Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 143
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E x od u s
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“Then make another altar of acacia wood for burning incense. Make it
18 inches square and 36 inches high, with horns at the corners carved
from the same piece of wood as the altar itself. Overlay the top, sides, and
horns of the altar with pure gold, and run a gold molding around the entire
altar. Make two gold rings, and attach them on opposite sides of the altar
below the gold molding to hold the carrying poles. Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Place the incense altar just outside
the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant, in front of the Ark’s
cover—the place of a tonement—that covers the tablets inscribed with the
terms of the covenant. I will meet with you there.
“Every morning when Aaron maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the altar. And each evening when he lights the lamps, he
must again burn incense in the Lord’s presence. This must be done from
generation to generation. Do not offer any unholy incense on this altar, or
any burnt offerings, grain offerings, or liquid offerings.
“Once a year Aaron must purify the altar by smearing its horns with
blood from the offering made to purify the people from their sin. This
will be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is
the Lord’s most holy altar.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Whenever you take a census of the people
of Israel, each man who is counted must pay a ransom for himself to the
Lord. Then no plague will strike the people as you count them. Each person who is counted must give a small piece of silver as a sacred offering to
the Lord. (This payment is half a shekel, based on the sanctuary shekel,
which equals twenty gerahs.) All who have reached their twentieth birthday must give this sacred offering to the Lord. When this offering is given
to the Lord to purify your lives, making you right with him, the rich must
not give more than the specified amount, and the poor must not give less.
Receive this ransom money from the Israelites, and use it for the care of
the Tabernacle. It will bring the Israelites to the Lord’s attention, and it
will purify your lives.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a bronze washbasin with a bronze
stand. Place it between the Tabernacle and the altar, and fill it with water.
Aaron and his sons will wash their hands and feet there. They must wash
with water whenever they go into the Tabernacle to appear before the
Lord and when they approach the altar to burn up their special gifts to
the Lord—or they will die! They must always wash their hands and feet,
or they will die. This is a permanent law for Aaron and his descendants, to
be observed from generation to generation.”
