61 God spoke to Moses, 2 "When anyone sins by betraying trust with God by deceiving his neighbor regarding something entrusted to him, or by robbing or cheating or threatening him; 3 or if he has found something lost and lies about it and swears falsely regarding any of these sins that people commonly commit - 4 when he sins and is found guilty, he must return what he stole or extorted, restore what was entrusted to him, return the lost thing he found, 5 or anything else about which he swore falsely. He must make full compensation, add twenty percent to it, and hand it over to the owner on the same day he brings his Compensation-Offering. 6 He must present to God as his Compensation-Offering a ram without any defect from the flock, assessed at the value of a Compensation-Offering. 7 "Thus the priest will make atonement for him before God and he's forgiven of any of the things that one does that bring guilt." Further Instructions
8 God spoke to Moses, 9 "Command Aaron and his sons. Tell them, These are the instructions for the Whole-Burnt-Offering. Leave the Whole-Burnt-Offering on the Altar hearth through the night until morning, with the fire kept burning on the Altar. 10 Then dress in your linen clothes with linen underwear next to your body. Remove the ashes remaining from the Whole-Burnt-Offering and place them beside the Altar. 11 Then change clothes and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. 12 Meanwhile keep the fire on the Altar burning; it must not go out. Replenish the wood for the fire every morning, arrange the Whole-Burnt-Offering on it, and burn the fat of the Peace-Offering on top of it all. 13 Keep the fire burning on the Altar continuously. It must not go out.
14 "These are the instructions for the Grain-Offering. Aaron's sons are to present it to God in front of the Altar. 15 The priest takes a handful of the fine flour of the Grain-Offering with its oil and all its incense and burns this as a memorial on the Altar, a pleasing fragrance to God. 16 Aaron and his sons eat the rest of it. It is unraised bread and so eaten in a holy place - in the Courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. 17 They must not bake it with yeast. I have designated it as their share of the gifts presented to me. It is very holy, like the Absolution-Offering and the Compensation-Offering. 18 Any male descendant among Aaron's sons may eat it. This is a fixed rule regarding God's gifts, stretching down the generations. Anyone who touches these offerings must be holy." 19 God spoke to Moses, 20 "This is the offering which Aaron and his sons each are to present to God on the day he is anointed: two quarts of fine flour as a regular Grain-Offering, half in the morning and half in the evening. 21 Prepare it with oil on a griddle. Bring it well-mixed and then present it crumbled in pieces as a pleasing fragrance to God. 22 Aaron's son who is anointed to succeed him offers it to God - this is a fixed rule. The whole thing is burned. 23 Every Grain-Offering of a priest is burned completely; it must not be eaten."
24 God spoke to Moses, 25 "Tell Aaron and his sons: These are the instructions for the Absolution-Offering. Slaughter the Absolution-Offering in the place where the Whole-Burnt-Offering is slaughtered before God - the offering is most holy. 26 The priest in charge eats it in a holy place, the Courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. 27 Anyone who touches any of the meat must be holy. A garment that gets blood spattered on it must be washed in a holy place. 28 Break the clay pot in which the meat was cooked. If it was cooked in a bronze pot, scour it and rinse it with water. 29 Any male among the priestly families may eat it; it is most holy. 30 But any Absolution-Offering whose blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Sanctuary must not be eaten, it has to be burned.
71 "These are the instructions for the Compensation-Offering. It is most holy. 2 Slaughter the Compensation-Offering in the same place that the Whole-Burnt-Offering is slaughtered. Splash its blood against all sides of the Altar. 3 Offer up all the fat: the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, 4 the two kidneys and the fat encasing them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver that is removed with the kidneys. 5 The priest burns them on the Altar as a gift to God. It is a Compensation-Offering. 6 Any male from among the priests' families may eat it. But it must be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy. 7 "The Compensation-Offering is the same as the Absolution-Offering - the same rules apply to both. The offering belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it. 8 The priest who presents a Whole-Burnt-Offering for someone gets the hide for himself. 9 Every Grain-Offering baked in an oven or prepared in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who presents it. It's his. 10 Every Grain-Offering, whether dry or mixed with oil, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.
11 "These are the instructions for the Peace-Offering which is presented to God. 12 If you bring it to offer thanksgiving, then along with the Thanksgiving-Offering present unraised loaves of bread mixed with oil, unraised wafers spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour, well-kneaded and mixed with oil. 13 Along with the Peace-Offering of thanksgiving, present loaves of yeast bread as an offering. 14 Bring one of each kind as an offering, a Contribution-Offering to God; it goes to the priest who throws the blood of the Peace-Offering. 15 Eat the meat from the Peace-Offering of thanksgiving the same day it is offered. Don't leave any of it overnight. 16 "If the offering is a Votive-Offering or a Freewill-Offering, it may be eaten the same day it is sacrificed and whatever is left over on the next day may also be eaten. 17 But any meat from the sacrifice that is left to the third day must be burned up. 18 If any of the meat from the Peace-Offering is eaten on the third day, the person who has brought it will not be accepted. It won't benefit him a bit - it has become defiled meat. And whoever eats it must take responsibility for his iniquity. 19 Don't eat meat that has touched anything ritually unclean; burn it up. Any other meat can be eaten by those who are ritually clean. 20 But if you're not ritually clean and eat meat from the Peace-Offering for God, you will be excluded from the congregation. 21 And if you touch anything ritually unclean, whether human or animal uncleanness or an obscene object, and go ahead and eat from a Peace-Offering for God, you'll be excluded from the congregation." 22 God spoke to Moses, 23 "Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, Don't eat any fat of cattle or sheep or goats. 24 The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals can be put to some other purpose, but you may not eat it. 25 If you eat fat from an animal from which a gift has been presented to God, you'll be excluded from the congregation. 26 And don't eat blood, whether of birds or animals, no matter where you end up living. 27 If you eat blood you'll be excluded from the congregation." 28 God spoke to Moses, 29 "Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them: When you present a Peace-Offering to God, bring some of your Peace-Offering as a special sacrifice to God, 30 a gift to God in your own hands. Bring the fat with the breast and then wave the breast before God as a Wave-Offering. 31 The priest will burn the fat on the Altar; Aaron and his sons get the breast. 32 Give the right thigh from your Peace-Offerings as a Contribution-Offering to the priest. 33 Give a portion of the right thigh to the son of Aaron who offers the blood and fat of the Peace-Offering as his portion. 34 From the Peace-Offerings of Israel, I'm giving the breast of the Wave-Offering and the thigh of the Contribution-Offering to Aaron the priest and his sons. This is their fixed compensation from the People of Israel."
35 From the day they are presented to serve as priests to God, Aaron and his sons can expect to receive these allotments from the gifts of God. 36 This is what God commanded the People of Israel to give the priests from the day of their anointing. This is the fixed rule down through the generations. 37 These are the instructions for the Whole-Burnt-Offering, the Grain-Offering, the Absolution-Offering, the Compensation-Offering, the Ordination-Offering, and the Peace-Offering 38 which God gave Moses at Mount Sinai on the day he commanded the People of Israel to present their offerings to God in the wilderness of Sinai.
251 "God's kingdom is like ten young virgins who took oil lamps and went out to greet the bridegroom. 2 Five were silly and five were smart. 3 The silly virgins took lamps, but no extra oil. 4 The smart virgins took jars of oil to feed their lamps. 5 The bridegroom didn't show up when they expected him, and they all fell asleep. 6 "In the middle of the night someone yelled out, 'He's here! The bridegroom's here! Go out and greet him!' 7 "The ten virgins got up and got their lamps ready. 8 The silly virgins said to the smart ones, 'Our lamps are going out; lend us some of your oil.' 9 "They answered, 'There might not be enough to go around; go buy your own.' 10 "They did, but while they were out buying oil, the bridegroom arrived. When everyone who was there to greet him had gone into the wedding feast, the door was locked. 11 "Much later, the other virgins, the silly ones, showed up and knocked on the door, saying, 'Master, we're here. Let us in.' 12 "He answered, 'Do I know you? I don't think I know you.' 13 "So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.
14 "It's also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. 15 To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. 16 Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment. 17 The second did the same. 18 But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money. 19 "After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. 20 The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. 21 His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.' 22 "The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. 23 His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.' 24 "The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. 25 I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.' 26 "The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? 27 The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. 28 "'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. 29 30 Throw him out into utter darkness.'
(Read Matthew 25:1-13)
The circumstances of the parable of the ten virgins were taken from the marriage customs among the Jews, and explain the great day of Christ's coming. See the nature of Christianity. As Christians we profess to attend upon Christ, to honour him, also to be waiting for his coming. Sincere Christians are the wise virgins, and hypocrites the foolish ones. Those are the truly wise or foolish that are so in the affairs of their souls. Many have a lamp of profession in their hands, but have not, in their hearts, sound knowledge and settled resolution, which are needed to carry them through the services and trials of the present state. Their hearts are not stored with holy dispositions, by the new-creating Spirit of God. Our light must shine before men in good works; but this is not likely to be long done, unless there is a fixed, active principle in the heart, of faith in Christ, and love to God and our brethren. They all slumbered and slept. The delay represents the space between the real or apparent conversion of these professors, and the coming of Christ, to take them away by death, or to judge the world. But though Christ tarry past our time, he will not tarry past the due time. The wise virgins kept their lamps burning, but they did not keep themselves awake. Too many real Christians grow remiss, and one degree of carelessness makes way for another. Those that allow themselves to slumber, will scarcely keep from sleeping; therefore dread the beginning of spiritual decays. A startling summons was given. Go ye forth to meet Him, is a call to those prepared. The notice of Christ's approach, and the call to meet him, will awaken. Even those best prepared for death have work to do to get actually ready, 2 Peter 3:14. It will be a day of search and inquiry; and it concerns us to think how we shall then be found. Some wanted oil to supply their lamps when going out. Those that take up short of true grace, will certainly find the want of it one time or other. An outward profession may light a man along this world, but the damps of the valley of the shadow of death will put out such a light. Those who care not to live the life, yet would die the death of the righteous. But those that would be saved, must have grace of their own; and those that have most grace, have none to spare. The best need more from Christ. And while the poor alarmed soul addresses itself, upon a sick-bed, to repentance and prayer, in awful confusion, death comes, judgment comes, the work is undone, and the poor sinner is undone for ever. This comes of having oil to buy when we should burn it, grace to get when we should use it. Those, and those only, shall go to heaven hereafter, that are made ready for heaven here. The suddenness of death and of Christ's coming to us then, will not hinder our happiness, if we have been prepared. The door was shut. Many will seek admission into heaven when it is too late. The vain confidence of hypocrites will carry them far in expectations of happiness. The unexpected summons of death may alarm the Christian; but, proceeding without delay to trim his lamp, his graces often shine more bright; while the mere professor's conduct shows that his lamp is going out. Watch therefore, attend to the business of your souls. Be in the fear of the Lord all the day long.
(Read Matthew 25:14-30)
Christ keeps no servants to be idle: they have received their all from him, and have nothing they can call their own but sin. Our receiving from Christ is in order to our working for him. The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. The day of account comes at last. We must all be reckoned with as to what good we have got to our own souls, and have done to others, by the advantages we have enjoyed. It is not meant that the improving of natural powers can entitle a man to Divine grace. It is the real Christian's liberty and privilege to be employed as his Redeemer's servant, in promoting his glory, and the good of his people: the love of Christ constrains him to live no longer to himself, but to Him that died for him, and rose again. Those who think it impossible to please God, and in vain to serve him, will do nothing to purpose in religion. They complain that He requires of them more than they are capable of, and punishes them for what they cannot help. Whatever they may pretend, the fact is, they dislike the character and work of the Lord. The slothful servant is sentenced to be deprived of his talent. This may be applied to the blessings of this life; but rather to the means of grace. Those who know not the day of their visitation, shall have the things that belong to their peace hid from their eyes. His doom is, to be cast into outer darkness. It is a usual way of expressing the miseries of the damned in hell. Here, as in what was said to the faithful servants, our Saviour goes out of the parable into the thing intended by it, and this serves as a key to the whole. Let us not envy sinners, or covet any of their perishing possessions.
