Today's Readings and Stuff --- Friday, 09 March 2018

Snow yesterday and last night and some of it today as well.  A "high" today of around 34°.  Lousy, yes, but better by far than the sub-zero "highs" that have been known in this area, a few of which we experienced in the last few years.  So it stinks, but it could be worse.  And we continue to advance on official Spring, which is set to hit on the 20th, not that far distant.  Our "day" portion of the 24 hours is to be 11 hours 37 minutes today, and picking up another 2 minutes 45 seconds tomorrow.  MUCH better than the 9 hours and, what?, around 9 minutes back at the Winter Solstice.  So the Equinox is not that distant.  The "time change" to Daylight Savings Time is set for around 02:00 this Sunday.  Another sign of progress.
But ....  son-in-law's brother put a photo on social media yesterday.  Cars at the Costco there are covered with pollen from blooming trees, and, as he put it, "it's nearly pool weather".  While we have snow on the ground and more falling every minute until around 3:00 p.m. today.  Snow is eeeeeeevil!!






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Today's reading in the Old Testament is chapters 17 and 18 in the book of Numbers

Numbers 17

1  And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod.

3  And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers.

4  And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you.

5  And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you.

6  And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.

7  And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness.

8  And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.

9  And Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod.

10  And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.

11  And Moses did so: as the Lord commanded him, so did he.

12  And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.

13  Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the Lord shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?

Number 18

1  And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

2  And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness.

3  And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.

4  And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.

5  And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.

6  And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the Lord, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

7  Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for every thing of the altar, and within the veil; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest's office unto you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

8  And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever.

9  This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.

10  In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy unto thee.

11  And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

12  All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee.

13  And whatsoever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring unto the Lord, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thine house shall eat of it.

14  Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine.

15  Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the Lord, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

16  And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs.

17  But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the Lord.

18  And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine.

19  All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee.

20  And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.

21  And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

22  Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.

23  But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.

24  But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

25  And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

26  Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe.

27  And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.

28  Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the Lord of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the Lord's heave offering to Aaron the priest.

29  Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the Lord, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it.

30  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress.

31  And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation.

32  And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.

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Our Poetry section today is Psalm 50

Psalm 50

A Psalm of Asaph.

1  The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof

2  Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

3  Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

4  He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.

5  Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

6  And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.

7  Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.

8  I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.

9I   will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.

10  For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.

11  I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.mine: Heb. with me

12  If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.

13  Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

14  Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:

15  And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

16  But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?

17  Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.

18  When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.

19  Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.

20  Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.

21  These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

22  Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

23  Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

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In the New Testament today, chapter 6 in the Gospel of Luke

Luke 6

1  And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.

2  And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?

3  And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;

4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?

5  And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

6  And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.

7  And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.

8  But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.

9  Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

10  And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

11  And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

12  And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

13  And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

14  Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

15  Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

16  And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

17  And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

18  And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.

19  And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

20And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.

23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.

25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.

30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?

40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.

43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.