The Berean Pursuit
And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Say to the Israelites, 'When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean. This uncleanness is from his discharge, whether his body allows the discharge to flow or blocks it. So his discharge will bring about uncleanness.
Any bed on which the man with the discharge lies will be unclean, and any furniture on which he sits will be unclean. Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. Whoever sits on furniture on which the man with the discharge was sitting must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
Whoever touches the body of the man with a discharge must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. If the man with the discharge spits on one who is clean, that person must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
Any saddle on which the man with the discharge rides will be unclean. Whoever touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening, and whoever carries such things must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
If the man with the discharge touches anyone without first rinsing his hands with water, the one who was touched must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed with water.
When the man has been cleansed from his discharge, he must count off seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe himself in fresh water, and he shall be clean. On the eighth day he is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, come before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the priest. The priest is to sacrifice them, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the man before the LORD because of his discharge.
When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean until evening. Any clothing or leather on which there is an emission of semen must be washed with water, and it will remain unclean until evening. If a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will remain unclean until evening.
When a woman has a discharge consisting of blood from her body, she will be unclean due to her menstruation for seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. Anything on which she lies or sits during her menstruation will be unclean, and anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
Whoever touches any furniture on which she was sitting must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening. And whether it is a bed or furniture on which she was sitting, whoever touches it will be unclean until evening.
If a man lies with her and her menstrual flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days, and any bed on which he lies will become unclean.
When a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days at a time other than her menstrual period, or if it continues beyond her period, she will be unclean all the days of her unclean discharge, just as she is during the days of her menstruation. Any bed on which she lies or any furniture on which she sits during the days of her discharge will be unclean, like her bed during her menstrual period. Anyone who touches these things will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
When a woman is cleansed of her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. On the eighth day she is to take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest is to sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her before the LORD for her unclean discharge.
You must keep the children of Israel separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling My tabernacle, which is among them.
This is the law of him who has a discharge, of the man who has an emission of semen whereby he is unclean, of a woman in her menstrual period, of any male or female who has a discharge, and of a man who lies with an unclean woman.'?"
Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of two of Aaron's sons when they approached the presence of the LORD. And the LORD said to Moses: "Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
This is how Aaron is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He is to wear the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments. He must tie a linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are holy garments, and he must bathe himself with water before he wears them. And he shall take from the congregation of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.
Aaron is to present the bull for his sin offering and make atonement for himself and his household. Then he shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
After Aaron casts lots for the two goats, one for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat, he shall present the goat chosen by lot for the LORD and sacrifice it as a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement by sending it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.
When Aaron presents the bull for his sin offering and makes atonement for himself and his household, he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. Then he must take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense, and take them inside the veil. He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat above the Testimony, so that he will not die. And he is to take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the mercy seat.
Aaron shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and bring its blood behind the veil, and with its blood he must do as he did with the bull's blood: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it.
So he shall make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the impurities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting which abides among them, because it is surrounded by their impurities. No one may be in the Tent of Meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he leaves, after he has made atonement for himself, his household, and the whole assembly of Israel.
Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it. He is to take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. He is to sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he is to bring forward the live goat. Then he is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites in regard to all their sins. He is to put them on the goat's head and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man will release it into the wilderness.
Then Aaron is to enter the Tent of Meeting, take off the linen garments he put on before entering the Most Holy Place, and leave them there. He is to bathe himself with water in a holy place and put on his own clothes. Then he must go out and sacrifice his burnt offering and the people's burnt offering to make atonement for himself and for the people. He is also to burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
The man who released the goat as the scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may reenter the camp.
The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; and their hides, flesh, and dung must be burned up. The one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.
This is to be a permanent statute for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month, you shall humble yourselves and not do any work-whether the native or the foreigner who resides among you- because on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you, and you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, that you may humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.
The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest shall make atonement. He will put on the sacred linen garments and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the assembly. This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement once a year for the Israelites because of all their sins."
And all this was done as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them this is what the LORD has commanded: 'Anyone from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp or outside of it instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before His tabernacle-that man shall incur bloodguilt. He has shed blood and must be cut off from among his people.
For this reason the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they have been offering in the open fields. They are to bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and offer them as sacrifices of peace to the LORD. The priest will then sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
They must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons to which they have prostituted themselves. This will be a permanent statute for them for the generations to come.'
Tell them that if anyone from the house of Israel or any foreigner living among them offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice but does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD, that man must be cut off from his people.
If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. Therefore I say to the Israelites, 'None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner living among you eat blood.'
And if any Israelite or foreigner living among them hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, he must drain its blood and cover it with dirt. For the life of all flesh is its blood. Therefore I have told the Israelites, 'You must not eat the blood of any living thing, because the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it must be cut off.'
And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean. But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, then he shall bear his iniquity."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God. You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.
You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God. Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
None of you are to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD.
You must not expose the nakedness of your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her.
You must not have sexual relations with your father's wife; it would dishonor your father.
You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
You must not have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter, for that would shame your family.
You must not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
You must not have sexual relations with your father's sister; she is your father's close relative.
You must not have sexual relations with your mother's sister, for she is your mother's close relative.
You must not dishonor your father's brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations with her; she is your aunt.
You must not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife; you are not to have sexual relations with her.
You must not have sexual relations with your brother's wife; that would shame your brother.
You must not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. You are not to marry her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter and have sexual relations with her. They are close relatives; it is depraved.
You must not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.
You must not approach a woman to have sexual relations with her during her menstrual period.
You must not lie carnally with your neighbor's wife and thus defile yourself with her.
You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
You must not lie with a man as with a woman; that is an abomination.
You must not lie carnally with any animal, thus defiling yourself with it; a woman must not stand before an animal to mate with it; that is a perversion.
Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves. Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants.
But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations-neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you. For the men who were in the land before you committed all these abominations, and the land has become defiled. So if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it spewed out the nations before you.
Therefore anyone who commits any of these abominations must be cut off from among his people. You must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God."
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
save me by Your righteousness.
Incline Your ear to me;
come quickly to my rescue.
Be my rock of refuge,
the stronghold of my deliverance.
For You are my rock and my fortress;
lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.
You free me from the net laid out for me,
for You are my refuge.
Into Your hands I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.
I hate those who cling to worthless idols,
but in the LORD I trust.
I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion,
for You have seen my affliction;
You have known the anguish of my soul.
You have not delivered me to the enemy;
You have set my feet in the open.
Be merciful to me, O LORD,
for I am in distress;
my eyes fail from sorrow,
my soul and body as well.
For my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;
my iniquity has drained my strength,
and my bones are wasting away.
Among all my enemies I am a disgrace,
and among my neighbors even more.
I am dreaded by my friends-
they flee when they see me on the street.
I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind.
I am like a broken vessel.
For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side.
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
But I trust in You, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."
My times are in Your hands;
deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me.
Make Your face shine on Your servant;
save me by Your loving devotion.
O LORD, let me not be ashamed,
for I have called on You.
Let the wicked be put to shame;
let them lie silent in Sheol.
May lying lips be silenced-
lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous,
full of pride and contempt.
How great is Your goodness
which You have laid up for those who fear You,
which You have bestowed before the sons of men
on those who take refuge in You!
You hide them in the secret place of Your presence
from the schemes of men.
You conceal them in Your shelter
from accusing tongues.
Blessed be the LORD,
for He has shown me His loving devotion
in a city under siege.
In my alarm I said,
"I am cut off from Your sight!"
But You heard my plea for mercy
when I called to You for help.
Love the LORD, all His saints.
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but fully repays the arrogant.
Be strong and courageous,
all you who hope in the LORD.
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age- and then have fallen away-to be restored to repentance, because they themselves are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to open shame.
For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.
Even though we speak like this, beloved, we are convinced of better things in your case-things that accompany salvation. For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, "I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants." And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise.
Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument. So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath. Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.