12Then Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that is left over from the Lord’s offerings by fire and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy. 13You shall eat it, moreover, in a holy place, because it is your due and your sons’ due out of the Lord’s offerings by fire; for thus I have been commanded. 14The breast of the wave offering, however, and the thigh of the offering you may eat in a clean place, you and your sons and your daughters with you; for they have been given as your due and your sons’ due out of the sacrifices of the peace offerings of the sons of Israel. 15The thigh offered by lifting up and the breast offered by waving they shall bring along with the offerings by fire of the portions of fat, to present as a wave offering before the Lord; so it shall be a thing perpetually due you and your sons with you, just as the Lord has commanded.”
16But Moses searched carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up! So he was angry with Aaron’s surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, 17“Why did you not eat the sin offering at the holy place? For it is most holy, and He gave it to you to bear away the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord. 18Behold, since its blood had not been brought inside, into the sanctuary, you should certainly have eaten it in the sanctuary, just as I commanded.” 19But Aaron spoke to Moses, “Behold, this very day they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord. When things like these happened to me, if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have been good in the sight of the Lord?” 20When Moses heard that, it seemed good in his sight.
God’s Deliverance of His People
1A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
2Lord, I have heard the report about You and I fear.
O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years,
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.
3God comes from Teman,
And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah.
His splendor covers the heavens,
And the earth is full of His praise.
4His radiance is like the sunlight;
He has rays flashing from His hand,
And there is the hiding of His power.
5Before Him goes pestilence,
And plague comes after Him.
6He stood and surveyed the earth;
He looked and startled the nations.
Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered,
The ancient hills collapsed.
His ways are everlasting.
7I saw the tents of Cushan under distress,
The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.
8Did the Lord rage against the rivers,
Or was Your anger against the rivers,
Or was Your wrath against the sea,
That You rode on Your horses,
On Your chariots of salvation?
9Your bow was made bare,
The rods of chastisement were sworn. Selah.
You cleaved the earth with rivers.
10The mountains saw You and quaked;
The downpour of waters swept by.
The deep uttered forth its voice,
It lifted high its hands.
11Sun and moon stood in their places;
They went away at the light of Your arrows,
At the radiance of Your gleaming spear.
12In indignation You marched through the earth;
In anger You trampled the nations.
13You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
For the salvation of Your anointed.
You struck the head of the house of the evil
To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah.
14You pierced with his own spears
The head of his throngs.
They stormed in to scatter us;
Their exultation was like those
Who devour the oppressed in secret.
15You trampled on the sea with Your horses,
On the surge of many waters.
16I heard and my inward parts trembled,
At the sound my lips quivered.
Decay enters my bones,
And in my place I tremble.
Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress,
For the people to arise who will invade us.
17Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
18Yet I will exult in the Lord,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
19The Lord God is my strength,
And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,
And makes me walk on my high places.
For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.
27Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. 31But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
1) Why does discernment matter in crisis?
2) How can humility preserve fellowship under divine correction?
3) What does it mean to serve amid fear and faith together?
Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked
1Then Job answered,
2“Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your way of consolation.
3Bear with me that I may speak;
Then after I have spoken, you may mock.
4As for me, is my complaint to man?
And why should I not be impatient?
5Look at me, and be astonished,
And put your hand over your mouth.
6Even when I remember, I am disturbed,
And horror takes hold of my flesh.
7Why do the wicked still live,
Continue on, also become very powerful?
8Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes,
9Their houses are safe from fear,
And the rod of God is not on them.
10His ox mates without fail;
His cow calves and does not abort.
11They send forth their little ones like the flock,
And their children skip about.
12They sing to the timbrel and harp
And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13They spend their days in prosperity,
And suddenly they go down to Sheol.
14They say to God, ‘Depart from us!
We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’
16Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,
Or does their calamity fall on them?
Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
18Are they as straw before the wind,
And like chaff which the storm carries away?
19You say, ‘God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’
Let God repay him so that he may know it.
20Let his own eyes see his decay,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21For what does he care for his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?
22Can anyone teach God knowledge,
In that He judges those on high?
23One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and satisfied;
24His sides are filled out with fat,
And the marrow of his bones is moist,
25While another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even tasting anything good.
26Together they lie down in the dust,
And worms cover them.
27“Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the plans by which you would wrong me.
28For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman,
And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’
29Have you not asked wayfaring men,
And do you not recognize their witness?
30For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity;
They will be led forth at the day of fury.
31Who will confront him with his actions,
And who will repay him for what he has done?
32While he is carried to the grave,
Men will keep watch over his tomb.
33The clods of the valley will gently cover him;
Moreover, all men will follow after him,
While countless ones go before him.
34How then will you vainly comfort me,
For your answers remain full of falsehood?”
Paul’s Vision
1Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. 3And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— 4was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. 5On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. 6For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.
A Thorn in the Flesh
7Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.