M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Ordination of Aaron and His Sons^(A)

8 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Take Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of my presence and bring the priestly garments, the anointing oil, the young bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. ³ Then call the whole community together there.”

⁴ Moses did as the Lord had commanded, and when the community had assembled, ⁵ he said to them, “What I am now about to do is what the Lord has commanded.”

⁶ Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and had them take a ritual bath. ⁷ He put the shirt and the robe on Aaron and the sash around his waist. He put the ephod^[a] on him and fastened it by putting its finely woven belt around his waist. ⁸ He put the breastpiece on him and put the Urim and Thummim^[b] in it. ⁹ He placed the turban on his head, and on the front of it he put the gold ornament, the sacred sign of dedication, just as the Lord had commanded him.

¹⁰ Then Moses took the anointing oil and put it on the Tent of the Lord's presence and everything that was in it, and in this way he dedicated it all to the Lord. ¹¹ He took some of the oil and sprinkled it seven times on the altar and its equipment and on the basin and its base, in order to dedicate them to the Lord. ¹² He ordained Aaron by pouring some of the anointing oil on his head. ¹³ Next, Moses brought the sons of Aaron forward and put shirts on them, put sashes around their waists, and tied caps on their heads, just as the Lord had commanded.

¹⁴ Then Moses brought the young bull for the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. ¹⁵ Moses killed it and took some of the blood, and with his finger put it on the projections at the corners of the altar, in order to dedicate it. He then poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. In this way he dedicated it and purified it. ¹⁶ Moses took all the fat on the internal organs, the best part of the liver, and the kidneys with the fat on them, and burned it all on the altar. ¹⁷ He took the rest of the bull, including its skin, flesh, and intestines, and burned it outside the camp, just as the Lord had commanded.

¹⁸ Next, Moses brought the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. ¹⁹ Moses killed it and threw the blood on all four sides of the altar. ^20-21 He cut the ram in pieces, washed the internal organs and the hind legs with water, and burned the head, the fat, and all the rest of the ram on the altar, just as the Lord had commanded. This burnt offering was a food offering, and its odor was pleasing to the Lord.

²² Then Moses brought the second ram, which was for the ordination of priests, and Aaron and his sons put their hands on its head. ²³ Moses killed it and took some of the blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴ Then he brought Aaron's sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Moses then threw the rest of the blood on all four sides of the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat covering the internal organs, the best part of the liver, the kidneys with the fat on them, and the right hind leg. ²⁶ Then he took one loaf of bread from the basket of unleavened bread dedicated to the Lord, one loaf made with oil, and one thin cake, and he put them on top of the fat and the right hind leg. ²⁷ He put all of this food in the hands of Aaron and his sons, and they presented it as a special gift to the Lord. ²⁸ Then Moses took the food from them and burned it on the altar, on top of the burnt offering, as an ordination offering. This was a food offering, and its odor was pleasing to the Lord. ²⁹ Then Moses took the breast and presented it as a special gift to the Lord. It was Moses' part of the ordination ram. Moses did everything just as the Lord had commanded.

³⁰ Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled them on Aaron and his sons and on their clothes. In this way he consecrated them and their clothes to the Lord.

³¹ Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Take the meat to the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence, boil it, and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, just as the Lord commanded. ³² Burn up any meat or bread that is left over. ³³ You shall not leave the entrance of the Tent for seven days, until your ordination rites are completed. ³⁴ The Lord commanded us to do what we have done today, in order to take away your sin. ³⁵ You must stay at the entrance of the Tent day and night for seven days, doing what the Lord has commanded. If you don't, you will die. This is what the Lord has commanded me.” ³⁶ So Aaron and his sons did everything that the Lord had commanded through Moses.

Thanksgiving to God for His Justice^[a]

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23 When you sit down to eat with someone important, keep in mind who he is.^{[a] 2} If you have a big appetite, restrain yourself. ³ Don't be greedy for the fine food he serves; he may be trying to trick you.

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⁴ Be wise enough not to wear yourself out trying to get rich. ⁵ Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle.

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⁶ Don't eat at the table of a stingy person or be greedy for the fine food he serves. ⁷ “Come on and have some more,” he says, but he doesn't mean it. What he thinks is what he really is. ⁸ You will vomit up what you have eaten, and all your flattery will be wasted.

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⁹ Don't try to talk sense to a fool; he can't appreciate it.

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¹⁰ Never move an old property line or take over land owned by orphans. ¹¹ The Lord is their powerful defender, and he will argue their case against you.

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¹² Pay attention to your teacher and learn all you can.

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¹³ Don't hesitate to discipline children. A good spanking won't kill them. ¹⁴ As a matter of fact, it may save their lives.

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¹⁵ My child, if you become wise, I will be very happy. ¹⁶ I will be proud when I hear you speaking words of wisdom.

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¹⁷ Don't be envious of sinful people; let reverence for the Lord be the concern of your life. ¹⁸ If it is, you have a bright future.

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¹⁹ Listen, my child, be wise and give serious thought to the way you live. ²⁰ Don't associate with people who drink too much wine or stuff themselves with food. ²¹ Drunkards and gluttons will be reduced to poverty. If all you do is eat and sleep, you will soon be wearing rags.

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²² Listen to your father; without him you would not exist. When your mother is old, show her your appreciation.

²³ Truth, wisdom, learning, and good sense—these are worth paying for, but too valuable for you to sell.

²⁴ A righteous person's parents have good reason to be happy. You can take pride in a wise child.

²⁵ Let your father and mother be proud of you; give your mother that happiness.

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²⁶ Pay close attention, son, and let my life be your example. ²⁷ Prostitutes and immoral women are a deadly trap. ²⁸ They wait for you like robbers and cause many men to be unfaithful.

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^29-30 Show me people who drink too much, who have to try out fancy drinks, and I will show you people who are miserable and sorry for themselves, always causing trouble and always complaining. Their eyes are bloodshot, and they have bruises that could have been avoided. ³¹ Don't let wine tempt you, even though it is rich red, and it sparkles in the cup, and it goes down smoothly. ³² The next morning you will feel as if you had been bitten by a poisonous snake. ³³ Weird sights will appear before your eyes, and you will not be able to think or speak clearly. ³⁴ You will feel as if you were out on the ocean, seasick, swinging high up in the rigging of a tossing ship. ³⁵ “I must have been hit,” you will say; “I must have been beaten up, but I don't remember it. Why can't I wake up? I need another drink.”

Paul's Work in Thessalonica

2 Our friends, you yourselves know that our visit to you was not a failure. ^2 (A)You know how we had already been mistreated and insulted in Philippi before we came to you in Thessalonica. And even though there was much opposition, our God gave us courage to tell you the Good News that comes from him. ³ Our appeal to you is not based on error or impure motives, nor do we try to trick anyone. ⁴ Instead, we always speak as God wants us to, because he has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the Good News. We do not try to please people, but to please God, who tests our motives. ⁵ You know very well that we did not come to you with flattering talk, nor did we use words to cover up greed—God is our witness! ⁶ We did not try to get praise from anyone, either from you or from others, ⁷ even though as apostles of Christ we could have made demands on you. But we were gentle when we were with you, like a mother^[a] taking care of her children. ⁸ Because of our love for you we were ready to share with you not only the Good News from God but even our own lives. You were so dear to us! ⁹ Surely you remember, our friends, how we worked and toiled! We worked day and night so that we would not be any trouble to you as we preached to you the Good News from God.

¹⁰ You are our witnesses, and so is God, that our conduct toward you who believe was pure, right, and without fault. ¹¹ You know that we treated each one of you just as parents treat their own children. ¹² We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we kept urging you to live the kind of life that pleases God, who calls you to share in his own Kingdom and glory.

¹³ And there is another reason why we always give thanks to God. When we brought you God's message, you heard it and accepted it, not as a message from human beings but as God's message, which indeed it is. For God is at work in you who believe. ^14 (B)Our friends, the same things happened to you that happened to the churches of God in Judea, to the people there who belong to Christ Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions from your own people that they suffered from the Jews, ^15 (C)who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and persecuted us. How displeasing they are to God! How hostile they are to everyone! ¹⁶ They even tried to stop us from preaching to the Gentiles the message that would bring them salvation. In this way they have brought to completion all the sins they have always committed. And now God's anger has at last come down on them!

Paul's Desire to Visit Them Again

¹⁷ As for us, friends, when we were separated from you for a little while—not in our thoughts, of course, but only in body—how we missed you and how hard we tried to see you again! ¹⁸ We wanted to return to you. I myself tried to go back more than once, but Satan would not let us. ¹⁹ After all, it is you—you, no less than others!—who are our hope, our joy, and our reason for boasting of our victory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes. ²⁰ Indeed, you are our pride and our joy!