291 And this is the thing which thou shalt do to them to hallow them, that they may serve me as priests: take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, 2 and unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil—of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. 3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and present them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. 4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring near the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shalt bathe them with water. 5 And thou shalt take the garments, and clothe Aaron with the vest, and the cloak of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and shalt gird him with the girdle of the ephod. 6 And thou shalt put the turban upon his head, and fasten the holy diadem to the turban, 7 and shalt take the anointing oil, and pour [it] on his head, and anoint him. 8 And thou shalt bring his sons near, and clothe them with the vests. 9 And thou shalt gird them with the girdle—Aaron and his sons, and bind the high caps on them; and the priesthood shall be theirs for an everlasting statute; and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. 10 And thou shalt present the bullock before the tent of meeting; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock; 11 and thou shalt slaughter the bullock before Jehovah, at the entrance of the tent of meeting; 12 and thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it on the horns of the altar with thy finger, and shalt pour all the blood at the bottom of the altar. 13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the net of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. 14 And the flesh of the bullock, and its skin, and its dung, shalt thou burn with fire outside the camp: it is a sin-offering. 15 And thou shalt take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram; 16 and thou shalt slaughter the ram, and shalt take its blood, and sprinkle [it] on the altar round about. 17 And thou shalt cut up the ram into its pieces, and wash its inwards, and its legs, and put [them] upon its pieces, and upon its head; 18 and thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering to Jehovah—a sweet odour; it is an offering by fire to Jehovah. 19 And thou shalt take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram; 20 and thou shalt slaughter the ram, and take of its blood, and put [it] on the tip of the [right] ear of Aaron, and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot; and thou shalt sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle [it] on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him; and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. 22 Also of the ram shalt thou take the fat, and the fat-tail, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the net of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder—for it is a ram of consecration— 23 and one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened [bread] that is before Jehovah; 24 and thou shalt put all this in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons, and shalt wave them as a wave-offering before Jehovah. 25 And thou shalt receive them of their hand and burn [them] upon the altar over the burnt-offering, for a sweet odour before Jehovah: it is an offering by fire to Jehovah. 26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of consecration which is for Aaron, and wave it as a wave-offering before Jehovah; and it shall be thy part. 27 And thou shalt hallow the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering, that hath been waved and heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, of that which is for Aaron, and of [that] which is for his sons. 28 And they shall be for Aaron and his sons, as an everlasting statute, on the part of the children of Israel; for it is a heave-offering; and it shall be a heave-offering on the part of the children of Israel of the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, [as] their heave-offering to Jehovah. 29 And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. 30 The son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tent of meeting to serve in the sanctuary. 31 And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and boil its flesh in a holy place. 32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 33 They shall eat the things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate [and] to hallow them; but a stranger shall not eat [of them], for they are holy. 34 And if [any] of the flesh of the consecration, and of the bread, remain until the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, for it is holy. 35 And thus shalt thou do to Aaron, and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. 36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock as a sin-offering for atonement; and the altar shalt thou cleanse from sin, by making atonement for it, and shalt anoint it, to hallow it. 37 Seven days shalt thou make atonement for the altar and hallow it; and the altar shall be most holy: whatever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
38 And this is what thou shalt offer upon the altar—two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. 39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer between the two evenings. 40 And with the one lamb a tenth part of wheaten flour mingled with beaten oil, a fourth part of a hin; and a drink-offering, a fourth part of a hin of wine. 41 And the second lamb shalt thou offer between the two evenings; as the oblation in the morning, and as its drink-offering shalt thou offer with this, for a sweet odour, an offering by fire to Jehovah. 42 It shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, where I will meet with you, to speak there with thee. 43 And there will I meet with the children of Israel; and it shall be hallowed by my glory. 44 And I will hallow the tent of meeting, and the altar; and I will hallow Aaron and his sons, that they may serve me as priests. 45 And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, who have brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, to dwell in their midst: I am Jehovah their God.
301 And thou shalt make an altar for the burning of incense: of acacia-wood shalt thou make it; 2 a cubit the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof—square shall it be; and two cubits its height; of itself shall be its horns. 3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make upon it a border of gold round about. 4 And two rings of gold shalt thou make for it under its border; by its two corners shalt thou make [them], on the two sides thereof; and they shall be for receptacles for the staves, with which to carry it. 5 And thou shalt make the staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold. 6 And thou shalt put it in front of the veil which is before the ark of the testimony in front of the mercy-seat which is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. 7 And Aaron shall burn thereon fragrant incense: every morning, when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn the incense. 8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps between the two evenings, he shall burn the incense—a continual incense before Jehovah throughout your generations. 9 Ye shall offer up no strange incense thereon, nor burnt-offering, nor oblation; neither shall ye pour drink-offering thereon. 10 And Aaron shall make atonement for its horns once in the year: with the blood of the sin-offering of atonement shall he make atonement for it, once in the year, throughout your generations: it is most holy to Jehovah.
11 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 12 When thou shalt take the sum of the children of Israel according to those of them that are numbered, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to Jehovah on their being numbered, that there be no plague among them on their being numbered. 13 This shall they give—every one that passeth among them that are numbered—half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary,—twenty gerahs the shekel; a half shekel shall be the heave-offering for Jehovah. 14 Every one that passeth among those that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give the heave-offering of Jehovah. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when ye give the heave-offering of Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls. 16 And thou shalt take the atonement-money of the children of Israel, and devote it to the service of the tent of meeting; and it shall be a memorial to the children of Israel before Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls.
17 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 18 Thou shalt also make a laver of copper, and its stand of copper, for washing; and thou shalt put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and shalt put water in it. 19 And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet out of it. 20 When they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, that they may not die; or when they come near to the altar to serve, to burn an offering by fire to Jehovah. 21 And they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they may not die; and it shall be an everlasting statute for them, for him and for his seed throughout their generations.
22 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 23 And thou, take best spices—of liquid myrrh five hundred [shekels], and of sweet cinnamon the half—two hundred and fifty, and of sweet myrtle two hundred and fifty, 24 and of cassia five hundred, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin; 25 and make of it an oil of holy ointment, a perfume of perfumery after the work of the perfumer: it shall be the holy anointing oil. 26 And thou shalt anoint the tent of meeting with it, and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lamp-stand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt-offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand. 29 And thou shalt hallow them, that they may be most holy: whatever toucheth them shall be holy. 30 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt anoint, and shalt hallow them, that they may serve me as priests. 31 And thou shalt speak to the children of Israel, saying, A holy anointing oil shall this be unto me throughout your generations. 32 Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make [any] like it, after the preparation of it: it is holy—holy shall it be unto you. 33 Whoever compoundeth [any] like it, or whoever putteth [any] of it upon any strange thing, shall be cut off from his peoples. 34 And Jehovah said to Moses, Take fragrant drugs—stacte, and onycha, and galbanum—fragrant drugs and pure frankincense; in like proportions shall it be. 35 And thou shalt make it into incense, a perfume, after the work of the perfumer, salted, pure, holy. 36 And thou shalt beat [some] of it to powder, and put [some] of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. 37 And the incense that thou shalt make, ye shall not make for yourselves according to the proportions of it; it shall be unto thee holy to Jehovah. 38 Whoever maketh like unto it, to smell it, shall be cut off from his peoples.
23 And when he came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him [as he was] teaching, saying, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? 24 And Jesus answering said to them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25 The baptism of John, whence was it? of heaven or of men? And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we should say, Of heaven, he will say to us, Why then have ye not believed him? 26 but if we should say, Of men, we fear the crowd, for all hold John for a prophet. 27 And answering Jesus they said, We do not know. He also said to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
28 But what think ye? A man had two children, and coming to the first he said, Child, go to-day, work in [my] vineyard. 29 And he answering said, I will not; but afterwards repenting himself he went. 30 And coming to the second he said likewise; and he answering said, I [go], sir, and went not. 31 Which of the two did the will of the father? They say [to him], The first. Jesus says to them, Verily I say unto you that the tax-gatherers and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the tax-gatherers and the harlots believed him; but ye when ye saw [it] repented not yourselves afterwards to believe him.
33 Hear another parable: There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and made a fence round it, and dug a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and left the country. 34 But when the time of fruit drew near, he sent his bondmen to the husbandmen to receive his fruits. 35 And the husbandmen took his bondmen, and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other bondmen more than the first, and they did to them in like manner. 37 And at last he sent to them his son, saying, They will have respect for my son. 38 But the husbandmen, seeing the son, said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and possess his inheritance. 39 And they took him, and cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what shall he do to those husbandmen? 41 They say to him, He will miserably destroy those evil [men], and let out the vineyard to other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons. 42 Jesus says to them, Have ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which they that builded rejected, this has become the corner-stone: this is of [the] Lord, and it is wonderful in our eyes? 43 Therefore I say to you, that the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and shall be given to a nation producing the fruits of it. 44 And he that falls on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. 45 And the chief priests and the Pharisees, having heard his parables, knew that he spoke about them. 46 And seeking to lay hold of him, they were afraid of the crowds, because they held him for a prophet.
(Read Matthew 21:23-27)
As our Lord now openly appeared as the Messiah, the chief priests and scribes were much offended, especially because he exposed and removed the abuses they encouraged. Our Lord asked what they thought of John's ministry and baptism. Many are more afraid of the shame of lying than of the sin, and therefore scruple not to speak what they know to be false, as to their own thoughts, affections, and intentions, or their remembering and forgetting. Our Lord refused to answer their inquiry. It is best to shun needless disputes with wicked opposers.
(Read Matthew 21:28-32)
Parables which give reproof, speak plainly to the offenders, and judge them out of their own mouths. The parable of the two sons sent to work in the vineyard, is to show that those who knew not John's baptism to be of God, were shamed by those who knew it, and owned it. The whole human race are like children whom the Lord has brought up, but they have rebelled against him, only some are more plausible in their disobedience than others. And it often happens, that the daring rebel is brought to repentance and becomes the Lord's servant, while the formalist grows hardened in pride and enmity.
(Read Matthew 21:33-46)
This parable plainly sets forth the sin and ruin of the Jewish nation; and what is spoken to convict them, is spoken to caution all that enjoy the privileges of the outward church. As men treat God's people, they would treat Christ himself, if he were with them. How can we, if faithful to his cause, expect a favourable reception from a wicked world, or from ungodly professors of Christianity! And let us ask ourselves, whether we who have the vineyard and all its advantages, render fruits in due season, as a people, as a family, or as separate persons. Our Saviour, in his question, declares that the Lord of the vineyard will come, and when he comes he will surely destroy the wicked. The chief priests and the elders were the builders, and they would not admit his doctrine or laws; they threw him aside as a despised stone. But he who was rejected by the Jews, was embraced by the Gentiles. Christ knows who will bring forth gospel fruits in the use of gospel means. The unbelief of sinners will be their ruin. But God has many ways of restraining the remainders of wrath, as he has of making that which breaks out redound to his praise. May Christ become more and more precious to our souls, as the firm Foundation and Cornerstone of his church. May we be willing to follow him, though despised and hated for his sake.
