13 February - Beauty for Ashes

 

Reading:

Exodus 21
CJB
(ii) 20 “If a person beats his male or female slave with a stick so severely that he dies, he is to be punished; 21 except that if the slave lives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his property.

22 “If people are fighting with each other and happen to hurt a pregnant woman so badly that her unborn child dies, then, even if no other harm follows, he must be fined. He must pay the amount set by the woman’s husband and confirmed by judges. 23 But if any harm follows, then you are to give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound and bruise for bruise.

26 “If a person hits his male or female slave’s eye and destroys it, he must let him go free in compensation for his eye. 27 If he knocks out his male or female slave’s tooth, he must let him go free in compensation for his tooth.

28 “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox is to be stoned and its flesh not eaten, but the owner of the ox will have no further liability. 29 However, if the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner was warned but did not confine it, so that it ended up killing a man or a woman; then the ox is to be stoned, and its owner too is to be put to death. 30 However, a ransom may be imposed on him; and the death penalty will be commuted if he pays the amount imposed. 31 If the ox gores a son or daughter, the same rule applies. 32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, its owner must give their master twelve ounces of silver; and the ox is to be stoned to death.

33 “If someone removes the cover from a cistern or digs one and fails to cover it, and an ox or donkey falls in, 34 the owner of the cistern must make good the loss by compensating the animal’s owner; but the dead animal will be his.

35 “If one person’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, they are to sell the live ox and divide the revenue from the sale; and they are also to divide the dead animal. 36 But if it is known that the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner did not confine it; he must pay ox for ox, but the dead animal will be his.

37 (22:1) “If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he is to pay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.


Exodus 35
Tree of Life Version
Parashat Vayakhel
Offerings for the Tabernacle

1 Then Moses assembled all the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael and said to them, “These are the words which Adonai has commanded you to do. 2 Work is to be done for six days, but the seventh day is a holy day for you, a Shabbat of complete rest to Adonai. Whoever does any work then will die. 3 Do not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on Yom Shabbat.”

4 Moses also said to all the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael, “This is the word which Adonai commanded saying: 5 Take from among you an offering for Adonai. Whoever has a willing heart, let him bring Adonai’s offering: gold, silver and bronze; 6 blue, purple and scarlet cloth; fine linen and goat hair; 7 ram skins dyed red, sealskins and acacia wood; 8 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 9 onyx stones, and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastplate.

10 “Let every wise-hearted man among you come and make everything that Adonai has commanded, including 11 the Tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its clasps and its boards, its crossbars, its pillars and its bases; 12 the Ark and the poles, the atonement cover and the curtain screen; 13 the table and its poles with all of its utensils, along with the bread of the Presence; 14 also the menorah for light with its utensils, its lamps and the oil for the light; 15 the altar of incense and its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the entrance of the Tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its grating of bronze, its poles and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; 17 the hangings of the courtyard, the pillars and their bases, and the curtain for the gate of the courtyard; 18 the pegs of the Tabernacle and of the courtyard, along with their cords; 19 the woven garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the kohen and for his sons, to minister as kohanim.”

20 Then all the congregation of Bnei-Yisrael departed from before Moses. 21 Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought Adonai’s offering for the work of the Tent of Meeting and for all its service as well as for the holy garments. 22 So they came, both men and women, everyone whose heart compelled him, and brought nose rings, earrings, signet rings, bracelets, and all kinds of golden jewels—everyone who brought a wave offering of gold to Adonai. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goat hair, ram skins dyed red or sealskins brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought Adonai’s offering, and every man who had acacia wood of any use for service brought it. 25 Also all the women who were wise-hearted spun with their hands, and brought what they had woven—the blue, purple, scarlet and fine linen. 26 All the women whose heart stirred them up with wisdom spun the goat hair. 27 Also the leaders brought onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastplate, 28 along with the spice, the oil for the light and for anointing and for the sweet incense. 29 Every man and woman whose heart made them willing gave toward all the work that Adonai had commanded to be done by Moses’ hand. So Bnei-Yisrael brought it as a freewill offering to Adonai.

30 Then Moses said to Bnei-Yisrael, “See, Adonai has called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 He has filled him with the Ruach of God, with wisdom, understanding and knowledge, in all manner of craftsmanship, 32 to make ingenious designs, to work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 as well as cutting gemstones for setting, wood carving, to make all kinds of skillful craftsmanship. 34 He has also placed in his heart the ability to teach—both he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with wisdom of heart to forge all the works of an engraver, an artisan, and an embroiderer in blue, purple, scarlet and in fine linen, as well as weaving—they can perform every craft and ingenious designs. 

Exodus 36

More Than Enough!

1 “So Bezalel and Oholiab are to work, along with every wise-hearted man in whom Adonai has placed insight and understanding to know how to perform all the labor for the service of the Sanctuary, according to everything Adonai has commanded.”

2 Then Moses called Bezalel, Oholiab and all the wise-hearted men in whose minds Adonai had set wisdom, along with everyone whose heart stirred him up to come do the work. 3 They received from Moses the entire offering that Bnei-Yisrael had brought for the work of the service of the Sanctuary, to build it. They brought freewill offerings to him morning after morning. 4 Then all the skilled men who were doing all the work of the Sanctuary came, one by one from the work he was doing, 5 and said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for the work of this construction that Adonai has commanded to be done.”

6 So Moses gave an order, and they proclaimed it throughout the camp saying, “Let neither man nor woman make anything else as an offering for the Sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing more. 7 For the work material they had was sufficient for all the work, with much left over.

8 So all the wise-hearted men among them did the work. They made the Tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen, along with blue, purple and scarlet, with cheruvim—the work of a skillful craftsman. 9 The length of each curtain was 28 cubits and the width of each curtain was four cubits. All the curtains had one measure. 10 Then he coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he also coupled together. 11 He made blue loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost within the first set. He did the same along the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second set. 12 He made 50 loops in one curtain and 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set, so that the loops were opposite to one another. 13 Also he made 50 clasps of gold and coupled the curtains one to another with the clasps, so the Tabernacle was one.

14 Then he made curtains from goat hair for a tent over the Tabernacle. He made 11 curtains. 15 The length of each curtain was 30 cubits, and the width of each was four cubits. The 11 curtains had one measure. 16 He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six other curtains by themselves. 17 He made 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the first set and 50 loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second set. 18 Also he made 50 bronze clasps to couple the tent together, so that it would be one. 19 Then he made a covering for the tent of ram skins, dyed red, along with a covering of sealskins above.

20 He also made the framework of boards for the Tabernacle from acacia wood, standing upright. 21 The length of a board was ten cubits, the width was a cubit and a half. 22 Each board had two supports, joined one to another. He did this for all the boards of the Tabernacle. 23 So he built the boards for the Tabernacle, 20 boards from the south side southward. 24 And he made 40 silver bases under the 20 boards, two bases under one board for its two supports, and two bases under another board for its two supports. 25 Also for the second side of the Tabernacle, on the north side, he made 20 boards, 26 along with their 40 silver bases, two under one board and two under the next. 27 For the back part of the Tabernacle westward he made six boards. 28 He also made two boards for the corners of the Tabernacle in the back, 29 so that they could be doubled underneath, and in same way to be fixed to the top, at the first ring. He did this for both of them at the two corners. 30 So there were eight boards, along with their silver bases, 16 in all, two under each board.

31 Then he made crossbars from acacia wood, five for the boards on one side of the Tabernacle, 32 five for the boards on the other side of the Tabernacle, and five crossbars for the boards of the Tabernacle for the back part, westward. 33 He built the middle crossbar to pass through, in the center of the boards, from one end to the other. 34 He overlaid the boards with gold and made golden rings for them, as holders for the crossbars, and overlaid the crossbars with gold.

35 Then he made the curtain of blue, purple, scarlet and finely twisted linen, along with the cheruvim, the work of a skillful craftsman. 36 He made four pillars of acacia, and overlaid them with gold, having golden hooks, and he cast four silver bases for them. 37 Then he made a parokhet for the entrance of the tent, of blue, purple, scarlet and finely twisted linen, the work of a color weaver. 38 Also he made the five pillars with their hooks, and overlaid their capitals and bands with gold, along with their five bronze bases.

Matthew 27
TLV
32 As they came out, they found a man from Cyrene, Simon by name. They forced him into service, to carry Yeshua’s cross-beam. [e] 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (that is to say, Place of a Skull), 34 they offered Him wine mixed with gall to drink;[f] but after tasting, He was unwilling to drink it. 35 And when they had crucified Him, they divided His clothing among themselves by casting lots. [g] 36 And they sat down and kept guard over Him there. 37 Over His head they put the charge against Him, which read: “THIS IS YESHUA, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

38 Then two outlaws were executed with Him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 Those passing by were jeering at Him,[h] shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If you are Ben-Elohim, come down from the stake!”

41 Likewise the ruling kohanim, along with the Torah scholars and elders, were also mocking Him. 42 “He saved others,” they were saying, “but He can’t save Himself? He’s the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the stake, and we’ll believe in Him! 43 He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He wants Him.[i] For He said, ‘I am Ben-Elohim.’” 44 Even the outlaws who were executed with Him were ridiculing Him in the same way.[j]

Yeshua Lays Down His Life
45 Now from the sixth hour, darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. [k] 46 About the ninth hour Yeshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”[l] that is, “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?”

47 When some of those standing there heard it, they began saying, “This Man is calling for Elijah.” 48 Right away one of them ran and took a sponge. He filled it with sour wine and put it on a stick, and was offering it to Yeshua to drink. [m] 49 But the rest were saying, “Leave Him alone! Let’s see if Elijah comes to save Him.” 50 And Yeshua cried out again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit.

51 And behold, the curtain[n] of the Temple was split in two, from top to bottom. And the earth quaked and rocks were split apart. 52 And the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the kedoshim who were sleeping were raised to life. 53 And coming forth out of the tombs after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

54 Now the centurion, and those with him keeping guard over Yeshua, when they saw the earthquake and what was happening, they became terribly frightened and said, “This really was the Son of God!”
The Tomb Is Sealed

55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Yeshua from the Galilee, serving Him. 56 Among them were Miriam from Magdala, Miriam the mother of Jacob and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

57 Now when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had also become a disciple of Yeshua. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for Yeshua’s body. Then Pilate ordered it to be given up. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60 And he laid it in his own new tomb,[o] which he had cut in the rock. Then he rolled a large stone up to the door of the tomb and went away. 61 Now Miriam from Magdala was there, and the other Miriam, sitting opposite the tomb.
Guarding the Tomb

62 Now on the next day, which is after the preparation, the ruling kohanim and Pharisees were gathered before Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember how that deceiver said while He was still alive, ‘After three days I’m to be raised.’ 64 Therefore, order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, so His disciples do not come and steal Him away. They will tell the people, ‘He is risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first!”

65 “You have a guard,” Pilate said to them. “Go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone along with the soldiers of the guard.

 
Psalm 34
Tree of Life Version
Taste and See
1 Of David, when he feigned insanity before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.
2 I will bless Adonai at all times. His praise is continually in my mouth.
3 My soul boasts in Adonai. The humble ones hear of it and rejoice.
4 Magnify Adonai with me and let us exalt His Name together.
5 I sought Adonai, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
6 They who looked to Him were radiant, and their faces will never be ashamed.
7 This poor man cried, and Adonai heard, and saved him out of all his troubles.
8 The angel of Adonai encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.
9 Taste and see how good Adonai is. Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.
10 Fear Adonai, His kedoshim, For those who fear Him lack nothing.
11 Young lions may lack, and go hungry,
but those who seek Adonai want for no good thing.

Proverbs 9
7 Whoever corrects a scoffer is asking for insult.
Whoever reproves a wicked man gets abuse.
8 Do not correct a scoffer or he will hate you.
Rebuke a wise man and he will love you.

 

Devotional:

Beauty for Ashes

I have never been in debted to anyone in all my life, because I was born in a wealthy family, but something tragic happened that I got into a huge debt I could not pay myself and so I am not indebted to my parents until today. But this tragic thing that happened GOD was able to use, to bless my family because then I had to work hard in order to pay my debts plus it brought me back to the church that hurt me so much that I swore never to return to. When I think about how I got into the debt, I would be angry at either myself or GOD. But because of how GOD used the debt to cause breakthrough in my life, I couldn't be angry at GOD anymore and I should not feel angry at myself because GOD allowed me to fall into the debt for a higher purpose and that purpose was to align me to HIS will and bless me and all the rest of my family. This is how GOD used my ashes - (debt) and made it into something beautiful! Now, I can't be angry at GOD anymore, not even to myself because knowing that GOD has full control over all things, only gives me relief that GOD did it for my good. I am taking account of all I have ever done, the good and the bad but with GOD, all the bad even becomes wonderful because the GOD I love always makes everything beautiful because that is the way HE is. HE is beautiful more than wonderful and because HE owns me, everything I do good or bad, HE makes beautiful just because HE is.

 

NIGHT Devotions: 

Genesis 36

1 Chronicles 1-2:2