Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

All Good Things Come from God

A song for going up to worship. Of Solomon.

¹¹ So all the people and elders who were at the city gate said, “We are witnesses. This woman will be coming into your home. We hope the Lord will make her like Rachel and Leah. They had many children. So the people of Israel grew in number. May you become powerful in the district of Ephrathah. May you become famous in Bethlehem! ¹² Tamar gave birth to Judah’s son Perez.^[a] In the same way, may the Lord give you many children through Ruth. And may your family be great like his.”

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth and married her. The Lord let her become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ The women told Naomi, “Praise the Lord who gave you this grandson. And may he become famous in Israel. ¹⁵ He will give you new life. And he will take care of you in your old age. This happened because of your daughter-in-law. She loves you. And she is better for you than seven sons. She has given birth to your grandson.”

¹⁶ Naomi took the boy, held him in her arms and cared for him. ¹⁷ The neighbors gave the boy his name. These women said, “This boy was born for Naomi.” The neighbors named him Obed. Obed was Jesse’s father. And Jesse was the father of David.

¹⁵ So Christ brings a new agreement from God to his people. Those who are called by God can now receive the blessings that God has promised. These blessings will last forever. They can have those things because Christ died so that the people who lived under the first agreement could be set free from sin.

¹⁶ When there is a will,^[a] it must be proven that the man who wrote that will is dead. ¹⁷ A will means nothing while the man is alive. It can be used only after he dies. ¹⁸ This is why even the first agreement could not begin without blood to show death. ¹⁹ First, Moses told all the people every command in the law. Next he took the blood of calves and mixed it with water. Then he used red wool and a branch of the hyssop plant to sprinkle the blood and water on the book of the law and on all the people. ²⁰ He said, “This is the blood which begins the agreement that God commanded you to obey.”^{[b] 21} In the same way, Moses sprinkled the blood on the Holy Tent and over all the things used in worship. ²² The law says that almost everything must be made clean by blood. And sins cannot be forgiven without blood to show death.

Christ’s Death Takes Away Sins

²³ So the copies of the real things in heaven had to be made clean by animal sacrifices. But the real things in heaven need much better sacrifices. ²⁴ For Christ did not go into the Most Holy Place made by men. It is only a copy of the real one. He went into heaven itself. He is there now before God to help us.