291 'And this 'is' the thing which thou dost to them, to hallow them, for being priests to Me: Take one bullock, a son of the herd, and two rams, perfect ones, 2 and bread unleavened, and cakes unleavened anointed with oil, of fine wheaten flour thou dost make them, 3 and thou hast put them on one basket, and hast brought them near in the basket, also the bullock and the two rams. 4 'And Aaron and his sons thou dost bring near unto the opening of the tent of meeting, and hast bathed them with water; 5 and thou hast taken the garments, and hast clothed Aaron with the coat, and the upper robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and hast girded him with the girdle of the ephod, 6 and hast set the mitre on his head, and hast put the holy crown on the mitre, 7 and hast taken the anointing oil, and hast poured 'it' on his head, and hast anointed him. 8 'And his sons thou dost bring near, and hast clothed them 'with' coats, 9 and hast girded them 'with' a girdle (Aaron and his sons), and hast bound on them bonnets; and the priesthood hath been theirs by a statute age-during, and thou hast consecrated the hand of Aaron, and the hand of his sons, 10 and hast brought near the bullock before the tent of meeting, and Aaron hath laid—his sons also—their hands on the head of the bullock. 11 'And thou hast slaughtered the bullock before Jehovah, at the opening of the tent of meeting, 12 and hast taken of the blood of the bullock, and hast put 'it' on the horns of the altar with thy finger, and all the blood thou dost pour out at the foundation of the altar; 13 and thou hast taken all the fat which is covering the inwards, and the redundance on the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat which 'is' on them, and hast made perfume on the altar; 14 and the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, thou dost burn with fire at the outside of the camp; it 'is' a sin-offering. 15 'And the one ram thou dost take, and Aaron and his sons have laid their hands on the head of the ram, 16 and thou hast slaughtered the ram, and hast taken its blood, and hast sprinkled 'it' on the altar round about, 17 and the ram thou dost cut into its pieces, and hast washed its inwards, and its legs, and hast put 'them' on its pieces, and on its head; 18 and thou hast made perfume with the whole ram on the altar. It 'is' a burnt-offering to Jehovah, a sweet fragrance; a fire-offering it 'is' to Jehovah. 19 'And thou hast taken the second ram, and Aaron hath laid—his sons also—their hands on the head of the ram, 20 and thou hast slaughtered the ram, and hast taken of its blood, and hast put 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 hast sprinkled the blood on the altar round about; 21 and thou hast taken of the blood which 'is' on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and hast sprinkled on Aaron, and on his garments, and on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with him, and he hath been hallowed, he, and his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him. 22 'And thou hast taken from the ram the fat, and the fat tail, and the fat which is covering the inwards, and the redundance on the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat which 'is' on them, and the right leg, for it 'is' a ram of consecration, 23 and one round cake of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one thin cake out of the basket of the unleavened things which 'is' before Jehovah. 24 'And thou hast set the whole on the hands of Aaron, and on the hands of his sons, and hast waved them—a wave-offering before Jehovah; 25 and thou hast taken them out of their hand, and hast made perfume on the altar beside the burnt-offering, for sweet fragrance before Jehovah; a fire-offering it 'is' to Jehovah. 26 'And thou hast taken the breast from the ram of the consecration which 'is' for Aaron, and hast waved it—a wave-offering before Jehovah, and it hath become thy portion; 27 and thou hast sanctified the breast of the wave-offering, and the leg of the heave-offering, which hath been waved, and which hath been lifted up from the ram of the consecration, of that which 'is' for Aaron, and of that which 'is' for his sons; 28 and it hath been for Aaron and for his sons, by a statute age-during from the sons of Israel, for it 'is' a heave-offering; and it is a heave offering from the sons of Israel, from the sacrifices of their peace-offerings—their heave-offering to Jehovah. 29 'And the holy garments which are Aaron's, are for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to consecrate in them their hand; 30 seven days doth the priest in his stead (of his sons) put them on, when he goeth in unto the tent of meeting, to minister in the sanctuary. 31 'And the ram of the consecration thou dost take, and hast boiled its flesh in the holy place; 32 and Aaron hath eaten—his sons also—the flesh of the ram, and the bread which 'is' in the basket, at the opening of the tent of meeting; 33 and they have eaten those things by which there is atonement to consecrate their hand, to sanctify them; and a stranger doth not eat—for they 'are' holy; 34 and if there be left of the flesh of the consecration or of the bread till the morning, then thou hast burned that which is left with fire; it is not eaten, for it 'is' holy. 35 'And thou hast done thus to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded thee; seven days thou dost consecrate their hand; 36 and a bullock, a sin-offering, thou dost prepare daily for the atonements, and thou hast atoned for the altar, in thy making atonement on it, and hast anointed it to sanctify it; 37 seven days thou dost make atonement for the altar, and hast sanctified it, and the altar hath been most holy; all that is coming against the altar is holy.
38 'And this 'is' that which thou dost prepare on the altar; two lambs, sons of a year, daily continually; 39 the one lamb thou dost prepare in the morning, and the second lamb thou dost prepare between the evenings; 40 and a tenth 'deal' of fine flour, mixed with beaten oil, a fourth part of a hin, and a libation, a fourth part of a hin, of wine, 'is' for the one lamb. 41 'And the second lamb thou dost prepare between the evenings; according to the present of the morning, and according to its libation, thou dost prepare for it, for sweet fragrance, a fire-offering, to Jehovah:— 42 a continual burnt-offering for your generations, at the opening of the tent of meeting, before Jehovah, whither I am met with you, to speak unto thee there, 43 and I have met there with the sons of Israel, and it hath been sanctified by My honour. 44 'And I have sanctified the tent of meeting, and the altar, and Aaron and his sons I sanctify for being priests to Me, 45 and I have tabernacled in the midst of the sons of Israel, and have become their God, 46 and they have known that I 'am' Jehovah their God, who hath brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I may tabernacle in their midst; I 'am' Jehovah their God.
301 'And thou hast made an altar 'for' making perfume; 'of' shittim wood thou dost make it; 2 a cubit its length, and a cubit its breadth, (it is square), and two cubits its height; its horns 'are' of the same. 3 'And thou hast overlaid it with pure gold, its top, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou hast made to it a crown of gold round about; 4 and two rings of gold thou dost make to it under its crown; on its two ribs thou dost make 'them', on its two sides, and they have become places for staves, to bear it with them. 5 'And thou hast made the staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them with gold; 6 and thou hast put it before the vail, which 'is' by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat which 'is' over the testimony, whither I am met with thee. 7 'And Aaron hath made perfume on it, perfume of spices, morning by morning; in his making the lamps right he doth perfume it, 8 and in Aaron's causing the lamps to go up between the evenings, he doth perfume it; a continual perfume before Jehovah to your generations. 9 'Ye do not cause strange perfume to go up upon it, and burnt-offering, and present, and libation ye do not pour out on it; 10 and Aaron hath made atonement on its horns, once in a year, by the blood of the sin-offering of atonements; once in a year doth he make atonement for it, to your generations; it 'is' most holy to Jehovah.'
11 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 12 'When thou takest up the sum of the sons of Israel for their numbers, then they have given each an atonement 'for' his soul to Jehovah in their being numbered, and there is no plague among them in their being numbered. 13 'This they do give, every one passing over unto those numbered, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel 'is' twenty gerahs); half a shekel 'is' the heave-offering to Jehovah; 14 every one passing over unto those numbered, from a son of twenty years and upwards, doth give the heave-offering of Jehovah; 15 the rich doth not multiply, and the poor doth not diminish from the half-shekel, to give the heave-offering of Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls. 16 'And thou hast taken the atonement-money from the sons of Israel, and hast given it for the service of the tent of meeting; and it hath been to the sons of Israel for a memorial before Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls.'
17 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 18 'And thou hast made a laver of brass (and its base of brass), for washing; and thou hast put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and hast put water there; 19 and Aaron and his sons have washed at it their hands and their feet, 20 in their going in unto the tent of meeting they wash 'with' water, and die not; or in their drawing nigh unto the altar to minister, to perfume a fire-offering to Jehovah, 21 then they have washed their hands and their feet, and they die not, and it hath been to them a statute age-during, to him and to his seed to their generations.'
22 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, 23 'And thou, take to thyself principal spices, wild honey five hundred 'shekels'; and spice-cinnamon, the half of that, two hundred and fifty; and spice-cane two hundred and fifty; 24 and cassia five hundred, by the shekel of the sanctuary, and olive oil a hin; 25 and thou hast made it a holy anointing oil, a compound mixture, work of a compounder; it is a holy anointing oil. 26 'And thou hast anointed with it the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its vessels, and the candlestick and its vessels, and the altar of perfume, 28 and the altar of burnt-offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base; 29 and thou hast sanctified them, and they have been most holy; all that is coming against them is holy; 30 and Aaron and his sons thou dost anoint, and hast sanctified them for being priests to Me. 31 'And unto the sons of Israel thou dost speak, saying, A holy anointing oil is this to Me, to your generations; 32 on flesh of man it is not poured, and with its proper proportion ye make none like it; it 'is' holy; it is holy to you; 33 a man who compoundeth 'any' like it, or who putteth of it on a stranger—hath even been cut off from his people.' 34 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Take to thee spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, spices and pure frankincense; they are part for part; 35 and thou hast made it a perfume, a compound, work of a compounder, salted, pure, holy; 36 and thou hast beaten 'some' of it small, and hast put of it before the testimony, in the tent of meeting, whither I am met with thee; most holy it is to you. 37 'As to the perfume which thou makest, with its proper proportion ye do not make to yourselves, holy it is to thee to Jehovah; 38 a man who maketh 'any' like it—to be refreshed by it—hath even been cut off from his people.'
23 And he having come to the temple, there came to him when teaching the chief priests and the elders of the people, saying, 'By what authority dost thou do these things? and who gave thee this authority?' 24 And Jesus answering said to them, 'I will ask you—I also—one word, which if ye may tell me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things; 25 the baptism of John, whence was it?—from heaven, or from men?' And they were reasoning with themselves, saying, 'If we should say, From heaven; he will say to us, Wherefore, then, did ye not believe him? 26 and if we should say, From men, we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.' 27 And answering Jesus they said, 'We have not known.' He said to them—he also—'Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.
28 'And what think ye? A man had two children, and having come to the first, he said, Child, go, to-day be working in my vineyard.' 29 And he answering said, 'I will not,' but at last, having repented, he went. 30 'And having come to the second, he said in the same manner, 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 saith to them, 'Verily I say to you, that the tax-gatherers and the harlots do go before you into the reign of God, 32 for John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye did not believe him, and the tax-gatherers and the harlots did believe him, and ye, having seen, repented not at last—to believe him.
33 'Hear ye another simile: There was a certain man, a householder, who planted a vineyard, and did put a hedge round it, and digged in it a wine-press, and built a tower, and gave it out to husbandmen, and went abroad. 34 'And when the season of the fruits came nigh, he sent his servants unto the husbandmen, to receive the fruits of it, 35 and the husbandmen having taken his servants, one they scourged, and one they killed, and one they stoned. 36 'Again he sent other servants more than the first, and they did to them in the same manner. 37 'And at last he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son; 38 and the husbandmen having seen the son, said among themselves, This is the heir, come, we may kill him, and may possess his inheritance; 39 and having taken him, they cast 'him' out of the vineyard, and killed him; 40 whenever therefore the lord of the vineyard may come, what will he do to these husbandmen?' 41 They say to him, 'Evil men—he will evilly destroy them, and the vineyard will give out to other husbandmen, who will give back to him the fruits in their seasons.' 42 Jesus saith to them, 'Did ye never read in the Writings, A stone that the builders disallowed, it became head of a corner; from the Lord hath this come to pass, and it is wonderful in our eyes. 43 'Because of this I say to you, that the reign of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth its fruit; 44 and he who is falling on this stone shall be broken, and on whomsoever it may fall it will crush him to pieces.' 45 And the chief priests and the Pharisees having heard his similes, knew that of them he speaketh, 46 and seeking to lay hold on him, they feared the multitudes, seeing they were holding him as 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.
