To The Word – Day 41

₁The LORD commanded Moses ₂to instruct the Israelites to present to God at the appointed times the required food offerings that are pleasing to him.

₃These are the food offerings that are to be presented to the LORD: for the daily burnt offering, two one-year-old male lambs without any defects. ₄Offer the first lamb in the morning, and the second in the evening, ₅each with a grain offering of one kilogramme of flour, mixed with one litre of the best olive oil. ₆This is the daily offering that is completely burnt, which was first offered at Mount Sinai as a food offering, a smell pleasing to the LORD. ₇As the wine offering with the first lamb, pour out at the altar one litre of wine. ₈In the evening offer the second lamb in the same way as the morning offering, together with its wine offering. It also is a food offering, a smell pleasing to the LORD.

₉On the Sabbath day offer two one-year-old male lambs without any defects, two kilogrammes of flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering, and the wine offering. ₁₀This burnt offering is to be offered every Sabbath in addition to the daily offering with its wine offering.

₁₁Present a burnt offering to the LORD at the beginning of each month: two young bulls, one ram, seven one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. ₁₂As a grain offering, offer flour mixed with olive oil: with each bull, three kilogrammes of flour; with the ram, two kilogrammes; ₁₃and with each lamb, one kilogramme. These burnt offerings are food offerings, a smell pleasing to the LORD. ₁₄The proper wine offering is two litres of wine with each bull, 1.5 litres with the ram, and one litre with each lamb. This is the regulation for the burnt offering for the first day of each month throughout the year. ₁₅And in addition to the daily burnt offering with its wine offering, offer one male goat as a sin offering.

₁₆The Passover Festival in honour of the LORD is to be held on the fourteenth day of the first month. ₁₇On the fifteenth day a religious festival begins which lasts seven days, during which only bread prepared without yeast is to be eaten. ₁₈On the first day of the festival you are to gather for worship, and no work is to be done. ₁₉Offer a burnt offering as a food offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. ₂₀Offer the proper grain offering of flour mixed with olive oil: three kilogrammes with each bull, two kilogrammes with the ram, ₂₁and one kilogramme with each lamb. ₂₂Also offer one male goat as a sin offering, and in this way perform the ritual of purification for the people. ₂₃Offer these in addition to the regular morning burnt offering. ₂₄In the same way, for seven days offer to the LORD a food offering, a smell pleasing to him. Offer this in addition to the daily burnt offering and wine offering. ₂₅Meet for worship on the seventh day and do no work.

₂₆On the first day of the Harvest Festival, when you present the offering of new corn to the LORD, you are to gather for worship, and no work is to be done. ₂₇Offer a burnt offering as a smell pleasing to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. ₂₈Offer the proper grain offering of flour mixed with olive oil: three kilogrammes with each bull, two kilogrammes with the ram, ₂₉and one kilogramme with each lamb. ₃₀Also offer one male goat as a sin offering, and in this way perform the ritual of purification for the people. ₃₁Offer these and the wine offering in addition to the daily burnt offering and grain offering.

₁On the first day of the seventh month you are to gather for worship, and no work is to be done. On that day trumpets are to be blown. ₂Present a burnt offering to the LORD, a smell pleasing to him: one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. ₃Offer the proper grain offering of flour mixed with olive oil: three kilogrammes of flour with the bull, two kilogrammes with the ram, ₄and one kilogramme with each lamb. ₅Also offer one male goat as a sin offering, and in this way perform the ritual of purification for the people. ₆Offer these in addition to the regular burnt offering for the first day of the month with its grain offering, and the daily burnt offering with its grain offering and wine offering. These food offerings are a smell pleasing to the LORD.

₇Gather for worship on the tenth day of the seventh month; eat no food and do no work. ₈Offer a burnt offering to the LORD, a smell pleasing to him: one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. ₉Offer the proper grain offering of flour mixed with olive oil: three kilogrammes of flour with the bull, two kilogrammes with the ram, ₁₀and one kilogramme with each lamb. ₁₁Also offer one male goat as a sin offering, in addition to the goat offered in the ritual of purification for the people, and the daily burnt offering with its grain offering and wine offering.

₁₂Gather for worship on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Celebrate this festival in honour of the LORD for seven days and do no work. ₁₃On this first day offer a food offering to the LORD, a smell pleasing to him: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. ₁₄Offer the proper grain offering of flour mixed with olive oil: three kilogrammes of flour with each bull, two kilogrammes with each ram, ₁₅and one kilogramme with each lamb, with the required wine offerings. ₁₆Also offer one male goat as a sin offering. Offer these in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain offering and wine offering.

₁₇On the second day offer twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. _18-19Offer with them all the other offerings required for the first day.

₂₀On the third day offer eleven young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. _21-22Offer with them all the other offerings required for the first day.

₂₃On the fourth day offer ten young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. _24-25Offer with them all the other offerings required for the first day.

₂₆On the fifth day offer nine young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. _27-28Offer with them all the other offerings required for the first day.

₂₉On the sixth day offer eight young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. _30-31Offer with them all the other offerings required for the first day.

₃₂On the seventh day offer seven young bulls, two rams, and fourteen one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. _33-34Offer with them all the other offerings required for the first day.

₃₅On the eighth day gather for worship and do no work. ₃₆Offer a burnt offering as a food offering to the LORD, a smell pleasing to him: one young bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs, all without any defects. _37-38Offer with them all the other offerings required for the first day.

₃₉These are the regulations concerning the burnt offerings, grain offerings, wine offerings, and fellowship offerings that you are to make to the LORD at your appointed festivals. These are in addition to the offerings you give in fulfilment of a vow or as freewill offerings.

₄₀So Moses told the people of Israel everything that the LORD had commanded him.

₁Moses gave the following instructions to the leaders of the tribes of Israel. ₂When a man makes a vow to give something to the LORD or takes an oath to abstain from something, he must not break his promise, but must do everything that he said he would.

₃When a young woman still living in her father's house makes a vow to give something to the LORD or promises to abstain from something, ₄she must do everything that she vowed or promised unless her father raises an objection when he hears about it. ₅But if her father forbids her to fulfil the vow when he hears about it, she is not required to keep it. The LORD will forgive her, because her father refused to let her keep it.

₆If an unmarried woman makes a vow, whether deliberately or carelessly, or promises to abstain from something, and then marries, ₇she must do everything that she vowed or promised unless her husband raises an objection when he hears about it. ₈But if her husband forbids her to fulfil the vow when he hears about it, she is not required to keep it. The LORD will forgive her.

₉A widow or a divorced woman must keep every vow she makes and every promise to abstain from something.

₁₀If a married woman makes a vow or promises to abstain from something, ₁₁she must do everything that she vowed or promised unless her husband raises an objection when he hears about it. ₁₂But if her husband forbids her to fulfil the vow when he hears about it, she is not required to keep it. The LORD will forgive her, because her husband prevented her from keeping her vow. ₁₃Her husband has the right to affirm or to annul any vow or promise that she has made. ₁₄But if, by the day after he hears of the vow, he has raised no objection, she must do everything that she has vowed or promised. He has affirmed the vow by not objecting on the day he heard of it. ₁₅But if he later annuls the vow, he must suffer the consequences for the failure to fulfil the vow.

₁₆These are the rules that the LORD gave Moses concerning vows made by an unmarried woman living in her father's house or by a married woman.

₁The LORD said to Moses, ₂“Punish the Midianites for what they did to the people of Israel. After you have done that, you will die.”

₃So Moses said to the people, “Get ready for war, so that you can attack Midian and punish them for what they did to the LORD. ₄From each tribe of Israel send a thousand men to war.”

₅So a thousand men were chosen from each tribe, a total of 12,000 men ready for battle. ₆Moses sent them to war under the command of Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took charge of the sacred objects and the trumpets for giving signals. ₇They attacked Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and killed all the men, ₈including the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. They also killed Balaam son of Beor.

₉The people of Israel captured the Midianite women and children, took their cattle and their flocks, plundered all their wealth, ₁₀and burnt all their cities and camps. ₁₁They took all the loot that they had captured, including the prisoners and the animals, ₁₂and brought them to Moses and Eleazar and to the community of the people of Israel, who were at the camp on the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho.

₁₃Moses, Eleazar, and all the other leaders of the community went out of the camp to meet the army. ₁₄Moses was angry with the officers, the commanders of battalions and companies, who had returned from the war. ₁₅He asked them, “Why have you kept all the women alive? ₁₆Remember that it was the women who followed Balaam's instructions and at Peor led the people to be unfaithful to the LORD. That was what brought the epidemic on the LORD's people. ₁₇So now kill every boy and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse, ₁₈but keep alive for yourselves all the girls and all the women who are virgins. ₁₉Now all of you who have killed anyone or have touched a corpse must stay outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and on the seventh day purify yourselves and the women you have captured. ₂₀You must also purify every piece of clothing and everything made of leather, goats' hair, or wood.”

₂₁Eleazar the priest said to the men who had returned from battle, “These are the regulations that the LORD has given to Moses. _22-23Everything that will not burn, such as gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead, is to be purified by passing it through fire. Everything else is to be purified by the water for purification. ₂₄On the seventh day you must wash your clothes; then you will be ritually clean and will be permitted to enter the camp.”

₂₅The LORD said to Moses, ₂₆“You and Eleazar, together with the other leaders of the community, are to count everything that has been captured, including the prisoners and the animals. ₂₇Divide what was taken into two equal parts, one part for the soldiers and the other part for the rest of the community. ₂₈From the part that belongs to the soldiers, withhold as a tax for the LORD one out of every 500 prisoners and the same proportion of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. ₂₉Give them to Eleazar the priest as a special contribution to the LORD. ₃₀From the part given to the rest of the people, take one out of every fifty prisoners and the same proportion of the cattle, donkeys, sheep, and goats. Give them to the Levites who are in charge of the LORD's Tent.” ₃₁Moses and Eleazar did what the LORD commanded.

_32-35The following is a list of what was captured by the soldiers, in addition to what they kept for themselves: 675,000 sheep and goats, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 virgins. _36-40The half-share of the soldiers was 337,500 sheep and goats, of which 675 were the tax for the LORD; 36,000 cattle for the soldiers, of which 72 were the tax for the LORD; 30,500 donkeys for the soldiers, of which 61 were the tax for the LORD; and 16,000 virgins for the soldiers, of which 32 were the tax for the LORD. ₄₁So Moses gave Eleazar the tax as a special contribution to the LORD, as the LORD had commanded.

_42-46The share of the community was the same as that for the soldiers: 337,500 sheep and goats, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 virgins. ₄₇From this share Moses took one out of every fifty prisoners and animals, and as the LORD had commanded, gave them to the Levites who were in charge of the LORD's Tent.

₄₈Then the officers who had commanded the army went to Moses ₄₉and reported, “Sir, we have counted the soldiers under our command and not one of them is missing. ₅₀So we are bringing the gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces that each of us has taken. We offer them to the LORD as a payment for our lives, so that he will protect us.” ₅₁Moses and Eleazar received the gold, all of which was in the form of ornaments. ₅₂The total contribution of the officers weighed nearly 200 kilogrammes. ₅₃Those who were not officers kept the loot they had taken. ₅₄So Moses and Eleazar took the gold to the Tent, so that the LORD would protect the people of Israel.

₁Am I not a free man? Am I not an apostle? Haven't I seen Jesus our Lord? And aren't you the result of my work for the Lord? ₂Even if others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do! Because of your life in union with the Lord you yourselves are proof of the fact that I am an apostle.

₃When people criticize me, this is how I defend myself: ₄Haven't I the right to be given food and drink for my work? ₅Haven't I the right to follow the example of the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Peter, by taking a Christian wife with me on my travels? ₆Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to work for our living? ₇What soldier ever has to pay his own expenses in the army? What farmer does not eat the grapes from his own vineyard? What shepherd does not use the milk from his own sheep?

₈I don't have to limit myself to these everyday examples, because the Law says the same thing. ₉We read in the Law of Moses, “Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh corn.” Now, is God concerned about oxen? ₁₀Didn't he really mean us when he said that? Of course that was written for us. The one who ploughs and the one who reaps should do their work in the hope of getting a share of the crop. ₁₁We have sown spiritual seed among you. Is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? ₁₂If others have the right to expect this from you, haven't we an even greater right?

But we haven't made use of this right. Instead, we have endured everything in order not to put any obstacle in the way of the Good News about Christ. ₁₃Surely you know that the men who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple and that those who offer the sacrifices on the altar get a share of the sacrifices. ₁₄In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who preach the gospel should get their living from it.

₁₅But I haven't made use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this now in order to claim such rights for myself. I would rather die first! Nobody is going to turn my rightful boast into empty words! ₁₆I have no right to boast just because I preach the gospel. After all, I am under orders to do so. And how terrible it would be for me if I did not preach the gospel! ₁₇If I did my work as a matter of free choice, then I could expect to be paid; but I do it as a matter of duty, because God has entrusted me with this task. ₁₈What pay do I get, then? It is the privilege of preaching the Good News without charging for it, without claiming my rights in my work for the gospel.

₁₉I am a free man, nobody's slave; but I make myself everybody's slave in order to win as many people as possible. ₂₀While working with the Jews, I live like a Jew in order to win them; and even though I myself am not subject to the Law of Moses, I live as though I were when working with those who are, in order to win them. ₂₁In the same way, when working with Gentiles, I live like a Gentile, outside the Jewish Law, in order to win Gentiles. This does not mean that I don't obey God's law; I am really under Christ's law. ₂₂Among the weak in faith I become weak like one of them, in order to win them. So I become all things to all people, that I may save some of them by whatever means are possible.

₂₃All this I do for the gospel's sake, in order to share in its blessings. ₂₄Surely you know that many runners take part in a race, but only one of them wins the prize. Run, then, in such a way as to win the prize. ₂₅Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline, in order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last; but we do it for one that will last for ever. ₂₆That is why I run straight for the finishing line; that is why I am like a boxer who does not waste his punches. ₂₇I harden my body with blows and bring it under complete control, to keep myself from being disqualified after having called others to the contest.

₁I want you to remember, my brothers and sisters, what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. They were all under the protection of the cloud, and all passed safely through the Red Sea. ₂In the cloud and in the sea they were all baptized as followers of Moses. ₃All ate the same spiritual bread ₄and drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself. ₅But even then God was not pleased with most of them, and so their dead bodies were scattered over the desert.

₆Now, all this is an example for us, to warn us not to desire evil things, as they did, ₇nor to worship idols, as some of them did. As the scripture says, “The people sat down to a feast which turned into an orgy of drinking and sex.” ₈We must not be guilty of sexual immorality, as some of them were — and in one day 23,000 of them fell dead. ₉We must not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did — and they were killed by snakes. ₁₀We must not complain, as some of them did — and they were destroyed by the Angel of Death.

₁₁All these things happened to them as examples for others, and they were written down as a warning for us. For we live at a time when the end is about to come.

₁₂Those who think they are standing firm had better be careful that they do not fall. ₁₃Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.

₁₄So then, my dear friends, keep away from the worship of idols. ₁₅I speak to you as sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. ₁₆The cup we use in the Lord's Supper and for which we give thanks to God: when we drink from it, we are sharing in the blood of Christ. And the bread we break: when we eat it, we are sharing in the body of Christ. ₁₇Because there is the one loaf of bread, all of us, though many, are one body, for we all share the same loaf.

₁₈Consider the people of Israel; those who eat what is offered in sacrifice share in the altar's service to God. ₁₉Do I imply, then, that an idol or the food offered to it really amounts to anything? ₂₀No! What I am saying is that what is sacrificed on pagan altars is offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be partners with demons. ₂₁You cannot drink from the Lord's cup and also from the cup of demons; you cannot eat at the Lord's table and also at the table of demons. ₂₂Or do we want to make the Lord jealous? Do we think that we are stronger than he?

₂₃“We are allowed to do anything,” so they say. That is true, but not everything is good. “We are allowed to do anything” — but not everything is helpful. ₂₄None of you should be looking to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

₂₅You are free to eat anything sold in the meat market, without asking any questions because of your conscience. ₂₆For, as the scripture says, “The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.”

₂₇If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you decide to go, eat what is set before you, without asking any questions because of your conscience. ₂₈But if someone says to you, “This food was offered to idols,” then do not eat that food, for the sake of the one who told you and for conscience' sake — ₂₉that is, not your own conscience, but the other person's conscience.

“Well, then,” someone asks, “why should my freedom to act be limited by another person's conscience? ₃₀If I thank God for my food, why should anyone criticize me about food for which I give thanks?”

₃₁Well, whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for God's glory. ₃₂Live in such a way as to cause no trouble either to Jews or Gentiles or to the church of God. ₃₃Just do as I do; I try to please everyone in all that I do, not thinking of my own good, but of the good of all, so that they might be saved.