You have turned my mourning into dancing. You have removed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, Psalm 30:11

Exodus 24-25

Exodus 24

The Covenant Sealed

¹ He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu and 70 of the elders of Israel and worship from a distance. ² Moses alone shall come near to the Lord, but they shall not come near. Nor shall the people go up with him.”

³ Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances, and all the people answered with one voice and said, “Every word which the Lord has spoken we will do.”

⁴ Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord, then rose up early in the morning and built an altar at the base of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ He sent young men from among the Israelites who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of cattle to the Lord. ⁶ Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷ He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “We will do everything that the Lord has said and will be obedient.”

⁸ Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, “Look, this is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”

⁹ Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel went up. ¹⁰ They saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as if it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, as if it were the body of heaven in its clarity.  ¹¹ And upon the nobles of the Israelites, he did not lay his hand. They saw God, and ate and drank.

Moses on the Mountain

¹² The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and remain here, and I will give you the stone tablets and a law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”

¹³ Moses rose up with his minister, Joshua, and Moses went up onto the mountain of God. ¹⁴ He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever is involved in a dispute can go to them.”

¹⁵ Moses went up on the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶ And the glory of the Lord stayed on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. The seventh day he called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ The sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the Israelites. ¹⁸ Moses entered into the midst of the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.

Exodus 25

Offerings for the Tabernacle

¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Tell the Israelites to take an offering for me. From everyone whose heart moves him to give, you shall take my offering. ³ This is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, bronze, ⁴ blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair, ⁵ rams’ skins dyed red, sea cow hides, acacia wood, ⁶ oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense, ⁷ onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate.

⁸ Let them make a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell among them. ⁹ According to the exact pattern that I show you, the pattern of the tabernacle and all of its furniture, so you shall make it.”

The Ark of the Covenant

¹⁰ “They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Its length shall be 45 inches, its width 27 inches, and its height 27 inches. ¹¹ You shall overlay it with pure gold. You shall overlay it inside and outside, and you shall make a gold molding around it.

¹² You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them in its four feet. Two rings shall be on the one side of it and two rings on the other side of it. ¹³ You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴ You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark. ¹⁵ The poles shall be in the rings of the ark. They shall not be taken from it. ¹⁶ You shall put the covenant which I will give you into the ark.”

The Mercy Seat

¹⁷ “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. ¹⁸ Make two cherubim of hammered gold and make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. ¹⁹ Make one cherub at the one end and one cherub at the other end. You shall make the cherubim with its two ends, from one piece with the mercy seat. ²⁰ The cherubim shall spread out their wings upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.

²¹ You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I will give you.

²² There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the covenant, all that I am commanding you for the Israelites.”

The Table of Showbread

²³ “You shall make a table of acacia wood. Its length shall be 36 inches, its width 18 inches, and its height 27 inches. ²⁴ You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. ²⁵ You shall make a rim of a hand width around it. Make a golden molding on its rim around it.

²⁶ You shall make four rings of gold for it and put the rings in the four corners that are on its four feet. ²⁷ The rings shall be close to the rim, for places for the poles to carry the table. ²⁸ You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, that the table may be carried with them.

²⁹ You shall make its dishes, its spoons, its ladles, and its bowls to pour out offerings with. You shall make them of pure gold.

³⁰ You shall set bread of the presence on the table before me always.”

The Golden Lamp Stand

³¹ “You shall make a lamp stand of pure gold. The lamp stand shall be made of hammered work. Its base, its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its flowers shall all be one piece.

³² There shall be six branches going out of its sides: three branches of the lamp stand out of its one side and three branches of the lamp stand out of its other side. ³³ Three cups made like almond blossoms shall be in one branch, a bud and a flower; and three cups made like almond blossoms in the other branch, a bud and a flower. So it shall be for the six branches going out of the lamp stand. ³⁴ And on the lamp stand itself, there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their buds and flowers. ³⁵ There shall be one almond bud below each of the three pairs of branches. where the six branches are going out of the lamp stand. ³⁶ Their buds and their branches shall all be of one piece: all of it one beaten work of pure gold.

³⁷ You shall make its seven lamps and set them up so that they give light to the space in front of it. ³⁸ Its snuffers and its snuff dishes shall be of pure gold. ³⁹ It shall be made of 75 pounds of pure gold, with all these accessories.

⁴⁰ See that you make them according to the pattern, which has been shown to you on the mountain.”

Matthew 24:29-51

²⁹ “But immediately after the tribulation of those days:

the sun will be darkened,
the moon will not give its light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.^a

³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “Now from the fig tree learn this parable. When its branch becomes tender and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, know that He is near, right at the door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things are accomplished. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Be Ready at Any Hour

³⁶ “But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but only my Father. ³⁷ As in the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, ³⁹ and they did not know until the flood came and took all of them away.  So will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken, and one will be left.

⁴² Watch therefore, for you do not know in what hour your Lord will come. ⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

⁴⁵ Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has made ruler over his household, to give them their food in due season? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing so when he comes. ⁴⁷ Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has.

⁴⁸ But if that wicked servant should say in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect it, and in an hour that he does not know, ⁵¹ and will cut him in pieces and appoint his portion with the hypocrites where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

^{a Isaiah 13:10}

Psalm 30

Mourning Turned into Dancing

A Psalm. A Song for the Dedication of the Temple. By David.

¹ I will extol you, Lord, for you have raised me up,
and have not made my foes to rejoice over me.
² Lord my God, I cried to you,
and you have healed me.
³ Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol.
You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

⁴ Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of his.
Give thanks to his holy name.
⁵ For his anger is but for a moment.
His favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may stay for the night,
but joy comes in the morning.

⁶ As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
⁷ You, Lord, when you favored me, made my mountain stand strong,
but when you hid your face, I was troubled.
⁸ I cried to you, Lord.
I made supplication to the Lord.

⁹ “What profit is there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit?
Shall the dust praise you?
Shall it declare your truth?
¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me.
Lord, be my helper.”
¹¹ You have turned my mourning into dancing for me.
You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness,
¹² to the end that my heart may sing praise to you, and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Proverbs 7:24-27

²⁴ Now therefore, sons, listen to me.
Pay attention to the words of my mouth.
²⁵ Do not let your heart decline to her ways.
Do not go astray in her paths,
²⁶ for she has cast down many wounded.
Yes, many strong men have been slain by her.
²⁷ Her house is the way to hell,
going down to the chambers of death.

«        »