Daily Reading: March 29

Exodus 40 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

You shall place the ark of the testimony there, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. You shall bring in the table and arrange what belongs on it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and mount its lamps.

Moreover you shall set the gold altar of incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the veil for the doorway to the tabernacle.

You shall set the altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

You shall set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. You shall set up the court all around and hang up the screen for the gateway of the court.

Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and set it apart as holy, and all its furnishings, and it shall be holy.

You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and set the altar apart as holy, and the altar shall be most holy.

You shall anoint the laver and its stand, and set it apart as holy. Then you shall bring

Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water. You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him, and set him apart as holy, that he may minister as a priest to me.

You shall bring his sons and put two tunics on them, and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to me, and their anointing will be for them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.

Thus Moses did according to all that Yahweh had commanded him, so he did. Now it happened in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected.

Moses erected the tabernacle, and laid its bases, and set up its boards, and inserted its bars, and erected its pillars.

He spread the tent over the tabernacle, and placed the covering of the tent on top of it, just as Yahweh had commanded

Moses. Then he took the testimony, and put it into the ark, and attached the poles to the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.

He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and placed the veil of the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as Yahweh had commanded

Moses. Then he put the table and the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil.

He set the arrangement of bread and order on it before Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded

Moses. Then he placed the lampstand and the tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle.

He lighted the lamps before Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses. Then he placed the gold altar and the tent of meeting in front of the veil, and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as Yahweh had commanded

Moses. Then he placed the screen at the doorway of the tabernacle. He placed the altar of burnt offering before the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and he offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, just as Yahweh had commanded

Moses. He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing.

From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as Yahweh had commanded

Moses. He erected the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and he put up the screen for the gateway of the court.

Thus Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.

And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud had dwelt on it, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.

Now throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out.

But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up.

For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of Yahweh was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.

John 19 Pilate then took Jesus and flogged him. And when the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head, and put a purple robe on him.

And they were coming to him and saying, Hail, King of the Jews, and were giving him slaps in the face.

And Pilate came out again and said to them, Behold, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.

Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them,

Behold, the man. So when the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying,

Crucify, crucify. Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.

The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself out to be the

Son of God. Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he became more afraid.

And he entered into the praetorium again and said to Jesus, Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer.

So Pilate said to him, You do not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you, and I have authority to crucify you?

Jesus answered, You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given you from above.

For this reason he who delivered me to you has the greater sin. As a result of this,

Pilate kept seeking to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying, If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar.

Everyone who makes himself to be a king opposes Caesar. Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought

Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover. It was about the sixth hour, and he said to the

Jews, Behold, your king. So they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him.

Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priest answered, We have no king but Caesar.

So he then delivered him over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the

Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.

And Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, Jesus the

Nazarene, the king of the Jews. Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek.

So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, Do not write, The king of the Jews, but that he said,

I am king of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, a part to each soldier, and also his tunic.

Now that tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another,

Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be. This was an order that the

Scripture would be fulfilled. They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister,

Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother,

Woman, behold, your son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold, your mother.

From that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been finished, in order to finish the

Scripture, said, I am thirsty. A jar full of sour wine was standing there.

So they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop, and brought it up to his mouth.

Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished.

And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the

Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day, asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who was crucified with him.

But coming to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

And he who is seen has borne witness, and his witness is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.

For these things came to pass in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled. Not a bone of him shall be broken.

And again another Scripture says, They shall look on him whom they pierced. Now after these things

Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because of his fear of the

Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate granted permission.

So he came and took away his body. And Nicodemus, who had first come to him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about one hundred litres.

So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the

Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.

Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid

Jesus there. Proverbs 16.

The plans of the heart belong to a man, but the answer of the tongue is from Yahweh. All the ways of a man are pure in his own sight, but Yahweh weighs the motives.

Commit your works to Yahweh, and your plans will be established. Yahweh has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to Yahweh. Assuredly he will not be unpunished.

By loving kindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of Yahweh one turns away from evil.

When a man's ways are pleasing to Yahweh, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Better is a little with righteousness than great produce with injustice. The heart of man plans his way, but Yahweh directs his steps.

A divine decision is in the lips of the king. His mouth should not err in judgment. A just balance and scales belong to Yahweh.

All the weights of the bag are his work. It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for in righteousness a throne is established.

Righteous lips are the delight of kings, and he who speaks uprightly is loved.

The wrath of a king is like messengers of death, but a wise man will atone for it.

In the light of a king's face is life, and his favor is like a cloud with a late rain.

How much better is it to acquire wisdom than find gold, and to acquire understanding is to be chosen above silver.

The highway of the upright is to turn away from evil. He who guards his way keeps his soul.

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud.

He who considers the word will find good, and how blessed is he who trusts in Yahweh.

The wise in heart will be called understanding, and sweetness of lips increases learning.

Insight is a fountain of life to one who has it, but the discipline of ignorant fools is folly.

The heart of the wise gives insight to his mouth and increases learning to his lips.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

A worker's appetite works for him, for his mouth urges him on. A vile man digs up evil, and the words on his lips are like scorching fire.

A perverse man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close companions.

A man of violence entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good.

He who winks his eye does so to devise perverse things. He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

Gray hair is a crown of beauty. It is found in the way of righteousness. He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his own spirit than he who captures a city.

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every judgment is from Yahweh.

Philippians 3 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the mutilation. For we are the circumcision, who worship in the

Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh.

If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more. Circumcise the eighth day of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a

Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.

But whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

More than that, I count all things to be lost because of the surpassing value of knowing

Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain

Christ, and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead, not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on, so that I may lay hold of that for which also

I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing

I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way, and if in anything you think differently,

God will reveal that also to you. However, let us keep walking in step with the same standard to which we have attained.

Brothers, join in following my example, and look for those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.

For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even crying, as enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose

God is their stomach, and glory is in their shame, who set their thoughts on earthly things.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the

Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by His working through which