Through the Bible – Day 30

₁The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on this mountain. Bring along Aaron, as well as his two sons Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel's leaders. They must worship me at a distance, ₂but you are to come near. Don't let anyone else come up.”

₃Moses gave the LORD's instructions to the people, and they promised, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded!” ₄Then Moses wrote down what the LORD had said.

The next morning Moses got up early. He built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up a large stone for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. ₅He also sent some young men to burn offerings and to sacrifice bulls as special offerings to the LORD. ₆Moses put half of the blood from the animals into bowls and sprinkled the rest on the altar. ₇Then he read aloud the LORD's commands and promises, and the people shouted, “We will obey the LORD and do everything he has commanded!”

₈Moses took the blood from the bowls and sprinkled it on the people. Next, he told them, “With this blood the LORD makes his agreement with you.”

₉Moses and Aaron, together with Nadab and Abihu and the seventy leaders, went up the mountain ₁₀and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something that looked like a pavement made out of sapphire, and it was as bright as the sky.

₁₁Even though these leaders of Israel saw God, he did not punish them. So they ate and drank.

₁₂The LORD said to Moses, “Come up on the mountain and stay here for a while. I will give you the two flat stones on which I have written the laws that my people must obey.” ₁₃Moses and Joshua his assistant got ready, then Moses started up the mountain to meet with God.

₁₄Moses had told the leaders, “Wait here until we come back. Aaron and Hur will be with you, and they can settle any arguments while we are away.”

₁₅When Moses went up on Mount Sinai, a cloud covered it, ₁₆and the bright glory of the LORD came down and stayed there. The cloud covered the mountain for six days, and on the seventh day the LORD told Moses to come into the cloud. _17-18Moses did so and stayed there forty days and nights. To the people, the LORD's glory looked like a blazing fire on top of the mountain.

₁The LORD said to Moses:

₂Tell everyone in Israel who wants to give gifts that they must bring them to you. ₃Here is a list of what you are to collect: gold, silver, and bronze; ₄blue, purple, and red wool; fine linen; goat hair; ₅tanned ram skins; fine leather; acacia wood; ₆olive oil for the lamp; sweet-smelling spices to mix with the oil for dedicating the tent and ordaining the priests; ₇and onyx stones for the sacred apron and the breastpiece. ₈I also want them to build a special place where I can live among my people. ₉Make it and its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

₁₀Tell the people to build a chest of acacia wood one hundred and ten centimetres long, sixty-six centimetres wide, and sixty-six centimetres high. ₁₁Cover it inside and out with pure gold and put a gold edging around the lid. ₁₂Make four gold rings and fasten one of them to each of the four legs of the chest. ₁₃Make two poles of acacia wood. Cover them with gold ₁₄and put them through the rings, so the chest can be carried by the poles. ₁₅Don't ever remove the poles from the rings. ₁₆When I give you the Ten Commandments written on two flat stones, put them inside the chest.

₁₇Cover the lid of the chest with pure gold. _18-19Then hammer out two winged creatures of pure gold and fasten them to the lid at the ends of the chest. ₂₀The creatures must face each other with their wings spread over the chest. ₂₁Inside it place the two flat stones with the Ten Commandments and put the gold lid on top of the chest. ₂₂I will meet you there between the two creatures and tell you what my people must do and what they must not do.

₂₃Make a table of acacia wood eighty-eight centimetres long, forty-four centimetres wide, and sixty-six centimetres high. _24-25Cover it with pure gold and put a gold edging around it with a border seventy-five millimetres wide. ₂₆Make four gold rings and attach one to each of the legs _27-28near the edging. The poles for carrying the table are to be placed through these rings and are to be made of acacia wood covered with gold. _29-30The table is to be kept in the holy place, and the sacred loaves of bread must always be put on it. All bowls, plates, jars, and cups for wine offerings are to be made of pure gold and set on this table.

₃₁Make a lampstand of pure gold. The whole lampstand, including its decorative flowers, must be made from a single piece of hammered gold ₃₂with three branches on each of its two sides. ₃₃There are to be three decorative almond blossoms on each branch ₃₄and four on the stem. ₃₅There must also be a blossom where each pair of branches comes out from the stem. ₃₆The lampstand, including its branches and decorative flowers, must be made from a single piece of hammered pure gold. ₃₇The lamp on the top and those at the end of each of its six branches must be made so as to shine towards the front of the lampstand. ₃₈The tongs and trays for taking care of the lamps are to be made of pure gold. ₃₉The lampstand and its equipment will require thirty-five kilogrammes of pure gold, ₄₀and they must be made according to the pattern I showed you on the mountain.

₁Furnish the sacred tent with curtains made from ten pieces of the finest linen. They must be woven with blue, purple, and red wool and embroidered with figures of winged creatures. ₂Make each piece twelve metres long and two metres wide ₃and sew them together into two curtains with five sections each. _4-6Put fifty loops of blue cloth along one of the wider sides of each curtain, then fasten the two curtains at the loops with fifty gold hooks.

_7-8As the material for the tent, use goat hair to weave eleven sections thirteen metres by two metres each. ₉Sew five of the sections together to make one panel. Then sew the other six together to make a second panel, and fold the sixth section double over the front of the tent. ₁₀Put fifty loops along one of the wider sides of each panel ₁₁and fasten the two panels at the loops with fifty bronze hooks. _12-13The panel of goat hair will be a metre longer than the tent itself, so fold fifty centimetres of the material behind the tent and on each side as a protective covering. ₁₄Make two more coverings—one with ram skins dyed red and the other with fine leather.

₁₅Build a framework of acacia wood for the walls of the sacred tent. ₁₆Each frame is to be four metres high and sixty-six centimetres wide ₁₇with two wooden pegs near the bottom. _18-21Place two silver stands under each frame with sockets for the pegs, so the frames can be joined together. Twenty of these frames are to be used along the south side and twenty more along the north. ₂₂For the back wall along the west side use six frames _23-24with two more at the south-west and north-west corners. Make certain that these corner frames are joined from top to bottom. ₂₅Altogether, this back wall will have eight frames with two silver stands under each one.

_26-27Make five crossbars for each of the wooden frames, ₂₈with the centre crossbar running the full length of the wall. ₂₉Cover the frames and the crossbars with gold and attach gold rings to the frames to run the crossbars through. ₃₀Then set up the tent in the way I showed you on the mountain.

_31-33Make a curtain to separate the holy place from the most holy place. Use fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool, and embroidered with figures of winged creatures. Cover four acacia wood posts with gold and set them each on a silver stand. Then fasten gold hooks to the posts and hang the curtain there.

₃₄Inside the most holy place, you must put the sacred chest that has the place of mercy on its lid. ₃₅Outside the curtain put the table for the sacred bread on the right side and the gold lampstand on the left.

₃₆For the entrance to the tent, use a piece of fine linen woven with blue, purple, and red wool and embroidered with fine needlework. ₃₇Cover five acacia wood posts with gold and set them each on a bronze stand. Then put gold hooks on the posts and hang the curtain there.

₂₁Peter came up to the Lord and asked, “How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?”

₂₂Jesus answered: