Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today our passages are Exodus 35:10–36:38; Matthew 27:32-66; Psalm 34:1-10; and Proverbs 9:7-8. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.
Exodus 35:10-36:38 (Contemporary English Version)
10If you have any skills, you should use them to help make what I have commanded: 11the sacred tent with its covering and hooks, its framework and crossbars, and its post and stands; 12the sacred chest with its carrying poles, its place of mercy, and the curtain in front of it; 13the table with all that goes on it, including the sacred bread; 14the lamp with its equipment and oil; 15the incense altar with its carrying poles and sweet-smelling incense; the ordination oil; the curtain for the entrance to the sacred tent; 16the altar for sacrifices with its bronze grating, its carrying poles, and its equipment; the large bronze bowl with its stand; 17the curtains with the posts and stands that go around the courtyard; 18the pegs and ropes for the tent and the courtyard; 19and the finely woven priestly clothes for Aaron and his sons.
Gifts for the LORD
20Moses finished speaking, and everyone left. 21Then those who wanted to bring gifts to the LORD, brought them to be used for the sacred tent, the worship services, and the priestly clothes. 22Men and women came willingly and gave all kinds of gold jewelry such as pins, earrings, rings, and necklaces. 23Everyone brought their blue, purple, and red wool, their fine linen, and their cloth made of goat hair, as well as their ram skins dyed red and their fine leather. 24Anyone who had silver or bronze or acacia wood brought it as a gift to the LORD. 25The women who were good at weaving cloth brought the blue, purple, and red wool and the fine linen they had made. 26And the women who knew how to make cloth from goat hair were glad to do so.
27The leaders brought different kinds of jewels to be sewn on the special clothes and the breastpiece for the high priest. 28They also brought sweet-smelling spices to be mixed with the incense and olive oil that were for the lamps and for ordaining the priests. 29Moses had told the people what the LORD wanted them to do, and many of them decided to bring their gifts.
27The leaders brought different kinds of jewels to be sewn on the special clothes and the breastpiece for the high priest. 28They also brought sweet-smelling spices to be mixed with the incense and olive oil that were for the lamps and for ordaining the priests. 29Moses had told the people what the LORD wanted them to do, and many of them decided to bring their gifts.
Bezalel and Oholiab
(Exodus 31.1-11)
30Moses said to the people of Israel: The LORD has chosen Bezalel a<="" value="[a]" >[] of the Judah tribe. 31-33Not only has the LORD filled him with his Spirit, but he has given him wisdom and made him a skilled craftsman who can create objects of art with gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. 34The LORD is urging him and Oholiab [b<="">] from the tribe of Dan to teach others. 35And he has given them all kinds of artistic skills, including the ability to design and embroider with blue, purple, and red wool and to weave fine linen.
Exodus 36
1The LORD has given to Bezalel, Oholiab, and others the skills needed for building a place of worship, and they will follow the LORD's instructions. 2Then Moses brought together these workers who were eager to work, 3and he gave them the money that the people of Israel had donated for building the place of worship. In fact, so much money was being given each morning, 4that finally everyone stopped working 5and said, " Moses, there is already more money than we need for what the LORD has assigned us to do." 6So Moses sent word for the people to stop giving, and they did. 7But there was already more than enough to do what needed to be done.
The Curtains and Coverings for the Sacred Tent
(Exodus 26.1-14)
8-9The skilled workers got together to make the sacred tent and its linen curtains woven with blue, purple, and red wool and embroidered with figures of winged creatures. Each of the ten panels was fourteen yards long and two yards wide, 10and they were sewn together to make two curtains with five panels each. 11-13Then fifty loops of blue cloth were put along one of the wider sides of each curtain, and the two curtains were fastened together at the loops with fifty gold hooks. 14-15As the material for the tent, goat hair was used to weave eleven sections fifteen yards by two yards each. 16These eleven sections were joined to make two panels, one with five and the other with six sections. 17Fifty loops were put along one of the wider sides of each panel, 18and the two panels were fastened at the loops with fifty bronze hooks. 19Two other coverings were made--one with fine leather and the other with ram skins dyed red.
The Framework for the Sacred Tent
(Exodus 26.15-30)
20Acacia wood was used to build the framework for the walls of the sacred tent. 21Each frame was fifteen feet high and twenty-seven inches wide 22-26with two wooden pegs near the bottom. Then two silver stands were placed under each frame with sockets for the pegs, so they could be joined together. Twenty of these frames were used along the south side and twenty more along the north. 27Six frames were used for the back wall along the west side 28-29with two more at the southwest and northwest corners. These corner frames were joined from top to bottom. 30Altogether, along the back wall there were eight frames with two silver stands under each of them. 31-33Five crossbars were made for each of the wooden frames, with the center crossbar running the full length of the wall. 34The frames and crossbars were covered with gold, and gold rings were attached to the frames to run the crossbars through.
The Inside Curtain for the Sacred Tent
(Exodus 26.31-37)
35They made the inside curtain [c<="">] of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool, and embroidered with figures of winged creatures. 36They also made four acacia wood posts and covered them with gold. Then gold rings were fastened to the posts, which were set on silver stands. 37For the entrance to the tent, they used a curtain of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool and embroidered with fancy needlework. 38They made five posts, covered them completely with gold, and set them each on a gold-covered bronze stand. Finally, they attached hooks for the curtain. Footnotes:- Exodus 35:30 Bezalel: See the note at 31.2.
- Exodus 35:34 Oholiab: Hebrew " Oholiab son of Ahisamach."
- Exodus 36:35 inside curtain: Separating the holy place from the most holy place.
Footnotes:
- Exodus 35:30 Bezalel: See the note at 31.2.
- Exodus 35:34 Oholiab: Hebrew " Oholiab son of Ahisamach."
- Exodus 36:35 inside curtain: Separating the holy place from the most holy place.
Matthew 27:32-66 (Contemporary English Version)
32On the way they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross.
33They came to a place named Golgotha, which means "Place of a Skull." a<="" value="[a]" >[] 34There they gave Jesus some wine mixed with a drug to ease the pain. But when Jesus tasted what it was, he refused to drink it. 35The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross and gambled to see who would get his clothes. 36Then they sat down to guard him. 37Above his head they put a sign that told why he was nailed there. It read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." 38The soldiers also nailed two criminals on crosses, one to the right of Jesus and the other to his left.
39People who passed by said terrible things about Jesus. They shook their heads and 40shouted, "So you're the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days! If you are God's Son, save yourself and come down from the cross!"
41The chief priests, the leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses also made fun of Jesus. They said, 42"He saved others, but he can't save himself. If he is the king of Israel, he should come down from the cross! Then we will believe him. 43He trusted God, so let God save him, if he wants to. He even said he was God's Son." 44The two criminals also said cruel things to Jesus.
33They came to a place named Golgotha, which means "Place of a Skull." a<="" value="[a]" >[] 34There they gave Jesus some wine mixed with a drug to ease the pain. But when Jesus tasted what it was, he refused to drink it. 35The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross and gambled to see who would get his clothes. 36Then they sat down to guard him. 37Above his head they put a sign that told why he was nailed there. It read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." 38The soldiers also nailed two criminals on crosses, one to the right of Jesus and the other to his left.
39People who passed by said terrible things about Jesus. They shook their heads and 40shouted, "So you're the one who claimed you could tear down the temple and build it again in three days! If you are God's Son, save yourself and come down from the cross!"
41The chief priests, the leaders, and the teachers of the Law of Moses also made fun of Jesus. They said, 42"He saved others, but he can't save himself. If he is the king of Israel, he should come down from the cross! Then we will believe him. 43He trusted God, so let God save him, if he wants to. He even said he was God's Son." 44The two criminals also said cruel things to Jesus.
The Death of Jesus
(Mark 15.33-41; Luke 23.44-49; John 19.28-30)
45At noon the sky turned dark and stayed that way until three o'clock. 46Then about that time Jesus shouted, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" [b<="">] which means, "My God, my God, why have you deserted me?" 47Some of the people standing there heard Jesus and said, "He's calling for Elijah." [c<="">] 48One of them at once ran and grabbed a sponge. He soaked it in wine, then put it on a stick and held it up to Jesus. 49Others said, "Wait! Let's see if Elijah will come [d<="">] and save him." 50Once again Jesus shouted, and then he died. 51At once the curtain in the temple [e<="">] was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and rocks split apart. 52Graves opened, and many of God's people were raised to life. 53Then after Jesus had risen to life, they came out of their graves and went into the holy city, where they were seen by many people. 54The officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus felt the earthquake and saw everything else that happened. They were frightened and said, "This man really was God's Son!" 55Many women had come with Jesus from Galilee to be of help to him, and they were there, looking on at a distance. 56Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John [f<="">] were some of these women.
Jesus Is Buried
(Mark 15.42-47; Luke 23.50-56; John 19.38-42)
57That evening a rich disciple named Joseph from the town of Arimathea 58went and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate gave orders for it to be given to Joseph, 59who took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60Then Joseph put the body in his own tomb that had been cut into solid rock [g<="">] and had never been used. He rolled a big stone against the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61All this time Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb. 62On the next day, which was a Sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees went together to Pilate. 63They said, "Sir, we remember what that liar said while he was still alive. He claimed that in three days he would come back from death. 64So please order the tomb to be carefully guarded for three days. If you don't, his disciples may come and steal his body. They will tell the people that he has been raised to life, and this last lie will be worse than the first one." [h<="">] 65Pilate said to them, "All right, take some of your soldiers and guard the tomb as well as you know how." 66So they sealed it tight and placed soldiers there to guard it.
Footnotes:- Matthew 27:33 Place of a Skull: The place was probably given this name because it was near a large rock in the shape of a human skull.
- Matthew 27:46 Eli. . . sabachthani: These words are in Hebrew.
- Matthew 27:47 Elijah: In Aramaic the name "Elijah" sounds like "Eli," which means "my God."
- Matthew 27:49 Elijah will come: See the note at 16.14.
- Matthew 27:51 curtain in the temple: There were two curtains in the temple. One was at the entrance, and the other separated the holy place from the most holy place that the Jewish people thought of as God's home on earth. The second curtain is probably the one that is meant.
- Matthew 27:56 of James and John: The Greek text has "of Zebedee's sons" (see 26.37).
- Matthew 27:60 tomb. . . solid rock: Some of the Jewish people buried their dead in rooms carved into solid rock. A heavy stone was rolled against the entrance.
- Matthew 27:64 the first one: Probably the belief that Jesus is the Messiah.
Footnotes:
- Matthew 27:33 Place of a Skull: The place was probably given this name because it was near a large rock in the shape of a human skull.
- Matthew 27:46 Eli. . . sabachthani: These words are in Hebrew.
- Matthew 27:47 Elijah: In Aramaic the name "Elijah" sounds like "Eli," which means "my God."
- Matthew 27:49 Elijah will come: See the note at 16.14.
- Matthew 27:51 curtain in the temple: There were two curtains in the temple. One was at the entrance, and the other separated the holy place from the most holy place that the Jewish people thought of as God's home on earth. The second curtain is probably the one that is meant.
- Matthew 27:56 of James and John: The Greek text has "of Zebedee's sons" (see 26.37).
- Matthew 27:60 tomb. . . solid rock: Some of the Jewish people buried their dead in rooms carved into solid rock. A heavy stone was rolled against the entrance.
- Matthew 27:64 the first one: Probably the belief that Jesus is the Messiah.
Psalm 34:1-10 (Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 34
(Written by David when he pretended to be crazy in front of Abimelech, so that Abimelech would send him away, and David could leave.)
Honor the LORD
1I will always praise the LORD. 2With all my heart,
I will praise the LORD.
Let all who are helpless,
listen and be glad.
3Honor the LORD with me!
Celebrate his great name.
4I asked the LORD for help,
and he saved me
from all my fears.
5Keep your eyes on the LORD!
You will shine like the sun
and never blush with shame.
6I was a nobody, but I prayed,
and the LORD saved me
from all my troubles.
7If you honor the LORD,
his angel will protect you.
8Discover for yourself
that the LORD is kind.
Come to him for protection,
and you will be glad.
9Honor the LORD!
You are his special people.
No one who honors the LORD
will ever be in need.
10Young lions a<="" value="[a]" >[] may go hungry or even starve,
but if you trust the LORD,
you will never miss out
on anything good.
Footnotes:- Psalm 34:10 Young lions: In the Psalms wild animals often stand for God's enemies.
I will praise the LORD.
Let all who are helpless,
listen and be glad.
3Honor the LORD with me!
Celebrate his great name.
4I asked the LORD for help,
and he saved me
from all my fears.
5Keep your eyes on the LORD!
You will shine like the sun
and never blush with shame.
6I was a nobody, but I prayed,
and the LORD saved me
from all my troubles.
7If you honor the LORD,
his angel will protect you.
8Discover for yourself
that the LORD is kind.
Come to him for protection,
and you will be glad.
9Honor the LORD!
You are his special people.
No one who honors the LORD
will ever be in need.
10Young lions a<="" value="[a]" >[] may go hungry or even starve,
but if you trust the LORD,
you will never miss out
on anything good.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 34:10 Young lions: In the Psalms wild animals often stand for God's enemies.
Proverbs 9:7-8 (Contemporary English Version)
True Wisdom
7Correct a worthless bragger, and all you will get
are insults and injuries.
8Any bragger you correct
will only hate you.
But if you correct someone
who has common sense,
you will be loved.
are insults and injuries.
8Any bragger you correct
will only hate you.
But if you correct someone
who has common sense,
you will be loved.
Thought for the Day
“God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.” (John 3:16 - Contemporary English Version) Everything starts and ends with God's love. He loved us before time had any meaning, and for that reason, he sent his Son to bring us life. And in the end, he will recreate his universe as the definitive sign of his love for us.
Quote for the Day
American stand-up comedian, author, playwright, social critic and actor, Lewis Black wrote, “What I find most disturbing about Valentine's Day is, look, I get that you have to have a holiday of love, but in the height of flu season, it makes no sense.”
A Joke for Today
Bill, an avid golfer, contacts a "Medium" and asks if there is a Golf Couse in Heaven. The Medium says that his request is a big order, but he will try and find out and get back to Bill in a few days.
After several days go by, Bill finally gets a call from the Medium. "Well," said Bill, "what did ya find out?"
"I've got good news and bad news for you," said the Medium.
"OK," "what's the good news" Bill exclaimed.
"Well," there is a beautiful 36 hole golf course in Heaven, and you'll have 24 hour access with your own personal caddy," blurted out the Medium.
"And the bad news?" asked Bill.
"You're due to tee-off this Sunday at around 10:30 in the morning."
After several days go by, Bill finally gets a call from the Medium. "Well," said Bill, "what did ya find out?"
"I've got good news and bad news for you," said the Medium.
"OK," "what's the good news" Bill exclaimed.
"Well," there is a beautiful 36 hole golf course in Heaven, and you'll have 24 hour access with your own personal caddy," blurted out the Medium.
"And the bad news?" asked Bill.
"You're due to tee-off this Sunday at around 10:30 in the morning."
A Prayer Request
As Christians, we can offer specific daily prayers for our community, nation and world. Below is the need that we're laying before God today.
That the government discuss ways to address the violence and hatred present within our society.
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