Today's Readings and Stuff -- Wednesday, 28 February 2018

Mid-week now, and the very last day in February.  Glad to see it leaving, but March is often no better.  For example, we're expecting a high of around 59° today, which is OK.  But Friday's "high" of 36° and Saturday's of 38°, both with lows in the mid-20's, and snow predicted for this Friday and next Friday (March 9) are not the stuff of warm breezes and flip-flops.  Not for me, anyway.  But the "day" part of our 24 is all the way up to 11 hours 13 minutes, more than 2 hours more than we had at the Winter Solstice, and are to gain a further 2 minutes 42 seconds for tomorrow.  So, heading in the right direction, albeit too slowly for my liking.  After today, 21 days until Spring.

Yesterday was a LONG day.  We had stuff in the morning that had to be done.  Then make the 35 minute drive to Wife's endocrinologist.  Long time there, and the co-pay for the visit has gone up again.  Then back to the area, stop here to get a bit, then continue on the pharmacy and the Big Box store.  Picked up two more meds for her, so that's another $32 gone.  Then pick up a few items from the store, things we'd not had the funds to get last week.  And then back home, with darkness looming.

She was exhausted when we got home, so we "grazed" for dinner, heating up stored leftovers in the fridge.  And went to bed a bit early.  And couldn't sleep (of course).  Finally did.  Until cats woke me up about 05:30 wanting breakfast, which  Yours Truly did.  And then I went back to bed, with bedroom door closed and cats on the far side of it, and got another hour of sleep.  She's on the recliner, coffee by her, toast in her, and a dose of generic Alka-Seltzer cold and her morning meds in her.  And one cat on her.  Not so bad.

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The Old Testament reading today is chapter 27 in the book of Leviticus, completing this pass through that book.

Leviticus 27

1  And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord by thy estimation.

3  And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

4  And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.

5  And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

6  And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.

7  And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

8  But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.

9  And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the Lord, all that any man giveth of such unto the Lord shall be holy.

10  He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.

11  And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the Lord, then he shall present the beast before the priest:

12  And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be

13  But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.

14  And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the Lord, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand.

15  And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his.

16  And if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

17  If he sanctify his field from the year of jubilee, according to thy estimation it shall stand.

18  But if he sanctify his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubilee, and it shall be abated from thy estimation.

19  And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him.

20  And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.

21  But the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the Lord, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's.

22  And if a man sanctify unto the Lord a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;

23  Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubilee: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the Lord.

24  In the year of the jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong.

25  And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.

26  Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the Lord's firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the Lord's.

27  And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.

28  Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the Lord of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord.

29  None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.

30  And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord.

31  And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.

32  And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.

33  He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.

34  These are the commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

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Psalm 43

1  Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

2  For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

3  O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

4  Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

5  Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

 
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 Today's Old Testament reading is chapter 15 in the Gospel of Mark.  The Crucifixion.  In many ways, the darkest day in the history of the world.  But in others, the best:  it was there that He paid the price for my sin.  And  yours too.

Mark 15

1  And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.

2  And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it.

3  And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.

4  And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.

5  But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.

6  Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.

7  And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.

8  And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.

9  But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?

10  For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.

11  But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.

12  And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?

13  And they cried out again, Crucify him.

14  Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.

15  And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.

16  And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.

17  And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,

18  And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!

19  And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

20  And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

21  And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.

22  And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.

23  And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.

24  And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.

25  And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.

26  And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

27  And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left.

28  And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.

29  And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,

30  Save thyself, and come down from the cross.

31  Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.

32  Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.

33  And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

34  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

35  And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias.

36  And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.

37  And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.

38  And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

39  And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

40  There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

41  (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.

42  And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,

43  Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.

44  And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.

45  And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.

46  And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.

47  And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.