Bible Readings for February 18, 2015

Today our passages are Leviticus 6:1–7:27; Mark 3:7-30; Psalm 37:1-11; and Proverbs 10:3-4. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.  

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Leviticus 6-7:27 (Contemporary English Version)

Leviticus 6

Other Sins That Need Sacrifices or Payments

(Numbers 5.5-10)

^1-3The LORD told Moses what the people must do when they commit other sins against the LORD: You have sinned if you rob or cheat someone, if you keep back money or valuables left in your care, or if you find something and claim not to have it.
⁴When this happens, you must return what doesn't belong to you ⁵and pay the owner a fine of twenty percent. ^6-7In addition, you must either bring to the priest a ram that has nothing wrong with it or else pay him for one. The priest will then offer it as a sacrifice to make things right, and you will be forgiven for what you did wrong.

Daily Sacrifices

(Exodus 29.38-43; Numbers 28.1-8)

^8-9The LORD told Moses to tell Aaron and his sons how to offer the daily sacrifices that are sent up in smoke to please the LORD: ^[a] You must put the animal for the sacrifice on the altar in the evening and let it stay there all night. But make sure the fire keeps burning. ¹⁰The next morning you will dress in your priestly clothes, including your linen underwear. Then clean away the ashes left by the sacrifices and pile them beside the altar. ¹¹Change into your everyday clothes, take the ashes outside the camp, and pile them in the special place. ^[b]12The fire must never go out, so put wood on it each morning. After this, you are to lay an animal on the altar next to the fat that you sacrifice to ask my blessing. ^[c] Then send it all up in smoke to me. ¹³The altar fire must always be kept burning--it must never go out.

Sacrifices To Give Thanks to the LORD

The LORD said:

¹⁴When someone offers a sacrifice to give thanks to me, ^[d] the priests from Aaron's family must bring it to the front of the bronze altar, ¹⁵where one of them will scoop up a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the incense on it. Then, to show that the whole offering belongs to me, he will lay all of this on the altar and send it up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. ^16-17The rest of it is to be baked without yeast and eaten by the priests in the sacred courtyard of the sacred tent. This bread is very holy, just like the sacrifices for sin or for making things right, and I have given this part to the priests from what is offered to me on the altar. ¹⁸Only the men in Aaron's family are allowed to eat this bread, and they must go through a ceremony to be made holy before touching it. ^[e] This law will never change.

When Priests Are Ordained

¹⁹The LORD spoke to Moses ²⁰and told him what sacrifices the priests must offer on the morning and evening of the day they are ordained: It is the same as the regular morning and evening sacrifices--a pound of flour ²¹mixed with olive oil and cooked in a shallow pan. The bread must then be crumbled into small pieces ^[f] and sent up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. ^22-23Each of Aaron's descendants who is ordained as a priest must perform this ceremony and make sure that the bread is completely burned on the altar. None of it may be eaten!

Sacrifices for Sin

(Leviticus 4.1,2)

²⁴The LORD told Moses ²⁵how the priests from Aaron's family were to offer the sacrifice for sin: This sacrifice is very sacred, and the animal must be killed in my presence at the north side of the bronze altar. ²⁶The priest who offers this sacrifice must eat it in the sacred courtyard of the sacred tent, ²⁷and anyone or anything that touches the meat will be holy. ^[g] If any of the animal's blood is splattered on the clothes of the priest, they must be washed in a holy place. ²⁸If the meat was cooked in a clay pot, the pot must be destroyed, ^[h] but if it was cooked in a bronze pot, the pot must be scrubbed and rinsed with water. ²⁹This sacrifice is very holy, and only the priests may have any part of it. ³⁰None of the meat may be eaten from the sacrifices for sin that require blood to be brought into the sacred tent. ^[i] These sacrifices must be completely burned. The LORD said:

Leviticus 7

Sacrifices To Make Things Right

(Leviticus 5.14-19)

¹The sacrifice to make things right is very sacred. ²The animal must be killed in the same place where the sacrifice to please me ^[j] is killed, and the animal's blood must be splattered against the four sides of the bronze altar. ³Offer all of the animal's fat, including the fat on its tail and on its insides, ⁴as well as the lower part of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat. ⁵One of the priests will lay these pieces on the altar and send them up in smoke to me. ⁶This sacrifice for making things right is very holy. Only the priests may eat it, and they must eat it in a holy place. ^[k]7The ceremony for this sacrifice and the one for sin are just alike, and the meat may be eaten only by the priest who performs this ceremony of forgiveness. ⁸In fact, the priest who offers a sacrifice to please me ^[l] may keep the skin of the animal, ⁹just as he may eat the bread from a sacrifice to give thanks to me. ^[m]10All other grain sacrifices--with or without olive oil in them--are to be divided equally among the priests of Aaron's family.

Sacrifices To Ask the LORD's Blessing

The LORD said:

¹¹Here are the instructions for offering a sacrifice to ask my blessing: ^[n]12If you offer it to give thanks, you must offer some bread together with it. Use the finest flour to make three kinds of bread without yeast--two in the form of loaves mixed with olive oil and one in the form of thin wafers brushed with oil. ¹³You must also make some bread with yeast. ¹⁴Give me one loaf or wafer from each of these four kinds of bread, after which they will belong to the priest who splattered the blood against the bronze altar. ¹⁵When you offer an animal to ask a blessing from me or to thank me, the meat belongs to you, but it must be eaten the same day. ¹⁶It is different with the sacrifices you offer when you make me a promise or voluntarily give me something. The meat from those sacrifices may be kept and eaten the next day, ^17-18but any that is left must be destroyed. If you eat any after the second day, your sacrifice will be useless and unacceptable, and you will be both disgusting and guilty. ¹⁹Don't eat any of the meat that touches something unclean. Instead, burn it. The rest of the meat may be eaten by anyone who is clean and acceptable to me. ^20-21But don't eat any of this meat if you have become unclean by touching something unclean from a human or an animal or from any other creature. If you do, you will no longer belong to the community of Israel.
²²The LORD told Moses ²³to say to the people:
Don't eat the fat of cattle, sheep, or goats. ²⁴If one of your animals dies or is killed by some wild animal, you may do anything with its fat except eat it. ²⁵If you eat the fat of an animal that can be used as a sacrifice to me, you will no longer belong to the community of Israel. ²⁶And no matter where you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal, ²⁷or you will no longer belong to the community of Israel.

Footnotes:

1. Leviticus 6:8to please the LORD: See the note at 1.1-3.
2. Leviticus 6:11ashes. . . in the special place: See the note at 1.16.
3. Leviticus 6:12sacrifice to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1.
4. Leviticus 6:14a sacrifice to give thanks to me: See the note at 2.1.
5. Leviticus 6:18and they. . . touching it: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
6. Leviticus 6:21crumbled. . . pieces: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Leviticus 6:27that touches. . . holy: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8. Leviticus 6:28clay pot. . . destroyed: Juice from the meat cannot be completely cleaned from a clay pot.
9. Leviticus 6:30that require blood. . . tent: See 4.1-21.
10. Leviticus 7:2sacrifice to please me: See the note at 1.1-3.
11. Leviticus 7:6holy place: The courtyard of the sacred tent (see 6.16,17).
12. Leviticus 7:8sacrifice to please me: See the note at 1.1-3.
13. Leviticus 7:9sacrifice to give thanks to me: See the note at 2.1.
14. Leviticus 7:11sacrifice to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1.

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Mark 3:7-30 (Contemporary English Version)

Large Crowds Come to Jesus

⁷Jesus led his disciples down to the shore of the lake. Large crowds followed him from Galilee, Judea, ⁸and Jerusalem. People came from Idumea, as well as other places east of the Jordan River. They also came from the region around the cities of Tyre and Sidon. All of these crowds came because they had heard what Jesus was doing. ⁹He even had to tell his disciples to get a boat ready to keep him from being crushed by the crowds. ¹⁰After Jesus had healed many people, the other sick people begged him to let them touch him. ¹¹And whenever any evil spirits saw Jesus, they would fall to the ground and shout, "You are the Son of God!" ¹²But Jesus warned the spirits not to tell who he was.

Jesus Chooses His Twelve Apostles

(Matthew 10.1-4; Luke 6.12-16)

¹³Jesus decided to ask some of his disciples to go up on a mountain with him, and they went. ¹⁴Then he chose twelve of them to be his apostles, ^[a] so that they could be with him. He also wanted to send them out to preach ¹⁵and to force out demons. ¹⁶Simon was one of the twelve, and Jesus named him Peter. ¹⁷There were also James and John, the two sons of Zebedee. Jesus called them Boanerges, which means "Thunderbolts." ¹⁸Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus were also apostles. The others were Simon, known as the Eager One, ^[b]19and Judas Iscariot, ^[c] who later betrayed Jesus.

Jesus and the Ruler of Demons

(Matthew 12.22-32; Luke 11.14-23; 12.10)

²⁰Jesus went back home, ^[d] and once again such a large crowd gathered that there was no chance even to eat. ²¹When Jesus' family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control. ²²Some teachers of the Law of Moses came from Jerusalem and said, "This man is under the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons! He is even forcing out demons with the help of Beelzebul."
²³Jesus told the people to gather around him. Then he spoke to them in riddles and said:
How can Satan force himself out? ²⁴A nation whose people fight each other won't last very long. ²⁵And a family that fights won't last long either. ²⁶So if Satan fights against himself, that will be the end of him.
²⁷How can anyone break into the house of a strong man and steal his things, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can take everything.
²⁸I promise you that any of the sinful things you say or do can be forgiven, no matter how terrible those things are. ²⁹But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven. That sin will be held against you forever.
³⁰Jesus said this because the people were saying that he had an evil spirit in him.

Footnotes:

1. Mark 3:14 to be his apostles: These words are not in some manuscripts.
2. Mark 3:18 known as the Eager One: The Greek text has "Cananaean," which probably comes from a Hebrew word meaning "zealous" (see Luke 6.15). "Zealot" was the name later given to the members of a Jewish group that resisted and fought against the Romans.
3. Mark 3:19 Iscariot: This may mean "a man from Kerioth" (a place in Judea). But more probably it means "a man who was a liar" or "a man who was a betrayer."
4. Mark 3:20 went back home: Or "entered a house" (perhaps the home of Simon Peter).

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Psalm 37:1-11 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 37

(By David.)

Trust the LORD

¹Don't be annoyed by anyone who does wrong,
and don't envy them.
²They will soon disappear
like grass without rain.
³Trust the LORD and live right!
The land will be yours,
and you will be safe.
⁴Do what the LORD wants,
and he will give you
your heart's desire.
⁵Let the LORD lead you
and trust him to help.
⁶Then it will be as clear
as the noonday sun
that you were right.
⁷Be patient and trust the LORD.
Don't let it bother you
when all goes well for those
who do sinful things.
⁸Don't be angry or furious.
Anger can lead to sin.
⁹All sinners will disappear,
but if you trust the LORD,
the land will be yours.
¹⁰Sinners will soon disappear,
never to be found,
¹¹but the poor will take the land
and enjoy a big harvest.

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Proverbs 10:3-4 (Contemporary English Version)

³If you obey the LORD,
you won't go hungry;
if you are wicked,
God won't let you have
what you want.
⁴Laziness leads to poverty;
hard work makes you rich.

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Verse of the Day

“I am sure that nothing can separate us from God's love--not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” - Romans 8:38-39

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

American author and motivational speaker, and a professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Southern California, Leo Buscaglia wrote, “Change is the end result of all true learning.”