Welcome to the 2023 King Street Church Bible Reading Plan.  This year we will be following a chronological plan.

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

 

In this passage…

Leviticus 5-7

5” ‘If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible.

²” ‘Or if a person touches anything ceremonially unclean-whether the carcasses of unclean wild animals or of unclean livestock or of unclean creatures that move along the ground-even though he is unaware of it, he has become unclean and is guilty.

³” ‘Or if he touches human uncleanness-anything that would make him unclean-even though he is unaware of it, when he learns of it he will be guilty.

⁴” ‘Or if a person thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil-in any matter one might carelessly swear about-even though he is unaware of it, in any case when he learns of it he will be guilty.

⁵” ‘When anyone is guilty in any of these ways, he must confess in what way he has sinned

⁶and, as a penalty for the sin he has committed, he must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

⁷” ‘If he cannot afford a lamb, he is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the Lord as a penalty for his sin-one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.

⁸He is to bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one for the sin offering. He is to wring its head from its neck, not severing it completely,

⁹and is to sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar; the rest of the blood must be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering.

¹⁰The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way and make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

¹¹” ‘If, however, he cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, he is to bring as an offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He must not put oil or incense on it, because it is a sin offering.

¹²He is to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to the Lord by fire. It is a sin offering.

¹³In this way the priest will make atonement for him for any of these sins he has committed, and he will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest, as in the case of the grain offering.’ “

¹⁴The Lord said to Moses:

¹⁵“When a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord ‘s holy things, he is to bring to the Lord as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. It is a guilt offering.

¹⁶He must make restitution for what he has failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the priest, who will make atonement for him with the ram as a guilt offering, and he will be forgiven.

¹⁷“If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord ‘s commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible.

¹⁸He is to bring to the priest as a guilt offering a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the wrong he has committed unintentionally, and he will be forgiven.

¹⁹It is a guilt offering; he has been guilty of wrongdoing against the Lord .”

6The Lord said to Moses:

²“If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him,

³or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do-

⁴when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found,

⁵or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering.

⁶And as a penalty he must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord , his guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value.

⁷In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the Lord , and he will be forgiven for any of these things he did that made him guilty.”

⁸The Lord said to Moses:

⁹“Give Aaron and his sons this command: ‘These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar.

¹⁰The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar.

¹¹Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean.

¹²The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it.

¹³The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

¹⁴” ‘These are the regulations for the grain offering: Aaron’s sons are to bring it before the Lord , in front of the altar.

¹⁵The priest is to take a handful of fine flour and oil, together with all the incense on the grain offering, and burn the memorial portion on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord .

¹⁶Aaron and his sons shall eat the rest of it, but it is to be eaten without yeast in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁷It must not be baked with yeast; I have given it as their share of the offerings made to me by fire. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy.

¹⁸Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it. It is his regular share of the offerings made to the Lord by fire for the generations to come. Whatever touches them will become holy. ‘ “

¹⁹The Lord also said to Moses,

²⁰“This is the offering Aaron and his sons are to bring to the Lord on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.

²¹Prepare it with oil on a griddle; bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the Lord .

²²The son who is to succeed him as anointed priest shall prepare it. It is the Lord ‘s regular share and is to be burned completely.

²³Every grain offering of a priest shall be burned completely; it must not be eaten.”

²⁴The Lord said to Moses,

²⁵“Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy.

²⁶The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.

²⁷Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in a holy place.

²⁸The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water.

²⁹Any male in a priest’s family may eat it; it is most holy.

³⁰But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned.

7” ‘These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy:

²The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be sprinkled against the altar on all sides.

³All its fat shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the inner parts,

⁴both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys.

⁵The priest shall burn them on the altar as an offering made to the Lord by fire. It is a guilt offering.

⁶Any male in a priest’s family may eat it, but it must be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.

⁷” ‘The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them.

⁸The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide for himself.

⁹Every grain offering baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who offers it,

¹⁰and every grain offering, whether mixed with oil or dry, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.

¹¹” ‘These are the regulations for the fellowship offering a person may present to the Lord :

¹²” ‘If he offers it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering he is to offer cakes of bread made without yeast and mixed with oil, wafers made without yeast and spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour well-kneaded and mixed with oil.

¹³Along with his fellowship offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of bread made with yeast.

¹⁴He is to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the Lord ; it belongs to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the fellowship offerings.

¹⁵The meat of his fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; he must leave none of it till morning.

¹⁶” ‘If, however, his offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day he offers it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day.

¹⁷Any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up.

¹⁸If any meat of the fellowship offering is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted. It will not be credited to the one who offered it, for it is impure; the person who eats any of it will be held responsible.

¹⁹” ‘Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean must not be eaten; it must be burned up. As for other meat, anyone ceremonially clean may eat it.

²⁰But if anyone who is unclean eats any meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord , that person must be cut off from his people.

²¹If anyone touches something unclean-whether human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean, detestable thing-and then eats any of the meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord , that person must be cut off from his people.’ “

²²The Lord said to Moses,

²³“Say to the Israelites: ‘Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats.

²⁴The fat of an animal found dead or torn by wild animals may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it.

²⁵Anyone who eats the fat of an animal from which an offering by fire may be made to the Lord must be cut off from his people.

²⁶And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal.

²⁷If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.’ “

²⁸The Lord said to Moses,

²⁹“Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who brings a fellowship offering to the Lord is to bring part of it as his sacrifice to the Lord .

³⁰With his own hands he is to bring the offering made to the Lord by fire; he is to bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast before the Lord as a wave offering.

³¹The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons.

³²You are to give the right thigh of your fellowship offerings to the priest as a contribution.

³³The son of Aaron who offers the blood and the fat of the fellowship offering shall have the right thigh as his share.

³⁴From the fellowship offerings of the Israelites, I have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh that is presented and have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as their regular share from the Israelites.’ “

³⁵This is the portion of the offerings made to the Lord by fire that were allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they were presented to serve the Lord as priests.

³⁶On the day they were anointed, the Lord commanded that the Israelites give this to them as their regular share for the generations to come.

³⁷These, then, are the regulations for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering and the fellowship offering,

³⁸which the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai on the day he commanded the Israelites to bring their offerings to the Lord , in the Desert of Sinai.

Welcome to the 2023 King Street Church Bible Reading Plan.  This year we will be following a chronological plan.

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

 

In this passage…

Leviticus 1-4

1The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He said,

²“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any of you brings an offering to the Lord , bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.

³” ‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord .

⁴He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

⁵He is to slaughter the young bull before the Lord , and then Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

⁶He is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.

⁷The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire.

⁸Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar.

⁹He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .

¹⁰” ‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, from either the sheep or the goats, he is to offer a male without defect.

¹¹He is to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before the Lord , and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides.

¹²He is to cut it into pieces, and the priest shall arrange them, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar.

¹³He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to bring all of it and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .

¹⁴” ‘If the offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, he is to offer a dove or a young pigeon.

¹⁵The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off the head and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar.

¹⁶He is to remove the crop with its contents and throw it to the east side of the altar, where the ashes are.

¹⁷He shall tear it open by the wings, not severing it completely, and then the priest shall burn it on the wood that is on the fire on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .

2” ‘When someone brings a grain offering to the Lord , his offering is to be of fine flour. He is to pour oil on it, put incense on it

²and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the fine flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .

³The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made to the Lord by fire.

⁴” ‘If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, it is to consist of fine flour: cakes made without yeast and mixed with oil, or wafers made without yeast and spread with oil.

⁵If your grain offering is prepared on a griddle, it is to be made of fine flour mixed with oil, and without yeast.

⁶Crumble it and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering.

⁷If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, it is to be made of fine flour and oil.

⁸Bring the grain offering made of these things to the Lord ; present it to the priest, who shall take it to the altar.

⁹He shall take out the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .

¹⁰The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made to the Lord by fire.

¹¹” ‘Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in an offering made to the Lord by fire.

¹²You may bring them to the Lord as an offering of the firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma.

¹³Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

¹⁴” ‘If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord , offer crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire.

¹⁵Put oil and incense on it; it is a grain offering.

¹⁶The priest shall burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all the incense, as an offering made to the Lord by fire.

3” ‘If someone’s offering is a fellowship offering, and he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he is to present before the Lord an animal without defect.

²He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood against the altar on all sides.

³From the fellowship offering he is to bring a sacrifice made to the Lord by fire: all the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them,

⁴both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys.

⁵Then Aaron’s sons are to burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord .

⁶” ‘If he offers an animal from the flock as a fellowship offering to the Lord , he is to offer a male or female without defect.

⁷If he offers a lamb, he is to present it before the Lord .

⁸He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides.

⁹From the fellowship offering he is to bring a sacrifice made to the Lord by fire: its fat, the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, all the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them,

¹⁰both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys.

¹¹The priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made to the Lord by fire.

¹²” ‘If his offering is a goat, he is to present it before the Lord .

¹³He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides.

¹⁴From what he offers he is to make this offering to the Lord by fire: all the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them,

¹⁵both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys.

¹⁶The priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the Lord ‘s.

¹⁷” ‘This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.’ “

4The Lord said to Moses,

²“Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord ‘s commands-

³” ‘If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.

⁴He is to present the bull at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the Lord . He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it before the Lord .

⁵Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and carry it into the Tent of Meeting.

⁶He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord , in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.

⁷The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

⁸He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering-the fat that covers the inner parts or is connected to them,

⁹both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys-

¹⁰just as the fat is removed from the ox sacrificed as a fellowship offering. Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.

¹¹But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, as well as the head and legs, the inner parts and offal-

¹²that is, all the rest of the bull-he must take outside the camp to a place ceremonially clean, where the ashes are thrown, and burn it in a wood fire on the ash heap.

¹³” ‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord ‘s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty.

¹⁴When they become aware of the sin they committed, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁵The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the bull’s head before the Lord , and the bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord .

¹⁶Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull’s blood into the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁷He shall dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it before the Lord seven times in front of the curtain.

¹⁸He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁹He shall remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar,

²⁰and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.

²¹Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the community.

²²” ‘When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the Lord his God, he is guilty.

²³When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect.

²⁴He is to lay his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the Lord . It is a sin offering.

²⁵Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

²⁶He shall burn all the fat on the altar as he burned the fat of the fellowship offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the man’s sin, and he will be forgiven.

²⁷” ‘If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord ‘s commands, he is guilty.

²⁸When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect.

²⁹He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.

³⁰Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

³¹He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord . In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

³²” ‘If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he is to bring a female without defect.

³³He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered.

³⁴Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.

³⁵He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of the offerings made to the Lord by fire. In this way the priest will make atonement for him for the sin he has committed, and he will be forgiven.

Welcome to the 2023 King Street Church Bible Reading Plan.  This year we will be following a chronological plan.

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

 

In this passage…

Exodus 39-40

39From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary. They also made sacred garments for Aaron, as the Lord commanded Moses.

²They made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.

³They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen-the work of a skilled craftsman.

⁴They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, which were attached to two of its corners, so it could be fastened.

⁵Its skillfully woven waistband was like it-of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen, as the Lord commanded Moses.

⁶They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel.

⁷Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses.

⁸They fashioned the breastpiece-the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.

⁹It was square-a span long and a span wide-and folded double.

¹⁰Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there was a ruby, a topaz and a beryl;

¹¹in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald;

¹²in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst;

¹³in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree settings.

¹⁴There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

¹⁵For the breastpiece they made braided chains of pure gold, like a rope.

¹⁶They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and fastened the rings to two of the corners of the breastpiece.

¹⁷They fastened the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece,

¹⁸and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front.

¹⁹They made two gold rings and attached them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod.

²⁰Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod.

²¹They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband so that the breastpiece would not swing out from the ephod-as the Lord commanded Moses.

²²They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth-the work of a weaver-

²³with an opening in the center of the robe like the opening of a collar, and a band around this opening, so that it would not tear.

²⁴They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe.

²⁵And they made bells of pure gold and attached them around the hem between the pomegranates.

²⁶The bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the robe to be worn for ministering, as the Lord commanded Moses.

²⁷For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen-the work of a weaver-

²⁸and the turban of fine linen, the linen headbands and the undergarments of finely twisted linen.

²⁹The sash was of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn-the work of an embroiderer-as the Lord commanded Moses.

³⁰They made the plate, the sacred diadem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: HOLY TO THE Lord .

³¹Then they fastened a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban, as the Lord commanded Moses.

³²So all the work on the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.

³³Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases;

³⁴the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of hides of sea cows and the shielding curtain;

³⁵the ark of the Testimony with its poles and the atonement cover;

³⁶the table with all its articles and the bread of the Presence;

³⁷the pure gold lampstand with its row of lamps and all its accessories, and the oil for the light;

³⁸the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the entrance to the tent;

³⁹the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the basin with its stand;

⁴⁰the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the ropes and tent pegs for the courtyard; all the furnishings for the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting;

⁴¹and the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when serving as priests.

⁴²The Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁴³Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.

40Then the Lord said to Moses:

²“Set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first month.

³Place the ark of the Testimony in it and shield the ark with the curtain.

⁴Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.

⁵Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.

⁶“Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting;

⁷place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it.

⁸Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.

⁹“Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy.

¹⁰Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy.

¹¹Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.

¹²“Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.

¹³Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest.

¹⁴Bring his sons and dress them in tunics.

¹⁵Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue for all generations to come.”

¹⁶Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.

¹⁷So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year.

¹⁸When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts.

¹⁹Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the Lord commanded him.

²⁰He took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it.

²¹Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the Testimony, as the Lord commanded him.

²²Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain

²³and set out the bread on it before the Lord , as the Lord commanded him.

²⁴He placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle

²⁵and set up the lamps before the Lord , as the Lord commanded him.

²⁶Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the curtain

²⁷and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord commanded him.

²⁸Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.

²⁹He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the Lord commanded him.

³⁰He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing,

³¹and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet.

³²They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses.

³³Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work. The Glory of the Lord

³⁴Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

³⁵Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

³⁶In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out;

³⁷but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out-until the day it lifted.

³⁸So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.

Welcome to the 2023 King Street Church Bible Reading Plan.  This year we will be following a chronological plan.

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

In this passage…

1. What do I learn about God?
2. What do I learn about man?
3. Is there an example to follow?
4. What does God want me to believe?

Exodus 36-38

36So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.”

²Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work.

³They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning.

⁴So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work

⁵and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.”

⁶Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more,

⁷because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

⁸All the skilled men among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman.

⁹All the curtains were the same size-twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.

¹⁰They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five.

¹¹Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set.

¹²They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other.

¹³Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit.

¹⁴They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle-eleven altogether.

¹⁵All eleven curtains were the same size-thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.

¹⁶They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set.

¹⁷Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set.

¹⁸They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit.

¹⁹Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.

²⁰They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.

²¹Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,

²²with two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way.

²³They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle

²⁴and made forty silver bases to go under them-two bases for each frame, one under each projection.

²⁵For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames

²⁶and forty silver bases-two under each frame.

²⁷They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle,

²⁸and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle at the far end.

²⁹At these two corners the frames were double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both were made alike.

³⁰So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases-two under each frame.

³¹They also made crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle,

³²five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle.

³³They made the center crossbar so that it extended from end to end at the middle of the frames.

³⁴They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold.

³⁵They made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman.

³⁶They made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them and cast their four silver bases.

³⁷For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen-the work of an embroiderer;

³⁸and they made five posts with hooks for them. They overlaid the tops of the posts and their bands with gold and made their five bases of bronze.

37Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood-two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.

²He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it.

³He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other.

⁴Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

⁵And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.

⁶He made the atonement cover of pure gold-two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.

⁷Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.

⁸He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover.

⁹The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.

¹⁰They made the table of acacia wood-two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.

¹¹Then they overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold molding around it.

¹²They also made around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim.

¹³They cast four gold rings for the table and fastened them to the four corners, where the four legs were.

¹⁴The rings were put close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table.

¹⁵The poles for carrying the table were made of acacia wood and were overlaid with gold.

¹⁶And they made from pure gold the articles for the table-its plates and dishes and bowls and its pitchers for the pouring out of drink offerings.

¹⁷They made the lampstand of pure gold and hammered it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms were of one piece with it.

¹⁸Six branches extended from the sides of the lampstand-three on one side and three on the other.

¹⁹Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on one branch, three on the next branch and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand.

²⁰And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms.

²¹One bud was under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair-six branches in all.

²²The buds and the branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

²³They made its seven lamps, as well as its wick trimmers and trays, of pure gold.

²⁴They made the lampstand and all its accessories from one talent of pure gold.

²⁵They made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high -its horns of one piece with it.

²⁶They overlaid the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and made a gold molding around it.

²⁷They made two gold rings below the molding-two on opposite sides-to hold the poles used to carry it.

²⁸They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

²⁹They also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense-the work of a perfumer.

38They built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.

²They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze.

³They made all its utensils of bronze-its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.

⁴They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar.

⁵They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating.

⁶They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.

⁷They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards.

⁸They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

⁹Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely twisted linen,

¹⁰with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

¹¹The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

¹²The west end was fifty cubits wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

¹³The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide.

¹⁴Curtains fifteen cubits long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases,

¹⁵and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases.

¹⁶All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen.

¹⁷The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.

¹⁸The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen-the work of an embroiderer. It was twenty cubits long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits high,

¹⁹with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver.

²⁰All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze.

²¹These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.

²²(Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses;

²³with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan-a craftsman and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.)

²⁴The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.

²⁵The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel-

²⁶one beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men.

²⁷The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain-100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base.

²⁸They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.

²⁹The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.

³⁰They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils,

³¹the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.

Welcome to the 2023 King Street Church Bible Reading Plan.  This year we will be following a chronological plan.

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

 

In this passage…

Exodus 33-35

33Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’

²I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

³Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”

⁴When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments.

⁵For the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’ “

⁶So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.

⁷Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp.

⁸And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent.

⁹As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses.

¹⁰Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent.

¹¹The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

¹²Moses said to the Lord , “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’

¹³If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

¹⁴The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

¹⁵Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.

¹⁶How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

¹⁸Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

¹⁹And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord , in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

²⁰But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

²¹Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.

²²When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

²³Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

34The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

²Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain.

³No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

⁴So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.

⁵Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord .

⁶And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord , the Lord , the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

⁷maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

⁸Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

⁹“O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes,” he said, “then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”

¹⁰Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord , will do for you.

¹¹Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

¹²Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you.

¹³Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.

¹⁴Do not worship any other god, for the Lord , whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

¹⁵“Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.

¹⁶And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.

¹⁷“Do not make cast idols.

¹⁸“Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt.

¹⁹“The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock.

²⁰Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons. “No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

²¹“Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.

²²“Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year.

²³Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord , the God of Israel.

²⁴I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.

²⁵“Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning.

²⁶“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

²⁷Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

²⁸Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant-the Ten Commandments.

²⁹When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord .

³⁰When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.

³¹But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.

³²Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

³³When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.

³⁴But whenever he entered the Lord ‘s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded,

³⁵they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord .

35Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do:

²For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord . Whoever does any work on it must be put to death.

³Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

⁴Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded:

⁵From what you have, take an offering for the Lord . Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze;

⁶blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair;

⁷ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows ; acacia wood;

⁸olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;

⁹and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

¹⁰“All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded:

¹¹the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases;

¹²the ark with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain that shields it;

¹³the table with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence;

¹⁴the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light;

¹⁵the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle;

¹⁶the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basin with its stand;

¹⁷the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard;

¹⁸the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes;

¹⁹the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary-both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests.”

²⁰Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence,

²¹and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments.

²²All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord .

²³Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or hides of sea cows brought them.

²⁴Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord , and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it.

²⁵Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun-blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen.

²⁶And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair.

²⁷The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

²⁸They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense.

²⁹All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.

³⁰Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

³¹and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-

³²to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,

³³to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship.

³⁴And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others.

³⁵He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers-all of them master craftsmen and designers.

Welcome to the 2023 King Street Church Bible Reading Plan.  This year we will be following a chronological plan.

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

 

In this passage…

Exodus 30-32

30“Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense.

²It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high -its horns of one piece with it.

³Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it.

⁴Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding-two on opposite sides-to hold the poles used to carry it.

⁵Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

⁶Put the altar in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the Testimony-before the atonement cover that is over the Testimony-where I will meet with you.

⁷“Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps.

⁸He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come.

⁹Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it.

¹⁰Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord .”

¹¹Then the Lord said to Moses,

¹²“When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.

¹³Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord .

¹⁴All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord .

¹⁵The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives.

¹⁶Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord , making atonement for your lives.”

¹⁷Then the Lord said to Moses,

¹⁸“Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

¹⁹Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it.

²⁰Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the Lord by fire,

²¹they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”

²²Then the Lord said to Moses,

²³“Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane,

²⁴500 shekels of cassia-all according to the sanctuary shekel-and a hin of olive oil.

²⁵Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil.

²⁶Then use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony,

²⁷the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense,

²⁸the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand.

²⁹You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.

³⁰“Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.

³¹Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come.

³²Do not pour it on men’s bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred.

³³Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.’ “

³⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices-gum resin, onycha and galbanum-and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts,

³⁵and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred.

³⁶Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.

³⁷Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord .

³⁸Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from his people.”

31Then the Lord said to Moses,

²“See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

³and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-

⁴to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze,

⁵to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.

⁶Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you:

⁷the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent-

⁸the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense,

⁹the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand-

¹⁰and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests,

¹¹and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”

¹²Then the Lord said to Moses,

¹³“Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord , who makes you holy.

¹⁴” ‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people.

¹⁵For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord . Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.

¹⁶The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant.

¹⁷It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’ “

¹⁸When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

32When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

²Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.”

³So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.

⁴He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

⁵When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord .”

⁶So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

⁷Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.

⁸They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

⁹“I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people.

¹⁰Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

¹¹But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “O Lord ,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?

¹²Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.

¹³Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ “

¹⁴Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

¹⁵Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.

¹⁶The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

¹⁷When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”

¹⁸Moses replied: “It is not the sound of victory, it is not the sound of defeat; it is the sound of singing that I hear.”

¹⁹When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.

²⁰And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

²¹He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

²²“Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil.

²³They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’

²⁴So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

²⁵Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies.

²⁶So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord , come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

²⁷Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’ “

²⁸The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.

²⁹Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

³⁰The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord ; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

³¹So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold.

³²But now, please forgive their sin-but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”

³³The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.

³⁴Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

³⁵And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

Welcome to the 2023 King Street Church Bible Reading Plan.  This year we will be following a chronological plan.

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

 

In this passage…

Exodus 28-29

28“Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests.

²Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor.

³Tell all the skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest.

⁴These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests.

⁵Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.

⁶“Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen-the work of a skilled craftsman.

⁷It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened.

⁸Its skillfully woven waistband is to be like it-of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.

⁹“Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel

¹⁰in the order of their birth-six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other.

¹¹Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings

¹²and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord .

¹³Make gold filigree settings

¹⁴and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings.

¹⁵“Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions-the work of a skilled craftsman. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.

¹⁶It is to be square-a span long and a span wide-and folded double.

¹⁷Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz and a beryl;

¹⁸in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald;

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

²⁰in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings.

²¹There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

²²“For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope.

²³Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece.

²⁴Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece,

²⁵and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front.

²⁶Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod.

²⁷Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod.

²⁸The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.

²⁹“Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord .

³⁰Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord . Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord .

³¹“Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth,

³²with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear.

³³Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them.

³⁴The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe.

³⁵Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die.

³⁶“Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal:HOLY TO THE Lord .

³⁷Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban.

³⁸It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord .

³⁹“Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer.

⁴⁰Make tunics, sashes and headbands for Aaron’s sons, to give them dignity and honor.

⁴¹After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.

⁴²“Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh.

⁴³Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. “This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants.

29“This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect.

²And from fine wheat flour, without yeast, make bread, and cakes mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil.

³Put them in a basket and present them in it-along with the bull and the two rams.

⁴Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water.

⁵Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband.

⁶Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred diadem to the turban.

⁷Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head.

⁸Bring his sons and dress them in tunics

⁹and put headbands on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons. The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance. In this way you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.

¹⁰“Bring the bull to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.

¹¹Slaughter it in the Lord ‘s presence at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

¹²Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar.

¹³Then take all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar.

¹⁴But burn the bull’s flesh and its hide and its offal outside the camp. It is a sin offering.

¹⁵“Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.

¹⁶Slaughter it and take the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides.

¹⁷Cut the ram into pieces and wash the inner parts and the legs, putting them with the head and the other pieces.

¹⁸Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord , a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire.

¹⁹“Take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head.

²⁰Slaughter it, take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then sprinkle blood against the altar on all sides.

²¹And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated.

²²“Take from this ram the fat, the fat tail, the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. (This is the ram for the ordination.)

²³From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the Lord , take a loaf, and a cake made with oil, and a wafer.

²⁴Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the Lord as a wave offering.

²⁵Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord , an offering made to the Lord by fire.

²⁶After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron’s ordination, wave it before the Lord as a wave offering, and it will be your share.

²⁷“Consecrate those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented.

²⁸This is always to be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the Lord from their fellowship offerings.

²⁹“Aaron’s sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them.

³⁰The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days.

³¹“Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place.

³²At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket.

³³They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred.

³⁴And if any of the meat of the ordination ram or any bread is left over till morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten, because it is sacred.

³⁵“Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them.

³⁶Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it.

³⁷For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.

³⁸“This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old.

³⁹Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight.

⁴⁰With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives, and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.

⁴¹Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning-a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the Lord by fire.

⁴²“For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the Lord . There I will meet you and speak to you;

⁴³there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.

⁴⁴“So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests.

⁴⁵Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.

⁴⁶They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

Welcome to the 2023 King Street Church Bible Reading Plan.  This year we will be following a chronological plan.

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

 

In this passage…

Exodus 25-27

25The Lord said to Moses,

²“Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.

³These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze;

⁴blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair;

⁵ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows ; acacia wood;

⁶olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;

⁷and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

⁸“Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.

⁹Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

¹⁰“Have them make a chest of acacia wood-two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.

¹¹Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it.

¹²Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other.

¹³Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

¹⁴Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it.

¹⁵The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed.

¹⁶Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.

¹⁷“Make an atonement cover of pure gold-two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.

¹⁸And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.

¹⁹Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends.

²⁰The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.

²¹Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.

²²There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.

²³“Make a table of acacia wood-two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high.

²⁴Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it.

²⁵Also make around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim.

²⁶Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are.

²⁷The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table.

²⁸Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them.

²⁹And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings.

³⁰Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times.

³¹“Make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms shall be of one piece with it.

³²Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand-three on one side and three on the other.

³³Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand.

³⁴And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms.

³⁵One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair-six branches in all.

³⁶The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

³⁷“Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it.

³⁸Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold.

³⁹A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories.

⁴⁰See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.

26“Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman.

²All the curtains are to be the same size-twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.

³Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five.

⁴Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set.

⁵Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other.

⁶Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit.

⁷“Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle-eleven altogether.

⁸All eleven curtains are to be the same size-thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.

⁹Join five of the curtains together into one set and the other six into another set. Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent.

¹⁰Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set.

¹¹Then make fifty bronze clasps and put them in the loops to fasten the tent together as a unit.

¹²As for the additional length of the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over is to hang down at the rear of the tabernacle.

¹³The tent curtains will be a cubit longer on both sides; what is left will hang over the sides of the tabernacle so as to cover it.

¹⁴Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.

¹⁵“Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.

¹⁶Each frame is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,

¹⁷with two projections set parallel to each other. Make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way.

¹⁸Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle

¹⁹and make forty silver bases to go under them-two bases for each frame, one under each projection.

²⁰For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames

²¹and forty silver bases-two under each frame.

²²Make six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle,

²³and make two frames for the corners at the far end.

²⁴At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top, and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that.

²⁵So there will be eight frames and sixteen silver bases-two under each frame.

²⁶“Also make crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle,

²⁷five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle.

²⁸The center crossbar is to extend from end to end at the middle of the frames.

²⁹Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold.

³⁰“Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.

³¹“Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman.

³²Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases.

³³Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.

³⁴Put the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place.

³⁵Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side.

³⁶“For the entrance to the tent make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen-the work of an embroiderer.

³⁷Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five bronze bases for them.

27“Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.

²Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze.

³Make all its utensils of bronze-its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.

⁴Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network.

⁵Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar.

⁶Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze.

⁷The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried.

⁸Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.

⁹“Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen,

¹⁰with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

¹¹The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

¹²“The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases.

¹³On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide.

¹⁴Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases,

¹⁵and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.

¹⁶“For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen-the work of an embroiderer-with four posts and four bases.

¹⁷All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases.

¹⁸The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases.

¹⁹All the other articles used in the service of the tabernacle, whatever their function, including all the tent pegs for it and those for the courtyard, are to be of bronze.

²⁰“Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning.

²¹In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.

Welcome to the 2023 King Street Church Bible Reading Plan.  This year we will be following a chronological plan.

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

 

In this passage…

Exodus 22-24

22“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.

²“If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;

³but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed. “A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.

⁴“If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession-whether ox or donkey or sheep-he must pay back double.

⁵“If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in another man’s field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard.

⁶“If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.

⁷“If a man gives his neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if he is caught, must pay back double.

⁸But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has laid his hands on the other man’s property.

⁹In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.

¹⁰“If a man gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to his neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking,

¹¹the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the Lord that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required.

¹²But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner.

¹³If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, he shall bring in the remains as evidence and he will not be required to pay for the torn animal.

¹⁴“If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, he must make restitution.

¹⁵But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.

¹⁶“If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.

¹⁷If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.

¹⁸“Do not allow a sorceress to live.

¹⁹“Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death.

²⁰“Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.

²¹“Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.

²²“Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.

²³If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.

²⁴My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.

²⁵“If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.

²⁶If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset,

²⁷because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

²⁸“Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

²⁹“Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. “You must give me the firstborn of your sons.

³⁰Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.

³¹“You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.

23“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.

²“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,

³and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

⁴“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him.

⁵If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.

⁶“Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.

⁷Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.

⁸“Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

⁹“Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.

¹⁰“For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops,

¹¹but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

¹²“Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.

¹³“Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

¹⁴“Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.

¹⁵“Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. “No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

¹⁶“Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. “Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.

¹⁷“Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord .

¹⁸“Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast. “The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.

¹⁹“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

²⁰“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.

²¹Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.

²²If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.

²³My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.

²⁴Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.

²⁵Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,

²⁶and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.

²⁷“I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.

²⁸I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.

²⁹But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you.

³⁰Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

³¹“I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you.

³²Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods.

³³Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.”

24Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord , you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance,

²but Moses alone is to approach the Lord ; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”

³When Moses went and told the people all the Lord ‘s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”

⁴Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.

⁵Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord .

⁶Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.

⁷Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”

⁸Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

⁹Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up

¹⁰and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself.

¹¹But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.

¹²The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.”

¹³Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God.

¹⁴He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.”

¹⁵When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,

¹⁶and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.

¹⁷To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.

¹⁸Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Welcome to the 2023 King Street Church Bible Reading Plan.  This year we will be following a chronological plan.

In your personal journal, consider answering these questions as part of your devotional time:

 

In this passage…

Exodus 19-21

19In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt-on the very day-they came to the Desert of Sinai.

²After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

³Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel:

⁴‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

⁵Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,

⁶you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

⁷So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak.

⁸The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord .

⁹The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.

¹⁰And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes

¹¹and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

¹²Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

¹³He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain.”

¹⁴After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.

¹⁵Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”

¹⁶On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.

¹⁷Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

¹⁸Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently,

¹⁹and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.

²⁰The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up

²¹and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish.

²²Even the priests, who approach the Lord , must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.”

²³Moses said to the Lord , “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’ “

²⁴The Lord replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord , or he will break out against them.”

²⁵So Moses went down to the people and told them.

20And God spoke all these words:

²“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³“You shall have no other gods before me.

⁴“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

⁶but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

⁸“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.

¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹²“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³“You shall not murder.

¹⁴“You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵“You shall not steal.

¹⁶“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance

¹⁹and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

²⁰Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

²¹The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

²²Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven:

²³Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.

²⁴” ‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.

²⁵If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.

²⁶And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’

21“These are the laws you are to set before them:

²“If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything.

³If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him.

⁴If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.

⁵“But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’

⁶then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.

⁷“If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do.

⁸If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.

⁹If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter.

¹⁰If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights.

¹¹If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.

¹²“Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death.

¹³However, if he does not do it intentionally, but God lets it happen, he is to flee to a place I will designate.

¹⁴But if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from my altar and put him to death.

¹⁵“Anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death.

¹⁶“Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death.

¹⁷“Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.

¹⁸“If men quarrel and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist and he does not die but is confined to bed,

¹⁹the one who struck the blow will not be held responsible if the other gets up and walks around outside with his staff; however, he must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and see that he is completely healed.

²⁰“If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished,

²¹but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property.

²²“If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows.

²³But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life,

²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

²⁵burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

²⁶“If a man hits a manservant or maidservant in the eye and destroys it, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the eye.

²⁷And if he knocks out the tooth of a manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the tooth.

²⁸“If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible.

²⁹If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull must be stoned and the owner also must be put to death.

³⁰However, if payment is demanded of him, he may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded.

³¹This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter.

³²If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull must be stoned.

³³“If a man uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it,

³⁴the owner of the pit must pay for the loss; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.

³⁵“If a man’s bull injures the bull of another and it dies, they are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally.

³⁶However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and the dead animal will be his.