Day 39

OYB - February 8

Devotional Old Testament New Testament Psalm Proverb

During supper, a woman came in with a beautiful jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.

In the Old Testament, the high priest was anointed by the pouring of oil upon his head. In Aaron's case, it was an amount so profuse that it ran down onto his beard and the collar of his robe (Psalm 133:2). In Matthew 26:7, the woman who anointed Jesus' head was doing something more significant than she realized. Her act of love was symbolic of Jesus' role as our great High Priest, an office beautifully understood by examining the garments worn by the priest in Exodus 28.

The most conspicuous garment of the priest was the breastplate. On it were twelve precious jewels, each engraved with one of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Also significant were the two onyx stones on the high priest's shoulders, each engraved with six names. It is interesting to note that the jewels and stones were located on the heart and shoulders of the priest, indicating the two places of intercession.

Jesus, our great High Priest, bears our names and needs before the Father continually. We are always on His heart! He carries our needs on His shoulders, making it unnecessary for us to carry them. Instead of worrying about our needs, let us rejoice that He is our anointed High Priest. "He lives forever to plead with God on [our] behalf" (Hebrews 7:25).

Exodus 28:1-43

Garments of the Priests

1“Then bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to minister as priest to Me—Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. 2You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3You shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me. 4These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me. 5They shall take the gold and the blue and the purple and the scarlet material and the fine linen.

6“They shall also make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of the skillful workman. 7It shall have two shoulder pieces joined to its two ends, that it may be joined. 8The skillfully woven band, which is on it, shall be like its workmanship, of the same material: of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. 9You shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10six of their names on the one stone and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, according to their birth. 11As a jeweler engraves a signet, you shall engrave the two stones according to the names of the sons of Israel; you shall set them in filigree settings of gold. 12You shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders for a memorial. 13You shall make filigree settings of gold, 14and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them of twisted cordage work, and you shall put the corded chains on the filigree settings.

15“You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, the work of a skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen you shall make it. 16It shall be square and folded double, a span in length and a span in width. 17You shall mount on it four rows of stones; the first row shall be a row of ruby, topaz and emerald; 18and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond; 19and the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; 20and the fourth row a beryl and an onyx and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. 21The stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a seal, each according to his name for the twelve tribes. 22You shall make on the breastpiece chains of twisted cordage work in pure gold. 23You shall make on the breastpiece two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. 24You shall put the two cords of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. 25You shall put the other two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, at the front of it. 26You shall make two rings of gold and shall place them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on the edge of it, which is toward the inner side of the ephod. 27You shall make two rings of gold and put them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it close to the place where it is joined, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28They shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it will be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece will not come loose from the ephod. 29Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually. 30You shall put in the breastpiece of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.

31“You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32There shall be an opening at its top in the middle of it; around its opening there shall be a binding of woven work, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it will not be torn. 33You shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material, all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: 34a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe. 35It shall be on Aaron when he ministers; and its tinkling shall be heard when he enters and leaves the holy place before the Lord, so that he will not die.

36“You shall also make a plate of pure gold and shall engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37You shall fasten it on a blue cord, and it shall be on the turban; it shall be at the front of the turban. 38It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take away the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel consecrate, with regard to all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

39“You shall weave the tunic of checkered work of fine linen, and shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash, the work of a weaver.

40“For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics; you shall also make sashes for them, and you shall make caps for them, for glory and for beauty. 41You shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him; and you shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve Me as priests. 42You shall make for them linen breeches to cover their bare flesh; they shall reach from the loins even to the thighs. 43They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or when they approach the altar to minister in the holy place, so that they do not incur guilt and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and to his descendants after him.

Matthew 25:31-26:13

The Judgment

31“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

34“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

41“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

1When Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, 2“You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion.”

3Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; 4and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. 5But they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people.”

The Precious Ointment

6Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, 7a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. 8But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? 9For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” 10But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. 11For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. 12For when she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. 13Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

Psalms 31:9-18

9Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;

My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also.

10For my life is spent with sorrow

And my years with sighing;

My strength has failed because of my iniquity,

And my body has wasted away.

11Because of all my adversaries, I have become a reproach,

Especially to my neighbors,

And an object of dread to my acquaintances;

Those who see me in the street flee from me.

12I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;

I am like a broken vessel.

13For I have heard the slander of many,

Terror is on every side;

While they took counsel together against me,

They schemed to take away my life.

14But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,

I say, “You are my God.”

15My times are in Your hand;

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.

16Make Your face to shine upon Your servant;

Save me in Your lovingkindness.

17Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, for I call upon You;

Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.

18Let the lying lips be mute,

Which speak arrogantly against the righteous

With pride and contempt.

Proverbs 8:12-13

12“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

And I find knowledge and discretion.

13The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;

Pride and arrogance and the evil way

And the perverted mouth, I hate.