Tuesday in Epiphany

22Verse 22. Then the LORD said to Moses, 23Verse 23. “Take the finest spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half that amount (250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, 24Verse 24. 500 shekels of cassia — all according to the sanctuary shekel — and a hin of olive oil. 25Verse 25. Prepare from these a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer; it will be a sacred anointing oil. 26Verse 26. Use this oil to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, 27Verse 27. the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense, 28Verse 28. the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29Verse 29. You are to consecrate them so that they will be most holy. Whatever touches them shall be holy. 30Verse 30. Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them to serve Me as priests. 31Verse 31. And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘This will be My sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32Verse 32. It must not be used to anoint an ordinary man, and you must not make anything like it with the same formula. It is holy, and it must be holy to you. 33Verse 33. Anyone who mixes perfume like it or puts it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’” 34Verse 34. The LORD also said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices — gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense — in equal measures, 35Verse 35. and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. 36Verse 36. Grind some of it into fine powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37Verse 37. You are never to use this formula to make incense for yourselves; you shall regard it as holy to the LORD. 38Verse 38. Anyone who makes something like it to enjoy its fragrance shall be cut off from his people.”

2Verse 2. When they heard him speak to them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then Paul declared, 3Verse 3. “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4Verse 4. I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5Verse 5. as the high priest and the whole Council can testify about me. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to apprehend these people and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished. 6Verse 6. About noon as I was approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7Verse 7. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’ 8Verse 8. ‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied. 9Verse 9. My companions saw the light, but they could not understand the voice of the One speaking to me. 10Verse 10. Then I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ ‘Get up and go into Damascus,’ He told me. ‘There you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.’ 11Verse 11. Because the brilliance of the light had blinded me, my companions led me by the hand into Damascus. 12Verse 12. There a man named Ananias, a devout observer of the law who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there, 13Verse 13. came and stood beside me. ‘Brother Saul,’ he said, ‘receive your sight.’ And at that moment I could see him. 14Verse 14. Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear His voice. 15Verse 15. You will be His witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16Verse 16. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’