Week 13:Saturday Numbers 35-36

Invocation

P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

Reading Numbers 35:1—36:13

¹The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ²“Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities. ³The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts. ⁴The pasturelands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around. ⁵And you shall measure, outside the city, on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall belong to them as pastureland for their cities.

⁶The cities that you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. ⁷All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be forty-eight, with their pasturelands. ⁸And as for the cities that you shall give from the possession of the people of Israel, from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites.”

⁹And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹¹then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. ¹²The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. ¹³And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge. ¹⁴You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. ¹⁵These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.

¹⁶“But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁷And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁸Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. ¹⁹The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. ²⁰And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died, ²¹or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

²²“But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait ²³or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm, ²⁴then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules. ²⁵And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled, ²⁷and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. ²⁸For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. ²⁹And these things shall be for a statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

³⁰“If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. ³¹Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. ³²And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest. ³³You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. ³⁴You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”

¹The heads of the fathers’ houses of the clan of the people of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of the people of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the chiefs, the heads of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel. ²They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the people of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. ³But if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the people of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers and added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry. So it will be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. ⁴And when the jubilee of the people of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”

⁵And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of the people of Joseph is right. ⁶This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, ‘Let them marry whom they think best, only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father. ⁷The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. ⁸And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers. ⁹So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.’”

¹⁰The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses, ¹¹for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to sons of their father’s brothers. ¹²They were married into the clans of the people of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s clan.

¹³These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

Collect

Lord Jesus, prepare us for that eternal Sabbath when You will rest in us, just as now You work in us. The rest that we shall enjoy will be Yours, just as the work that we now do is Your work done through us. But You, O Lord, are eternally at work and eternally at rest. It is not time that You see or in time that You move or in time that You rest, yet You make what we see in time. You make time itself and the repose which comes when time ceases; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

447 Jesus, in Your Dying Woes LSB 447

1 Part I

Jesus, in Your dying woes,
Even while Your lifeblood flows,
Craving pardon for Your foes:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

2 Savior, for our pardon sue
When our sins Your pangs renew,
For we know not what we do:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

3 Oh, may we, who mercy need,
Be like You in heart and deed,
When with wrong our spirits bleed:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

4 Part II

Jesus, pitying the sighs
Of the thief, who near You dies,
Promising him paradise:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

5 May we in our guilt and shame
Still Your love and mercy claim,
Calling humbly on Your name:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

6 May our hearts to You incline
And their thoughts Your cross entwine.
Cheer our souls with hope divine:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

7 Part III

Jesus, loving to the end
Her whose heart Your sorrows rend,
And Your dearest human friend:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

8 May we in Your sorrows share,
For Your sake all peril dare,
And enjoy Your tender care:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

9 May we all Your loved ones be,
All one holy family,
Loving, since Your love we see:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

10 Part IV

Jesus, whelmed in fears unknown,
With our evil left alone,
While no light from heav’n is shown:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

11 When we seem in vain to pray
And our hope seems far away,
In the darkness be our stay:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

12 Though no Father seem to hear,
Though no light our spirits cheer,
May we know that God is near:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

13 Part V

Jesus, in Your thirst and pain,
While Your wounds Your lifeblood drain,
Thirsting more our love to gain:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

14 Thirst for us in mercy still;
All Your holy work fulfill;
Satisfy Your loving will:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

15 May we thirst Your love to know.
Lead us in our sin and woe
Where the healing waters flow:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

16 Part VI

Jesus, all our ransom paid,
All Your Father’s will obeyed;
By Your suff’rings perfect made:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

17 Save us in our soul’s distress;
Be our help to cheer and bless
While we grow in holiness:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

18 Brighten all our heav’nward way
With an ever holier ray
Till we pass to perfect day:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

19 Part VII

Jesus, all Your labor vast,
All Your woe and conflict past,
Yielding up Your soul at last:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

20 When the death shades round us low’r,
Guard us from the tempter’s pow’r,
Keep us in that trial hour:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

21 May Your life and death supply
Grace to live and grace to die,
Grace to reach the home on high:
Hear us, holy Jesus.

Public domain

Apostles' Creed

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Christian Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life T everlasting. Amen.

Christian Questions with Their Answers

Do you believe that you are a sinner?

Yes, I believe it. I am a sinner.

How do you know this?

From the Ten Commandments, which I have not kept.

Are you sorry for your sins?

Yes. I am sorry that I have sinned against God.

What have you deserved from God because of your sins?

His wrath and displeasure, temporal death, and eternal damnation. (See Romans 6:21, 23)

Do you hope to be saved?

Yes, that is my hope.

In whom then do you trust?

In my dear Lord Jesus Christ.

Who is Christ?

The Son of God, true God and man.

How many Gods are there?

Only one, but there are three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

What has Christ done for you that you trust in Him?

He died for me and shed His blood for me on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.

Did the Father also die for you?

He did not. The Father is God only, as is the Holy Spirit; but the Son is both true God and true man. He died for me and shed His blood for me.

How do you know this?

From the Holy Gospel, from the words instituting the Sacrament, and by His body and blood given me as a pledge in the Sacrament.

What are the Words of Institution?

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: "Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me." In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: "Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

Do you believe, then, that the true body and blood of Christ are in the Sacrament?

Yes, I believe it.

What convinces you to believe this?

The word of Christ: Take, eat, this is My body; drink of it, all of you, this is My blood.

What should we do when we eat His body and drink His blood, and in this way receive His pledge?

We should remember and proclaim His death and the shedding of His blood, as He taught us: This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.

Why should we remember and proclaim His death?

First, so we may learn to believe that no creature could make satisfaction for our sins. Only Christ, true God and man, could do that. Second, so we may learn to be horrified by our sins, and to regard them as very serious. Third, so we may find joy and comfort in Christ alone, and through faith in Him be saved.

What motivated Christ to die and make full payment for your sins?

His great love for His Father and for me and other sinners, as it is written in John 14; Romans 5; Galatians 2; and Ephesians 5.

Finally, why do you wish to go to the Sacrament?

That I may learn to believe that Christ, out of great love, died for my sin, and also learn from Him to love God and my neighbor.

What should admonish and encourage a Christian to receive the Sacrament frequently?

First, both the command and the promise of Christ the Lord. Second, his own pressing need, because of which the command, encouragement, and promise are given.

But what should you do if you are not aware of this need and have no hunger and thirst for the Sacrament?

To such a person no better advice can be given than this: first, he should touch his body to see if he still has flesh and blood. Then he should believe what the Scriptures say of it in Galatians 5 and Romans 7. Second, he should look around to see whether he is still in the world, and remember that there will be no lack of sin and trouble, as the Scriptures say in John 15–16 and in 1 John 2 and 5. Third, he will certainly have the devil also around him, who with his lying and murdering day and night will let him have no peace, within or without, as the Scriptures picture him in John 8 and 16; 1 Peter 5; Ephesians 6; and 2 Timothy 2.

Lord's Prayer

C Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Benediction (Aaronic)

P The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.

C Amen.

Acknowledgments

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.