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Monday, April 9, 2012

Week 13: Thursday Numbers 31

Invocation

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

C Amen.

Reading
Numbers 31:1–54

1The
Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Avenge the people of
Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your
people.” 3So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm
men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to
execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. 4You shall send
a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war.” 5So
there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from
each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6And Moses sent
them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas
the son of Eleazar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and
the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7They warred
against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every male.
8They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their
slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And
they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9And
the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their
little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks,
and all their goods. 10All their cities in the places
where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire,
11and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man
and of beast. 12Then they brought the captives and the
plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the
congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of
Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

13Moses
and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation went to
meet them outside the camp. 14And Moses was angry with the
officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders
of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15Moses
said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16Behold,
these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act
treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the
plague came among the congregation of the Lord. 17Now
therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every
woman who has known man by lying with him. 18But all the
young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for
yourselves. 19Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever
of you has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain,
purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the
seventh day. 20You shall purify every garment, every
article of skin, all work of goats’ hair, and every article of
wood.”

21Then
Eleazar the priest said to the men in the army who had gone to
battle: “This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded
Moses: 22only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron,
the tin, and the lead, 23everything that can stand the
fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean.
Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity.
And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water.
24You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you
shall be clean. And afterward you may come into the camp.”

25The
Lord said to Moses, 26“Take the count of the plunder
that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest
and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the congregation, 27and
divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out
to battle and all the congregation. 28And levy for the
Lord a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of
five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of
the flocks. 29Take it from their half and give it to
Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the Lord. 30And
from the people of Israel’s half you shall take one drawn out of
every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the
flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep
guard over the tabernacle of the Lord.” 31And Moses and
Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

32Now
the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000
sheep, 3372,000 cattle, 3461,000 donkeys, 35and
32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him.
36And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in
the army, numbered 337,500 sheep, 37and the Lord’s
tribute of sheep was 675. 38The cattle were 36,000, of
which the Lord’s tribute was 72. 39The donkeys were
30,500, of which the Lord’s tribute was 61. 40The
persons were 16,000, of which the Lord’s tribute was 32 persons.
41And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution
for the Lord, to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.

42From
the people of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from that of the
men who had served in the army— 43now the congregation’s
half was 337,500 sheep, 4436,000 cattle, 45and
30,500 donkeys, 46and 16,000 persons— 47from
the people of Israel’s half Moses took one of every 50, both of
persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who kept guard
over the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

48Then
the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders
of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses 49and
said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the men of war who are
under our command, and there is not a man missing from us. 50And
we have brought the Lord’s offering, what each man found, articles
of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, to
make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” 51And
Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted
articles. 52And all the gold of the contribution that they
presented to the Lord, from the commanders of thousands and the
commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels. 53(The men in
the army had each taken plunder for himself.) 54And Moses
and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of
thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting,
as a memorial for the people of Israel before the Lord.

Collect

Gracious
God and Father, though Your Son, Jesus Christ, came to bring us Your
heavenly peace, violence and conflict still rage among Your children
on earth. We thank You that in Your mercy and goodness You have
caused recent violence [in location] to come to an end. Bring a
restoration of calm and security, and heal the wounds that have been
inflicted. Preserve the peace that has come so that what has been
laid waste and made desolate can again be planted and built up. Open
Your fatherly heart and bountiful hand to help all in need. Grant
that we all may live together in unity and peace, and let all hatred
and ill will be remembered no more. Give us that peace which the
world cannot give, and grant us grace that, delivered from all
conflict and strife, we may live in harmony and safety, and finally,
having gained the eternal rest of the saints in glory, may praise and
bless, worship and glorify You forever; through Jesus Christ, our
Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever.

596 All
Christians Who Have Been Baptized

5 O
Christian, firmly hold this gift And give God thanks
forever!It gives the power to uplift In all that you
endeavor.When nothing else revives your soul,Your Baptism
stands and makes you whole And then in death completes you.

6 So
use it well! You are made new— In Christ a new creation!As
faithful Christians, live and do Within your own
vocation,Until that day when you possess His glorious robe of
righteousness Bestowed on you forever!

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.