61 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 2 'When any person doth sin, and hath committed a trespass against Jehovah, and hath lied to his fellow concerning a deposit, or concerning fellowship, or concerning violent robbery, or hath oppressed his fellow; 3 or hath found a lost thing, and hath lied concerning it, and hath sworn to a falsehood, concerning one of all 'these' which man doth, sinning in them: 4 'Then it hath been, when he sinneth, and hath been guilty, that he hath returned the plunder which he hath taken violently away, or the thing which he hath got by oppression, or the deposit which hath been deposited with him, or the lost thing which he hath found; 5 or all that concerning which he sweareth falsely, he hath even repaid it in its principal, and its fifth he is adding to it; to him whose it 'is' he giveth it in the day of his guilt-offering. 6 'And his guilt-offering he bringeth in to Jehovah, a ram, a perfect one, out of the flock, at thy estimation, for a guilt-offering, unto the priest, 7 and the priest hath made atonement for him before Jehovah, and it hath been forgiven him, concerning one thing of all that he doth, by being guilty therein.'
8 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 9 'Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This 'is' a law of the burnt-offering (it 'is' the burnt-offering, because of the burning on the altar all the night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar is burning on it,) 10 that the priest hath put on his long robe of fine linen, and his fine linen trousers he doth put on his flesh, and hath lifted up the ashes which the fire consumeth with the burnt-offering on the altar, and hath put them near the altar; 11 and he hath stripped off his garments, and hath put on other garments, and hath brought out the ashes unto the outside of the camp, unto a clean place. 12 'And the fire on the altar is burning on it, it is not quenched, and the priest hath burned on it wood morning by morning, and hath arranged on it the burnt-offering, and hath made perfume on it 'with' the fat of the peace-offerings; 13 fire is continually burning on the altar, it is not quenched.
14 'And this 'is' a law of the present: sons of Aaron have brought it near before Jehovah unto the front of the altar, 15 and 'one' hath lifted up of it with his hand from the flour of the present, and from its oil, and all the frankincense which 'is' on the present, and hath made perfume on the altar, sweet fragrance—its memorial to Jehovah. 16 'And the remnant of it do Aaron and his sons eat; 'with' unleavened things it is eaten, in the holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting they do eat it. 17 It is not baken 'with' any thing fermented, their portion I have given it, out of My fire-offerings; it 'is' most holy, like the sin-offering, and like the guilt-offering. 18 Every male among the sons of Aaron doth eat it—a statute age-during to your generations, out of the fire-offerings of Jehovah: all that cometh against them is holy.' 19 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 20 'This 'is' an offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they bring near to Jehovah in the day of his being anointed; a tenth of the ephah of flour 'for' a continual present, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening; 21 on a girdel with oil it is made—fried thou dost bring it in; baked pieces of the present thou dost bring near, a sweet fragrance to Jehovah. 22 'And the priest who is anointed in his stead, from among his sons, doth make it,—a statute age-during of Jehovah: it is completely perfumed; 23 and every present of a priest is a whole burnt-offering; it is not eaten.'
24 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 25 'Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, This 'is' a law of the sin-offering: in the place where the burnt-offering is slaughtered is the sin-offering slaughtered before Jehovah; it 'is' most holy. 26 'The priest who is making atonement with it doth eat it, in the holy place it is eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting; 27 all that cometh against its flesh is holy, and when 'any' of its blood is sprinkled on the garment, that on which it is sprinkled thou dost wash in the holy place; 28 and an earthen vessel in which it is boiled is broken, and if in a brass vessel it is boiled, then it is scoured and rinsed with water. 29 'Every male among the priests doth eat it—it 'is' most holy; 30 and no sin-offering, 'any' of whose blood is brought in unto the tent of meeting to make atonement in the sanctuary is eaten; with fire it is burnt.
71 'And this 'is' a law of the guilt-offering: it 'is' most holy; 2 in the place where they slaughter the burnt-offering they do slaughter the guilt-offering, and its blood 'one' doth sprinkle on the altar round about, 3 and all its fat he bringeth near out of it, the fat tail, and the fat which is covering the inwards, 4 and the two kidneys, and the fat which 'is' on them, which 'is' on the flanks, and the redundance above the liver (beside the kidneys he doth turn it aside); 5 and the priest hath made them a perfume on the altar, a fire-offering to Jehovah; it 'is' a guilt-offering. 6 'Every male among the priests doth eat it; in the holy place it is eaten—it 'is' most holy; 7 as 'is' a sin-offering, so 'is' a guilt-offering; one law 'is' for them; the priest who maketh atonement by it—it is his. 8 'And the priest who is bringing near any man's burnt-offering, the skin of the burnt-offering which he hath brought near, it is the priest's, his own; 9 and every present which is baked in an oven, and every one done in a frying-pan, and on a girdel, 'is' the priest's who is bringing it near; it is his; 10 and every present, mixed with oil or dry, is for all the sons of Aaron—one as another.
11 'And this 'is' a law of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings which 'one' bringeth near to Jehovah: 12 if for a thank-offering he bring it near, then he hath brought near with the sacrifice of thank-offering unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and thin unleavened cakes anointed with oil, and of fried flour cakes mixed with oil; 13 besides the cakes, fermented bread he doth bring near 'with' his offering, besides the sacrifice of thank-offering of his peace-offerings; 14 and he hath brought near out of it one of the whole offering—a heave-offering to Jehovah; to the priest who is sprinkling the blood of the peace-offerings—it is his; 15 as to the flesh of the sacrifice of the thank-offering of his peace-offerings, in the day of his offering it is eaten; he doth not leave of it till morning. 16 'And if the sacrifice of his offering 'is' a vow or free-will offering, in the day of his bringing near his sacrifice it is eaten; and on the morrow also the remnant of it is eaten; 17 and the remnant of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day with fire is burnt; 18 and if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings be really eaten on the third day, it is not pleasing; for him who is bringing it near it is not reckoned; it is an abominable thing, and the person who is eating of it his iniquity doth bear. 19 'And the flesh which cometh against any unclean thing is not eaten; with fire it is burnt; as to the flesh, every clean one doth eat of the flesh; 20 and the person who eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings which 'are' Jehovah's, and his uncleanness upon him, even that person hath been cut off from his people. 21 'And when a person cometh against any thing unclean, of the uncleanness of man, or of the uncleanness of beasts, or of any unclean teeming creature, and hath eaten of the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings which 'are' Jehovah's, even that person hath been cut off from his people.' 22 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 23 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Any fat of ox and sheep and goat ye do not eat; 24 and the fat of a carcase, and the fat of a torn thing is prepared for any work, but ye do certainly not eat it; 25 for whoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which 'one' bringeth near a fire-offering to Jehovah, even the person who eateth hath been cut off from his people. 26 'And any blood ye do not eat in all your dwellings, of fowl, or of beast; 27 any person who eateth any blood, even that person hath been cut off from his people.' 28 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 29 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, He who is bringing near the sacrifice of his peace-offerings to Jehovah doth bring in his offering to Jehovah from the sacrifice of his peace-offerings; 30 his own hands do bring in the fire-offerings of Jehovah, the fat beside the breast, it he doth bring in with the breast, to wave it—a wave-offering before Jehovah. 31 'And the priest hath made perfume with the fat on the altar, and the breast hath been Aaron's and his sons; 32 and the right leg ye do make a heave-offering to the priest of the sacrifices of your peace-offerings; 33 he of the sons of Aaron who is bringing near the blood of the peace-offerings, and the fat, his is the right leg for a portion. 34 'For the breast of the wave-offering, and the leg of the heave-offering, I have taken from the sons of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, and I give them to Aaron the priest, and to his sons, by a statute age-during, from the sons of Israel.'
35 This 'is' the anointing of Aaron, and the anointing of his sons out of the fire-offerings of Jehovah, in the day he hath brought them near to act as priest to Jehovah, 36 which Jehovah hath commanded to give to them in the day of His anointing them, from the sons of Israel—a statute age-during to their generations. 37 This 'is' the law for burnt-offering, for present, and for sin-offering, and for guilt-offering, and for consecrations, and for a sacrifice of the peace-offerings, 38 which Jehovah hath commanded Moses in Mount Sinai, in the day of his commanding the sons of Israel to bring near their offerings to Jehovah, in the wilderness of Sinai.
251 'Then shall the reign of the heavens be likened to ten virgins, who, having taken their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom; 2 and five of them were prudent, and five foolish; 3 they who were foolish having taken their lamps, did not take with themselves oil; 4 and the prudent took oil in their vessels, with their lamps. 5 'And the bridegroom tarrying, they all nodded and were sleeping, 6 and in the middle of the night a cry was made, Lo, the bridegroom doth come; go ye forth to meet him. 7 'Then rose all those virgins, and trimmed their lamps, 8 and the foolish said to the prudent, Give us of your oil, because our lamps are going out; 9 and the prudent answered, saying—Lest there may not be sufficient for us and you, go ye rather unto those selling, and buy for yourselves. 10 'And while they are going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those ready went in with him to the marriage-feasts, and the door was shut; 11 and afterwards come also do the rest of the virgins, saying, Sir, sir, open to us; 12 and he answering said, Verily I say to you, I have not known you. 13 'Watch therefore, for ye have not known the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man doth come.
14 'For—as a man going abroad did call his own servants, and did deliver to them his substance, 15 and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to each according to his several ability, went abroad immediately. 16 'And he who did receive the five talents, having gone, wrought with them, and made other five talents; 17 in like manner also he who 'received' the two, he gained, also he, other two; 18 and he who did receive the one, having gone away, digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. 19 'And after a long time cometh the lord of those servants, and taketh reckoning with them; 20 and he who did receive the five talents having come, brought other five talents, saying, 'Sir, five talents thou didst deliver to me; lo, other five talents did I gain besides them. 21 'And his lord said to him, Well done, servant, good and faithful, over a few things thou wast faithful, over many things I will set thee; enter into the joy of thy lord. 22 'And he who also did receive the two talents having come, said, Sir, two talents thou didst deliver to me; lo, other two talents I did gain besides them. 23 'His lord said to him, Well done, servant, good and faithful, over a few things thou wast faithful, over many things I will set thee; enter into the joy of thy lord. 24 'And he also who hath received the one talent having come, said, Sir, I knew thee, that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering from whence thou didst not scatter; 25 and having been afraid, having gone away, I hid thy talent in the earth; lo, thou hast thine own! 26 'And his lord answering said to him, Evil servant, and slothful, thou hadst known that I reap where I did not sow, and I gather whence I did not scatter! 27 it behoved thee then to put my money to the money-lenders, and having come I had received mine own with increase. 28 'Take therefore from him the talent, and give to him having the ten talents, 29 for to every one having shall be given, and he shall have overabundance, and from him who is not having, even that which he hath shall be taken from him; 30 and the unprofitable servant cast ye forth to the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the 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.
