The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.
A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise Psalm 51:17

Numbers 10-11

Numbers 10

The Two Silver Trumpets

¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Make two trumpets of hammered silver to use to call the community and to set the camps out on their journey. ³ When they blow both of them, the entire community shall gather to you at the door of the Tent of Meeting. ⁴ If they sound only one blow, then just the leaders–the heads of the thousands of Israel–shall gather to you. ⁵ When you blow short blasts of the alarm, the camps that lie on the east side shall go forward. ⁶ When you blow short blasts of the alarm the second time, the camps that lie on the south side shall go forward. They shall blow an alarm to set the camps out for their journey. ⁷ But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow a different signal, but you shall not sound an alarm.

⁸ The sons of Aaron, the priests shall blow the trumpets. This shall be a lasting ordinance for you throughout your generations. ⁹ When you go to war in your land against an adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets. Then you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.

¹⁰ Also in the day of rejoicing and in your appointed feasts and at the beginning of each of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, that they may be to you, a memorial before your God. I am the Lord your God.”

Moving from Sinai to Paran

¹¹ On the twentieth day of the second month in the second year, the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the covenant. ¹² The Israelites went forward on their journey out of the wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud stayed in the wilderness of Paran. ¹³ They first went forward according to the commandment of the Lord by Moses.

¹⁴ The camp of Judah went out first, according to their military divisions, with their banner in front of them. Nahshon the son of Amminadab was commander of its army. ¹⁵ Nethanel the son of Zuar was commander of the military divisions of the tribe of Issachar. ¹⁶ Eliab the son of Helon was over the military divisions of the tribe of Zebulun. ¹⁷ The tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who bore the tabernacle, went forward. ¹⁸ The camp of Reuben went out according to their divisions with their standard in front. Elizur the son of Shedeur was commander over its army. ¹⁹ Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai was over the military divisions of the tribe of Simeon. ²⁰ Eliasaph the son of Deuel was over the military divisions of the tribe of Gad.

²¹ The Kohathites set forward, bearing the sanctuary. The others set up the tabernacle before they arrived.

²² The standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies. Elishama the son of Ammihud was over his army. ²³ Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur was over the army of the tribe of the children of Manasseh. ²⁴ Abidan the son of Gideoni was commander over the military divisions of the tribe of Benjamin.

²⁵ The standard of the camp of Dan, which was the rear guard of all the camps, set forward according to their military divisions. Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai was commander over its army. ²⁶ Pagiel the son of Ochran was commander over the military divisions of the tribe of Asher. ²⁷ Ahira the son of Enan was commander over the military divisions of the tribe of Naphtali. ²⁸ Thus were the travels of the Israelites according to their military, and they went forward.

²⁹ Moses said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are journeying to the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the Lord has spoken good things concerning Israel.”

³⁰ He said to him, “I will not go; but I will depart to my own land and to my relatives.”

³¹ Moses said, “Don’t leave us, please, because you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes.

³² It shall be, if you go with us—yes, it shall be—that whatever good the Lord does to us, we will do the same to you.”

³³ They set forward from the Mount of the Lord three days’ journey. The ark of the Lord’s covenant went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them. ³⁴ The cloud of the Lord was over them by day, when they set forward from the camp. ³⁵ When the ark went forward, Moses said, “Rise up, O Lord and let your enemies be scattered! Let those who hate you flee before you!” ³⁶ When it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the 10,000 of thousands of Israel.”

Numbers 11

The People Complain

¹ The people were complaining in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard it, his anger burned, and the Lord’s fire burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. ² The people cried to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was quenched. ³ The name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them.

⁴ The rabble among them craved other food, and then also the Israelites. They cried again to Moses and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? ⁵ We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for nothing: the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. ⁶ But now we have lost our appetite. There is nothing at all except this manna to look at.”

⁷ The manna was like coriander seed, and it looked like gum resin. ⁸ The people went around, gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it. Its taste was like the taste of a pastry made with fresh oil. ⁹ When the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.

The Complaint of Moses

¹⁰ Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the door of his tent, and the Lord’s anger burned greatly, and Moses was displeased.

¹¹ Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you have laid the burden of all these people on me? ¹² Have I conceived all these people? Have I brought them out, that you should tell me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which you swore to their fathers?’ ¹³ Where could I get meat to give all these people? For they are weeping to me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ ¹⁴ I am not able to bear all these people alone, because it is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If you are going to treat me this way, please kill me right now. If I have found favor in your sight, let me not see this misery.”

Seventy Elders to Help Moses

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “Gather 70 men among the elders of Israel, who are known as elders and leaders of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you. ¹⁷ I will come down and talk with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you and will put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it alone.”

The People Receive Meat for a Month

¹⁸ “Say to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying: Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat. ¹⁹ You will not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, ²⁰ but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils, and it is loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?’ ”

Moses’ Faith Staggered

²¹ Moses said, “I am among a people with 600,000 foot soldiers, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month.’ ²² Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered to satisfy them? Shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to satisfy them?”

²³ The Lord said to Moses, “Has the hand of the Lord grown short? Now you shall see whether my word to you will come to pass or not.”

²⁴ Moses went out and told the people the Lord’s words, and he gathered 70 elders from among the people and set them around the Tent. ²⁵ The Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took, of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the 70 elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied and did not cease.

²⁶ But two of the men had remained in the camp. The name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those whose names had been written, but had not gone out to the Tent, and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”

²⁸ Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his chosen men, answered, “My lord Moses, forbid them!”

²⁹ Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

³⁰ Moses went into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

The Quail and the Plague

³¹ A wind from the Lord went out and brought quails from the sea and let them fall beside the camp and around the camp for a distance of about a day’s journey in any direction, and about three feet from the ground. ³² The people rose up all that day and all of that night and all the next day and gathered the quails. He who gathered least gathered ten homers, and they spread them all out for themselves around the camp.

³³ While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord’s anger burned against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. ³⁴ The name of that place was called Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.

³⁵ From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth, and they stayed at Hazeroth.

Mark 14:1-21

The Plot to Kill Jesus

¹ It was now two days before the feast of the Passover and the unleavened bread, and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might seize Jesus by deception and kill him. ² For they said, “Not during the feast, because there might be a riot among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

³ While he was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, reclining at the table, a woman came with a very costly alabaster jar of perfume of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured it over his head. ⁴ But some were indignant and said to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? ⁵ For this might have been sold for more than 300 denarii and given to the poor.” So they admonished her sternly.

⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you causing trouble for her? She has done a good work for me. ⁷ Indeed, you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish, you are always able to do good things for them; but you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She has anointed my body for burial. ⁹ Most certainly I tell you, wherever the Gospel may be preached throughout the whole world, what this woman has done will be spoken of as a memorial of her.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

¹⁰ Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, went away to the chief priests, that he might deliver Jesus to them. ¹¹ When they heard this, they were glad and promised to give him money. Judas sought how he might conveniently deliver Jesus.

The Last Supper

¹² On the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare that you may eat the Passover?”

¹³ He sent two of his disciples, and said to them, “Go into the city, and there you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him, ¹⁴ and wherever he enters in, tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ He will himself show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Prepare for us there.”

¹⁶ His disciples went out and came into the city, and found things as he had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷ When it was evening, he came with the twelve disciples. ¹⁸ As they sat and were eating, Jesus said, “Most certainly I tell you, one of you will betray me—he who eats with me.”

¹⁹ They began to be sorrowful and to ask him one by one, “Surely not I?” And another said, “Surely not I?”

²⁰ He answered them, “It is one of the twelve, he who dips with me in the dish. ²¹ For the Son of Man will go, just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for that man if he had not been born.”

Psalm 51

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your loving kindness.
According to the multitude of your tender mercies,
blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity.
Cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions.
My sin is constantly before me.
⁴ Against you, and you only, I have sinned,
and done that which is evil in your sight,
so you may be proven right when you speak,
and justified when you judge.
⁵ I was born in iniquity.
My mother conceived me in sin.

⁶ You desire truth in the inward parts.
You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
⁷ Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness,
that the bones which you have broken may rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all of my iniquities.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a right spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation.
Uphold me with a willing spirit.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways.
Sinners will be converted to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation.
My tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

¹⁵ Lord, open my lips.
My mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ For you do not delight in sacrifice,
or else I would give it.
You have no pleasure in burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.
O God, you will not despise
a broken and contrite heart.

¹⁸ Do well in your good pleasure to Zion.
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness,
in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings.
Then they will offer bulls on your altar.

Proverbs 10:31-32

³¹ The mouth of the righteous produces wisdom,
but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
³² The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.

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