Day 69 reading

Wisdom·Psalms 43:1–44:6

¹Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men. ²For You are the God of my refuge. Why have You rejected me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression? ³Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, and to the place where You dwell. ⁴Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God. ⁵Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

44We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old. ²With Your hand You drove out the nations and planted our fathers there; You crushed the peoples and cast them out. ³For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them. ⁴You are my King, O God, who ordains victories for Jacob. ⁵Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies. ⁶For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me.

New Testament·Mark 10:42–11:11

⁴²So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. ⁴³But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. ⁴⁵For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” ⁴⁶Next, they came to Jericho. And as Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho with a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road. ⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸Many people admonished him to be silent, but he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man. “Take courage!” they said. “Get up! He is calling for you.” ⁵⁰Throwing off his cloak, Bartimaeus jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹“What do you want Me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “Rabboni,” said the blind man, “let me see again.” ⁵²“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

11As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two of His disciples ²and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³If anyone asks, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it shortly.’” ⁴So they went and found the colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. They untied it, ⁵and some who were standing there asked, “Why are you untying the colt?” ⁶The disciples answered as Jesus had instructed them, and the people gave them permission. ⁷Then they led the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, and He sat on it. ⁸Many in the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut from the fields. ⁹The ones who went ahead and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” ¹⁰“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!” ¹¹Then Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

Old Testament·Numbers 3

¹This is the account of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. ²These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, then Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These were Aaron’s sons, the anointed priests, who were ordained to serve as priests. ⁴Nadab and Abihu, however, died in the presence of the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai. And since they had no sons, only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron. ⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, ⁶“Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. ⁷They are to perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁸They shall take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting and fulfill obligations for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle. ⁹Assign the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been given exclusively to him from among the Israelites. ¹⁰So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.” ¹¹Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹²“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel in place of every firstborn Israelite from the womb. The Levites belong to Me, ¹³for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They are Mine; I am the LORD.” ¹⁴Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵“Number the Levites by their families and clans. You are to count every male a month old or more.” ¹⁶So Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he had been commanded. ¹⁷These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸These were the names of the sons of Gershon by their clans: Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹The sons of Kohath by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰And the sons of Merari by their clans were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites, according to their families. ²¹From Gershon came the Libnite clan and the Shimeite clan; these were the Gershonite clans. ²²The number of all the males a month old or more was 7,500. ²³The Gershonite clans were to camp on the west, behind the tabernacle, ²⁴and the leader of the families of the Gershonites was Eliasaph son of Lael. ²⁵The duties of the Gershonites at the Tent of Meeting were the tabernacle and tent, its covering, the curtain for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, ²⁶the curtains of the courtyard, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard that surrounds the tabernacle and altar, and the cords—all the service for these items. ²⁷From Kohath came the clans of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites. ²⁸The number of all the males a month old or more was 8,600. They were responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. ²⁹The clans of the Kohathites were to camp on the south side of the tabernacle, ³⁰and the leader of the families of the Kohathites was Elizaphan son of Uzziel. ³¹Their duties were the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used with them, and the curtain—all the service for these items. ³²The chief of the leaders of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest; he oversaw those responsible for the duties of the sanctuary. ³³From Merari came the clans of the Mahlites and Mushites; these were the Merarite clans. ³⁴The number of all the males a month old or more was 6,200. ³⁵The leader of the families of the Merarites was Zuriel son of Abihail; they were to camp on the north side of the tabernacle. ³⁶The duties assigned to the sons of Merari were the tabernacle’s frames, crossbars, posts, bases, and all its equipment—all the service for these items, ³⁷as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, and ropes. ³⁸Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, before the Tent of Meeting. They were to perform the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites; but any outsider who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death. ³⁹The total number of Levites that Moses and Aaron counted by their clans at the LORD’s command, including all the males a month old or more, was 22,000. ⁴⁰Then the LORD said to Moses, “Number every firstborn male of the Israelites a month old or more, and list their names. ⁴¹You are to take the Levites for Me—I am the LORD—in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of all the firstborn of the livestock of the Israelites.” ⁴²So Moses numbered all the firstborn of the Israelites, as the LORD had commanded him. ⁴³The total number of the firstborn males a month old or more, listed by name, was 22,273. ⁴⁴Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵“Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites belong to Me; I am the LORD. ⁴⁶To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷you are to collect five shekels for each one, according to the sanctuary shekel of twenty gerahs. ⁴⁸Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the excess among the Israelites.” ⁴⁹So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the number redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰He collected the money from the firstborn of the Israelites: 1,365 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. ⁵¹And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the word of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.