Today's Readings and Stuff-- Saturday, 20 February 2021

VERY late and VERY brief.  We spent the entire day finally  completing the living room remodel that essentially translates down to "redoing the entire floor".  We'd run into some problems, financial being one but expertise and experience being another .  Finally had to pay an in-law to come in and lead the effort, he having done this before (and preparing to do it again on his own place) using our tools and supplies (which we were finally able to afford).  I have some finish work to do, primarily the acquisition and installation of the trim work to go around the outside walls, but the work completed sealed off the air leaks of COLD air coming up from underneath, which should save us some $$ on the heating bill (that I dread receiving).  We got this done about in time to avoid last night's near-0° temps, which is A Good Thing.  But it ended with me collapsing into bed, dead tired, and not doing this.  So, apologies.  

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Numbers 3, 4

NUMBERS 3

Aaron’s Sons and the Levites

1These are the family records of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai.  2These are the names of Aaron’s sons: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3These are the names of Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. 4But Nadab and Abihu died in the Lord’s presence when they presented unauthorized fire  before the Lord in the Wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests under the direction of Aaron their father. 

5The Lord spoke to Moses: 6“Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. 7They are to perform duties for  him and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 8They are to take care of  all the furnishings of the tent of meeting  and perform duties for  the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. 9Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been assigned exclusively to him  from the Israelites.  10You are to appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out their priestly responsibilities, but any unauthorized person who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.” 

11The Lord spoke to Moses: 12“See, I have taken the Levites from the Israelites in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb.  The Levites belong to Me, 13because every firstborn belongs to Me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,  I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to Myself, both man and animal. They are Mine; I am Yahweh.” 

The Levitical Census

14The Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai: 15“Register the Levites by their ancestral houses and their clans. You are to register every male one month old or more.” 16So Moses registered them in obedience to the Lord as he had been commanded:

17These were Levi’s sons by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 18These were the names of Gershon’s sons by their clans: Libni and Shimei. 19Kohath’s sons by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 20Merari’s sons by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the Levite clans by their ancestral houses. 

21The Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan came from Gershon; these were the Gershonite clans. 22Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 7,500. 23The Gershonite clans camped behind the tabernacle on the west side,  24and the leader of the Gershonite family was Eliasaph son of Lael. 25The Gershonites’ duties  at the tent of meeting involved the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting,  26the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance  to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, and the tent ropes — all the work relating to these.

27The Amramite clan, the Izharite clan, the Hebronite clan, and the Uzzielite clan came from Kohath; these were the Kohathites. 28Counting every male one month old or more, there were 8,600  responsible for the duties of  the sanctuary. 29The clans of the Kohathites camped on the south side of the tabernacle,  30and the leader of the family of the Kohathite clans was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. 31Their duties involved the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the sanctuary utensils that were used with these, and the screen   — and all the work relating to them.  32The chief of the Levite leaders was Eleazar  son of Aaron the priest; he had oversight of those responsible for the duties of  the sanctuary.

33The Mahlite clan and the Mushite clan came from Merari; these were the Merarite clans. 34Those registered, counting every male one month old or more, numbered 6,200. 35The leader of the family of the Merarite clans was Zuriel son of Abihail; they camped on the north side of the tabernacle.  36The assigned duties of Merari’s descendants involved the tabernacle’s supports, crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment, and all the work related to these,  37in addition to the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes.

38Moses, Aaron, and his sons, who performed the duties of  the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites, camped in front of the tabernacle on the east,  in front of the tent of meeting toward the sunrise. Any unauthorized person who came near it was to be put to death. 

39The total number of all the Levite males one month old or more that Moses and Aaron  registered by their clans at the Lord’s command was 22,000.

Redemption of the Firstborn

40The Lord told Moses: “Register every firstborn male of the Israelites  one month old or more, and list their names. 41You are to take the Levites for Me — I am Yahweh — in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites’ cattle.” 42So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him. 43The total number of the firstborn males one month old or more listed by name was 22,273.

44The Lord spoke to Moses again: 45“Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to Me; I am Yahweh.  46As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, 47collect five shekels for each person, according to the standard sanctuary shekel — 20 gerahs to the shekel.  48Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”

49So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the ones redeemed by the Levites. 50He collected the money from the firstborn Israelites: 1,365 shekels  measured by the standard sanctuary shekel. 51He gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

NUMBERS 4

Duties of the Kohathites

1The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 2“Among the Levites, take a census of the Kohathites  by their clans and their ancestral houses, 3men from 30 years old to 50 years old — everyone who is qualified  to do work at the tent of meeting.

4“The service of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting concerns the most holy objects.  5Whenever the camp is about to move on, Aaron and his sons are to go in, take down the screening veil, and cover the ark of the testimony with it.  6They are to place over this a covering made of manatee skin,   spread a solid blue cloth on top, and insert its poles. 

7“They are to spread a blue cloth over the table of the Presence and place the plates and cups on it, as well as the bowls and pitchers for the drink offering. The regular bread offering is to be on it.  8They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover them with a covering made of manatee skin,  and insert the poles in the table. 

9“They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand  used for light, with its lamps, snuffers, and firepans,  as well as its jars of oil by which they service it. 10Then they must place it with all its utensils inside a covering made of manatee skin  and put them on the carrying frame.

11“They are to spread a blue cloth over the gold altar,  cover it with a covering made of manatee skin,  and insert its poles.  12They are to take all the serving utensils they use in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with a covering made of manatee skin,  and put them on a carrying frame.

13“They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar, spread a purple cloth over it, 14and place all the equipment on it that they use in serving: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and basins — all the equipment of the altar.  They are to spread a covering made of manatee skin  over it and insert its poles.  

15“Aaron and his sons are to finish covering the holy objects and all their equipment whenever the camp is to move on. The Kohathites will come and carry them, but they are not to touch the holy objects or they will die.  These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the tent of meeting.

16“Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has oversight of the lamp oil,  the fragrant incense,  the daily grain offering,  and the anointing oil.  He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, the holy objects and their utensils.” 

17Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron: 18“Do not allow the Kohathite tribal clans to be wiped out from the Levites. 19Do this for them so that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy objects:  Aaron and his sons are to go in and assign each man his task and transportation duty. 20The Kohathites are not to go in and look at the holy objects, even for a moment,  or they will die.”

Duties of the Gershonites

21The Lord spoke to Moses: 22“Take a census of the Gershonites  also, by their ancestral houses and their clans. 23Register men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who is qualified to perform service, to do work at the tent of meeting. 24This is the service of the Gershonite clans regarding work and transportation duties: 25They are to transport the tabernacle curtains,  the tent of meeting with its covering and the covering made of manatee skin  on top of it, the screen for the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26the hangings of the courtyard, the screen for the entrance at the gate of the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and the altar, along with their ropes and all the equipment for their service. They will carry out everything that needs to be done with these items.

27“All the service of the Gershonites, all their transportation duties and all their other work, is to be done at the command of Aaron and his sons; you are to assign to them all that they are responsible to carry. 28This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting, and their duties will be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest. 

Duties of the Merarites

29“As for the Merarites, you are to register them by their clans  and their ancestral houses. 30Register men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who is qualified to do the work of the tent of meeting. 31This is what they are responsible to carry as the whole of their service at the tent of meeting: the supports of the tabernacle, with its crossbars, posts, and bases, 32the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes, including all their equipment and all the work related to them. You are to assign by name the items that they are responsible to carry. 33This is the service of the Merarite clans regarding all their work at the tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.”

Census of the Levites

34So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of the community registered the Kohathites by their clans and their ancestral houses, 35men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. 36The men registered by their clans numbered 2,750. 37These were the registered men of the Kohathite clans, everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.

38The Gershonites were registered by their clans and their ancestral houses, 39men from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. 40The men registered by their clans and their ancestral houses numbered 2,630. 41These were the registered men of the Gershonite clans. At the Lord’s command Moses and Aaron registered everyone who could serve at the tent of meeting.

42The men of the Merarite clans were registered by their clans and their ancestral houses, 43those from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified for work at the tent of meeting. 44The men registered by their clans numbered 3,200. 45These were the registered men of the Merarite clans; Moses and Aaron registered them at the Lord’s command through Moses.

46Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel registered all the Levites by their clans and their ancestral houses, 47from 30 years old to 50 years old, everyone who was qualified to do the work of serving at the tent of meeting and transporting it. 48Their registered men numbered 8,580. 49At the Lord’s command they were registered under the direction of Moses, each one according to his work and transportation duty, and his assignment was as the Lord commanded Moses.

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Mark 3:22-35

MARK 3

22The scribes  who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul  in Him! ” and, “He drives out  demons  by the ruler  of the demons! ” 

23So He summoned  them and spoke to them in parables:  “How can Satan  drive out Satan?  24If a kingdom  is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26And if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished! 

27“On the other hand, no one can enter a strong man’s house and rob his possessions unless he first ties up  the strong man. Then he will rob his house. 28I assure you: People will be forgiven for all sins  and whatever blasphemies  they may blaspheme. 29But whoever blasphemes  against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness,  but is guilty  of an eternal sin”   — 30because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” 

True Relationships

31Then  His mother  and His brothers  came, and standing outside, they sent word to Him and called Him. 32A crowd was sitting around Him and told Him, “Look, Your mother, Your brothers,  and Your sisters  are outside asking for You.”

33He replied to them, “Who are My mother and My brothers? ” 34And looking about at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!  35Whoever does the will of God  is My brother and sister and mother.”