Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Bible Challenge: Day 51

The scriptures read are Numbers 6-8, Psalm 42, and Mark 16.

Numbers 6. The Nazarite vow made a person a kind of lay priest and so he would have to observe the same restrictions as a priest. The Aaronic blessing should sound familiar.

Numbers 7. The leaders of Israels present covered wagons and oxen for the Levites to use in transporting the tabernacle. And we get the offerings given on the first 12 days of the tabernacle's use.

Numbers 8. The Levites get purified. One interesting fact: they have a retirement age--50.

Psalm 42. This and the next psalm are actually one psalm. They are linked by their refrain "Why so downcast, my soul, why disquieted within in me? Have hope in God; I will yet praise him, my ever-present help, my God."

Mark 16. Mark's account of the resurrection is the shortest. In the oldest manuscripts, it ends at verse 8, with the women so freaked out, they don't say anything to anyone. The longer endings came later. Was the original ending lost? Did Mark not get to finish it? Or did he want us to provoke us to supply the ending ourselves and do what the first witnesses didn't--spread the word that Jesus is risen?

No comments:

Post a Comment