61 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 2 " When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the Lord , and deceives his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery , or if he has extorted from his companion , 3 or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely , so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do ; 4 then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty , that he shall restore what he took by robbery or what he got by extortion , or the deposit which was entrusted to him or the lost thing which he found , 5 or anything about which he swore falsely ; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it one-fifth more . He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering . 6 "Then he shall bring to the priest his guilt offering to the Lord , a ram without defect from the flock , according to your valuation , for a guilt offering , 7 and the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord , and he will be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt ."
8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 9 "Command Aaron and his sons , saying , 'This is the law for the burnt offering : the burnt offering itself shall remain on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning , and the fire on the altar is to be kept burning on it. 10 'The priest is to put on his linen robe , and he shall put on undergarments next to his flesh ; and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire reduces the burnt offering on the altar and place them beside the altar . 11 'Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments , and carry the ashes outside e e the camp to a clean place . 12 'The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not go out, but the priest shall burn wood on it every morning ; and he shall lay out the burnt offering on it, and offer up in smoke the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. 13 'Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar ; it is not to go out.
14 'Now this is the law of the grain offering : the sons of Aaron shall present it before the Lord in front of the altar . 15 ' Then one of them shall lift up from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering , with its oil and all the incense that is on the grain offering , and he shall offer it up in smoke on the altar , a soothing aroma , as its memorial offering to the Lord . 16 ' What is left of it Aaron and his sons are to eat . It shall be eaten as unleavened cakes in a holy place ; they are to eat it in the court of the tent of meeting . 17 ' It shall not be baked with leaven . I have given it as their share from My offerings by fire ; it is most holy , like the sin offering and the guilt offering . 18 ' Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it; it is a permanent ordinance throughout your generations , from the offerings by fire to the Lord . Whoever e touches them will become consecrated .' " 19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 20 "This is the offering which Aaron and his sons are to present to the Lord on the day when he is anointed ; the tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering , half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening . 21 "It shall be prepared with oil on a griddle . When it is well stirred , you shall bring it. You shall present the grain offering in baked pieces as a soothing aroma to the Lord . 22 "The anointed priest who will be in his place among his sons shall offer it. By a permanent ordinance it shall be entirely offered up in smoke to the Lord . 23 "So every grain offering of the priest shall be burned entirely . It shall not be eaten ."
24 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 25 "Speak to Aaron and to his sons , saying , 'This is the law of the sin offering : in the place where the burnt offering is slain the sin offering shall be slain before the Lord ; it is most holy . 26 ' The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place , in the court of the tent of meeting . 27 ' Anyone who touches its flesh will become consecrated ; and when any of its blood splashes on a garment , in a holy place you shall wash what was splashed on. 28 'Also the earthenware vessel in which it was boiled shall be broken ; and if it was boiled in a bronze vessel , then it shall be scoured and rinsed in water . 29 ' Every male among the priests may eat of it; it is most holy . 30 'But no e sin offering of which any of the blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place shall be eaten ; it shall be burned with fire .
71 'Now this is the law of the guilt offering ; it is most holy . 2 'In the place where they slay the burnt offering they are to slay the guilt offering , and he shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar . 3 'Then he shall offer from it all its fat : the fat tail and the fat that covers the entrails , 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins , and the lobe on the liver he shall remove with the kidneys . 5 'The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire to the Lord ; it is a guilt offering . 6 ' Every male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place ; it is most holy . 7 'The guilt offering is like the sin offering , there is one law for them; the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it. 8 'Also the priest who presents any man's burnt offering , that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has presented . 9 'Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in the oven and everything prepared in a pan or on a griddle shall belong to the priest who presents it. 10 'Every grain offering , mixed with oil or dry , shall belong to all the sons of Aaron , to all alike .
11 'Now this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which shall be presented to the Lord . 12 'If he offers it by way of thanksgiving , then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil , and unleavened wafers spread with oil , and cakes of well stirred fine flour mixed with oil . 13 'With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving , he shall present his offering with cakes of leavened bread . 14 'Of this he shall present one of every offering as a contribution to the Lord ; it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings . 15 ' Now as for the flesh of the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace offerings , it shall be eaten on the day of his offering ; he shall not leave any of it over until morning . 16 'But if the sacrifice of his offering is a votive or a freewill offering , it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice , and on the next day what is left of it may be eaten ; 17 but what is left over from the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire . 18 'So if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings should ever be eaten on the third day , he who offers it will not be accepted , and it will not be reckoned to his benefit. It shall be an offensive thing , and the person who eats of it will bear his own iniquity . 19 'Also the flesh that touches anything unclean shall not be eaten ; it shall be burned with fire . As for other flesh , anyone who is clean may eat such flesh . 20 ' But the person who eats the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the Lord , in his uncleanness , that person shall be cut off from his people . 21 ' When anyone touches anything unclean , whether human uncleanness , or an unclean animal , or any unclean detestable thing , and eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to the Lord , that person shall be cut off from his people .' " 22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 23 "Speak to the sons of Israel , saying , 'You shall not eat any fat from an ox , a sheep or a goat . 24 'Also the fat of an animal which dies and the fat of an animal torn by beasts may be put to any other use , but you must certainly not eat it. 25 'For whoever eats the fat of the animal from which an offering by fire is offered to the Lord , even the person who eats shall be cut off from his people . 26 ' You are not to eat any blood , either of bird or animal , in any of your dwellings . 27 'Any person who eats any blood , even that person shall be cut off from his people .' " 28 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 29 "Speak to the sons of Israel , saying , 'He who offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offerings . 30 'His own hands are to bring offerings by fire to the Lord . He shall bring the fat with the breast , that the breast may be presented as a wave offering before the Lord . 31 'The priest shall offer up the fat in smoke on the altar , but the breast shall belong to Aaron and his sons . 32 'You shall give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifices of your peace offerings . 33 'The one among the sons of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat , the right thigh shall be his as his portion . 34 'For I have taken the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings , and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their due forever from the sons of Israel .
35 'This is that which is consecrated to Aaron and that which is consecrated to his sons from the offerings by fire to the Lord , in that day when he presented them to serve as priests to the Lord . 36 'These the Lord had commanded to be given them from the sons of Israel in the day that He anointed them. It is their due forever throughout their generations .' " 37 This is the law of the burnt offering , the grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering and the ordination offering and the sacrifice of peace offerings , 38 which the Lord commanded Moses at Mount Sinai in the day that He commanded the sons of Israel to present their offerings to the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai .
251 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins , who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom . 2 "Five of them were foolish , and five were prudent . 3 "For when the foolish took their lamps , they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps . 5 "Now while the bridegroom was delaying , they all got drowsy and began to sleep . 6 "But at midnight e there was a shout , 'Behold , the bridegroom ! Come out to meet him.' 7 "Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps . 8 "The foolish said to the prudent , 'Give us some of your oil , for our lamps are going out.' 9 "But the prudent answered , 'No , there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves .' 10 "And while they were going away to make the purchase , the bridegroom came , and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast ; and the door was shut . 11 "Later the other virgins also came , saying , ' Lord , lord , open up for us.' 12 "But he answered , 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 " Be on the alert then , for you do not know the day nor the hour .
14 " For it is just like a man about to go on a journey , who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 "To one he gave five talents , to another e , two , and to another e , one , each according to his own ability ; and he went on his journey . 16 "Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 "In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more . 18 "But he who received the one talent went away , and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money . 19 "Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 "The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents , saying , 'Master , you entrusted five talents to me. See , I have gained five more talents .' 21 "His master said to him, 'Well done , good and faithful slave . You were faithful with a few things , I will put you in charge of many things ; enter into the joy of your master .' 22 "Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said , 'Master , you entrusted two talents to me. See , I have gained two more talents .' 23 "His master said to him, 'Well done , good and faithful slave . You were faithful with a few things , I will put you in charge of many things ; enter into the joy of your master .' 24 "And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said , 'Master , I knew you to be a hard man , reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 'And I was afraid , and went away and hid your talent in the ground . See , you have what is yours .' 26 "But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked , lazy slave , you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 'Then you ought to have put my money in the bank , and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest . 28 'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents .' 29 " For to everyone who has , more shall be given , and he will have an abundance ; but from the one who does not have , even what he does have shall be taken away . 30 "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness ; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth .
(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.
