Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, Aaron’s sons, and say to them, ‘One must not make himself unclean for a dead person among his own people, except for his direct relative closest to him: his mother and his father, and his son and his daughter, and his brother, and for his sister, a virgin, who is closest to him, who has not had a husband—for her he may defile himself. He must not make himself unclean as a kinsman by marriage, defiling himself.

“‘And they shall not shave bald patches on their head, and they shall not shave off the corner of their beard, and they shall not make a cut in their body. They shall be holy to their God, and they shall not profane the name of their God, because they are bringing near the offerings made by fire to Yahweh—their God’s food—and they shall be holy.

“‘They shall not marry a woman who is a prostitute and defiled, nor shall they marry a woman divorced from her husband, because each priest is holy for his God. And you shall consecrate him, because he is bringing near your God’s food; he shall be holy to you, since I, Yahweh, who consecrates you, am holy.

“‘As for the daughter of any priest, if she is defiled by prostituting, she is disgracing her father—she shall be burned in the fire.

“‘As for the priest who is higher than his brothers, on whose head the oil of anointment is poured and he was ordained to wear the garments, he shall not dishevel his head, and he shall not tear his garments. And he shall not go near any dead person, nor shall he make himself unclean for his father or for his mother. And he shall not go out from the sanctuary, and he shall not profane his God’s sanctuary, because the dedication of his God’s oil of anointment is on him; I am Yahweh.

“‘And he himself must take a wife in her virginity. A widow or a divorced woman or a defiled woman, a prostitute—these he must not take; he shall take only a virgin from his people as wife. And he shall not profane his offspring among his people, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates him.'”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron, saying, ‘A man from your offspring throughout their generations, in whom is a physical defect, shall not come near to present your God’s food. Indeed, any man in whom is a physical defect shall not come near: a blind man or lame or disfigured or deformed, or a man in whom is a broken foot or a broken hand, or a hunchback or a dwarf, or a spot in his eye or a skin disorder or a skin eruption or a crushed testicle. Any man from Aaron the priest’s offspring in whom is a physical defect shall not come near to present offerings made by fire to Yahweh; a physical defect is in him; he shall not come near to present his God’s food. He may eat his God’s food, from the most holy things and from the holy things. But he must not enter the curtain, and he must not come near to the altar, because a physical defect is in him, and he must not profane my sanctuary, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates them.'”

Thus Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israelites.

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell Aaron and his sons that they must deal respectfully with the Israelites’ votive offerings, and they must not profane my holy name, which they are consecrating to me; I am Yahweh.

“Say to them, ‘Throughout your generations, any man from any of your offspring who comes near the votive offerings that the Israelites consecrate to Yahweh with his uncleanness on him, that person shall be cut off from before me; I am Yahweh.

“‘Anyone from Aaron’s offspring, if he is afflicted with a skin disease or a fluid discharge, shall not eat in the sanctuary until he is clean; and the one who touches any unclean person or a man from whom an emission of semen goes out, or a man who touches any swarmer that is unclean for him or who touches a person who is unclean for him due to whatever his uncleanness, a person who touches such a thing shall be unclean until the evening, and he shall not eat from the votive offerings, except when he washes his body with water and the sun sets, and he shall be clean; then afterward he may eat from the votive offerings, because it is his food. He shall not eat a naturally dead body or a mangled carcass, so that he becomes unclean by it; I am Yahweh.

“‘And they shall keep my obligation, and they shall not incur guilt because of it, so that they die through it, because they have profaned it; I am Yahweh who consecrates them.

“‘No stranger shall eat the votive offering; nor shall a temporary resident with a priest or a hired worker eat the votive offering. But a priest, if with his money he buys a person as his possession, that one may eat it, and the descendants of his house themselves may eat his food. And a priest’s daughter, when she marries a layman, she herself may not eat the votive offering. But a priest’s daughter, when she becomes a widow or divorced or there is no offspring for her, and she returns to her father’s house as in her childhood, she may eat from her father’s food, but no layman may eat it. And if a man eats the votive offering unintentionally, then he shall add to it a fifth of it, and he shall give the votive offering to the priest. And they shall not profane the Israelites’ votive offerings that they present to Yahweh, and so cause them, by their eating their votive offerings, to bear guilt requiring a guilt offering, because I am Yahweh, who consecrates them.'”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the Israelites, and say to them, ‘Anyone from the house of Israel or from the alien in Israel who presents his offering for any of their vows or for any of their freewill offerings that they present to Yahweh as a burnt offering, it must be without defect to be acceptable for you: a male among the cattle, among the sheep, or among the goats. You shall not present any animal in which is a physical defect, because it shall not be acceptable for you. And if anyone brings a sacrifice of fellowship offerings for Yahweh to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the cattle or from the flock, it must be without defect to be acceptable; there must not be any physical defect in it. The blind or the injured or the maimed or the seeping or one with a skin disorder or one with a skin eruption—these you shall not present to Yahweh, nor shall you give from them an offering made by fire on the altar for Yahweh. As for an ox or sheep that is deformed or that is stunted, you may present it as a freewill offering, but for a vow it will not be accepted. And you shall not present anything for Yahweh with bruised or shattered or torn or cut-off testicles, and you shall not sacrifice such in your land. And you shall not present your God’s food from any of these by the hand of a foreigner, because their deformity is in them; a physical defect is in them; they shall not be accepted for you.'”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, then it shall be under its mother for seven days, and from the eighth day and beyond it is acceptable as an offering made by fire for Yahweh. And you shall not slaughter an ox or a sheep and its young on the same day. And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Yahweh, you must sacrifice it to be acceptable for you. It must be eaten on that day; you must not leave over anything from it until morning; I am Yahweh.

“Thus you shall keep my commands, and you shall do them; I am Yahweh.

“And you shall not profane my holy name, so that I may be consecrated in the midst of the Israelites; I am Yahweh, who consecrates you, the one who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be as God for you; I am Yahweh.”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Israelites, and say to them, ‘The festivals of Yahweh that you shall proclaim are holy assemblies; these are my appointed times.

“‘For six days work is to be done, and on the seventh day shall be a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy assembly; you shall not do any work; it shall be a Sabbath for Yahweh in all your dwellings.

“‘These are Yahweh’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you shall proclaim at their appointed time. In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month at the evening is Yahweh’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of this month is Yahweh’s Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day there shall be a holy assembly for you; you shall not do any regular work. And you shall present an offering for Yahweh made by fire for seven days; on the seventh day there shall be a holy assembly; you shall not do any regular work.'”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Israelites, and say to them, ‘When you come to the land that I am about to give to you and you reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruit of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh for your acceptance; the priest shall wave it on the day after the Sabbath. And on the day of your waving the sheaf you shall offer a yearling male lamb without defect as a burnt offering to Yahweh. And its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of finely milled flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire for Yahweh, an appeasing fragrance; and its libation shall be a fourth of a hin of wine. And you shall not eat bread or roasted grain or ripe grain until this very same day, until you present your God’s offering. This must be a lasting statute for your generations in all your dwellings.

“‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day of your bringing the wave offering’s sheaf—there shall be seven full weeks. Until the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days; then you shall present a new grain offering for Yahweh. You shall bring from your dwellings for a wave offering two loaves of bread made with two-tenths of an ephah of finely milled flour; they must be baked with leaven—the firstfruits belonging to Yahweh. And, in addition to the bread, you shall present seven yearling male lambs without defects and one young bull and two rams—they shall be a burnt offering for Yahweh with their grain offering and their libations, an offering made by fire, an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh. And you shall offer one he-goat as a sin offering and two yearling male lambs as a sacrifice of fellowship offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before Yahweh; in addition to the two male lambs, they shall be holy for Yahweh for the priest. And you shall make a proclamation on this very same day; it shall be a holy assembly for you; you shall not do any regular work; this is a lasting statute in all your dwellings throughout your generations. And when you reap the harvest of your land, you must not finish the edge of your field at your reaping, and you must not glean the remnants of your harvest—you shall leave them behind for the needy and for the alien; I am Yahweh your God.'”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a rest period, a remembrance of the trumpet blast, a holy assembly. You must not do any regular work, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh.'”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Surely the Day of Atonement is on the tenth day of the seventh month; it shall be a holy assembly for you, and you shall deny yourselves, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh. And you must not do any regular work on this very same day, because it is the Day of Atonement to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God. If there is any person who does not deny himself on this very same day, then he shall be cut off from his people. As for any person who does any work on this very same day, I will exterminate that person from the midst of his people. You must not do any work; it is a lasting statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening—from evening to evening you must observe your extraordinary Sabbath.”

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Israelites, saying, ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, this shall be the Feast of Booths for seven days for Yahweh. On the first day there shall be a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work. For seven days you must present an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day it shall be a holy assembly for you, and you shall present an offering made by fire to Yahweh; it is a celebration; you must not do any regular work.

“‘These are Yahweh’s festivals, which you must proclaim, holy assemblies to present an offering made by fire to Yahweh—burnt offering and grain offering, sacrifice and libations, each on its proper day— besides Yahweh’s Sabbaths and besides your gifts and besides your vows and besides all your freewill offerings that you give to Yahweh.

“‘Surely on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, at your gathering the land’s produce, you shall hold Yahweh’s festival for seven days; on the first day there shall be a rest period and on the eighth day a rest period. And on the first day you shall take for yourselves the first fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees and branches of a leafy tree and of a brook’s poplar trees, and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God for seven days. And you must hold it as a festival for Yahweh for seven days in the year; it shall be a lasting statute throughout your generations; in the seventh month you must hold it. You must live in the booths for seven days; all the natives in Israel must live in the booths, so that your generations shall know that I made the Israelites live in booths when I brought them from the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.'”

Thus Moses announced to the Israelites Yahweh’s appointed times.

Now this is the main point in what has been said: we have a high priest such as this, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices; therefore it was necessary for this one also to have something that he offers. Now if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, because there are those who offer the gifts according to the law, who serve a sketch and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned when he was about to complete the tabernacle, for he says, “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.” But now he has attained a more excellent ministry, by as much as he is also mediator of a better covenant which has been enacted upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, occasion would not have been sought for a second. For in finding fault with them he says,

“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,

when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel

and with the house of Judah,

not like the covenant which I made with their fathers

on the day I took hold of them by my hand

to lead them out of the land of Egypt,

because they did not continue in my covenant

and I disregarded them, says the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will decree with the house of Israel

after those days, says the Lord:

I am putting my laws in their minds

and I will write them on their hearts,

and I will be their God

and they will be my people.

And they will not teach each one his fellow citizen

and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest.

For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings,

and I will not remember their sins any longer.”

In calling it new, he has declared the former to be old. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is near to disappearing.

Until next time, keep meditating on the word of God.

Scripture quotations are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.