred food is left until morning, it must be burnt up.

₃₅Repeat this ordination ceremony for Aaron and his sons seven days in a row, just as I have instructed you. ₃₆Each day you must offer a bull as a sacrifice for sin and as a way of purifying the altar. In addition, you must smear the altar with olive oil to make it completely holy. ₃₇Do this for seven days, and the altar will become so holy that anyone who touches it will become holy.

₁When Jesus finished teaching, he left Galilee and went to the part of Judea that is east of the River Jordan. ₂Large crowds followed him, and he healed their sick people.

₃Some Pharisees wanted to test Jesus. They came up to him and asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

₄Jesus answered, “Don't you know that in the beginning the Creator made a man and a woman? ₅That's why a man leaves his father and mother and gets married. He becomes like one person with his wife. ₆Then they are no longer two people, but one. And no one should separate a couple that God has joined together.”

₇The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Why did Moses say that a man could write out divorce papers and send his wife away?”

₈Jesus replied, “You are so heartless! That's why Moses allowed you to divorce your wife. But from the beginning God did not intend it to be that way. ₉I say that if your wife has not committed some terrible sexual sin, you must not divorce her to marry someone else. If you do, you are unfaithful.”

₁₀The disciples said, “If that's how it is between a man and a woman, it's better not to get married.”

₁₁Jesus told them, “Only those people who have been given the gift of staying single can accept this teaching. ₁₂Some people are unable to marry because of birth defects or because of what someone has done to their bodies. Others stay single for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Anyone who can accept this teaching should do so.”

₁₃Some people brought their children to Jesus, so that he could place his hands on them and pray for them. His disciples told the people to stop bothering him. ₁₄But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and don't try to stop them! People who are like these children belong to God's kingdom.” ₁₅After Jesus had placed his hands on the children, he left.

₁₆A man came to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?”

₁₇Jesus said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. If you want to have eternal life, you must obey his commandments.”

₁₈“Which ones?” the man asked.

Jesus answered, “Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. ₁₉Respect your father and mother. And love others as much as you love yourself.” ₂₀The young man said, “I have obeyed all these. What else must I do?”

₂₁Jesus replied, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower.” ₂₂When the young man heard this, he was sad, because he was very rich.

₂₃Jesus said to his disciples, “It's terribly hard for rich people to get into the kingdom of heaven! ₂₄In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God's kingdom.”

₂₅When the disciples heard this, they were greatly surprised and asked, “How can anyone ever be saved?”

₂₆Jesus looked straight at them and said, “There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything.”

₂₇Peter replied, “Remember, we have left everything to be your followers! What will we get?”

₂₈Jesus answered: