Bible Readings for February 8, 2019

Today our passages are Exodus 28:1-43; Matthew 25:31–26:13; Psalm 31:9-18; and Proverbs 8:12-13. 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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Exodus 28:1-43 (Contemporary English Version)

Exodus 28

The Clothes for the High Priest

(Exodus 39.1-7)

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 vest, 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. The LORD said: 

The Vest for the High Priest

(Exodus 39.2-7)

^6-8The entire priestly vest must be made of fine linen skillfully 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 ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} 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.
The LORD said: 

The Breastpiece for the High Priest

(Exodus 39.8-21)

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 nine inches 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. ^[b<="">] 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 vest ²⁷and two more near the bottom of the shoulder straps right above the sash. ²⁸Then take a blue cord and tie the two lower rings on the breastpiece to those on the vest. 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 ^[c<="">] that he uses to receive answers from me. The LORD said: 

The Other High-Priestly Clothes

(Exodus 39.22-26,30,31)

³¹Under his vest Aaron must wear a robe of blue wool ³²with an opening in the center for his head. Be sure to bind the material around the collar to keep it from raveling. ^33-34Along the hem of the robe weave pomegranates ^[d<="">] 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 fancy needlework. 

The Clothes for the Other Priests

(Exodus 39.27-29)

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.
The LORD said to Moses: 

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 28:9onyx: See the note at 25.7.
2. Exodus 28:20jasper: The stones mentioned in verses 17-20 are of different colors: carnelian is deep red or reddish white; chrysolite is olive green; emerald is green; turquoise is blue or blue green; sapphire is blue; diamond is colorless or white; jacinth is reddish orange; agate has circles of brown and white; amethyst is deep purple; beryl is green or bluish green; onyx has bands of different colors; and jasper is usually green or clear.
3. Exodus 28:30two small objects: The Hebrew text has " urim and thummim," which may have been made of wood, stone, or metal, and were used in some way to receive answers from God.
4. Exodus 28:33pomegranates: A bright red fruit that looks like an apple.

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Matthew 25:31-26:13 (Contemporary English Version)

The Final Judgment

³¹When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. ³²The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats. ³³He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ³⁴Then the king will say to those on his right, "My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. ³⁵When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, ³⁶and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me."
³⁷Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, "When did we give you something to eat or drink? ³⁸When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear ³⁹or visit you while you were sick or in jail?"
⁴⁰The king will answer, "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me."
⁴¹Then the king will say to those on his left, "Get away from me! You are under God's curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! ⁴²I was hungry, but you did not give me anything to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink. ⁴³I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me."
⁴⁴Then the people will ask, "Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?"
⁴⁵The king will say to them, "Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me."
⁴⁶Then Jesus said, "Those people will be punished forever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life." 

Matthew 26

The Plot To Kill Jesus

(Mark 14.1,2; Luke 22.1,2; John 11.45-53)

¹When Jesus had finished teaching, he told his disciples, ²"You know that two days from now will be Passover. That is when the Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies and nailed to a cross." ³At that time the chief priests and the nation's leaders were meeting at the home of Caiaphas the high priest. ⁴They planned how they could sneak around and have Jesus arrested and put to death. ⁵But they said, "We must not do it during Passover, because the people will riot." 

At Bethany

(Mark 14.3-9; John 12.1-8)

⁶Jesus was in the town of Bethany, eating at the home of Simon, who had leprosy. ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]7}A woman came in with a bottle of expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus' head. ⁸But when his disciples saw this, they became angry and complained, "Why such a waste? ⁹We could have sold this perfume for a lot of money and given it to the poor." ¹⁰Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he said: Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing for me. ¹¹You will always have the poor with you, but you won't always have me. ¹²She has poured perfume on my body to prepare it for burial. ^[b<="">]13You may be sure that wherever the good news is told all over the world, people will remember what she has done. And they will tell others. 

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 26:6leprosy: See the note at 8.2.
2. Matthew 26:12poured perfume on my body to prepare it for burial: The Jewish people taught that giving someone a proper burial was even more important than helping the poor.

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Psalm 31:9-18 (Contemporary English Version)

⁹Have pity, LORD!
I am hurting and almost blind.
My whole body aches.
¹⁰I have known only sorrow
all my life long,
and I suffer
year after year.
I am weak from sin,
and my bones are limp.
¹¹My enemies insult me.
Neighbors are even worse,
and I disgust my friends.
People meet me on the street,
and they turn and run.
¹²I am completely forgotten
like someone dead.
I am merely a broken dish.
¹³I hear the crowds whisper,
"Everyone is afraid!"
They are plotting and scheming
to murder me.
¹⁴But I trust you, LORD,
and I claim you as my God.
¹⁵My life is in your hands.
Save me from enemies
who hunt me down.
¹⁶Smile on me, your servant.
Have pity and rescue me.
¹⁷I pray only to you.
Don't disappoint me.
Disappoint my cruel enemies
until they lie silent
in their graves.
¹⁸Silence those proud liars!
Make them stop bragging
and insulting your people.

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Proverbs 8:12-13 (Contemporary English Version)

Wisdom Speaks

¹²I am Wisdom ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} --Common Sense is my closest friend; I possess knowledge
and sound judgment.
¹³If you respect the LORD,
you will hate evil.
I hate pride and conceit
and deceitful lies.

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 8:12Wisdom: See the note at 1.20.

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Verse of the Day

 

“[Love][(Luke 6.27,28,32-36)]You have heard people say, "Love your neighbors and hate your enemies." But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong.” - Matthew 5:43-45

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Austrian political economist, Joseph A. Schumpeter wrote, “Capitalism inevitably and by virtue of the very logic of its civilization creates, educates and subsidizes a vested interest in social unrest.”

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A Joke for Today

A man and his wife started out in the car after a quarrel. She sat in the back seat and continued to berate him for his faults. In her excitement she pounded on the car door and it flew open. Several blocks later one of their neighbors flagged the man down.

"Your wife fell out of the car back there," he said.

The man looked over at the back seat. "Thank goodness!" he said, "I thought I had lost my hearing!"