Posted on by Abe Austin

Relationship with the Ideal

All people fail us. At one point or another, each person betrays the bond that they have made with us. This is not an excuse to cut off our relationships, though. It is still right and prudent to invest in people and relationships. But to protect our soul against heartbreak, we must also develop even stronger bonds to the ideal and the transcendent, which will never fail us. Just as we have a relationship with people, we can, and must, have a relationship with each of the virtues. And then we remain committed to the relationship, not just for the person, but for the ideal’s sake.

So,

Become married to the ideal of marriage
Begin a romance with romance
Be a friend of friendship
Fall in love with love
And be loyal to loyalty

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 34:21

21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

Continuing with the trend of the past couple days, here we have God re-extending a previously heard law, this one related to the observance of a Sabbath day. Not all the wording between the original injunction and this are the same. The original commandment stressed the importance of not only abstaining from work for oneself, but also that he must not cause anyone around him to work either.

We don’t hear that same detail here, but we do receive a new emphasis with the instruction, “in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.” This makes clear that the people aren’t to go looking for temporary exceptions. One cannot be justified in excusing themselves from the commandment “just during the harvest” or anything like that. This law not only applies universally to every inhabitant, but as a constant in all times.

The phrase “earing time and in harvest” also brings to mind a passage we heard quite some time ago. Back when Joseph was a prince in Egypt, he had explained to his brethren that they needed his help to survive the famine, as it would continue for yet another “five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.” I wonder if God’s wording here deliberately reflected records that the Israelites had of that moment in their history. If so, it seems to address the main underlying fear that might tempt one to break this commandment, which would be that your crops would fail and that you would starve, just like what happened in the time of Joseph in Egypt. This reference back to Joseph might have been to remind the people that when it came to being at the mercy of weather and the seasons, there was nothing surer than a partnership with the Lord. He would see them through alright, just as He had done for Israel and his sons all those years ago.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 29:38-41

38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.

39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:

40 And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.

41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

We have heard of the sacrifices necessary to consecrate the priests and the altar, and we will hear of many more ritualistic sacrifices that would restore the Israelites back to unity with God after all manner of dividing circumstances. Today, however, we read of a constant ritual that was ongoing in perpetuity at the tabernacle. Aside from all the other offerings, there was a perpetual sacrifice being given to the Lord every day. A lamb, a measure of flour, a measure of oil, and a measure of wine every morning. A lamb, a measure of flour, a measure of oil, and a measure of wine every evening.

Many people speak of their conversion to the Lord in terms of key, pivotal moments in their lives where a specific and great sacrifice brought them into harmony with the Lord. But underlying and between these key moments there is also the constant, daily sacrifice that we make to keep ourselves on the straight-and-narrow. A man may renounce his evil ways in one, great moment of conviction, but then he must make innumerable micro-sacrifices as he turns down every following temptation to return to his old ways.

The life of the disciple is one of constant sacrifice and work, and I believe that that is what is being symbolized in these daily sacrifices. Just each individual is expected to perpetually subjugate his will to the Lord every day, so would the nation of Israel as a whole.