The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday November 21, 2018 (NIV)

Two Buildings Near the Temple

42 Then the man took me into the outer courtyard and led me to a building on the north side of the Temple, not far from the building at the west end of the Temple. ² This building was 168 feet long and 84 feet wide. ³ On one side it faced the space 34 feet wide which was alongside the Temple, and on the other side it faced the pavement of the outer courtyard. It was built on three levels, each one set further back than the one below it. ⁴ Along the north side of this building was a passageway 16 feet wide and 168 feet long,^[a] with entrances on that side. ⁵ The rooms at the upper level of the building were narrower than those at the middle and lower levels because they were set further back. ⁶ The rooms at all three levels were on terraces and were not supported by columns like the other buildings in the courtyard. ^7-8 At the lower level the outer wall of the building was solid for 84 feet, half its length; and there were rooms in the remaining 84 feet. At the top level there were rooms in the entire length of the building. ^9-10 Below these rooms at the east end of the building, where the wall of the courtyard began,^[b] there was an entrance into the outer courtyard.

At the south^[c] side of the Temple there was an identical building not far from the building at the west end of the Temple. ¹¹ In front of the rooms there was a passageway just like the one on the north side. It had the same measurements, the same design, and the same kind of entrances. ¹² There was a door under the rooms on the south side of the building, at the east end where the wall began.

¹³ The man said to me, “Both these buildings are holy. In them the priests who enter the Lord's presence eat the holiest offerings. Because the rooms are holy, the priests will place the holiest offerings there: the offerings of grain and the sacrifices offered for sin or as repayment offerings. ¹⁴ When priests have been in the Temple and want to go to the outer courtyard, they must leave in these rooms the holy clothing they wore while serving the Lord. They must put on other clothes before going out to the area where the people gather.”

The Measurements of the Temple Area

¹⁵ When the man had finished measuring inside the Temple area, he took me out through the east gate and then measured the outside of the area. ¹⁶ He took the measuring rod and measured the east side, and it was 840 feet. ^17-19 Then he measured the north side, the south side, and the west side; each side had the same length, 840 feet,^{[d] 20} so that the wall enclosed a square 840 feet on each side. The wall served to separate what was holy from what was not.

The Lord Returns to the Temple

43 The man took me to the gate that faces east, ^2 (A)and there I saw coming from the east the dazzling light of the presence of the God of Israel. God's voice sounded like the roar of the sea, and the earth shone with the dazzling light. ³ This vision was like the one I had seen when God came to destroy Jerusalem, and the one I saw by the Chebar River. Then I threw myself face downward on the ground. ⁴ The dazzling light passed through the east gate and went into the Temple.

⁵ The Lord's spirit lifted me up and took me into the inner courtyard, where I saw that the Temple was filled with the glory of the Lord. ⁶ The man stood beside me there, and I heard the Lord speak to me out of the Temple: ⁷ “Mortal man, here is my throne. I will live here among the people of Israel and rule them forever. Neither the people of Israel nor their kings will ever again disgrace my holy name by worshiping other gods or by burying the corpses of^[e] their dead kings. ⁸ The kings built the doorsills and doorposts of their palace right against the doorsills and doorposts of my Temple, so that there was only a wall between us. They disgraced my holy name by all the disgusting things they did, and so in my anger I destroyed them. ⁹ Now they must stop worshiping other gods and remove the corpses of^[f] their kings. If they do, I will live among them forever.”

¹⁰ And the Lord continued, “Mortal man, tell the people of Israel about the Temple, and let them study its plan. Make them ashamed of their sinful actions. ¹¹ Then if they are ashamed of what they have done, explain the plan of the Temple to them: its design, its entrances and exits, its shape, the arrangement of everything, and all its rules and regulations. Write all this down for them so that they can see how everything is arranged and can carry out all the rules. ¹² This is the law of the Temple: All the area surrounding it on the top of the mountain is sacred and holy.”

The Altar

^13 (B)These are the measurements of the altar, using the same unit of measure as in measuring the Temple. All around the base of the altar there was a gutter 20 inches deep and 20 inches wide, with a rim at the outside edge 10 inches high. ¹⁴ The lowest section of the altar, from the top of the base, was 4 feet high. The next section was set back from the edge 20 inches all around, and was 7 feet high. The section after that was also set back from the edge 20 inches all around. ¹⁵ This top section, on which the sacrifices were burned, was also 7 feet high. The projections on the four corners were higher than the rest of the top. ¹⁶ The top of the altar was a square, 20 feet on each side. ¹⁷ The middle section was also a square, 24 feet on each side, with a rim at the outside edge 10 inches high. (The gutter was 20 inches wide.) The steps going up the altar were on the east side.

The Consecration of the Altar

^18 (C)The Sovereign Lord said to me, “Mortal man, listen to what I tell you. When the altar is built, you are to dedicate it by burning sacrifices on it and by sprinkling on it the blood of the animals that were sacrificed. ¹⁹ Those priests belonging to the tribe of Levi who are descended from Zadok are the only ones who are to come into my presence to serve me. I, the Sovereign Lord, command this. You will give them a young bull to offer as a sacrifice for sin. ²⁰ You are to take some of its blood and put it on the projections on the top corners of the altar, on the corners of the middle section of the altar, and all around its edges. In this way you will purify the altar and consecrate it. ²¹ You are to take the bull that is offered as a sacrifice for sin and burn it at the specified place outside the Temple area. ²² The next day you are to take a male goat without any defects and offer it as a sacrifice for sin. Purify the altar with its blood the same way you did with the bull. ²³ When you have finished doing that, take a young bull and a young ram, both of them without any defects, ²⁴ and bring them to me. The priests will sprinkle salt on them and burn them as an offering to me. ²⁵ Each day for seven days you are to offer a goat, a bull, and a ram as sacrifices for sin. All of them must be without any defects. ²⁶ For seven days the priests are to consecrate the altar and make it ready for use. ²⁷ When the week is over, the priests are to begin offering on the altar the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings of the people. Then I will be pleased with all of you. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.”

Warning to the Rich

5 And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you! ^2 (A)Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. ^3 (B)Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches in these last days. ^4 (C)You have not paid any wages to those who work in your fields. Listen to their complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty. ⁵ Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter. ^6 (D)You have condemned and murdered innocent people, and they do not resist you.^[a]

Patience and Prayer

⁷ Be patient, then, my friends, until the Lord comes. See how patient farmers are as they wait for their land to produce precious crops. They wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸ You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord's coming is near.

⁹ Do not complain against one another, my friends, so that God will not judge you. The Judge is near, ready to appear. ¹⁰ My friends, remember the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Take them as examples of patient endurance under suffering. ^11 (E)We call them happy because they endured. You have heard of Job's patience, and you know how the Lord provided for him in the end. For the Lord is full of mercy and compassion.

^12 (F)Above all, my friends, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Say only “Yes” when you mean yes, and “No” when you mean no, and then you will not come under God's judgment.

¹³ Are any among you in trouble? They should pray. Are any among you happy? They should sing praises. ^14 (G)Are any among you sick? They should send for the church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil on them in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ This prayer made in faith will heal the sick; the Lord will restore them to health, and the sins they have committed will be forgiven. ^16 (H)So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect. ^17 (I)Elijah was the same kind of person as we are. He prayed earnestly that there would be no rain, and no rain fell on the land for three and a half years. ^18 (J)Once again he prayed, and the sky poured out its rain and the earth produced its crops.

¹⁹ My friends, if any of you wander away from the truth and another one brings you back again, ^20 (K)remember this: whoever turns a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner's soul^[b] from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.

The Law of the Lord

Obedience to the Law of the Lord

⁶ Better to be poor and honest than rich and dishonest.

⁷ Young people who obey the law are intelligent. Those who make friends with good-for-nothings are a disgrace to their parents.