Through the Bible – Day 47

₁When Moses had finished setting up the sacred tent, he dedicated it to the LORD, together with its furnishings, the altar, and its equipment. ₂Then the twelve tribal leaders of Israel, the same men who had been in charge of counting the people, came to the tent ₃with gifts for the LORD. They brought six strong carts and twelve oxen—one ox from each leader and a cart from every two.

₄The LORD said to Moses, ₅“Accept these gifts, so the Levites can use them here at the sacred tent for carrying the sacred things.”

₆Then Moses took the carts and oxen and gave them to the Levites, _7-8who were under the leadership of Ithamar son of Aaron. Moses gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites for their work, and four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites for their work. ₉But Moses did not give any to the Kohathites, because they were in charge of the sacred objects that had to be carried on their shoulders.

₁₀On the day the altar was dedicated, the twelve leaders brought offerings for its dedication. ₁₁The LORD said to Moses, “Each day one leader is to give his offering for the dedication.”

_12-83So each leader brought the following gifts:

a silver bowl that weighed one and a half kilogrammes and a silver sprinkling bowl weighing almost a kilogramme, both of them filled with flour and olive oil as grain sacrifices and weighed according to the official standards;

a small gold dish filled with incense;

a young bull, a full-grown ram, and a year-old ram as sacrifices to please the LORD;

a goat as a sacrifice for sin;

and two bulls, five full-grown rams, five goats, and five rams a year old as sacrifices to ask the LORD's blessing.

The tribal leaders brought their gifts and offerings in the following order:

_84-88And so when the altar was dedicated to the LORD, these twelve leaders brought the following gifts:

twelve silver bowls and twelve silver sprinkling bowls, weighing a total of almost twenty-eight kilogrammes, according to the official standards;

twelve gold dishes filled with incense and weighing over a kilogramme;

twelve bulls, twelve full-grown rams, and twelve rams a year old as sacrifices to please the LORD, along with the proper grain sacrifices;

twelve goats as sacrifices for sin;

and twenty-four bulls, sixty full-grown rams, sixty goats, and sixty rams a year old as sacrifices to ask the LORD's blessing.

₈₉Whenever Moses needed to talk with the LORD, he went into the sacred tent, where he heard the LORD's voice coming from between the two winged creatures above the lid of the sacred chest.

₁The LORD said to Moses, ₂“Tell Aaron to put the seven lamps on the lampstand so they shine towards the front.”

₃Aaron obeyed and placed the lamps as he was told. ₄The lampstand was made of hammered gold from its base to the decorative flowers on top, exactly like the pattern the LORD had described to Moses.

₅The LORD said to Moses:

₆The Levites must be acceptable to me before they begin working at the sacred tent. So separate them from the rest of the Israelites ₇and sprinkle them with the water that washes away their sins. Then tell them to shave their entire bodies and wash their clothes.

₈They are to bring a bull and its proper grain sacrifice of flour mixed with olive oil. And they must bring a second bull as a sacrifice for sin.

₉Then you, Moses, will call together all the people of Israel and make the Levites go to my sacred tent, ₁₀where the people will place their hands on them. ₁₁Aaron will present the Levites to me as a gift from the people, so that the Levites will do my work.

₁₂After this, the Levites are to place their hands on the heads of the bulls. Then one of the bulls will be sacrificed for the forgiveness of sin, and the other to make sure that I am pleased. ₁₃The Levites will stand at my altar in front of Aaron and his sons, who will then dedicate the Levites to me.

₁₄This ceremony will show that the Levites are different from the other Israelites and belong to me in a special way. ₁₅After they have been made acceptable and have been dedicated, they will be allowed to work at my sacred tent. ₁₆They are mine and will take the place of the firstborn Israelite sons. ₁₇When I killed the eldest sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the firstborn sons in each Israelite family would be mine, as well as every firstborn male from their flocks and herds. ₁₈But now I have chosen these Levites as substitutes for the firstborn sons, ₁₉and I have given them as gifts to Aaron and his sons to serve at the sacred tent. I will hold them responsible for what happens to anyone who gets too close to the sacred tent.

₂₀Moses, Aaron, and the other Israelites made sure that the Levites did everything the LORD had commanded. ₂₁The Levites sprinkled themselves with the water of forgiveness and washed their clothes. Then Aaron brought them to the altar and offered sacrifices to forgive their sins and make them acceptable to the LORD. ₂₂After this, the Levites worked at the sacred tent as assistants to Aaron and his sons, just as the LORD had commanded.

₂₃The LORD also told Moses, _24-25“Levites who are between the ages of twenty-five and fifty can work at my sacred tent. But once they turn fifty, they must retire. ₂₆They may help the other Levites in their duties, but they must no longer be responsible for any work themselves. Remember this when you assign their duties.”

₁During the first month of Israel's second year in the Sinai Desert, the LORD had told Moses ₂to say to the people, “Celebrate Passover ₃in the evening of the fourteenth day of this month and do it by following all the regulations.” _4-5Moses told the people what the LORD had said, and they celebrated Passover there in the desert in the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month.

₆Some people in Israel's camp had touched a dead body and had become unfit to worship the LORD, and they could not celebrate Passover. But they asked Moses and Aaron, ₇“Even though we have touched a dead body, why can't we celebrate Passover and offer sacrifices to the LORD at the same time as everyone else?”

₈Moses said, “Wait here while I go into the sacred tent and find out what the LORD says about this.”

₉The LORD then told Moses ₁₀to say to the community of Israel:

_15-16As soon as the sacred tent was set up, a thick cloud appeared and covered it. The cloud was there each day, and during the night, a fire could be seen in it. _17-19The LORD used this cloud to tell the Israelites when to move their camp and where to set it up again. As long as the cloud covered the tent, the Israelites did not break camp. But when the cloud moved, they followed it, and wherever it stopped, they camped and stayed there, _20-22whether it was only one night, a few days, a month, or even a year. As long as the cloud remained over the tent, the Israelites stayed where they were. But when the cloud moved, so did the Israelites. ₂₃They obeyed the LORD's commands and went wherever he directed Moses.

₁Early the next morning all the chief priests and the nation's leaders met and decided that Jesus should be put to death. ₂They tied him up and led him away to Pilate the governor.

₃Judas had betrayed Jesus, but when he learnt that Jesus had been sentenced to death, he was sorry for what he had done. He returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and leaders ₄and said, “I have sinned by betraying a man who has never done anything wrong.”

“So what? That's your problem,” they replied. ₅Judas threw the money into the temple and then went out and hanged himself.

₆The chief priests picked up the money and said, “This money was paid to have a man killed. We can't put it in the temple treasury.” ₇Then they had a meeting and decided to buy a field that belonged to someone who made clay pots. They wanted to use it as a graveyard for foreigners. ₈That's why people still call that place “Field of Blood”. ₉So the words of the prophet Jeremiah came true,

₁₁Jesus was brought before Pilate the governor, who asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Those are your words!” Jesus answered. ₁₂And when the chief priests and leaders brought their charges against him, he did not say a thing.

₁₃Pilate asked him, “Don't you hear what crimes they say you have done?” ₁₄But Jesus did not say anything, and the governor was greatly amazed.

₁₅During Passover the governor always freed a prisoner chosen by the people. ₁₆At that time a well known terrorist named Jesus Barabbas was in jail. ₁₇So when the crowd came together, Pilate asked them, “Which prisoner do you want me to set free? Do you want Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ₁₈Pilate knew that the leaders had brought Jesus to him because they were jealous.

₁₉While Pilate was judging the case, his wife sent him a message. It said, “Don't have anything to do with that innocent man. I have had nightmares because of him.”

₂₀But the chief priests and the leaders convinced the crowds to ask for Barabbas to be set free and for Jesus to be killed. ₂₁Pilate asked the crowd again, “Which of these two men do you want me to set free?”

“Barabbas!” they replied.

₂₂Pilate asked them, “What am I to do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?”

They all yelled, “Nail him to a cross!”

₂₃Pilate answered, “But what crime has he done?”

“Nail him to a cross!” they yelled even louder.

₂₄Pilate saw that there was nothing he could do and that the people were starting to riot. So he took some water and washed his hands in front of them and said, “I won't have anything to do with killing this man. You are the ones doing it!”

₂₅Everyone answered, “We and our own families will take the blame for his death!”

₂₆Pilate set Barabbas free. Then he ordered his soldiers to beat Jesus with a whip and nail him to a cross.