Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 24:4-8

4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord.

6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.

8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.

The Israelites had committed to following God’s law, and this covenant was sealed by making solemn sacrifice. Every tribe had their own altar, and all of them ritually dedicated themselves to following the word that God had given.

Let’s take the time to be specific about exactly what those rituals were, and what their significance was. There are three rituals being described here.

  1. The burnt offering. The formal description of how this offering was to be made is given in Leviticus 1.
    • Performance: The Israelite who was making the sacrifice would give up an entire animal which would be cut into parts, cleaned, and then the entire thing was burned on the altar.
    • Significance: This was a constant and regular sacrifice in the Israelite tradition. The burning of the entire animal obviously represents the giving of the whole self to the Lord, turning one’s entire life to His will. It is therefore a fitting symbol for those who are ready to make penance for past transgressions and willing to commit themselves back to the Lord.
  2. The peace offering. The initial description of this offering can be found in Leviticus 3, though there are some details that are only explained later, such as in Leviticus 19:5-8 and Deuteronomy 27:7.
    • Performance: The Israelite would once again offer up an entire animal. This time, though, only the fat and specific organs would be laid on the altar and burned. The rest would become a meal that the Israelite would eat that day and the next, with any leftovers being burned upon the third day.
    • Significance: This was a sign of fellowship and friendship. The Israelite making the offering would essentially be sharing a meal with the Lord. The Lord’s part of the meal came from what was burned on the altar, the Israelite’s part from eating the remaining flesh. Also of note was that the parts burned on the altar were forbidden for the Israelites to eat anyway (fat and blood), so God was taking the portion that was not right for the Israelites and leaving for them what was good, just as He takes from us our sin and leaves us with a new heart. This sacrifice is a fitting symbol for those who are living in union and harmony with God, sharing a life and a purpose with Him.
  3. The sprinkling of blood. Some of the most thorough details of this ritual are actually the ones given here in these verses. However, there are some additional details of this event included in Hebrews 9:19-22.
    • Performance: This ritual was attached to the other sacrifices. There is no sprinkling of blood without the burnt and peace offerings. The priest would take the blood from the offerings, mix it with water, and divide it in two. Half he would sprinkle over the altar, its instruments, and even the book of the law, and the other half would be sprinkled upon the person(s) making the offering.
    • Significance: The blood was sprinkled over the instruments and word of God, and also upon the people. It covers them both, binds them together, and seals their covenant. In Hebrews 9 the assertion is made that every testament/covenant requires the death of the testator to be in full force. Frankly, that is a logic I don’t understand at this point. I don’t yet know what fundamental, universal truth makes it so that death is necessary to empower a commitment, but apparently there is one, and so that sprinkled blood was the activating agent in the covenant between God and His people.

Taken as a whole, we can see that Israel was sacrificing their old lives and giving themselves wholeheartedly to God by the burnt offering. Then they were recognized as His partners and shared meal with Him via the peace offering. Finally, this new union was sanctified by the sprinkling of the blood.

These were not random rituals, each one served a function and a purpose, with deep spiritual meaning behind them. They were being used to properly initiate God’s people.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 24:3

3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.

Back in Chapter 19 the Israelites had been informed that God wanted to make a special covenant with them, wherein they would be required to follow His commandments and He in turn would make them His peculiar, chosen people. In response, “all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.”

This preliminary agreement having been reached, Moses then went up into the mountain, and throughout the previous three chapters we have heard the law that they Lord laid down for the people. Now we reach the other bookend to this event, where Moses delivers the law to the Israelites, and once again, “and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.”

Thus, first the Israelites agreed to receive God’s law, then they agreed to obey it. And as we will see in the following chapters, Israel’s acceptance of the law here is preliminary to them receiving further instructions, wherein God will give the command for them to build a tabernacle which He will fill with His presence.

We clearly see in this that we come into alignment with the Lord by degrees. First we open ourselves just to hearing His word, then we commit ourselves to actually following it, then we receive the gift of His spirit in our home. He does not ask us to commit to things unknowingly, but instead invites us to hear exactly what we’re committing to, and then we decide whether to move forward or not. He does not invade us with His presence right off, He offers it and we must accept it. What we know of the Lord, and how deep our connection goes with Him, is limited only by our willingness to accept each new commitment He offers us.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Limit to God in Our Lives

What we know of the Lord, and how deep our connection goes with Him, is limited only by our willingness to accept each new commitment He offers us.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Unknowable Author

Pure Creation)

John 1 tells us that in the beginning was the Word, which Word was apparently an animating and creating figure, by whom all created things were created. Of course, that would mean plants and animals and people, but even more fundamentally, if minerals and atoms and forces of nature are created things, then they were created by this Word also.

Thus, the Word would be neither mineral nor atomic nor natural, but instead an immaterial, uncreated being that has always been. The Word would have created all things, but not been made up of those things itself. It would have made this world, but would not be contained within this world. And the world, by measuring itself, would never find the Word, only clues that it existed somewhere “out there.”

The closest analogue that we have to this sort of creation is when a person composes a story, a song, or some other conceptual thing. The making of something physical like a bridge or a building would not be the same, because that requires using pre-created elements that are composed of the same sort of matter that we are. So, too, the physical book and the ink that forms the notes on the page are not the same, only the idea that is the story or the song itself. These are the things that are pure creations, things that are not made of the same stuff that we are, things that we exist entirely outside of. They are ours, they are of us, but they are also distinct from us.

The Author Becomes a Character)

However, John 1 goes on to tell us, “and the Word was made flesh.” Though the Word was uncreated, existing outside all the material universe, yet it entered into that universe. The author became a character within His own story, meeting and knowing the different protagonists and the antagonists, and influencing them along their way.

We once again have an analogue to this, for we also imbue our conceptual creations with the imprint of our own selves. For example, many authors will conceive of a story by imagining themselves in a particular situation, and then will write their own simulated words and thoughts and feelings within that context. The story itself is an idea, but the author, himself, is an idea within that idea. A love song will draw on the real-world longing and heartbreak of its composer, a conceptual reflection of the heart of the one that sings it. It has often been noted that all art is in some way an expression of its creator, which means the creator is recreated to some degree within it.

The Unknowableness of God)

But who could say that the imprint of the creator is the full creator? The story and the song capture only a single projected dimension of the creator. They do not capture the full person. They cannot. For once again, they are not made of the same stuff that the creator is made of. They cannot have his flesh, his blood, or his evolving states of mind after he first created them.

And so, too, it must be with the Word. For the Word was not a man, but the Word projected a single dimension of itself down into manhood. What we see in Jesus Christ does give us a glimpse at God, but it as flattened and narrow a view of God as the opinions and ideas in a story are a flattened and narrow view of their author.

You are right now receiving my ideas in this post, but think how much separation there is from these ideas to the actual, full me. Think of how much you still do not know about who and what and how I am. How insufficient these words would be to recreate me in the flesh. And then consider that these flat, limited ideas are to me as Jesus Christ is to God.

Thus, if you ever feel that you lack a full conception of God, is it any wonder why? We may know abstractly that He is our creator and that He is good and that He is worthy of our obedience, but none of us can really know Him at all, and we never will in this mortal life. The magnitude of God’s being is beyond incomprehensible. It could not be told in all the space and time of this entire universe because, after all, this entire universe is but an idea within His mind.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 23:27-30

27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.

28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.

30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

God continues His promises, now detailing how He will fight Israel’s wars for them, breaking down their enemies before Israel even arrives. Verse 28 promises that the Lord will even send a plague of hornets to drive them out.

As it turns out, we do not hear of the fulfillment of that prophecy in the books of scripture. It may have very well occurred, just no record of it has survived to this day. Other scholars have suggested that “hornets” may not have been meant literally, that the Lord may have just been saying He would send all manner of afflictions and plagues to wear the enemies down and drive them from the land. If this interpretation is correct, then it may be primarily a reference to the Egyptians, who would, in fact, break many of these nations in the campaigns of Ramses III.

Yet in the midst of all this dramatic conquest the Lord also shows a well-thought-out strategy. If all the enemy is driven out in a single year, the land will be ravaged by the destruction and the Israelites would have more fields than they can handle. By driving them slowly, by degrees, there would be less sudden brutality upon the land and the Israelites would be able to gradually take over those places.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 22:28

28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

This notion that the Israelites should not revile “the gods” may be surprising, since we know that they would be many times commanded to break down the groves and idols to the false gods, driving their influence out with extreme prejudice. The general consensus among scholars is that the translated word “gods” is not accurate here, and that mortal rulers and leaders were originally intended, which indeed is matched by the second half of the verse, “nor curse the ruler of thy people.”

The word that has been translated into “the gods” is elohim, which is accurately translated as “gods” throughout the rest of the Bible, but perhaps it is used here to emphasize that the priests, judges, and teachers are stand-ins for God, his representatives, the plurality of God that extends from the one. As such, their station and their mantle is to be respected as the divine, though they themselves are just men.

There is evidence that this was the original intention of this commandment in the book of Acts, chapter 23. Here, Paul is teaching to the people and the High Priest orders him to be struck on the mouth! Paul shoots back an angry retort and the people are shocked at him, pointing out that he is speaking ill of the High Priest himself! Paul immediately apologizes, explaining he did not know the man was the High Priest and that he certainly wouldn’t have said what he did if he had known. He even references this exact verse in Exodus in his apology. Thus Paul, an ancient Israelite, certainly seems to have taken this verse to be speaking about local leaders, not idolatrous gods.

Paul’s attitude, and the imperative within this verse, reflect a strong level of respect for authority, one that is hard to imagine in our culture today. To show reverence to our leaders requires great nuance. On the one hand, we must hold to our testimony of the truth, even when those in authority are misaligned and advocate for lies, yet we also need to respect those who stand imperfectly as God’s representatives. Perhaps it is the difficulty of this nuance that so often leads us to fall to one side or the other, either continuing with evil leaders no matter how low their depravity sinks, or else making open mockery and ridicule of leaders who are genuinely trying their best. The true disciple will seek a way to respect lower leaders who have gone astray, even while having their first allegiance to God and the truth.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 22:22-24

22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

The passion in God’s words is palpable in these verses! We have been hearing of laws and penalties that were to be applied by the Israelite judges, but now God is claiming judgment and retribution in this matter for Himself. The widow and the fatherless are not to be afflicted “in any wise,” and God will be actively listening for their cries of distress and punishing anyone who raises his hand against them.

As has already been noted in the rules related to the betrothal of women and the treatment of servants, God’s law shows a keen understanding of which people are in the most vulnerable of positions, and He is fiercely protective of them. In verse 24 He promises that He will raise up foreign armies to kill any Israelite men who abuse and take advantage of the widow and the fatherless.

And why would He do that? He explains it is to make the wives of those men widows, to make the children of those men fatherless. It all goes back to the principle of justice and retribution. If you would hurt or profit over those who lack a husband and father, then your own family will be made to lack a husband and father. Not only should we do unto others as we would have others do unto us, but also do unto others as we would have others do unto those under our care.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 22:10-12

10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:

11 Then shall an oath of the Lord be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.

12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.

Yesterday’s verses mentioned how a judge would have to decide between two conflicting testimonies, trying to find the truth of the matter according to his own observation and reason. Thus, there would be a human element in matters of justice, which means there would be flawed results. Surely, sometimes the guilty would be deemed innocent and set free, while the innocent would sometimes be deemed guilty and unfairly punished.

Today’s verses answer this dilemma. They state that if a man is accused of causing the death of an animal that he had on loan, that he could defend his innocence by making a solemn oath to the Lord. This appeal to the divine is the ultimate endpoint of every legal system. While we will always have lawsuits and trials where the truth cannot be verified, where lies prevail, where the wrong judgment is administered; the sense of justice yet finds its answer in the divine. If a man would make a lying oath before the Lord, then it would become the purview of the Lord to administer justice Himself. Until recently, my own country’s court system similarly required those that testified to swear on the Bible, invoking a divine oversight upon their words. From that point on, a person may yet lie and deceive, but it is most assuredly upon their own head.

Even if a man makes no formal pledge before God, it is still essential that the people believe that God still sees and knows all, and that the unresolved wrong runs contrary to His nature, and that He will make it right in this life or the next. If such were not the case, then there would be times where evil would surpass good, where lies would triumph over truth. It would mean that if one were clever and bold enough, they could wrest the universe to their will to the harm of others, and there would be no justice to ever set things right. And if that were the case, then the entire concept of law, and right and wrong, and justice, would all be vain illusions.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Basis for Following the Commandments: Summary

In this series I noted society’s progressive departure from traditional Western ethics and morality, which are founded upon the Judeo-Christian commandments. I identified three core pillars of belief that are essential for wholehearted adherence to these commandments. They were:

  1. Belief in the reality of the Judeo-Christian God
  2. Belief that the Bible contains the genuine commandments of that God
  3. Belief that those authentic commandments are essential for true happiness in life

If someone lacks any one of these testimonies, then they are not likely to be motivated to actually follow the commandments.

Review)

As we discussed, belief in the reality of the Judeo-Christian God means believing that God is real, that He is our creator, that He is benevolent, and that He is all-powerful. Put another way, we need to believe that God is someone we can actually trust. We trust Him because He is good, and the things He says are genuinely meant to bring us joy, and we trust Him because He is capable, so if He says something is for our ultimate joy He will be able to deliver on that promise.

Overlapping with that testimony is the third one, which is to believe that God’s instructions are THE BEST way to obtain happiness and purpose in our lives. So long as we think we can figure out a better plan than God’s we will hold ourselves back from His law. To have this testimony means that we trust in Him more than anything else, even more than we trust in ourselves. It means that His word carries greater weight than any other.

Finally, even if we believe that God is real, and that His word carries greater weight than any other, we still need to know what those words are. To follow the commandments we have to believe that the Bible is genuine scripture, divine words that originated from that real and trusted God. Without this testimony, one is left to operate only on the direct whispers of God to our own heart, which I believe for most of us occurs less frequently than the number of times we need guidance in our lives. At some point we need to adopt principles on faith, and one must have a testimony in the Biblical commandments to follow them

Cultivating Testimony)

Some people seem to come by these three pillars of testimony naturally. Their inner core is already perfectly aligned with each tenet and they accept and live the ethical principles of Christianity without struggle.

But I believe that is not the case for most of us. I believe that most of us do not naturally have all three of the core beliefs mentioned here. Maybe we have one, maybe two, maybe none of them at all. However, not naturally having all three pillars of belief does not mean that we should just abandon the Christian ethic. It turns out that most testimonies do not come before the trying of the law, but after. Most of us don’t know what we believe until we live it. Either we try the right thing and then become convinced that it is right, or we try the wrong thing and then become convinced that it is wrong.

So if you lack any or all of the core pillars mentioned above, I would implore you to not give up on their ideas, but to put them to the test. Pause and think what sort of life you might live if you did already believe in them all, and then try living that way for a time. See whether you find a greater sense of wholeness, peace, and joy from that lifestyle or not.

I don’t want to extend this study long enough to lay out the evidence for the following assertions, but perhaps I will do so at another time. The Christian ethic has been the bedrock of Western civilization, and has brought greater innovation, illumination, and relief into the world than any other thing. It would be naive and foolish to discard it without ever giving it serious consideration and experimentation. If it has uplifted so many billions, it really might lift you as well. Certainly it has done so for me.