Bible Readings for March 4, 2017

Today our passages are Numbers 2:1–3:51; Mark 11:26–12:17; Psalm 47:1-9; and Proverbs 10:24-25. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

 

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Numbers 2-3:51 (Contemporary English Version)

Numbers 2

Instructions for Setting Up Israel's Camp

¹The LORD told Moses and Aaron ²how the Israelites should arrange their camp: Each tribe must set up camp under its own banner and under the flags of its ancestral families. These camps will be arranged around the sacred tent, but not close to it.
^3-4Judah and the tribes that march with it must set up camp on the east side of the sacred tent, under their own banner. The 74,600 troops of the tribe of Judah will be arranged by divisions and led by Nahshon son of Amminadab. ^5-6On one side of Judah will be the tribe of Issachar, with Nethanel son of Zuar as the leader of its 54,400 troops. ^7-8On the other side will be the tribe of Zebulun, with Eliab son of Helon as the leader of its 57,400 troops. ⁹These 186,400 troops will march into battle first.
^10-11Reuben and the tribes that march with it must set up camp on the south side of the sacred tent, under their own banner. The 46,500 troops of the tribe of Reuben will be arranged by divisions and led by Elizur son of Shedeur. ^12-13On one side of Reuben will be the tribe of Simeon, with Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai as the leader of its 59,300 troops. ^14-15On the other side will be the tribe of Gad, with Eliasaph son of Deuel as the leader of its 45,650 troops. ¹⁶These 151,450 troops will march into battle second.
¹⁷Marching behind Reuben will be the Levites, arranged in groups, just as they are camped. They will carry the sacred tent and their own banners.
^18-19Ephraim and the tribes that march with it must set up camp on the west side of the sacred tent, under their own banner. The 40,500 troops of the tribe of Ephraim will be arranged by divisions and led by Elishama son of Ammihud. ^20-21On one side of Ephraim will be the tribe of Manasseh, with Gamaliel son of Pedahzur as the leader of its 32,200 troops. ^22-23On the other side will be the tribe of Benjamin, with Abidan son of Gideoni as the leader of its 35,400 troops. ²⁴These 108,100 troops will march into battle third.
^25-26Dan and the tribes that march with it must set up camp on the north side of the sacred tent, under their own banner. The 62,700 troops of the tribe of Dan will be arranged by divisions and led by Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai. ^27-28On one side of Dan will be the tribe of Asher, with Pagiel son of Ochran as the leader of its 41,500 troops. ^29-30On the other side will be the tribe of Naphtali with Ahira son of Enan as the leader of its 53,400 troops. ³¹These 157,600 troops will march into battle last.
³²So all the Israelites in the camp were counted according to their ancestral families. The troops were arranged by divisions and totaled 603,550. ³³The only Israelites not included were the Levites, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
³⁴Israel did everything the LORD had told Moses. They arranged their camp according to clans and families, with each tribe under its own banner. And that was the order by which they marched into battle.

Numbers 3

The Sons of Aaron

¹When the LORD talked with Moses on Mount Sinai, ²Aaron's four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, ³were the ones to be ordained as priests. ⁴But the LORD killed Nadab and Abihu in the Sinai Desert when they used fire that was unacceptable ^[a] in their offering to the LORD. ^[b] And because Nadab and Abihu had no sons, only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests with their father Aaron.

The Duties of the Levites

⁵The LORD said to Moses: ⁶Assign the Levi tribe to Aaron the priest. They will be his assistants ⁷and will work at the sacred tent for him and for all the Israelites. ⁸The Levites will serve the community by being responsible for the furnishings of the tent. ⁹They are assigned to help Aaron and his sons, ¹⁰who have been appointed to be priests. Anyone else who tries to perform the duties of a priest must be put to death.
^11-13Moses, I have chosen these Levites from all Israel, and they will belong to me in a special way. When I killed the first-born sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the first-born sons in every Israelite family and the first-born males of their flocks and herds would be mine. ^[c] But now I accept these Levites in place of the first-born sons of the Israelites.

The Levites Are Counted

¹⁴In the Sinai Desert the LORD said to Moses, ¹⁵" Now I want you to count the men and boys in the Levi tribe by families and by clans. Include every one at least a month old." ¹⁶So Moses obeyed and counted them. ¹⁷Levi's three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, had become the heads of their own clans. ¹⁸Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹Kohath's sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰And Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. These were the sons and grandsons of Levi, and they had become the leaders of the Levite clans.
²¹The two Gershon clans were the Libnites and Shimeites, ²²and they had seven thousand five hundred men and boys at least one month old. ²³The Gershonites were to camp on the west side of the sacred tent, ²⁴under the leadership of Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵Their duties at the tent included taking care of the tent itself, along with its outer covering, the curtain for the entrance, ²⁶the curtains hanging inside the courtyard around the tent, as well as the curtain and ropes for the entrance to the courtyard and its altar. The Gershonites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.
²⁷The four Kohath clans were the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and the Uzzielites, ²⁸and they had eight thousand six hundred ^[d] men and boys at least one month old. ²⁹The Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the sacred tent, ³⁰under the leadership of Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹Their duties at the tent included taking care of the sacred chest, the table for the sacred bread, the lampstand, the altars, the objects used for worship, and the curtain in front of the most holy place. The Kohathites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down. ³²Eleazar son of Aaron was the head of the Levite leaders, and he made sure that the work at the sacred tent was done.
³³The two Merari clans were the Mahlites and the Mushites, ³⁴and they had six thousand two hundred men and boys at least one month old. ³⁵The Merarites were to camp on the north side of the sacred tent, under the leadership of Zuriel son of Abihail. ^36-37Their duties included taking care of the tent frames and the pieces that held the tent up: the bars, the posts, the stands, and its other equipment. They were also in charge of the posts that supported the courtyard, as well as their stands, tent pegs, and ropes. The Merari clans were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.
³⁸Moses, Aaron, and his sons were to camp in front of the sacred tent, on the east side, and to make sure that the Israelites worshiped in the proper way. Anyone else who tried to do the work of Moses and Aaron was to be put to death.
³⁹So Moses and Aaron obeyed the LORD and counted the Levites by their clans. The total number of Levites at least one month old was twenty-two thousand.

The Levites Are Accepted as Substitutes for the First-Born Sons

⁴⁰The LORD said to Moses, " Make a list and count the first-born sons at least one month old in each of the Israelite families. ⁴¹They belong to me, but I will accept the Levites as substitutes for them, and I will accept the Levites' livestock as substitutes for the Israelites' first-born livestock." ⁴²Moses obeyed the LORD and counted the first-born sons; ⁴³there were 22,273 of them.
⁴⁴Then the LORD said, ⁴⁵" The Levites will belong to me and will take the place of the first-born sons; their livestock will take the place of the Israelites' first-born livestock. ⁴⁶But since there are more first-born sons than Levites, the extra two hundred seventy-three men and boys must be bought back from me. ⁴⁷For each one, you are to collect five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. ⁴⁸This money must then be given to Aaron and his sons."
⁴⁹Moses collected the silver from the extra two hundred seventy-three first-born men and boys, ⁵⁰and it amounted to one thousand three hundred sixty-five pieces of silver, weighed according to the official standards. ⁵¹Then he gave it to Aaron and his sons, just as the LORD had commanded.

Footnotes:

1. Numbers 3:4fire that was unacceptable: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. Numbers 3:4the LORD killed Nadab and Abihu. . . to the LORD: See Leviticus 10.1,2.
3. Numbers 3:11When I killed. . . mine: See Exodus 13.1,2,11-16.
4. Numbers 3:28eight thousand six hundred: Hebrew; some manuscripts of one ancient translation " eight thousand three hundred."

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Mark 11:26-12:17 (Contemporary English Version)

^25-26Whenever you stand up to pray, you must forgive what others have done to you. Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins. ^[a]

A Question about Jesus' Authority

(Matthew 21.23-27; Luke 20.1-8)

²⁷Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. And as he was walking through the temple, the chief priests, the nation's leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses came over to him. ²⁸They asked, "What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?" ²⁹Jesus answered, "I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things. ³⁰Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?"
³¹They thought it over and said to each other, "We can't say that God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John. ³²On the other hand, these people think that John was a prophet. So we can't say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize."
They were afraid of the crowd ³³and told Jesus, "We don't know."
Jesus replied, "Then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do."

Mark 12

Renters of a Vineyard

(Matthew 21.33-46; Luke 20.9-19)

¹Jesus then told them this story: A farmer once planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it and dug a pit to crush the grapes in. He also built a lookout tower. Then he rented out his vineyard and left the country.
²When it was harvest time, he sent a servant to get his share of the grapes. ³The renters grabbed the servant. They beat him up and sent him away without a thing.
⁴The owner sent another servant, but the renters beat him on the head and insulted him terribly. ⁵Then the man sent another servant, and they killed him. He kept sending servant after servant. They beat some of them and killed others.
⁶The owner had a son he loved very much. Finally, he sent his son to the renters because he thought they would respect him. ⁷But they said to themselves, "Someday he will own this vineyard. Let's kill him! That way we can have it all for ourselves." ⁸So they grabbed the owner's son and killed him. Then they threw his body out of the vineyard.
⁹Jesus asked, "What do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? He will come and kill those renters and let someone else have his vineyard. ¹⁰You surely know that the Scriptures say,
`The stone that the builders
tossed aside
is now the most important
stone of all.
¹¹This is something
the Lord has done,
and it is amazing to us.' "
¹²The leaders knew that Jesus was really talking about them, and they wanted to arrest him. But because they were afraid of the crowd, they let him alone and left.

Paying Taxes

(Matthew 22.15-22; Luke 20.20-26)

¹³The Pharisees got together with Herod's followers. ^[b] Then they sent some men to trick Jesus into saying something wrong. ¹⁴They went to him and said, "Teacher, we know that you are honest. You treat everyone with the same respect, no matter who they are. And you teach the truth about what God wants people to do. Tell us, should we pay taxes to the Emperor or not?" ¹⁵Jesus knew what they were up to, and he said, "Why are you trying to test me? Show me a coin!"
¹⁶They brought him a silver coin, and he asked, "Whose picture and name are on it?"
"The Emperor's," they answered.
¹⁷Then Jesus told them, "Give the Emperor what belongs to him and give God what belongs to God." The men were amazed at Jesus.

Footnotes:

1. Mark 11:25 your sins: Some manuscripts add, "But if you do not forgive others, God will not forgive you."
2. Mark 12:13 Herod's followers: People who were political followers of the family of Herod the Great and his son Herod Antipas.

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Psalm 47:1-9 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 47

(A psalm for the people of Korah and for the music leader.)

God Rules the Nations

¹All of you nations, clap your hands
and shout
joyful praises to God.
²The LORD Most High is fearsome,
the ruler of all the earth.
³God has put every nation
under our power,
⁴and he chose for us the land
that was the pride of Jacob,
his favorite.
⁵God goes up to his throne,
as people shout
and trumpets blast.
⁶Sing praises to God our King,
⁷the ruler of all the earth!
Praise God with songs.
⁸God rules the nations
from his sacred throne.
⁹Their leaders come together
and are now the people
of Abraham's God.
All rulers on earth
surrender their weapons,
and God is greatly praised!

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Proverbs 10:24-25 (Contemporary English Version)

²⁴What evil people dread most
will happen to them,
but good people will get
what they want most.
²⁵Those crooks will disappear
when a storm strikes,
but God will keep safe
all who obey him.

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Verse of the Day

“I've commanded you to be strong and brave. Don't ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the LORD your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American teacher, author, artist, poet, playwright, novelist, filmmaker, composer, and journalist,  Julia Cameron wrote, “Life is a creative endeavor. It is active, not passive. We are the yeast that leavens our lives into rich, fully baked loaves. When we experience our lives as flat and lackluster, it is our consciousness that is at fault. We hold the inner key that turns our lives from thankless to fruitful. That key is ‘Blessing.’”