151 And the Lord said to Moses, 2 Say to the children of Israel, When you have come into the land which I am giving to you for your resting-place, 3 And are going to make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burned offering or an offering in connection with an oath, or an offering freely given, or at your regular feasts, an offering for a sweet smell to the Lord, from the herd or the flock: 4 Then let him who is making his offering, give to the Lord a meal offering of a tenth part of a measure of the best meal mixed with a fourth part of a hin of oil: 5 And for the drink offering, you are to give with the burned offering or other offering, the fourth part of a hin of wine for every lamb. 6 Or for a male sheep, give as a meal offering two tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with a third part of a hin of oil: 7 And for the drink offering give a third part of a hin of wine, for a sweet smell to the Lord. 8 And when you make ready a young ox for a burned or other offering, or for the effecting of an oath, or for peace-offerings to the Lord: 9 Then with the ox give a meal offering of three tenth parts of a measure of the best meal mixed with half a hin of oil. 10 And for the drink offering: give half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire for a sweet smell to the Lord. 11 This is to be done for every young ox and for every male sheep or he-lamb or young goat. 12 Whatever number you make ready, so you are to do for every one. 13 All those who are Israelites by birth are to do these things in this way, when giving an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord. 14 And if a man from another country or any other person living among you, through all your generations, has the desire to give an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord, let him do as you do. 15 There is to be one law for you and for the man of another country living with you, one law for ever from generation to generation; as you are, so is he to be before the Lord. 16 The law and the rule are to be the same for you and for those from other lands living with you. 17 And the Lord said to Moses, 18 Say to the children of Israel, When you come into the land where I am guiding you, 19 Then, when you take for your food the produce of the land, you are to give an offering lifted up before the Lord. 20 Of the first of your rough meal you are to give a cake for a lifted offering, lifting it up before the Lord as the offering of the grain-floor is lifted up. 21 From generation to generation you are to give to the Lord a lifted offering from the first of your rough meal.
22 And if in error you go against any of these laws which the Lord has given to Moses, 23 All the laws which the Lord has given you by the hand of Moses, from the day when the Lord gave them, and ever after from generation to generation; 24 Then, if the wrong is done in error, without the knowledge of the meeting of the people, let all the meeting give a young ox as a burned offering, a sweet smell to the Lord, with its meal offering and its drink offering, as is ordered in the law, together with a he-goat for a sin-offering. 25 So the priest will make the people free from sin, and they will have forgiveness; for it was an error, and they have given their offering made by fire to the Lord, and their sin-offering before the Lord, on account of their error: 26 And all the meeting of the children of Israel, as well as those from other lands living among them, will have forgiveness; for it was an error on the part of the people. 27 And if one person does wrong, without being conscious of it, then let him give a she-goat of the first year for a sin-offering. 28 And the priest will take away the sin of the person who has done wrong, if the wrong was done unconsciously, and he will have forgiveness. 29 The law in connection with wrong done unconsciously is to be the same for him who is an Israelite by birth and for the man from another country who is living among them.
30 But the person who does wrong in the pride of his heart, if he is one of you or of another nation by birth, is acting without respect for the Lord, and will be cut off from his people. 31 Because he had no respect for the word of the Lord, and did not keep his law, that man will be cut off without mercy and his sin will be on him.
32 Now while the children of Israel were in the waste land, they saw a man who was getting sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who saw him getting sticks took him before Moses and Aaron and all the people. 34 And they had him shut up, because they had no directions about what was to be done with him. 35 Then the Lord said to Moses, Certainly the man is to be put to death: let him be stoned by all the people outside the tent-circle. 36 So all the people took him outside the tent-circle and he was stoned to death there, as the Lord gave orders to Moses.
37 And the Lord said to Moses, 38 Say to the children of Israel that through all their generations they are to put on the edges of their robes an ornament of twisted threads, and in every ornament a blue cord; 39 So that, looking on these ornaments, you may keep in mind the orders of the Lord and do them; and not be guided by the desires of your hearts and eyes, through which you have been untrue to me: 40 And that you may keep in mind all my orders and do them and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, so that I might be your God: I am the Lord your God.
161 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Pallu, the son of Reuben, made themselves ready, 2 And came before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty chiefs of the people, men of good name who had a place in the meeting of the people. 3 They came together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take overmuch on yourselves, seeing that all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; why then have you put yourselves in authority over the people of the Lord? 4 And Moses, hearing this, went down on his face; 5 And he said to Korah and his band, In the morning the Lord will make clear who are his, and who is holy, and who may come near him: the man of his selection will be caused to come near him. 6 So do this: let Korah and all his band take vessels for burning perfumes; 7 And put spices on the fire in them before the Lord tomorrow; then the man marked out by the Lord will be holy: you take overmuch on yourselves, you sons of Levi. 8 And Moses said to Korah, Give ear now, you sons of Levi: 9 Does it seem only a small thing to you that the God of Israel has made you separate from the rest of Israel, letting you come near himself to do the work of the House of the Lord, and to take your place before the people to do what has to be done for them; 10 Letting you, and all your brothers the sons of Levi, come near to him? and would you now be priests? 11 So you and all your band have come together against the Lord; and Aaron, who is he, that you are crying out against him?
12 Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: and they said, We will not come up: 13 Is it not enough that you have taken us from a land flowing with milk and honey, to put us to death in the waste land, but now you are desiring to make yourself a chief over us? 14 And more than this, you have not taken us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us a heritage of fields and vine-gardens: will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up. 15 Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, Give no attention to their offering: not one of their asses have I taken, or done wrong to any of them. 16 And Moses said to Korah, You and all your band are to come before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron: 17 And let every man take a vessel for burning perfumes, and put sweet spices in them; let every man take his vessel before the Lord, two hundred and fifty vessels; you and Aaron and everyone with his vessel. 18 So every man took his vessel and they put fire in them, with spices, and came to the door of the Tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 And Korah made all the people come together against them to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the glory of the Lord was seen by all the people. 20 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. 22 Then falling down on their faces they said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, because of one man's sin will your wrath be moved against all the people?
23 And the Lord said to Moses, 24 Say to the people, Come away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram. 25 So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the responsible men of Israel went with him. 26 And he said to the people, Come away now from the tents of these evil men, without touching anything of theirs, or you may be taken in the punishment of their sins. 27 So on every side they went away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram: and Dathan and Abiram came out to the door of their tents, with their wives and their sons and their little ones. 28 And Moses said, Now you will see that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and I have not done them of myself. 29 If these men have the common death of men, or if the natural fate of all men overtakes them, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord does something new, opening the earth to take them in, with everything which is theirs, and they go down living into the underworld, then it will be clear to you that the Lord has not been honoured by these men. 31 And while these words were on his lips, the earth under them was parted in two; 32 And the earth, opening her mouth, took them in, with their families, and all the men who were joined to Korah, and their goods. 33 So they and all theirs went down living into the underworld, and the earth was shut over them, and they were cut off from among the meeting of the people. 34 And all Israel round about them went in flight at their cry, For fear, said they, that we go down into the heart of the earth.
35 Then fire came out from the Lord, burning up the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the perfume. 36 And the Lord said to Moses, 37 Say to Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, that he is to take out of the flames the vessels with the perfumes in them, turning the fire out of them, for they are holy; 38 And let the vessels of those men, who with their lives have made payment for their sin, be hammered out into plates as a cover for the altar; for they have been offered before the Lord and are holy; so that they may be a sign to the children of Israel. 39 So Eleazar the priest took the brass vessels which had been offered by those who were burned up, and they were hammered out to make a cover for the altar: 40 To be a sign, kept in memory for ever by the children of Israel, that no man who is not of the seed of Aaron has the right of burning spices before the Lord, so that he may not be like Korah and his band: as the Lord said to him by the mouth of Moses.
41 But on the day after, all the children of Israel made an outcry against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have put to death the Lord's people. 42 Now when the people had come together against Moses and Aaron, looking in the direction of the Tent of meeting, they saw the cloud covering it, and the glory of the Lord came before their eyes. 43 Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of meeting. 44 And the Lord said to Moses, 45 Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. And they went down on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, Take your vessel and put in it fire from the altar, and sweet spices, and take it quickly into the meeting of the people, and make them free from sin: for wrath has gone out from the Lord, and the disease is starting. 47 And at the words of Moses, Aaron took his vessel, and went running among the people; and even then the disease had made a start among them; and he put spices in his vessel to take away the sin of the people. 48 And he took his place between the dead and the living: and the disease was stopped. 49 Now fourteen thousand, seven hundred deaths were caused by that disease, in addition to those who came to their end because of what Korah had done. 50 Then Aaron went back to Moses to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the disease came to a stop.
61 And he went away from there, and came into his country; and his disciples went with him. 2 And when the Sabbath day had come, he was teaching in the Synagogue; and a number of people hearing him were surprised, saying, From where did this man get these things? and, What is the wisdom given to this man, and what are these works of power done by his hands? 3 Is not this the woodworker, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were bitter against him. 4 And Jesus said to them, A prophet is nowhere without honour, but in his country, and among his relations, and in his family. 5 And he was unable to do any work of power there, but only to put his hands on one or two persons who were ill, and make them well. 6 And he was greatly surprised because they had no faith. And he went about the country places teaching.
7 And he gave orders to the twelve, and sent them out two by two; and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits; 8 And he said that they were to take nothing for their journey, but a stick only; no bread, no bag, no money in their pockets; 9 They were to go with common shoes on their feet, and not to take two coats. 10 And he said to them, Wherever you go into a house, make that your resting-place till you go away. 11 And whatever place will not take you in and will not give ear to you, when you go away, put off the dust from your feet as a witness against them. 12 And they went out, preaching the need for a change of heart in men. 13 And they sent out a number of evil spirits, and put oil on a great number who were ill, and made them well.
14 And king Herod had news of him, because his name was on the lips of all; and he said, John the Baptist has come back from the dead, and for this reason these powers are working in him. 15 But others said, It is Elijah. And others said, It is a prophet, even like one of the prophets. 16 But Herod, when he had news of it, said, John, whom I put to death, has come back from the dead. 17 For Herod himself had sent men out to take John and put him in prison, because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had taken for himself. 18 For John said to Herod, It is wrong for you to have your brother's wife. 19 And Herodias was bitter against him, desiring to put him to death; but she was not able; 20 For Herod was in fear of John, being conscious that he was an upright and holy man, and kept him safe. And hearing him, he was much troubled; and he gave ear to him gladly. 21 And the chance came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee; 22 And when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and did a dance, Herod and those who were at table with him were pleased with her; and the king said to the girl, Make a request for anything and I will give it you. 23 And he took an oath, saying to her, Whatever is your desire I will give it to you, even half of my kingdom. 24 And she went out and said to her mother, What is my request to be? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25 And she came in quickly to the king, and said, My desire is that you give me straight away on a plate the head of John the Baptist. 26 And the king was very sad; but because of his oaths, and those who were with him at table, he would not say 'No' to her. 27 And straight away the king sent out one of his armed men, and gave him an order to come back with the head: and he went and took off John's head in prison, 28 And came back with the head on a plate, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 And when his disciples had news of it, they came and took up his body, and put it in its last resting-place.
(Read Mark 6:1-6)
Our Lord's countrymen tried to prejudice the minds of people against him. Is not this the carpenter? Our Lord Jesus probably had worked in that business with his father. He thus put honour upon mechanics, and encouraged all persons who eat by the labour of their hands. It becomes the followers of Christ to content themselves with the satisfaction of doing good, although they are denied the praise of it. How much did these Nazarenes lose by obstinate prejudices against Jesus! May Divine grace deliver us from that unbelief, which renders Christ a savour of death, rather than of life to the soul. Let us, like our Master, go and teach cottages and peasants the way of salvation.
(Read Mark 6:7-13)
Though the apostles were conscious to themselves of great weakness, and expected no wordly advantage, yet, in obedience to their Master, and in dependence upon his strength, they went out. They did not amuse people with curious matters, but told them they must repent of their sins, and turn to God. The servants of Christ may hope to turn many from darkness unto God, and to heal souls by the power of the Holy Ghost.
(Read Mark 6:14-29)
Herod feared John while he lived, and feared him still more when he was dead. Herod did many of those things which John in his preaching taught him; but it is not enough to do many things, we must have respect to all the commandments. Herod respected John, till he touched him in his Herodias. Thus many love good preaching, if it keep far away from their beloved sin. But it is better that sinners persecute ministers now for faithfulness, than curse them eternally for unfaithfulness. The ways of God are unsearchable; but we may be sure he never can be at a loss to repay his servants for what they endure or lose for his sake. Death could not come so as to surprise this holy man; and the triumph of the wicked was short.
