Friday, December 17, 2010
A Journey Through the Bible: Exodus 28
Exodus 28:4--"And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest." Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi, which tribe the Lord had selected to serve Him as priests. Note that the garments the priests were to wear had to be holy, "that he may minster to Me as priest." If the garments weren't authorized and sanctified by Jehovah, then He would not accept the priest's offering. The clothing was described in the succeeding verses, and it was composed of the richest, finest materials--the best for God, as it should be. Holiness and the best--and the first--are all He allows in His presence and are all He accepts for sacrifice. If that was true under the older, more imperfect law, how much truer is it under the newer, perfect law of liberty, where all of His will has been delivered to us?
Saturday, October 9, 2010
A Journey Through the Bible: Exodus 26 and 27
Exodus 26:30--"And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain." The grace of God is a marvelous thing, and we would have no hope of eternal life without it. This chapter begins a lengthy description in Exodus of how Jehovah wanted the tabernacle built, and all the items and utensils that were a part of it. Keep in mind that this tabernacle is a part of the grace of God towards Israel, for through the sacrifices and offerings they would make to Him, He would forgive their sins. Just because there is grace does not mean there is no obedience, and it is a strict obedience. Moses was told exactly how to construct everything in the tabernacle, and in verse 30 he is reminded that there is a "pattern" he must follow. There is also a "pattern" for New Testament Christians: "Hold the pattern of sound words," Paul told Timothy in II Timothy 1:13. The grace of God does not mean we can be presumptuous. "But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared," (Ps. 130:4), not "that thou mayest be presumed upon." The love and grace of God should be a motivation for us to humbly submit to Him with all of our heart. So full of gratitude should we be that the Lord will pardon our iniquities that we ought to give our best to serve Him as diligently as we can, and as He has directed us to do to in His Word. This attitude that we can give anything we want to God and He will accept it comes not from Scripture, and is, frankly, beyond my understanding.
Exodus 27:21--"In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel." This is regarding the lamp inside the tabernacle; it was to be looked after "from evening until morning," i.e., all night. There were activities in the tabernacle 24 hours a day; service to God never stops. Indeed, this was to be "a statute forever," or as long as the Lord intended this dispensation to last. The Hebrew word for "forever" can mean an endless duration of time, but that can only be in reference to spiritual things, such as heaven. In a material sense, the word means a lengthy, but indefinite period. It can and does eventually have an end. A willing slave was to serve his master "forever" (Ex. 21:6). Obviously, this can only be until he dies, which is indeterminate at the time of commitment. The Mosaic Age was not eternal; it lasted only until the Christ, thus the tabernacle and all its sacrifices and rituals are no longer in force.
Exodus 27:21--"In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel." This is regarding the lamp inside the tabernacle; it was to be looked after "from evening until morning," i.e., all night. There were activities in the tabernacle 24 hours a day; service to God never stops. Indeed, this was to be "a statute forever," or as long as the Lord intended this dispensation to last. The Hebrew word for "forever" can mean an endless duration of time, but that can only be in reference to spiritual things, such as heaven. In a material sense, the word means a lengthy, but indefinite period. It can and does eventually have an end. A willing slave was to serve his master "forever" (Ex. 21:6). Obviously, this can only be until he dies, which is indeterminate at the time of commitment. The Mosaic Age was not eternal; it lasted only until the Christ, thus the tabernacle and all its sacrifices and rituals are no longer in force.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
A Journey Through the Bible: Luke 2 and Exodus 25
Luke 2
Luke 2:36--"Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity." The interesting thing about this verse is that Anna was from the tribe of Asher. We don't hear a lot about any of the 10 tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel after they were taken into Assyrian captivity. This has led to a lot of speculation about the "10 Lost Tribes." It has been suggested that they migrated to Britain and became Anglo-Saxons; others propagate that they moved to America. I believe this is the Mormon teaching. Well, at least some of them were still around in Israel, as indicated by Anna's tribal membership. Actually, a proper understanding of the two sticks of Ezekiel 37 teach that all of the Jews who were left, both from the north and the south, were reunited in Palestine after the Babylonian captivity. There weren't many of any tribe left, but that's where they went.
Exodus 25
Exodus 25:2--"Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering." Offerings to God must always be from a willing heart. What good is a forced sacrifice? God wants to see our desire to please Him, and if we are compelled to do anything good, then that mitigates completely the virtue of the deed. This is what makes modern welfare systems basically immoral; people are coerced, by law, to contribute their moneys, which are then distributed as seen fit by bureaucrats. Certainly the needy are to be taken care of, but the Bible speaks nowhere of God being pleased with an unwilling gift. Let us give, and let us give liberally, generously, and from a willing, pure heart. Otherwise we haven't made any headway in our relationship with Jehovah.
Luke 2:36--"Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity." The interesting thing about this verse is that Anna was from the tribe of Asher. We don't hear a lot about any of the 10 tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel after they were taken into Assyrian captivity. This has led to a lot of speculation about the "10 Lost Tribes." It has been suggested that they migrated to Britain and became Anglo-Saxons; others propagate that they moved to America. I believe this is the Mormon teaching. Well, at least some of them were still around in Israel, as indicated by Anna's tribal membership. Actually, a proper understanding of the two sticks of Ezekiel 37 teach that all of the Jews who were left, both from the north and the south, were reunited in Palestine after the Babylonian captivity. There weren't many of any tribe left, but that's where they went.
Exodus 25
Exodus 25:2--"Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering." Offerings to God must always be from a willing heart. What good is a forced sacrifice? God wants to see our desire to please Him, and if we are compelled to do anything good, then that mitigates completely the virtue of the deed. This is what makes modern welfare systems basically immoral; people are coerced, by law, to contribute their moneys, which are then distributed as seen fit by bureaucrats. Certainly the needy are to be taken care of, but the Bible speaks nowhere of God being pleased with an unwilling gift. Let us give, and let us give liberally, generously, and from a willing, pure heart. Otherwise we haven't made any headway in our relationship with Jehovah.
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