Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁸ When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she ended the conversation.

Naomi Arrives in Bethlehem

¹⁹ So both of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about them. “This can’t be Naomi, can it?” the women asked.

²⁰ She answered them, “Don’t call me Naomi [Sweet]. Call me Mara [Bitter] because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi when the Lord has tormented me and the Almighty has done evil to me?”

²² When Naomi came back from the country of Moab, Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law, came along with her. They happened to enter Bethlehem just when the barley harvest began.

Christ Offered a Superior Sacrifice

9 The first promise had rules for the priests’ service. It also had a holy place on earth. ² A tent was set up. The first part of this tent was called the holy place. The lamp stand, the table, and the bread of the presence were in this part of the tent. ³ Behind the second curtain was the part of the tent called the most holy place. ⁴ It contained the gold incense burner and the ark of the Lord’s promise. The ark was completely covered with gold. In the ark were the gold jar filled with manna, Aaron’s staff that had blossomed, and the tablets on which the promise ^[a] was written. ⁵ Above the ark were the angels ^[b] of glory ⌞with their wings⌟ overshadowing the throne of mercy. (Discussing these things in detail isn’t possible now.)

⁶ That is how these two parts of the tent were set up. The priests always went into the first part of the tent to perform their duties. ⁷ But only the chief priest went into the second part of the tent. Once a year he entered and brought blood that he offered for himself and for the things that the people did wrong unintentionally. ⁸ The Holy Spirit used this to show that the way into the most holy place was not open while the tent was still in use.

⁹ The first part of the tent is an example for the present time. The gifts and sacrifices that were brought there could not give the worshiper a clear conscience. ¹⁰ These gifts and sacrifices were meant to be food, drink, and items used in various purification ceremonies. These ceremonies were required for the body until God would establish a new way of doing things.

¹¹ But Christ came as a chief priest of the good things that are now here. Christ went through a better, more perfect tent that was not made by human hands and that is not part of this created world. ¹² He used his own blood, not the blood of goats and bulls, for the sacrifice. He went into the most holy place and offered this sacrifice once and for all to free us forever.