Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Praise to the Lord for His Fidelity to Israel.

Aaron Offers Sacrifices

9 And it happened on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel; ² and he said to Aaron, “Take a bull calf as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering, [each] without blemish, and offer both before the Lord.^{(A) 3} Then say to the Israelites, ‘Take a male goat as a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without blemish, as a burnt offering, ⁴ and a bull and a ram as peace offerings to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with [olive] oil, for today the Lord will appear to you.’” ⁵ So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and all the congregation approached and stood before the Lord. ⁶ Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” ⁷ Moses said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and present your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and present the offering of the people and make atonement for them, just as the Lord has commanded.”^(B)

⁸ So Aaron approached the altar and killed the calf as the sin offering, which was designated for himself. ⁹ The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him; he dipped his finger in the blood and put some of it on the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the altar’s base; ¹⁰ but the fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver from the sin offering he offered up in smoke on the altar, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ¹¹ And Aaron burned the meat and the hide in the fire outside the camp.

²² Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them, and came down [from the altar of burnt offering] after presenting the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings. ²³ Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord [the Shekinah cloud] appeared to all the people [as promised].^{(A) 24} Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell face downward [in awe and worship].

Keep Fervent in Your Love

4 Therefore, since ^[a]Christ suffered in the flesh [and died for us], arm yourselves [like warriors] with the same purpose [being willing to suffer for doing what is right and pleasing God], because whoever has suffered in the flesh [being like-minded with Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [having stopped pleasing the world], ² so that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living for human appetites and desires, but [lives] for the will and purpose of God. ³ For the time already past is [more than] enough for doing what the [unsaved] Gentiles like to do—^[b]living [unrestrained as you have done] in a course of [shameless] sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and wanton idolatries. ⁴ In [connection with] all this, they [the unbelievers] are resentful and surprised that you do not [think like them, value their values and] run [hand in hand] with them into the same excesses of dissipation and immoral freedom, and they criticize and abuse and ridicule you and make fun of your values. ⁵ But they will [have to] give an account to Him who is ready to judge and pass sentence on the living and the dead. ⁶ For this is why the good news [of salvation] was preached [in their lifetimes] even to those who are dead, that though they were judged in the flesh as men are, they may live in the spirit according to [the will and purpose of] God.