Today's Readings and Stuff -- Saturday, 08 February 2020

Another quiet day here.  We're still mostly in recovery mode, I'm pretty well "there" and she seems to be headed in that direction.  So we shall see.  I guess.
Lots of thoughts and meditations on the state of the world, the state of our area, and, our own conditions and direction.  Not all of it is terribly encouraging.

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I put this here using the Holman CSB version, primarily because of its use of dimensional terms familiar to most readers: few of us measure in cubits for example.  Note the very specific directions given.  These constructions were to be performed precisely as directed, not any which way, no room for "creative approaches".


Exodus 27

The Altar of Burnt Offering

1“You  are to construct the altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, 7 1/2 feet long, and 7 1/2 feet wide;  it must be 4 1/2 feet high.  2Make horns for it on its four corners; the horns are to be of one piece.  Overlay it with bronze.  3Make its pots for removing ashes, and its shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans; make all its utensils of bronze. 4Construct a grate for it of bronze mesh, and make four bronze rings on the mesh at its four corners. 5Set it below, under the altar’s ledge,  so that the mesh comes halfway up  the altar. 6Then make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7The poles are to be inserted into the rings so that the poles are on two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8Construct the altar with boards so that it is hollow. They are to make it just as it was shown to you on the mountain. 

The Courtyard

9“You  are to make the courtyard for the tabernacle. Make the hangings on the south of the courtyard out of finely spun linen, 150 feet  long on that side. 10There are to be 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands  of the posts must be silver. 11Then make the hangings on the north side 150 feet  long. There are to be 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands  of the posts must be silver. 12Make the hangings of the courtyard on the west side 75 feet  long, including their 10 posts and 10 bases. 13Make the hangings of the courtyard on the east side toward the sunrise 75 feet.  14Make the hangings on one side of the gate 22 1/2 feet,  including their three posts and their three bases. 15And make the hangings on the other side 22 1/2 feet,  including their three posts and their three bases. 16The gate of the courtyard is to have a thirty-foot  screen  embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. It is to have four posts including their four bases.

17“All the posts around the courtyard are to be banded with silver and have silver hooks and bronze bases. 18The length of the courtyard is to be 150 feet, the width 75 feet at each end, and the height 7 1/2 feet,  all of it made of finely spun linen. The bases of the posts must be bronze. 19All the tools of the tabernacle for every use and all its tent pegs as well as all the tent pegs of the courtyard are to be made of bronze.

The Lampstand Oil

20“You are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil from crushed olives for the light, in order to keep the lamp burning continually. 21In the tent of meeting outside the veil that is in front of the testimony,  Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamp  from evening until morning before the Lord. This is to be a permanent statute  for the Israelites throughout their generations.

Exodus 28

The Priestly Garments

1“Have your brother Aaron, with his sons, come to you from the Israelites to serve Me as priest — Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.  2Make holy garments  for your brother Aaron, for glory and beauty. 3You are to instruct all the skilled craftsmen,   whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make Aaron’s garments for consecrating him to serve Me as priest. 4These are the garments that they must make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a specially woven tunic,  a turban, and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they may serve Me as priests. 5They should use  gold; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; and fine linen.

The Ephod

6“They  are to make the ephod of finely spun linen embroidered with gold, and with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. 7It must have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges so that it can be joined together. 8The artistically woven waistband that is on the ephod  must be of one piece,  according to the same workmanship of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen.

9“Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of Israel’s sons: 10six of their names on the first stone and the remaining six names on the second stone, in the order of their birth. 11Engrave the two stones with the names of Israel’s sons as a gem cutter engraves a seal. Mount them, surrounded with gold filigree settings. 12Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites. Aaron will carry their names on his two shoulders before the Lord as a reminder.  13Fashion gold filigree settings 14and two chains of pure gold; you will make them of braided cord work, and attach the cord chains to the settings.

The Breastpiece

15“You  are to make an embroidered breastpiece for making decisions.  Make it with the same workmanship as the ephod; make it of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen. 16It must be square and folded double, nine inches long and nine inches wide.  17Place a setting of gemstones  on it, four rows of stones:

The first row should be a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald; 

18the second row, a turquoise,  a sapphire,  and a diamond; 

19the third row, a jacinth,  an agate, and an amethyst;

20and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.

They should be adorned with gold filigree in their settings. 21The 12 stones are to correspond to the names of Israel’s sons. Each stone must be engraved like a seal, with one of the names of the 12 tribes.

22“You are to make braided chains  of pure gold cord work for the breastpiece. 23Fashion two gold rings for the breastpiece and attach them to its two corners. 24Then attach the two gold cords to the two gold rings at the corners of the breastpiece. 25Attach the other ends of the two cords to the two filigree settings, and in this way attach them to the ephod’s shoulder pieces in the front. 26Make two other gold rings and put them at the two other corners of the breastpiece on the edge that is next to the inner border of the ephod. 27Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the ephod’s two shoulder pieces on its front, close to its seam,  and above the ephod’s woven waistband. 28The craftsmen are to tie the breastpiece from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece is above the ephod’s waistband and does not come loose from the ephod.

29“Whenever he enters the sanctuary, Aaron is to carry the names of Israel’s sons over his heart on the breastpiece for decisions, as a continual reminder before the Lord. 30Place the Urim and Thummim  in the breastpiece for decisions, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the Lord. Aaron will continually carry the means of decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.

The Robe

31“You  are to make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue yarn. 32There should be an opening at its top in the center of it. Around the opening, there should be a woven collar with an opening like that of body armor  so that it does not tear. 33Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn  on its lower hem and all around it. Put gold bells between them all the way around, 34so that gold bells and pomegranates alternate around the lower hem of the robe. 35The robe must be worn by Aaron whenever he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he enters the sanctuary before the Lord and when he exits, so that he does not die.

The Turban

36“You are to make a pure gold medallion and engrave it, like the engraving of a seal: 

HOLY TO THE LORD.

37Fasten it to a cord of blue yarn so it can be placed on the turban; the medallion is to be on the front of the turban. 38It will be on Aaron’s forehead so that Aaron may bear the guilt  connected with the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate as all their holy gifts. It is always to be on his forehead, so that they may find acceptance with the Lord.

Other Priestly Garments

39“You are to weave the tunic from fine linen, make a turban of fine linen, and make an embroidered sash. 40Make tunics, sashes, and headbands for Aaron’s sons to give them glory and beauty.  41Put these on your brother Aaron and his sons; then anoint,  ordain,  and consecrate  them, so that they may serve Me as priests. 42Make them linen undergarments  to cover their naked bodies; they must extend from the waist  to the thighs. 43These must be worn by Aaron and his sons whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary area, so that they do not incur guilt  and die. This is to be a permanent statute  for Aaron and for his future descendants.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 08 February 2019

At this rate, we'll be in the double digits on the day count soon.  I guess that's progress of a sort.

Yesterday, the temp flirted with the 60° mark.  When I looked outside a few minutes ago, I saw snowflakes, that awful sight.  NOT quite what I wanted.  Come on Spring!

"Song of the Day" came to me during the first coffee of the day (not the last, I assure you).  Not a classic, but I like it.  Through The Fire.   I think that many of us can relate.  The life of a believer is generally not one of ease.  It wasn't for Jesus, it wasn't for the Apostles, nor for those who took the Message to a dying and hostile world.  Hint:  it's still a dying and hostile world.

So many times I question the certain circumstances

And things I could not understand.

And that's when my frustration gets so out of hand.

Many times in trials my weakness blurs my vision
It's then I am reminded, I've never been forsaken.

I've never had to stand one test alone.

And It's through the fire my weakness is made strong.

As I look at all the victories, the Spirit rises up in me.

He never offered a victory without fighting.

He never promised that the cross would not get heavy And the hill would not be hard to climb.

And the advisory says give in, Just hold on.

He said help would always come in time. Just remember when you're standing in the valley of decision Our Lord will show up (Yeah)

If I trust the hand of God, He'll shield the flame again.

And He will take you through the fire again I know within myself that I would surly perish He never promised that the cross would not get heavy

Just remember when you're standing in the valley of decision

And the hill would not be hard to climb. He never offered a victory without fighting. He said help would always come in time. And the advisory says give in, Just hold on.

And He will take you through the fire again

Our Lord will show up (Yeah) And He will take you through the fire again Just hold on

Our Lord will show up (Yeah)

But there is one that follows the same sort of testimony.  God On The Mountain.  I love it.  It reminds me of many things, but one of them is Moses up on the mountain in the very presence of the Lord.  Leaving that to return to the struggles and problems of leading a pretty fractious people through a hostile wilderness had to be incredibly hard.  I would have been sorely tempted to spin 180 degrees and run back to the Lord's Presence.  But that was not the mission he had been assigned.  Yes, that time with the Lord gave him the confidence and determination to obey.  Sound familiar?  It should.  We have been in the Presence of the Lord.  It's wonderful!  But our faith is not a cruise vacation, it's a battle plan.  And, yes, sometimes the cross is heavy, and yes, sometimes the hill is hard to climb.  But He's with us, regardless.

I see that many of our fellows in this area were dealing with power outages last night.  The combination of heavy rains yesterday and rapidly falling temperatures last night, led to some flooded roads and nasty ice patches.  Now factor in the "drunk driving Olympics", and several poles were hit hard enough to break them, knocking wires onto the roadway.  Oh, and at least one HOUSE was hit by a car!   Tonight, being Friday, is likely to see far more of that, along with the effects of the "partying culture".


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Today, chapters 27 and 28 in the Exodus.
This continues quite a bit of detail that the Lord was laying out for the system of worship, the establishment of the Aaronic priesthood, and details for the construction of the Tabernacle.  This was definitely not the place for a "whatever feels good to me" sort of attitude.  The Lord gave some very detailed specifics.  Among the several effects of that was a clear delineation between the patterns of the heathens around them.  Also, making it obvious that there was a role to be played by EVERYONE.  It wasn't Moses or Aaron doing the woodwork or metalwork, was it?  No.  But there were craftsmen in the assemblage that just "happened" to be there.  Hmmm.  Perhaps the Lord had a purpose for that.  And still has a role and a duty for each of us, no matter what our own individual talent might be.  And, of course, it also, fostered paying attention,  obedient attention, to the Lord's orders.  Several of those things seem to have fallen by the wayside in too many places.

Exodus 27

1And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.

2And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.

3And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basins, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.

4And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof.

5And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.

6And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.

7And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it.

8Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

9And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:

10And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.

11And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

12And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.

13And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.

14The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

15And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

16And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.

17All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.

18The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.

19All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.

20And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.

21In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

Exodus 28

1And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.

2And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.

3And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.

4And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.

5And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.

6And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.

7It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together.

8And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

9And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:

10Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.

11With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.

12And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial.

13And thou shalt make ouches of gold;

14And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.

15And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.

16Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.

17And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

18And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

19And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

20And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.

21And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.

22And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold.

23And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

24And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate.

25And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it.

26And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward.

27And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.

28And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.

29And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.

30And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.

31And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue.

32And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.

33And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:

34A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.

35And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not.

36And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.

37And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be.

38And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

39And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework.

40And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.

41And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.

42And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:

43And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.

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Today, Psalm 29, another of the Psalms of David.

Psalm 29

A Psalm of David.

1Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength.

2Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

3The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters.

4The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

5The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lordbreaketh the cedars of Lebanon.

6He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.

7The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.

8The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lordshaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.

9The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.

10The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.

11The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.

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 A new page today.  The Gospel of Mark.


Mark 1

1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

2As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

3The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

4John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

5And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

6And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

7And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

8I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

9And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

10And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

11And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

12And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

13And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

14Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

15And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

16Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

17And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

18And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

19And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

20And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.

21And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

22And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

23And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

24Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

25And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

26And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

27And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

28And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

29And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

30But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.

31And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

32And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.

33And all the city was gathered together at the door.

34And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

35And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

36And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.

37And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.

38And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

39And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

40And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

42And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

43And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;

44And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

45But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.