71 And when Moses had put up the House completely, and had put oil on it and made it holy, with all the things in it, and had made the altar and all its vessels holy with oil; 2 Then the chiefs of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, made offerings; these were the chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were numbered. 3 And they came with their offerings before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen; a cart for every two of the chiefs, and for every one an ox. 4 And the Lord said to Moses, 5 Take the things from them, to be used for the work of the Tent of meeting; and give them to the Levites, to every man what is needed for his work. 6 So Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. 7 Two carts and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon for their work; 8 And four carts and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari for their work, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. 9 But to the sons of Kohath he gave nothing; because they had the care of the holy place, taking it about on their backs.
10 And the chiefs gave an offering for the altar on the day when the holy oil was put on it; they made their offering before the altar. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, Let every chief on his day give his offering to make the altar holy. 12 And he who made his offering on the first day was Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah: 13 And his offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 14 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice for burning; 15 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; 16 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 17 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. 18 On the second day Nethanel, the son of Zuar, chief of Issachar, made his offering: 19 He gave one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 20 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; 21 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; 22 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 23 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nethanel, the son of Zuar. 24 On the third day Eliab, the son of Helon, chief of the children of Zebulun: 25 His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 26 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; 27 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; 28 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 29 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliab, the son of Helon. 30 On the fourth day Elizur, the son of Shedeur, chief of the children of Reuben: 31 His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 32 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; 33 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; 34 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 35 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elizur, the son of Shedeur. 36 On the fifth day Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, chief of the children of Simeon: 37 His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 38 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; 39 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; 40 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 41 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai. 42 On the sixth day Eliasaph, the son of Reuel, chief of the children of Gad: 43 His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 44 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; 45 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; 46 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 47 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliasaph, the son of Reuel 48 On the seventh day Elishama, the son of Ammihud, chief of the children of Ephraim: 49 His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 50 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; 51 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; 52 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 53 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elishama, the son of Ammihud. 54 On the eighth day Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, chief of the children of Manasseh: 55 His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 56 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; 57 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; 58 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 59 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. 60 On the ninth day Abidan, the son of Gideoni, chief of the children of Benjamin: 61 His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 62 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; 63 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year for a burned offering; 64 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 65 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Abidan, the son of Gideoni. 66 On the tenth day Ahiezer; the son of Ammishaddai, chief of the children of Dan: 67 His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 68 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; 69 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; 70 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 71 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai. 72 On the eleventh day Pagiel, the son of Ochran, chief of the children of Asher: 73 His offering was one silver plate; a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 74 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; 75 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; 76 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 77 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Pagiel, the son of Ochran. 78 On the twelfth day Ahira, the son of Enan, chief of the children of Naphtali: 79 His offering was one silver plate, a hundred and thirty shekels in weight, one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the scale of the holy place; the two of them full of the best meal mixed with oil for a meal offering; 80 One gold spoon of ten shekels, full of spice; 81 One young ox, one male sheep, one he-lamb of the first year, for a burned offering; 82 One male of the goats for a sin-offering; 83 And for the peace-offerings, two oxen, five male sheep, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahira, the son of Enan. 84 These were the offerings given for the altar by the chiefs of Israel, when the holy oil was put on it: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve gold spoons; 85 The weight of every silver plate was a hundred and thirty shekels, and of every basin seventy; the weight of all the silver of the vessels was two thousand and four hundred shekels, by the scale of the holy place; 86 The weight of the twelve gold spoons of spice for burning was ten shekels for every one, by the scale of the holy place; all the gold of the spoons was a hundred and twenty shekels; 87 All the oxen, for the burned offering were twelve, the male sheep twelve, the he-lambs of the first year twelve, with their meal offering; and the males of the goats for sin-offering twelve; 88 And all the oxen for the peace-offerings, twenty-four oxen, the male sheep sixty, and the he-goats sixty, the he-lambs of the first year sixty. This was given for the altar after the holy oil was put on it. 89 And when Moses went into the Tent of meeting to have talk with him, then the Voice came to his ears from over the cover which was on the ark of witness, from between the two winged ones. And he had talk with him.
81 And the Lord said to Moses, 2 Say to Aaron, When you put the lights in their places, the seven lights will give light in front of the support. 3 And Aaron did so; he put the lights in their places so that they gave light in front of the support, as the Lord gave orders to Moses. 4 The support for the lights was of hammered gold work, from its base to its flowers it was of hammered work; from the design which the Lord had given to Moses, he made the support for the lights.
5 And the Lord said to Moses, 6 Take the Levites out from among the children of Israel and make them clean. 7 And this is how you are to make them clean: let the holy water which takes away sin be put on them, and let the hair all over their bodies be cut off with a sharp blade, and let their clothing be washed and their bodies made clean. 8 Then let them take a young ox and its meal offering, crushed grain mixed with oil, and take another ox for a sin-offering. 9 And make the Levites come forward in front of the Tent of meeting, and let all the children of Israel come together: 10 And you are to take the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel are to put their hands on them: 11 And Aaron is to give the Levites to the Lord as a wave offering from the children of Israel, so that they may do the Lord's work. 12 And the Levites are to put their hands on the heads of the oxen, and one of the oxen is to be offered for a sin-offering and the other for a burned offering to the Lord to take away the sin of the Levites. 13 Then the Levites are to be put before Aaron and his sons, to be offered as a wave offering to the Lord. 14 So you are to make the Levites separate from the children of Israel, and the Levites will be mine. 15 After that, the Levites will go in to do whatever has to be done in the Tent of meeting; you are to make them clean and give them as a wave offering. 16 For they have been given to me from among the children of Israel; in place of every mother's first son, the first to come to birth in Israel, I have taken them for myself. 17 For every mother's first son among the children of Israel is mine, the first male birth of man or beast: on the day when I sent death on all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I made them mine. 18 And in place of the first sons among the children of Israel, I have taken the Levites. 19 And I have given them to Aaron and to his sons, from among the children of Israel, to undertake for them all the work of the Tent of meeting, and to take away sin from the children of Israel so that no evil may come on them when they come near the holy place. 20 All these things Moses and Aaron and the children of Israel did to the Levites; as the Lord gave orders to Moses about the Levites, so the children of Israel did. 21 And the Levites were made clean from sin, and their clothing was washed, and Aaron gave them for a wave offering before the Lord; and Aaron took away their sin and made them clean. 22 And then the Levites went in to do their work in the Tent of meeting before Aaron and his sons: all the orders which the Lord had given Moses about the Levites were put into effect. 23 And the Lord said to Moses, 24 This is the rule for the Levites: those of twenty-five years old and over are to go in and do the work of the Tent of meeting; 25 But after they are fifty years old, they are to give up their work and do no more; 26 But be with their brothers in the Tent of meeting, taking care of it but doing no work. This is what you are to do in connection with the Levites and their work.
21 And he said to them, When the light comes in, do people put it under a vessel, or under the bed, and not on its table? 22 There is nothing covered which will not be seen openly, and nothing has been made secret which will not come to light. 23 If any man has ears, let him give ear. 24 And he said to them, Take care what you give ear to: in the same measure as you give you will get, and more will be given to you. 25 He who has, to him will be given: and he who has not, from him will be taken even that which he has.
26 And he said, Such is the kingdom of God, as if a man put seed in the earth, 27 And went to sleep and got up, night and day, and the seed came to growth, though he had no idea how. 28 The earth gives fruit by herself; first the leaf, then the head, then the full grain. 29 But when the grain is ready, he quickly sends men to get it cut, because the time for cutting has come.
30 And he said, What picture may we give of the kingdom of God, or with what story may we make it clear? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is put in the earth, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth, 32 But when it is planted, it comes up, and becomes taller than all the plants, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of heaven are able to take rest in its shade.
33 And with a number of such stories he gave them his teaching, as they were able to take it: 34 And without a story he said nothing to them: but privately to his disciples he made all things clear.
35 And on that day, when the evening had come, he said to them, Let us go over to the other side. 36 And going away from the people, they took him with them, as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat, so that the boat was now becoming full. 38 And he himself was in the back of the boat, sleeping on the cushion: and they, awaking him, said, Master, is it nothing to you that we are in danger of destruction? 39 And he came out of his sleep, and gave strong orders to the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be at rest. And the wind went down, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said to them, Why are you full of fear? have you still no faith? 41 And their fear was great, and they said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea do his orders?
(Read Mark 4:21-34)
These declarations were intended to call the attention of the disciples to the word of Christ. By his thus instructing them, they were made able to instruct others; as candles are lighted, not to be covered, but to be placed on a candlestick, that they may give light to a room. This parable of the good seed, shows the manner in which the kingdom of God makes progress in the world. Let but the word of Christ have the place it ought to have in a soul, and it will show itself in a good conversation. It grows gradually: first the blade; then the ear; after that the full corn in the ear. When it is sprung up, it will go forward. The work of grace in the soul is, at first, but the day of small things; yet it has mighty products even now, while it is in its growth; but what will there be when it is perfected in heaven!
(Read Mark 4:35-41)
Christ was asleep in the storm, to try the faith of his disciples, and to stir them up to pray. Their faith appeared weak, and their prayers strong. When our wicked hearts are like the troubled sea which cannot rest, when our passions are unruly, let us think we hear the law of Christ, saying, Be silent, be dumb. When without are fightings, and within are fears, and the spirits are in a tumult, if he say, "Peace, be still," there is a great calm at once. Why are ye so fearful? Though there may be cause for some fear, yet not for such fear as this. Those may suspect their faith, who can have such a thought as that Jesus careth not though his people perish. How imperfect are the best of saints! Faith and fear take their turns while we are in this world; but ere long, fear will be overcome, and faith will be lost in sight.
