Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

To the director: A song of David.

Gifts for the Holy Things

25 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites to bring me gifts. You will accept gifts for me from everyone who is willing to give. ³ Here is the list of the things that you should accept from the people: gold, silver, and bronze; ⁴ blue, purple, and red yarn and fine linen; goat hair, ⁵ ram skins dyed red, and fine leather; acacia wood; ⁶ oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and spices for the sweet-smelling incense. ⁷ Also accept onyx stones and other jewels to be put on the ephod and the judgment pouch.

The Holy Tent

⁸ “The people will build a holy place for me. Then I can live among them. ⁹ I will show you what the Holy Tent and everything in it should look like. Build everything exactly as I show you.

The Box of the Agreement

¹⁰ “Use acacia wood and build a special box. This Holy Box must be 2 1/2 cubits^[a] long, 1 1/2 cubits^[b] wide, and 1 1/2 cubits high. ¹¹ Use pure gold to cover the Box inside and out. Put gold trim around the edges of the Box. ¹² Make four gold rings for carrying the Box. Put the gold rings on the four corners, two rings on each side. ¹³ Then make poles for carrying the Box. These poles should be made from acacia wood and covered with gold. ¹⁴ Put the poles through the rings on the corners of the Box. Use these poles to carry the Box. ¹⁵ These poles should always stay in the rings of the Box. Don’t take the poles out.

¹⁶ “I will give you the Agreement. Put it into this Box. ¹⁷ Then make a lid, the mercy-cover. Make it from pure gold. Make it 2 1/2 cubits long and 1 1/2 cubits wide. ¹⁸ Then make two Cherub angels and put them on each end of the mercy-cover. Hammer gold to make these angels. ¹⁹ Put one angel on one end of the mercy-cover, and put the other angel on the other end. Join the angels together with the mercy-cover to make one piece. ²⁰ The wings of these angels should spread up toward the sky. The angels should cover the Box with their wings and should face each other, looking toward the mercy-cover.

²¹ “I will give you the Agreement. Put it in the Box, and put the mercy-cover on the Box. ²² When I meet with you, I will speak from between the Cherub angels on the mercy-cover that is on the Box of the Agreement. From that place, I will give all my commands to the Israelites.

My Message: Jesus Christ on the Cross

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I told you the secret truth of God. But I did not use fancy words or great wisdom. ² I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. ³ When I came to you, I was weak and shook with fear. ⁴ My teaching and my speaking were not with wise words that persuade people. But the proof of my teaching was the power that the Spirit gives. ⁵ I did this so that your faith would be in God’s power, not in human wisdom.

God’s Wisdom

⁶ We teach wisdom to people who are mature, but the wisdom we teach is not from this world. It is not the wisdom of the rulers of this world, who are losing their power. ⁷ But we speak God’s secret wisdom that has been hidden from everyone until now. God planned this wisdom for our glory. He planned it before the world began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this world understood this wisdom. If they had understood it, they would not have killed our great and glorious Lord on a cross. ⁹ But as the Scriptures say,

¹⁰ But God has shown us these things through the Spirit.

The Spirit knows all things. The Spirit even knows the deep secrets of God.