171 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 2 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, and take from them each a rod, for a father's house, from all their princes, for the house of their fathers, twelve rods; the name of each thou dost write on his rod, 3 and Aaron's name thou dost write on the tribe of Levi; for one rod 'is' for the head of their fathers' house: 4 and thou hast placed them in the tent of meeting, before the testimony, where I meet with you. 5 'And it hath come to pass, the man's rod on whom I fix doth flourish, and I have caused to cease from off me the murmurings of the sons of Israel, which they are murmuring against you.' 6 And Moses speaketh unto the sons of Israel, and all their princes give unto him one rod for a prince, one rod for a prince, for their fathers' house, twelve rods, and the rod of Aaron 'is' in the midst of their rods; 7 and Moses placeth the rods before Jehovah, in the tent of the testimony.
8 And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that Moses goeth in unto the tent of the testimony, and lo, the rod of Aaron hath flourished for the house of Levi, and is bringing out flourishing, and doth blossom blossoms, and doth produce almonds; 9 and Moses bringeth out all the rods from before Jehovah, unto all the sons of Israel, and they look, and take each his rod. 10 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Put back the rod of Aaron, before the testimony, for a charge, for a sign to the sons of rebellion, and thou dost remove their murmurings from off me, and they do not die;' 11 and Moses doth as Jehovah hath commanded him; so he hath done. 12 And the sons of Israel speak unto Moses, saying, 'Lo, we have expired; we have perished; we have all of us perished; 13 any who is at all drawing near unto the tabernacle of Jehovah dieth; have we not been consumed—to expire?'
181 And Jehovah saith unto Aaron, 'Thou, and thy sons, and the house of thy father with thee, do bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and thou, and thy sons with thee, do bear the iniquity of your priesthood; 2 and also thy brethren, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring near with thee, and they are joined unto thee, and serve thee, even thou and thy sons with thee, before the tent of the testimony. 3 'And they have kept thy charge, and the charge of all the tent; only, unto the vessels of the sanctuary and unto the altar they do not come near, and they die not, either they or you; 4 and they have been joined unto thee, and have kept the charge of the tent of meeting, for all the service of the tent; and a stranger doth not come near unto you; 5 and ye have kept the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar, and there is no more wrath against the sons of Israel. 6 'And I, lo, I have taken your brethren the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel; to you a gift they are given by Jehovah, to do the service of the tent of meeting; 7 and thou, and thy sons with thee, do keep your priesthood, for everything of the altar, and within the vail, and ye have served; a service of gift I make your priesthood; and the stranger who is coming near is put to death.'
8 And Jehovah speaketh unto Aaron: 'And I, lo, I have given to thee the charge of My heave-offerings, of all the hallowed things of the sons of Israel—to thee I have given them for the anointing, and to thy sons, by a statute age-during. 9 This is thine of the most holy things, from the fire: all their offering, to all their present, and to all their sin-offering, and to all their guilt-offering, which they give back to Me, is most holy to thee, and to thy sons; 10 in the holy of holies thou dost eat it; every male doth eat it; holy it is to thee. 11 'And this 'is' thine: the heave-offering of their gift, to all the wave-offerings of the sons of Israel, to thee I have given them, and to thy sons, and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute age-during; every clean one in thy house doth eat it; 12 all the best of the oil, and all the best of the new wine, and wheat—their first-'fruits' which they give to Jehovah—to thee I have given them. 13 'The first-fruits of all that 'is' in their land, which they bring in to Jehovah, are thine; every clean one in thy house doth eat it; 14 every devoted thing in Israel is thine, 15 every one opening a womb of all flesh which they bring near to Jehovah, among man and among beast, is thine; only, thou dost certainly ransom the first-born of man, and the firstling of the unclean beast thou dost ransom. 16 'And their ransomed ones from a son of a month, thou dost ransom with thy valuation, of silver, five shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary, twenty gerahs it 'is'. 17 'Only, the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou dost not ransom, holy they 'are': their blood thou dost sprinkle on the altar, and of their fat thou makest perfume, a fire-offering of sweet fragrance to Jehovah, 18 and their flesh is thine, as the breast of the wave-offering, and as the right leg, it is thine; 19 all the heave-offerings of the holy things which the sons of Israel lift up to Jehovah I have given to thee and to thy sons, and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute age-during, a covenant of salt, age-during it 'is' before Jehovah, to thee and to thy seed with thee.'
20 And Jehovah saith unto Aaron, 'In their land thou dost not inherit, and a portion thou hast not in their midst: I 'am' thy portion, and thine inheritance in the midst of the sons of Israel; 21 and to the sons of Levi, lo, I have given all the tenth in Israel for inheritance in exchange for their service which they are serving—the service of the tent of meeting. 22 'And the sons of Israel come no more near unto the tent of meeting, to bear sin, to die, 23 and the Levites have done the service of the tent of meeting, and they—they bear their iniquity; a statute age-during to your generations, that in the midst of the sons of Israel they have no inheritance; 24 but the tithe of the sons of Israel which they lift up to Jehovah, a heave-offering, I have given to the Levites for inheritance; therefore I have said of them, In the midst of the sons of Israel they have no inheritance.' 25 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 26 'And unto the Levites thou dost speak; and thou hast said unto them, When ye take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given to you from them, for your inheritance, then ye have lifted up from it the heave-offering of Jehovah, a tithe of the tithe; 27 and your heave-offering hath been reckoned to you as corn from the threshing-floor, and as fulness from the wine-vat; 28 so ye do lift up—ye also—the heave-offering of Jehovah from all your tithes which ye receive from the sons of Israel; and ye have given from it the heave-offering of Jehovah to Aaron the priest; 29 out of all your gifts ye do lift up the whole heave-offering of Jehovah; out of all its fat,—its hallowed part—out of it. 30 'And thou hast said unto them, In your lifting up its fat out of it, then it hath been reckoned to the Levites, as increase of a threshing-floor, and as increase of a wine-vat; 31 and ye have eaten it in every place, ye and your households, for it 'is' your hire in exchange for your service in the tent of meeting; 32 and ye bear no sin for it, in your lifting up its fat out of it, and the holy things of the sons of Israel ye do not pollute, and ye die not.'
191 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying, 2 'This 'is' a statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel, and they bring unto thee a red cow, a perfect one, in which there is no blemish, on which no yoke hath gone up; 3 and ye have given it unto Eleazar the priest, and he hath brought it out unto the outside of the camp, and hath slaughtered it before him. 4 'And Eleazar the priest hath taken of its blood with his finger, and hath sprinkled over-against the front of the tent of meeting of her blood seven times; 5 and 'one' hath burnt the cow before his eyes; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, besides her dung, he doth burn; 6 and the priest hath taken cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and hath cast unto the midst of the burning of the cow; 7 and the priest hath washed his garments, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and afterwards doth come in unto the camp, and the priest is unclean till the evening; 8 and he who is burning it doth wash his garments with water, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and is unclean till the evening. 9 'And a clean man hath gathered the ashes of the cow, and hath placed at the outside of the camp, in a clean place, and it hath become to the company of the sons of Israel a charge for waters of separation—it 'is' a 'cleansing'; 10 and he who is gathering the ashes of the heifer hath washed his garments, and is unclean till the evening; and it hath been to the sons of Israel, and to the sojourner who is sojourning in their midst, for a statute age-during.
11 'He who is coming against the dead body of any man—is unclean seven days; 12 he doth cleanse himself for it on the third day, and on the seventh day he is clean; and if he cleanse not himself on the third day, then on the seventh day he is not clean. 13 Any one who is coming against the dead, against the body of man who dieth, and cleanseth not himself—the tabernacle of Jehovah he hath defiled, and that person hath been cut off from Israel, for water of separation is not sprinkled upon him; he is unclean; his uncleanness 'is' still upon him. 14 'This 'is' the law, when a man dieth in a tent: every one who is coming in unto the tent, and all that 'is' in the tent, is unclean seven days; 15 and every open vessel which hath no covering of thread upon it is unclean. 16 'And every one who cometh, on the face of the field, against the pierced of a sword, or against the dead, or against a bone of man, or against a grave, is unclean seven days; 17 and they have taken for the unclean person of the ashes of the burning of the 'cleansing', and he hath put upon it running water unto a vessel; 18 and a clean person hath taken hyssop, and hath dipped 'it' in water, and hath sprinkled on the tent, and on all the vessels, and on the persons who have been there, and on him who is coming against a bone, or against one pierced, or against the dead, or against a grave. 19 'And the clean hath sprinkled 'it' on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day, and hath cleansed him on the seventh day, and he hath washed his garments, and hath bathed with water, and hath been clean in the evening. 20 'And the man who is unclean, and doth not cleanse himself, even that person hath been cut off from the midst of the assembly; for the sanctuary of Jehovah he hath defiled; water of separation is not sprinkled upon him; he 'is' unclean. 21 'And it hath been to them for a statute age-during, that he who is sprinkling the water of separation doth wash his garments, and he who is coming against the water of separation is unclean till the evening, 22 and all against which the unclean person cometh is unclean, and the person who is coming against 'it' is unclean till the evening.'
30 And the apostles are gathered together unto Jesus, and they told him all, and how many things they did, and how many things they taught, 31 and he said to them, 'Come ye yourselves apart to a desert place, and rest a little,' for those coming and those going were many, and not even to eat had they opportunity, 32 and they went away to a desert place, in the boat, by themselves. 33 And the multitudes saw them going away, and many recognised him, and by land from all the cities they ran thither, and went before them, and came together to him, 34 and having come forth, Jesus saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion on them, that they were as sheep not having a shepherd, and he began to teach many things. 35 And now the hour being advanced, his disciples having come near to him, say,—'The place is desolate, and the hour is now advanced, 36 let them away, that, having gone away to the surrounding fields and villages, they may buy to themselves loaves, for what they may eat they have not.' 37 And he answering said to them, 'Give ye them to eat,' and they say to him, 'Having gone away, may we buy two hundred denaries' worth of loaves, and give to them to eat?' 38 And he saith to them, 'How many loaves have ye? go and see;' and having known, they say, 'Five, and two fishes.' 39 And he commanded them to make all recline in companies upon the green grass, 40 and they sat down in squares, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41 And having taken the five loaves and the two fishes, having looked up to the heaven, he blessed, and brake the loaves, and was giving to his disciples, that they may set before them, and the two fishes divided he to all, 42 and they did all eat, and were filled, 43 and they took up of broken pieces twelve hand-baskets full, and of the fishes, 44 and those eating of the loaves were about five thousand men.
45 And immediately he constrained his disciples to go into the boat, and to go before to the other side, unto Bethsaida, till he may let the multitude away, 46 and having taken leave of them, he went away to the mountain to pray. 47 And evening having come, the boat was in the midst of the sea, and he alone upon the land; 48 and he saw them harassed in the rowing, for the wind was against them, and about the fourth watch of the night he doth come to them walking on the sea, and wished to pass by them. 49 And they having seen him walking on the sea, thought 'it' to be an apparition, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him, and were troubled, and immediately he spake with them, and saith to them, 'Take courage, I am 'he', be not afraid.' 51 And he went up unto them to the boat, and the wind lulled, and greatly out of measure were they amazed in themselves, and were wondering, 52 for they understood not concerning the loaves, for their heart hath been hard.
53 And having passed over, they came upon the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore, 54 and they having come forth out of the boat, immediately having recognised him, 55 having run about through all that region round about, they began upon the couches to carry about those ill, where they were hearing that he is, 56 and wherever he was going, to villages, or cities, or fields, in the market-places they were laying the infirm, and were calling upon him, that they may touch if it were but the fringe of his garment, and as many as were touching him were saved.
(Read Mark 6:30-44)
Let not ministers do any thing or teach any thing, but what they are willing should be told to their Lord. Christ notices the frights of some, and the toils of others of his disciples, and provides rest for those that are tired, and refuge for those that are terrified. The people sought the spiritual food of Christ's word, and then he took care that they should not want bodily food. If Christ and his disciples put up with mean things, surely we may. And this miracle shows that Christ came into the world, not only to restore, but to preserve and nourish spiritual life; in him there is enough for all that come. None are sent empty away from Christ but those who come to him full of themselves. Though Christ had bread enough at command, he teaches us not to waste any of God's bounties, remembering how many are in want. We may, some time, need the fragments that we now throw away.
(Read Mark 6:45-56)
The church is often like a ship at sea, tossed with tempests, and not comforted: we may have Christ for us, yet wind and tide against us; but it is a comfort to Christ's disciples in a storm, that their Master is in the heavenly mount, interceding for them. And no difficulties can hinder Christ's appearance for his people, when the set time is come. He silenced their fears, by making himself known to them. Our fears are soon satisfied, if our mistakes are set right, especially our mistakes as to Christ. Let the disciples have their Master with them, and all is well. It is for want of rightly understanding Christ's former works, that we view his present works as if there never were the like before. If Christ's ministers now could cure people's bodily diseases, what multitudes would flock after them! It is sad to think how much more most care about their bodies than about their souls.
