Just Beyond the Veil

It has been a long time since I posted.  I've allowed quite a few things to distract me, but I want to get back to it and make this part of my regular routine.  I do journal as I read, and God is faithful to speak through His Word....I just don't always feel that I have something to share with you.  And, sometimes I do and am just too lazy.  I allow the enemy convince me that I have nothing to say.  Well, actually, I don't have anything of value to say.  But it is wrong to let him convince me that God has nothing for me to say.  And if God gives me something to say, it is a sin for me to not say it.
We've covered a lot of ground since last time I posted.  I'll have to let that go, although I will refer to it as the topics arise in upcoming readings.  That's one of the cool things about the Bible -- it's all interconnected.  We tend to look at a book, or a chapter, or even a single verse as a stand-alone message.  While it's true that Truth can be found in a single verse of the Bible, it is so much more meaningful when taken as a whole.  That's one of the reasons it's necessary to read the whole thing.  And though I've found it a bit tedious to bounce around while following the Chronological Reading Schedule, it adds a new level of context.  For example, God was so pleased at Solomon's request for wisdom that He also gave Solomon riches, honor, and long life.   (2Chron.1:10-12)  It makes sense, then, that throughout the Proverbs, Solomon exhorts us to seek wisdom rather than riches. 

So, here we are at the dedication of the Solomon's Temple.  (1Kings 8 and 2Chron. 5)  The Temple building has been completed, the furnishings crafted and put into place.  All that remains is to bring the Ark of the Covenant from the tent where it has been kept.  It is now the seventh month, and all of the people are in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.  (Lev.23:33-44)  The Feast of Tabernacles was a seven-day feast where the people would stay outdoors in shelters made of poplar branches and palm branches to commemorate the time the Nation of Israel spent living in tents in the wilderness.  It also reminded them of the fact that, during this time, God chose to live in a Tabernacle or tent in their midst, and led them by a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.  So it is fitting that this feast coincides with the moving of the Ark, the representation of God's Presence, into its permanent dwelling place. 

Built after the pattern of the Tabernacle but on a much grander scale, the Temple includes the courtyard, where the sacrifices would take place; the Holy Place, where the priests would burn incense on the golden altar and maintain the golden lampstand and the Bread of the Presence; and the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant resided behind a heavy curtain or "veil".  Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement, to place the blood of the Atonement Sacrifice on the Mercy Seat of the Ark.  It was to this Mercy Seat (the NIV uses the unfortunate rendering "atonement cover") that the Presence of Almighty God would descend to fellowship with His people. 

The priests carry the Ark to the Temple on its carrying poles.  (For an account of the incorrect carrying of the Ark, see 2Sam.6)  Our reading for today says that they set the Ark down in the Holy of Holies, leaving its poles in place, and the poles extended out into the Holy Place.  The passage says that the poles were "very long".  The dimensions of the Holy of Holies were 20 cubits by 20 cubits (about 30' x 30').  So, this could mean that the poles were longer than 30 feet.  Or, it could mean that the Ark was placed just inside the curtain so that its poles extended out into the Holy Place.  I rather like this idea. 

Imagine:  The Eternal God of Heaven, the Great I AM, chooses to live among men.  That in itself is mind-boggling.  A Temple is built to represent His Presence.  But entrance into His Presence is limited. (Remember this post.)  The whole picture of the Tabernacle seems to be that God wants to have fellowship with us, but it must be on His terms.  We have no right to enter His Presence on our own merit.  We enter only by the blood of the Lamb.  That being said, God could have chosen to have the Ark placed on the farthest wall of the Holy of Holies, as remote as possible while still technically "with them".  Instead the Ark is placed just inside the curtain, with the poles extending out into the Holy Place.  The poles are tangible evidence that His Presence is with them, even if they can't see Him.  He is in reach, just beyond the veil. 

Jump right in

I'm not sure where to begin since I haven't written in a while.  I guess I just need to jump in.  Ok, that's sort of a pun given my topic of the day. 

I finally got caught up with my one-year chronological reading, which puts me in the middle of the book of Joshua.  So...we leave behind the books of the Law and move on into the books of History.  Joshua is one of my favorite Biblical characters.  We first see him in Exodus as the warrior who leads the Israelites into battle while Moses appeals to God for help.  He also serves as Moses' aide and is one of the faithful scouts who brings back a good report of the Promised Land.  The name by which we know him is actually a nickname bestowed by Moses.  His given name, Hoshea, means "Saved" or "The Salvation".  Moses changes this to Joshua (or Y'shua) which means "Yahweh is Salvation".  (In the Greek of the New Testament this same name is rendered "Jesus".)

He spends more than 40 years in Moses' shadow, and there is no record that he ever complained about it.  Even while Moses' siblings Aaron and Miriam challenged his role as the leader, Joshua humbly learned from Moses, and became God's choice to lead after Moses' death. 

Some notes about Joshua:

His catchphrase is "Be strong and courageous." (see  Deu 31:6; Deu 31:7; Deu 31:23; Jos 1:6; Jos 1:9; Jos 1:18;  Jos 10:25.) And his only basis for being strong and courageous is that God goes with him.  Joshua 1:9 was one of the first verses I memorized in about first grade (amazing how those have stuck with me!)  In the KJV it reads:

Have I not commanded thee? 

Be strong and of good courage;

be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: 

For the LORD thy God is with thee

whithersoever thou goest. 

I remember at the graduation ceremony where I received my master's degree.  The commencement speaker, whose name I have forgotten, began to quote:  "Be strong and of good courage.  Be not afraid, neither be dismayed.  Because you have the best education available today."  I was appalled, but not surprised.  People can put all kinds of things in the place of God, but they will not go with them wherever they go.  Visit an Alzheimer's facility and you will know that education may not go with you wherever you go.  Only God's presence can give us true strength and courage. 

In Chapter 3 when they are preparing to cross the Jordan, Joshua commands the people:  "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."  I sometimes wonder if I miss out on the amazing things that God has for me because I am not fully consecrated to Him. 

Jordan River at flood stage

Joshua tells the people to follow the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant "because you have not passed this way before."  Isn't it good to know that when the way is new to us that God's Presence goes before us?

Guided by God, Joshua tells the priests to go ahead of the people and step into the river, which was overflowing its banks due to flood conditions. As you can see by the photo, the Jordan is a swiftly flowing river.  This was a strong and courageous step of faith by the priests.  I think it proves that they truly believed that the Ark they carried represented the Presence of God.  Their job was to go and stand in the middle of the river while all the people passed through.  It was not until their feet actually touched the water that God stopped the flow of the river....fifteen miles upstream!  I'm not sure if that means they had to wait a while for the water to stop flowing.  It does say that they "stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground."

I imagine that seeing the priests and the Ark of God standing there in the middle brought great comfort to the people as they walked down into the riverbed and up the other side.  And that made me consider how seeing someone else standing firm in the middle of a trial has helped me get through trials of my own.  Sometimes it is easier to recognize the Presence of God in someone else than in ourselves.  And knowing that He has helped them to be strong and courageous in the midst of a trial makes it possible for us to pass through a similar situation. 

It also made me think that we don't always know when someone else is watching us.  We may only know that God has told us to stand firm in the middle of a trial and we don't know why.  We are able stand firm, even if the trial is long and difficult, because He is with us.  The fact is, it may not be about us.  We only know that God has promised to accomplish His good purpose in and through us, and sometimes that means standing firm while others pass by.  We may never know in this life what He is doing.  It is enough that He is with us. 

  

Carrying a burden?

This is a post I wrote several years ago for my blog on MySpace.  I've long since abandoned the MySpace site, but fortunately this lives on in cyberspace and I've copied and re-posted it here.

Numbers is an interesting book. It begins with a census of Israel, numbering the people by tribe. (Each tribe represents the descendants of one of Jacob's sons.) The book of Exodus focused on Moses the prophet, and how God used him to bring Israel out of slavery in Egypt to be His chosen people. Leviticus details the laws given by God to Israel through Moses, to be carried out by the priest, Aaron, who was Moses' brother. Now we get into Numbers, which brings the entire community of Israel into the picture. So far, in chapters 1-3 we have seen the counting of each of the tribes.

A little history here: Jacob had twelve sons by his two wives Leah and Rachel, and his two concubines Bilhah and Zilpah (see Genesis 35:23-26 in the January 24 reading for a recap). Joseph, the oldest son of Jacob's favorite wife Rachel, was sold by his brothers into slavery. While in Egypt God watched over him and brought him into favor with the Pharaoh, so that Joseph literally saved Egypt from starvation during a seven-year famine. He also saved his own family, which is how the Israelites ended up in Egypt in the first place. Meanwhile, Jacob's "true" firstborn, Reuben, disgraced himself by sleeping with one of his father's concubines, and therefore was unfit to receive the blessing of the firstborn. This blessing passed to Joseph, who had always been his father's favorite son anyway. The birthright of the firstborn was to receive a double portion of the inheritance. This double portion passed to Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim and Manasseh are sometimes referred to as the "half-tribes", but whenever they are named separately in a list of the twelve tribes, it means that one of the other brothers has been left out.

In the first chapter of Numbers, the "twelve" tribes are listed, including Ephraim and Manasseh. This means that one of the others is left out: Levi. The reason for this census is to figure out how many men are available to serve in Israel's army. Since the Levites are dedicated to the Lord to serve in the Tabernacle, they aren't eligible to serve in the army. Therefore, they are left out of this list.

The Levites are divided into three clans, representing the three sons of Levi. There are the Gershonites (descendants of Gershon), the Merarites (descendants of Merari), and the Kohathites (descendants of Kohath). Moses and Aaron are members of the Kohathite clan. The Gershonites have the job of carrying the fabric of the tent itself. The Merarites' job is to carry the tent frame. The Kohathites, as the closest relatives of Moses and Aaron, have the job of carrying the furnishings of the Tabernacle: the Ark of the Covenant, the golden lampstand, the altar of incense, the Table of the Bread of the Presence, and the bronze altar from the outer court.

Aaron, the high priest, and his two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, are in charge of packing up the beautiful furnishings. Eleazar, the oldest and next in line for the job of high priest, then supervises the carrying of the items. It's his job to decide who carries what. The Kohathites are NEVER to enter the Holy Place, even for a moment, to look at the furnishings. They are to wait for them to be wrapped and packed by the priests, according to God's instructions. This command of God is for their own good. If they were to look at the uncovered altar of incense, or the unveiled Ark of the Covenant, they would die.

Now, regarding the furnishings: except for the lampstand, which is solid gold, they are made of wood overlaid with gold. They are wrapped according to God's command, first with beautifully colored cloth (blue, red, or purple, according to God's specifications.) Then they are covered with animal skins. So the burdens that the Kohathites are assigned to carry are very plain on the outside, and the Kohathites are never given the privilege of seeing the glorious beauty inside. They just carry the load assigned to them.

Application: Carrying a burden?

Sometimes God asks us to carry a burden that we don't understand. It may seem very heavy, and very ordinary on the surface. And it's possible that we may never, in this life, be allowed to peek inside and see the glorious beauty of that burden. We may have unanswered prayers or life situations that are simply difficult. But we can take comfort in knowing that our burdens were wrapped and packaged according to God's specifications, and assigned especially to us by our High Priest, Jesus. We must trust Him to choose what is best for His purposes, and what is best for us, too.

We don't have to carry the burden alone. None of the furnishings of the Tabernacle was designed to be carried by one person. The Ark had a pole on each side, so that four men would share the burden of carrying it. If we are carrying a burden alone, it is only because of our pride. God wants us to give others the privilege of helping to carry our burdens.

We don't have to carry the burden forever. At the time the Tabernacle was dedicated, there were 2,750 Kohathites available to help carry the furnishings. So it was not the same four men who always carried the Ark, or the altars, or the Table of the Bread of the Presence. I imagine it was considered a great privilege to carry these items for even a short time. So should we consider it a privilege to carry the burdens assigned to us for the short time we are on earth.

Finally, we must remember that God is present in the burden. Each of the Tabernacle furnishings represented an aspect of God's presence with the people. When God gives us a burden to carry, we can be confident that He is present in it, even if we can't see Him. Because we trust His character, we know that the burden will not break us down but will make us stronger. And we can look forward to that day in eternity when we finally see ALL of the glory of God that was inside those burdens we carried.

Kinsman Redeemer (take two)

I usually like to get into the nitty gritty details of the scripture and squeeze out all of the goodness to be found there.  In fact, I started a post like that (hence the title "take two".)  Today my heart hurts too much for that, and I just want to briefly comment about the law of the Kinsman Redeemer, because today that is what I need. 

When an Israelite hit hard times he might sell his land in order to survive.  In really hard times he might even sell himself as an indentured servant.  God's law provided that the nearest kinsman who was both willing and able to pay the price could buy back his relative's land and restore it to its rightful owner, or buy back the contract of servitude and set his kinsman free. 

From Adam and Eve in the garden to the present, each of us has sold out to slavery and sin.  We live daily in a fallen world which is the result of that choice.  And we need a Kinsman Redeemer.

When a young family driving down the road hits a patch of black ice and slides into a pole, severely injuring the mother and killing the three-year-old daughter, we need a Kinsman Redeemer.

When a dear friend receives the diagnosis of a highly invasive breast cancer, we need a Kinsman Redeemer.

When a long-time friend dies by her own hand, we need a Kinsman Redeemer.

I am thankful that Jesus was both willing and able to pay the price for sin.  That He chose to buy us back and set us free.  He paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. 

We are set free from the penalty of sin.  Eternal Life awaits! Those young parents have assurance that they will see their precious little girl again.   O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?

We are set free from the power of sin.  The Enemy of our souls who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy must flee from us when we resist him.  And while diseases such as cancer are a fact of life in a fallen world, they cannot take from us our joy. 

We will ultimately be set free from the presence of sin.  Whatever pain or sorrow caused my friend to take her own life, she is completely free from it now.  How grateful I am for my Redeemer, Savior, Friend.

What's in a Name?

Leviticus chapters 18-23 essentially repeat and expand upon the laws and commandments given in Exodus chapters 20-23.  Yet there is one important difference:  we see over and over again in this passage, after each commandment, that God says, "I am the LORD" or "I am the LORD your God."  You may or may not have wondered why the word "Lord" is sometimes spelled with all capital letters in the Old Testament. Growing up with the King James Version of the Bible, I sort of took it for granted and never really thought about it.  Hang with me, here, because I'm going to cover some background and I hope it will come together at the end and help you to understand this passage in Leviticus better. 

The word for "Lord" in Hebrew (the original language of most of the Old Testament) is adonai.  This means "master" or  "lord" in a generic sense. 

The word translated "LORD" (all capital letters) is represented by four Hebrew letters that can be transliterated "YHWH".  What does that mean, you might ask, and how do you pronounce it? To answer the first question: these four letters refer to the proper name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  While He appears as the central character throughout the book of Genesis, it is not until the burning bush (Exodus 3), when Moses asks the bold question, "What shall I tell them if they ask who has sent me?" that God reveals Himself by Name:  I AM WHO I AM.   "Tell them I AM has sent you." 

It's necessary to recognize that in the time and culture in which this was written, a name meant much more than just what someone was called. It represented character. I touched on that concept in my post about Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel).  When Moses made another bold request of God ("Show me Your glory" -- Exodus 33) God responded by "proclaiming His Name" before Moses: The LORD, the LORD God (or, I AM WHO I AM) compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth... In other words, when God said He would proclaim His Name before Moses, He actually proclaimed His character. 

This name I AM WHO I AM reveals much about the character of God:  He is Eternally Self-Existent.  He just IS. No one created Him.  He has no beginning and no ending.  There is also a little of Popeye's "I yam what I yam" implied here: God's character is His character, and it is unchangeable.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Furthermore, His existence doesn't depend upon anything or anyone else.  Rather, all else depends upon Him.  He is the source of all other creation and life, and "by Him all things consist."  (Col.1:17 KJV)

So, that lengthy answer was to cover the first question, "What does it mean?"  Now for the second, "How do you pronounce it?"  Ancient Israelites and modern-day Orthodox Jews hold the Name of God to be so sacred that they do not pronounce it.  In fact, they will not even write it in its entirety.  So, in speaking, the Israelites, when referring to I AM WHO I AM would instead substitute the word adonai: Lord or Master.  In writing, they would omit the vowels in the word to render it unpronounceable:  YHWH.  Similarly, Orthodox Jews today will write "G-d" or "L-rd" in reference to I AM.  Today we just don't know what the vowels in the original Hebrew word were, nor do we know how it was pronounced.  The English word "Jehovah" is a guess as to how it might have been pronounced.   "Yahweh" (pronounced YAH-way or yah-VAY) is another possible pronunciation. 
[Thanks to Lynda for pointing out that "All Jews refer to God as Adonai, BTW. Not just Orthodox and Ancient Israelites."]

All that to say this:  In Leviticus chapters 18-23, every time you see the phrase "I am the LORD" or "I am the LORD your God" you could substitute "I am I AM WHO I AM".  The fact that God so closely links His Name with the laws and commandments suggests to me that these laws and commandments are another way in which He reveals His character to us. 

In Leviticus 18:5 He says that by keeping His laws a man may live.  "I am I AM WHO I AM".   What does this reveal about God's character?  That He is the Giver of life. 

Leviticus 18:6-23.  I AM  the One who defines family relationships, and the proper context for sexual intimacy.  Children are to be treasured, regardless of the circumstances of their birth.  (Worship of the pagan deities of the land of Canaan included illicit sex with temple prostitutes, and the resulting children were sacrificed in the fire to the god Molech.  As barbaric as this was, it is only a short leap to our generation which has sacrificed millions of children on the altar of "Reproductive Freedom".)

Lev.19:4 I AM the only True God and I don't want you to ruin your lives chasing after false gods of your own making. 

Lev.19:9-10 I AM a God who cares for the needy. 

Lev.19:11-12 I AM the Truth (see also John 14:6).  You can never go wrong when you tell the truth.  Don't be deceived by the Father of Lies into thinking that you can somehow protect yourself by lying.

Lev.19:13-14 I AM the Protector of the laborer, the weak, the deaf, the blind. 

Lev.19:15-16 I AM a God of justice.  I condemn all forms of prejudice, even what is now called reverse discrimination.

Lev.19:17-18 I AM a God of love and kindness.

Lev.19:19 I AM pure.

Lev.20:4-8 I AM a holy God and I want a holy people. 

Lev.20:24-25 I AM a God who distinguishes between clean and unclean, holy and profane.  You live in an unclean world and these laws will help you know how to be clean.  Even more, they will help you understand what holiness is.  (God's law sets a standard that we cannot attain, which is why we need the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.) 

Lev.21:16-23  I AM God and I define who may approach me and how they will approach me.  I AM also a God who provides for those who serve me. 

Lev.22:3 I AM a holy God and no one who is unclean can approach me. 

Lev.22:29-31 I AM even a God who understood about germs and food spoilage long before science and medicine figured it out.  (Doesn't that make you wonder what else science will eventually "discover" that has been in the Bible all along?)

I hope that this has challenged you to go through this section and highlight the "I am the LORD" statements.  In what ways do you see God's character revealed in these chapters and in His laws?

The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

--Psalm 19:7-10

All in

By way of explanation (although not an excuse), the last three weeks have been pretty crazy.  In a nutshell:  wait for government training contract to come through; when contract finally comes through, spend 24 hours madly preparing training materials; spend three days teaching said training materials; spend one day recovering and another couple of days preparing materials for the next three days; teach for three days; come home to prepare for celebration of father-in-law's life; enjoy the company of my sons, nieces, and nephews; deliver niece back to her mom's home; clean up three weeks' worth of accumulation of laundry, dishes, etc.  I don't doubt there are some women out there who could have handled this easily, and still kept up with Bible reading and blogging, but I am not one of them.  God was gracious and gave me some Bible reading time each day, but I am still not quite caught up with the one-year pace.  Nevertheless, I didn't want to blow through Exodus without even one single blog post. 

Since I'm teaching a ladies' Bible study on the book of Revelation, I am seeing the plagues in a new light.  They are so similar to the trumpet judgments in Revelation 8-9 (no wonder many people think that one of the witnesses in Revelation 11 must be Moses.)  And their purpose is also similar:  to confront unbelievers with the power of Almighty God.  Just as in Egypt, some relent and believe, but many more harden their hearts and reject God. 

At the catch-up pace I'm imposing on myself, it's hard to read much in-depth.  Mostly I'm just reading quickly, with a nod of acknowledgement to familiar passages.  Even so, there are things that jump out at me.  Just a couple of quick notes:

• A couple of years ago I watched a History Channel program that offered natural explanations for all of the plagues, from the Nile turning to blood, to frogs and flies, to the death of the firstborn.  One hypothesis was that poisonous gases coming up from the polluted Nile killed all of the firstborn, who occupied the place of honor on the ground floor of the house, while sparing everyone else who slept upstairs.  I don't doubt that there are natural phenomena that are similar to what happened in Egypt, but bear in mind that in each case the plagues were summoned and dismissed ON CUE.  Moses says, in each case, that at a certain time this particular plague will come, and at a certain time it will go.  How would Moses have known exactly when each of the plagues would naturally occur?  In once instance, Moses even permits Pharaoh himself to define the timing of the plague (Ex.8:9).  It takes a lot more faith to believe that the plagues just came and went coincidentally with Moses' pronouncements than to believe that the events were a demonstration of the power of the Almighty God. 
• Pharaoh lies to Moses (and to God) over and over, saying that as soon as the current plague is lifted he will let the people go.  And then, when relief comes, he goes back on his word.  It is interesting that after the plague of hail he says, "I have sinned," and after the plague of locust he says, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you."  Sadly, just recognizing one's sin isn't enough.  It is necessary to respond.  In Pharaoh's case, the result of his failure to yield to God was a plague of darkness -- "darkness that can be felt."  Do you have any friends or loved ones who are fumbling about in "darkness that can be felt" because they recognize their sin but haven't yet received God's Remedy for sin?
• Lastly, the Passover.  We know that Jesus is our Passover Lamb (see 1Cor.5:7).  Maybe we can get into more detail on that when we get to the Gospels.  The Israelites were instructed to put the lamb's blood over the door of each house, and then stay in the house until the angel of death had passed over.  God foresaw that some of the Egyptians would be interested in escaping this plague. After all, they had seen how God had spared His people from every plague after the swams of gnats.  Likely there were some who considered camping inside one of the Hebrew houses while the plague passed by, and then going back to their Egyptian gods when the coast was clear.  God was very specific that this would not be permitted.  Guests or sojourners would be permitted to eat the Passover meal, but only if they became "like a native of the land" -- meaning they must be circumcised.  I think you could ask any male of the species and he would say that circumcision represents a pretty lasting commitment.  That is what God wants from us.  Christianity is not just salvation (or "fire insurance") but a lasting relationship with Jesus that results in a changed heart and life.  Jesus wants us to be "all in".  Are we?

I hope all is well with you.  I should be caught up with the reading in Leviticus by tomorrow, and hopefully will be back on track with posting at least a couple of times a week.  Talk to you soon!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hi...things have been a little crazy, and I'll be back to writing later in the week.  But I thought I'd share this blog post about true love, written by a friend of a friend:
http://www.christinthechaos.com/2012/02/love-for-cynics-like-me.html

I've never met the writer, but we have a lot in common because we know the same Jesus. 
Take care, and I'll talk to you soon.