41 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through inadvertence against any of the commandments of Jehovah [in things] that ought not to be done, and do any of them; 3 if the priest that is anointed sin according to the trespass of the people; then for his sin which he hath sinned shall he present a young bullock without blemish to Jehovah for a sin-offering. 4 And he shall bring the bullock to the entrance of the tent of meeting before Jehovah; and shall lay his hand on the bullock's head, and slaughter the bullock before Jehovah. 5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it into the tent of meeting; 6 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before Jehovah before the veil of the sanctuary; 7 and the priest shall put of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense, which is in the tent of meeting, before Jehovah; and he shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And all the fat of the bullock of the sin-offering shall he take off from it; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is on the inwards, 9 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the net above the liver which he shall take away as far as the kidneys, 10 as it is taken off from the ox of the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt-offering. 11 And the skin of the bullock, and all its flesh, with its head, and with its legs, and its inwards, and its dung, 12 even the whole bullock shall he carry forth outside the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out shall it be burnt.
13 And if the whole assembly of Israel sin inadvertently, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the congregation, and they do [somewhat against] any of all the commandments of Jehovah [in things] which should not be done, and are guilty; 14 and the sin wherewith they have sinned against it have become known; then the congregation shall present a young bullock for the sin-offering, and shall bring it before the tent of meeting; 15 and the elders of the assembly shall lay their hands on the head of the bullock before Jehovah; and one shall slaughter the bullock before Jehovah. 16 And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood into the tent of meeting; 17 and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before Jehovah, before the veil; 18 and he shall put of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before Jehovah which is in the tent of meeting; and he shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 19 And all its fat shall he take off from it and burn on the altar. 20 And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock of sin-offering: so shall he do with it. And the priest shall make atonement for them; and it shall be forgiven them. 21 And he shall carry forth the bullock outside the camp, and burn it as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin-offering of the congregation.
22 When a prince sinneth and through inadvertence doeth [somewhat against] any of all the commandments of Jehovah his God [in things] which should not be done, and is guilty; 23 if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge, he shall bring his offering, a buck of the goats, a male without blemish. 24 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and slaughter it at the place where they slaughter the burnt-offering before Jehovah: it is a sin-offering. 25 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out its blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering. 26 And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him [to cleanse him] from his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
27 And if any one of the people of the land sin through inadvertence, that he do [somewhat against] any of the commandments of Jehovah [in things] which should not be done, and be guilty; 28 if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge, then he shall bring his offering, a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned. 29 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin-offering, and slaughter the sin-offering at the place of the burnt-offering. 30 And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put [it] on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. 31 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, for a sweet odour to Jehovah; and the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. 32 And if he bring a sheep for his offering for sin, a female without blemish shall he bring it. 33 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin-offering, and slaughter it for a sin-offering at the place where they slaughter the burnt-offering. 34 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and put [it] on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. 35 And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of peace-offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar, with Jehovah's offerings by fire; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
51 And if any one sin, and hear the voice of adjuration, and he is a witness whether he hath seen or known [it], if he do not give information, then he shall bear his iniquity. 2 Or if any one touch any unclean thing, whether it be the carcase of an unclean beast, or the carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of an unclean crawling thing, and it be hid from him,—he also is unclean and guilty; 3 or if he touch the uncleanness of man, any uncleanness of him by which he is defiled, and it be hid from him, when he knoweth [it], then he is guilty. 4 Or if any one swear, talking rashly with the lips, to do evil or to do good, in everything that a man shall say rashly with an oath, and it be hid from him, when he knoweth [it], then is he guilty in one of these. 5 And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these, that he shall confess wherein he hath sinned; 6 and he shall bring his trespass-offering to Jehovah for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the small cattle, a sheep or doe goat, for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him [to cleanse him] from his sin.
7 And if his hand be not able to bring what is so much as a sheep, then he shall bring for his trespass which he hath sinned two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, to Jehovah; one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering. 8 And he shall bring them unto the priest, who shall present that which is for the sin-offering first, and pinch off his head at the neck, but shall not divide it; 9 and he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin-offering on the wall of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin-offering. 10 And he shall offer the other for a burnt-offering, according to the ordinance. And the priest shall make atonement for him [to cleanse him] from his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him. 11 But if his hand cannot attain to two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin-offering: he shall put no oil on it, neither shall he put frankincense thereon; for it is a sin-offering. 12 And he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it, the memorial thereof, and burn it on the altar, with Jehovah's offerings by fire: it is a sin-offering. 13 And the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin which he hath sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him; and it shall be the priest's, as the oblation.
14 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 15 If any one act unfaithfully and sin through inadvertence in the holy things of Jehovah, then he shall bring his trespass-offering to Jehovah, a ram without blemish out of the small cattle, according to thy valuation by shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass-offering. 16 And he shall make restitution for the wrong that he hath done in the holy things, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and shall give it unto the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering, and it shall be forgiven him. 17 And if any one sin and do against any of all the commandments of Jehovah what should not be done, and hath not known [it], yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. 18 And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the small cattle, according to thy valuation, as trespass-offering, unto the priest; and the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his inadvertence wherein he sinned inadvertently, and knew [it] not, and it shall be forgiven him. 19 It is a trespass-offering: he hath certainly trespassed against Jehovah.
29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the land lament, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from [the one] extremity of [the] heavens to [the other] extremity of them.
32 But learn the parable from the fig-tree: When already its branch becomes tender and produces leaves, ye know that the summer is near. 33 Thus also ye, when ye see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors. 34 Verily I say to you, This generation will not have passed away until all these things shall have taken place. 35 The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away.
36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of the heavens, but [my] Father alone. 37 But as the days of Noe, so also shall be the coming of the Son of man. 38 For as they were in the days which were before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day on which Noe entered into the ark, 39 and they knew not till the flood came and took all away; thus also shall be the coming of the Son of man. 40 Then two shall be in the field, one is taken and one is left; 41 two [women] grinding at the mill, one is taken and one is left. 42 Watch therefore, for ye know not in what hour your Lord comes. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be dug through [into]. 44 Wherefore ye also, be ye ready, for in that hour that ye think not the Son of man comes.
45 Who then is the faithful and prudent bondman whom his lord has set over his household, to give them food in season? 46 Blessed is that bondman whom his lord on coming shall find doing thus. 47 Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all his substance. 48 But if that evil bondman should say in his heart, My lord delays to come, 49 and begin to beat his fellow-bondmen, and eat and drink with the drunken; 50 the lord of that bondman shall come in a day when he does not expect it, and in an hour he knows not of, 51 and shall cut him in two and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
(Read Matthew 24:29-41)
Christ foretells his second coming. It is usual for prophets to speak of things as near and just at hand, to express the greatness and certainty of them. Concerning Christ's second coming, it is foretold that there shall be a great change, in order to the making all things new. Then they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds. At his first coming, he was set for a sign that should be spoken against, but at his second coming, a sign that should be admired. Sooner or later, all sinners will be mourners; but repenting sinners look to Christ, and mourn after a godly sort; and those who sow in those tears shall shortly reap in joy. Impenitent sinners shall see Him whom they have pierced, and, though they laugh now, shall mourn and weep in endless horror and despair. The elect of God are scattered abroad; there are some in all places, and all nations; but when that great gathering day comes, there shall not one of them be missing. Distance of place shall keep none out of heaven. Our Lord declares that the Jews should never cease to be a distinct people, until all things he had been predicting were fulfilled. His prophecy reaches to the day of final judgment; therefore he here, ver. 34, foretells that Judah shall never cease to exist as a distinct people, so long as this world shall endure. Men of the world scheme and plan for generation upon generation here, but they plan not with reference to the overwhelming, approaching, and most certain event of Christ's second coming, which shall do away every human scheme, and set aside for ever all that God forbids. That will be as surprising a day, as the deluge to the old world. Apply this, first, to temporal judgments, particularly that which was then hastening upon the nation and people of the Jews. Secondly, to the eternal judgment. Christ here shows the state of the old world when the deluge came. They were secure and careless; they knew not, until the flood came; and they believed not. Did we know aright that all earthly things must shortly pass away, we should not set our eyes and hearts so much upon them as we do. The evil day is not the further off for men's putting it far from them. What words can more strongly describe the suddenness of our Saviour's coming! Men will be at their respective businesses, and suddenly the Lord of glory will appear. Women will be in their house employments, but in that moment every other work will be laid aside, and every heart will turn inward and say, It is the Lord! Am I prepared to meet him? Can I stand before him? And what, in fact, is the day of judgment to the whole world, but the day of death to every one?
(Read Matthew 24:42-51)
To watch for Christ's coming, is to maintain that temper of mind which we would be willing that our Lord should find us in. We know we have but a little time to live, we cannot know that we have a long time to live; much less do we know the time fixed for the judgment. Our Lord's coming will be happy to those that shall be found ready, but very dreadful to those that are not. If a man, professing to be the servant of Christ, be an unbeliever, covetous, ambitious, or a lover of pleasure, he will be cut off. Those who choose the world for their portion in this life, will have hell for their portion in the other life. May our Lord, when he cometh, pronounce us blessed, and present us to the Father, washed in his blood, purified by his Spirit, and fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.
