AME Zion Universal Reading 03/20/2022
- Artisans Called by God
- Mar 18, 2022
- 18 min read
First Portion
Leviticus Chapter 6
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,2Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: That is the burnt offering which burns on the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall burn with it.3And the kohen shall don his linen tunic, and he shall don his linen trousers on his flesh. And he shall lift out the ashes into which the fire has consumed the burnt offering upon the altar, and put them down next to the altar.4He shall then take off his garments and put on other garments, and he shall take out the ashes to a clean place outside the camp.5And the fire on the altar shall burn on it; it shall not go out. The kohen shall kindle wood upon it every morning, and upon it, he shall arrange the burnt offering and cause the fats of the peace offerings to [go up in] smoke upon it.6A continuous fire shall burn upon the altar; it shall not go out.7And this is the law of the meal offering: that Aaron's sons shall bring it before the Lord, to the front of the altar.8And he shall lift out of it in his fist, from the fine flour of the meal offering and from its oil and all the frankincense that is on the meal offering, and he shall cause its reminder to [go up in] smoke on the altar as a pleasing fragrance to the Lord.9And Aaron and his sons shall eat whatever is left over from it. It shall be eaten as unleavened bread in a holy place; they shall eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.10It shall not be baked leavened. [As] their portion, I have given it to them from My fire offerings. It is a holy of holies, like the sin offering and like the guilt offering.11Any male among Aaron's sons may eat it. [This is] an eternal statute for your generations from the fire offerings of the Lord. Anything that touches them shall become holy.
Sunday
Ezra 6:13–22 (NLT): The Temple’s Dedication
13 Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues complied at once with the command of King Darius. 14 So the Jewish elders continued their work, and they were greatly encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. The Temple was finally finished, as had been commanded by the God of Israel and decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia. 15 The Temple was completed on March 12, during the sixth year of King Darius’s reign.
16 The Temple of God was then dedicated with great joy by the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the people who had returned from exile. 17 During the dedication ceremony for the Temple of God, 100 young bulls, 200 rams, and 400 male lambs were sacrificed. And 12 male goats were presented as a sin offering for the twelve tribes of Israel. 18 Then the priests and Levites were divided into their various divisions to serve at the Temple of God in Jerusalem, as prescribed in the Book of Moses.
Celebration of Passover
19 On April 21 the returned exiles celebrated Passover. 20 The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were ceremonially clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves. 21 The Passover meal was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile and by the others in the land who had turned from their corrupt practices to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. 22 Then they celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. There was great joy throughout the land because the Lord had caused the king of Assyria to be favorable to them, so that he helped them to rebuild the Temple of God, the God of Israel.
Leviticus 23:4–8 (NLT):
4 “In addition to the Sabbath, these are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the official days for holy assembly that are to be celebrated at their proper times each year.
Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread
5 “The Lord’s Passover begins at sundown on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6 On the next day, the fifteenth day of the month, you must begin celebrating the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This festival to the Lord continues for seven days, and during that time the bread you eat must be made without yeast. 7 On the first day of the festival, all the people must stop their ordinary work and observe an official day for holy assembly. 8 For seven days you must present special gifts to the Lord. On the seventh day the people must again stop all their ordinary work to observe an official day for holy assembly.”
Second Portion
Leviticus Chapter 6
12And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,13This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they shall offer to the Lord, on the day when [one of them] is anointed: One tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a perpetual meal offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening.14It shall be made with oil on a shallow pan, after bringing it scalded and repeatedly baked; you shall offer a meal offering of broken pieces, [with] a pleasing fragrance to the Lord.15And the kohen who is anointed instead of him from among his sons, shall prepare it; [this is] an eternal statute; it shall be completely burnt to the Lord.16Every meal offering of a kohen shall be completely burnt; it shall not be eaten.17And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,18Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: The sin offering shall be slaughtered before the Lord in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. It is a holy of holies.19The kohen who offers it up as a sin offering shall eat it; it shall be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.20Anything that touches its flesh shall become holy, and if any of its blood is sprinkled on a garment, [the area of the garment] upon which it has been sprinkled, you shall wash in a holy place.21An earthenware vessel in which it is cooked shall be broken, but if it is cooked in a copper vessel, it shall be purged and rinsed with water.22Every male among the kohanim may eat it. It is a holy of holies.23But any sin offering some of whose blood was brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy, shall not be eaten; it shall be burned in fire.
Leviticus Chapter 7
1And this is the law of the guilt offering. It is a holy of holies.2They shall slaughter the guilt offering in the place where they slaughter the burnt offering; and its blood shall be dashed upon the altar, around.3And all of its fat he shall offer from it: the tail and the fat covering the innards,4and the two kidneys [along] with the fat that is upon them, which is on the flanks, and the diaphragm with the liver; along with the kidneys he shall remove it.5And the kohen shall cause them to [go up in] smoke on the altar as a fire offering to the Lord. It is a guilt offering.6Any male among the kohanim may eat it; it shall be eaten in a holy place. It is a holy of holies.7Like the sin offering, so is the guilt offering, they have one law; the kohen who effects atonement through it to him it shall belong.8And the kohen who offers up a person's burnt offering, the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered up, belongs to the kohen; it shall be his.9And any meal offering baked in an oven, and any one made in a deep pan or in a shallow pan, belongs to the kohen who offers it up; it shall be his.10And any meal offering mixed with oil or dry, shall belong to all the sons of Aaron, one like the other.
Monday
Leviticus 23:4–8 (NLT):
4 “In addition to the Sabbath, these are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the official days for holy assembly that are to be celebrated at their proper times each year.
Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread
5 “The Lord’s Passover begins at sundown on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6 On the next day, the fifteenth day of the month, you must begin celebrating the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This festival to the Lord continues for seven days, and during that time the bread you eat must be made without yeast. 7 On the first day of the festival, all the people must stop their ordinary work and observe an official day for holy assembly. 8 For seven days you must present special gifts to the Lord. On the seventh day the people must again stop all their ordinary work to observe an official day for holy assembly.”
Third Portion
Leviticus Chapter 7
11And this is the law of the peace offering, which he shall bring to the Lord.12If he is bringing it as a thanksgiving offering, he shall offer, along with the thanksgiving offering unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and scalded flour mixed with oil.13Along with loaves of leavened bread, he shall bring his offering along with his thanksgiving peace offering.14And he shall bring from it one out of each offering, as a separation for the Lord; the kohen who dashes the blood of the peace offering it shall be his.15And the flesh of his thanksgiving peace offering shall be eaten on the day it is offered up; he shall not leave any of it over until morning.16But if his sacrifice is a vow or a voluntary donation, on the day he offers up his sacrifice it may be eaten, and on the next day, whatever is left over from it, may be eaten.17However, whatever is left over from the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day, shall be burnt in fire.18And if any of the flesh of his peace offering is to be eaten on the third day, it shall not be accepted; it shall not count for the one who offers it; [rather,] it shall be rejected, and the person who eats of it shall bear his sin.19And the flesh that touches anything unclean shall not be eaten. It shall be burned in fire. But regarding the flesh, anyone who is clean may eat [the] flesh.20A person who eats the flesh of a peace offering of the Lord, while his uncleanness is upon him, that soul shall be cut off from its people.21And a person who touches anything unclean, whether uncleanness from a human or an unclean animal [carcass] or any unclean [carcass of an] abominable creature, and then eats of the flesh of a peace offering to the Lord, that soul shall be cut off from its people.22And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:23Speak to the Children of Israel, saying: You shall not eat any fat of an ox, sheep, or goat.24The fat of carrion and the fat of an animal with a fatal disease or injury, may be used for any work, but you shall not eat it.25For anyone who eats fat of animals from which sacrifices are brought as fire offerings to the Lord, the soul who eats [it] shall be cut off from its people.26And you shall not eat any blood in any of your dwelling places, whether from birds or from animals.27Any person who eats any blood, that soul shall be cut off from its people.28And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:29Speak to the Children of Israel, saying: Anyone who brings his peace offering to the Lord, shall bring his sacrifice to the Lord from his peace offering.30His own hands shall bring the fire offerings of the Lord. The fat, on the breast, he shall bring it, the breast, to wave it as a waving before the Lord.31And the kohen shall cause the fat to [go up in] smoke on the altar, and the breast shall belong to Aaron and his sons.32And you shall give the right thigh as an elevation offering to the kohen, from your peace offering.33[Anyone] of the sons of Aaron who offers up the blood of the peace offering and the fat he shall have the right thigh as a portion.34For I have taken the breast of the waving and the thigh of the elevation from the children of Israel, from their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the kohen and to his sons as an eternal statute, from the children of Israel.35This is [the grant for] Aaron's anointment and his sons' anointment, from the fire offerings of the Lord, on the day that He brought them near, to be kohanim for the Lord.36Which the Lord commanded to give them on the day that He anointed them, from the children of Israel. [This is] an eternal statute for their generations.37This is the law for the burnt offering, for the meal offering, and for the sin offering, and for the guilt offering, and for the investitures, and for the peace offering,38which the Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day He commanded the children of Israel to offer up their sacrifices to the Lord in the Sinai Desert.
Tuesday
Exodus 12:1–14 (NLT): The First Passover
While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: 2 “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. 3 Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. 4 If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. 5 The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.
6 “Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. 7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. 8 That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs—must be roasted over a fire. 10 Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning.
11 “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover. 12 On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord! 13 But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time.
Fourth Portion
Leviticus Chapter 8
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,2Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the sin offering bull, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread,3And assemble the entire community at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.4And Moses did as the Lord had commanded him, and the community assembled at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.5And Moses said to the community: This is the thing the Lord has commanded to do.6And Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and bathed them in water.7And he placed the tunic upon him [Aaron], girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, placed the ephod upon him, girded him with the band of the ephod, and adorned him with it.8And he placed the choshen upon him, and he inserted into the choshen the Urim and the Tummim.9And he placed the cap on his [Aaron's] head, and he placed on the cap, towards his face, the golden showplate, the holy crown, as the Lord had commanded Moses.10And Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Sanctuary and everything in it and sanctified them.11And he sprinkled from it upon the altar seven times, and he anointed the altar and all its vessels and the washstand and its base, to sanctify them.12And he poured some of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and he anointed him to sanctify him.13And Moses brought Aaron's sons forward and clothed them with tunics, girded them with sashes, and bound them up with high hats, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Wednesday
Exodus 12:21–28 (NLT):
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel together and said to them, “Go, pick out a lamb or young goat for each of your families, and slaughter the Passover animal. 22 Drain the blood into a basin. Then take a bundle of hyssop branches and dip it into the blood. Brush the hyssop across the top and sides of the doorframes of your houses. And no one may go out through the door until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the Lord will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.
24 “Remember, these instructions are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever. 25 When you enter the land the Lord has promised to give you, you will continue to observe this ceremony. 26 Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’ 27 And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’ ” When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped.
28 So the people of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses and Aaron.
Exodus 12:50–51 (NLT):
50 So all the people of Israel followed all the Lord’s commands to Moses and Aaron. 51 On that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army.
Fifth Portion
Leviticus Chapter 8
14And he brought the sin offering bull close, and Aaron and his sons leaned their hands [forcefully] upon the head of the sin offering bull.15And he slaughtered [it], and Moses took the blood, and placed it on the horns of the altar, around, with his finger, and he purified the altar. And he poured the blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it [the altar], to effect atonement upon it.16And he took all the fat which was on the innards, and the diaphragm with the liver, and the two kidneys together with their fat. And Moses caused [them] to [go up in] smoke on the altar.17And the bull, its hide, its flesh, and its waste, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the Lord had commanded Moses.18And he brought near the burnt offering ram, and Aaron and his sons leaned their hands [forcefully] upon the head of the ram.19And he slaughtered [it], and Moses dashed the blood on the altar, around.20And he cut up the ram into its pieces, and Moses made the head, the pieces and the fat [go up in] smoke.21But the innards and the legs, he washed in water, and Moses made the entire ram [go up in] smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering [with] a pleasing fragrance, a fire offering to the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Thursday
Psalm 113:1–9 (NLT):
1 Praise the Lord!
Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
now and forever.
3 Everywhere—from east to west—
praise the name of the Lord.
4 For the Lord is high above the nations;
his glory is higher than the heavens.
5 Who can be compared with the Lord our God,
who is enthroned on high?
6 He stoops to look down
on heaven and on earth.
7 He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
8 He sets them among princes,
even the princes of his own people!
9 He gives the childless woman a family,
making her a happy mother.
Praise the Lord!
Sixth Portion
Leviticus Chapter 8
22And he brought near the second ram, the ram of the investitures, and Aaron and his sons leaned their hands [forcefully] upon the ram's head.23And he slaughtered [it], and Moses took some of its blood, and placed it on the cartilage of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.24And he brought Aaron's sons forward, and Moses placed some of the blood on the cartilage of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet, and Moses dashed the blood on the altar, around.25And he took the fat, the tail, all the fat which was on the innards, the diaphragm of the liver, the two kidneys together with their fat and the right thigh.26And out of the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord, he took one loaf of unleavened bread, and one loaf of oily bread, and one wafer, and he placed them on top of the fats and the right thigh.27And then he placed it all on Aaron's palms and on his sons' palms, and he waved them as a waving before the Lord.28And Moses took them from their hands and made them [go up in] smoke on the altar along with the burnt offering. They were investiture offerings, as a pleasing fragrance, a fire offering to the Lord.29And Moses took the breast and waved it as a waving before the Lord. It belonged to Moses as a portion from the ram of the investitures, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Friday
1 Corinthians 5:6–8 (NLT):
7 Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. 8 So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 10:1–4 (NLT): Lessons from Israel’s Idolatry
I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. 2 In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. 3 All of them ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.
Seventh Portion
Leviticus Chapter 8
30And Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, and he sprinkled it on Aaron and on his garments, and on his sons, and on his sons' garments, and he sanctified Aaron, his garments, his sons and his sons' garments with him.31And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, "Cook the flesh at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and eat it there, and the bread that is in the basket of the investiture offerings, as I have commanded, saying, 'Aaron and his sons shall eat it.'32And whatever is left over from the flesh and the bread, you shall burn in fire.33And you shall not leave the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the day of the completion of your investiture days, he will inaugurate you for seven days.34As he did on this day, so the Lord has commanded to do, to effect atonement for you.35And you shall stay day and night for seven days at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. You shall observe the Lord's command, so that you will not die, for thus I was commanded.36And Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord commanded through Moses.
Saturday
Psalm 114:1–8 (NLT):
1 When the Israelites escaped from Egypt—
when the family of Jacob left that foreign land—
2 the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary,
and Israel became his kingdom.
3 The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way!
The water of the Jordan River turned away.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs!
5 What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way?
What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?
6 Why, mountains, did you skip like rams?
Why, hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob.
8 He turned the rock into a pool of water;
yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock.
Maftir Portion
Leviticus Chapter 8
33And you shall not leave the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the day of the completion of your investiture days, he will inaugurate you for seven days.34As he did on this day, so the Lord has commanded to do, to effect atonement for you.35And you shall stay day and night for seven days at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. You shall observe the Lord's command, so that you will not die, for thus I was commanded.36And Aaron and his sons did all the things that the Lord commanded through Moses.
Haftarah
Jeremiah Chapter 7
21So says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel; Add your burnt offerings upon your sacrifices and eat flesh.22For neither did I speak with your forefathers nor did I command them on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning a burnt offering or a sacrifice.23But this thing did I command them, saying: Obey Me so that I am your God and you are My people, and you walk in all the ways that I command you, so that it may be well with you.24But they did not obey nor did they incline their ear, but walked according to [their] own counsels and in the view of their evil heart, and they went backwards and not forwards.25Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt until this day, I sent you all My servants the prophets, sending them day [after day] with every fresh morn.26Yet they hearkened not to Me nor did they incline their ear, but stiffened their necks; they did worse than their fathers.27And when you will speak all of these words to them and they will not hearken to you, and you call to them and they will not answer you,28Then say to them: This is the nation that did not hear the voice of the Lord their God and has not received correction; out of their mouth faithfulness has disappeared, yea rooted out!
Jeremiah Chapter 9
22Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, nor the strong man boast of his strength, nor the rich man boast of his riches.23But let him that boasts exult in this, that he understands and knows me, for I am the Lord Who practices kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth; for in these things I delight, says the Lord.
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