Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 25:17-21

17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.

20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

We heard already of the body, the poles, and the interior of the ark, today we hear about the lid that will go on top of it all. It is to feature two golden statues of cherubs, with wings extended over the whole thing. Traditionally their wingtips are often depicted as having touched, though that requirement is not specifically called for in these verses.

I spent some time trying to research why the lid is being called “the mercy seat,” as it doesn’t seem to be describing a traditional sort of seat at all. From my study I found the following possible explanations (perhaps there are more):

  1. The ark as a whole was meant to be seen as the throne of God. Who knows, perhaps the angle of the cherubim’s wings even formed a seat and a back. Thus, approaching the ark was approaching God’s throne, and it would occur within the tabernacle, whose primary function was to facilitate the forgiveness and realignment of God’s people. Thus this was a throne, and one of mercy, not of punishment.
  2. It does not mean “seat” as something that you sit upon, but as the core or origin of something, like how we say that the government is “the seat of power” in the land. The ark of the covenant was the origin of mercy for God’s people, therefore the “seat of mercy,” or “mercy seat.”
  3. The name “mercy seat” is merely an artistic choice by the translators of the King James Bible, and not necessarily the most fitting for our modern vernacular.
    The original word here, כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporeth), really means “propitiation,” or “atonement,” which is the act of accounting for the sins of the people so that they can be restored to their God. The word has at its root כָּפַר (kaphar) and כֹּפֶר (kopher), which mean “to cover over, pacify,” and “the ransom for a life” respectively. Thus, there is a notion of atoning, covering, and ransoming. Many other translations utilize those words, calling it something like an “atonement cover” (NIV) instead of a “mercy seat.”

I can’t help but note the special pun that exists in the English translation. The top of the ark is functionally a lid, which can also be called a cover, but it is described symbolically as an atonement/ransom, which is to cover the sins of the people. Perhaps this isn’t a pun, but baked into the etymology of the word. I do not know enough to identify whether there is any common root in Hebrew that would apply to both a “lid” and an “atonement,” such as we have in the English word “cover,” but perhaps there is a connection which bled its way into our modern English. Perhaps it is deliberate that the top of the box is both a lid and a sign of atonement, because in both senses it covers.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 25:16

16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.

Yesterday we discussed the materials and design of the ark of the covenant, and I said that I saw in it a symbolism of structured order overlaid with natural, pure beauty. Today we learn that the words of God’s law, the testimony that He had been delivering to Moses, would be the first items to be housed within the ark. Eventually other spiritual relics would be kept there as well, such as Moses’s staff and a jar of manna.

Thus, the words and signs of God are the elements housed within His structure and His beauty. One could view this from the outside in: The order and beauty of God are protecting His inner word, or from the inside out: God’s word is the beating heart within the body of His order and beauty.

With the outer body and the inner word, we are almost finished with the description of the ark. There yet remains one part: the lid that sits on top of it all. We’ll examine that portion next time.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 25:10-15

10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.

12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.

13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.

15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.

The first thing the Lord details for the tabernacle is the Ark of the Covenant that will be housed there. He gives precise measurements for its dimensions and dictates the materials that it will be made of. The body of the box and the staves will be made of shittim wood, which will then be covered in a layer of gold. The rings and the crown of the box will also be fashioned of pure gold.

Shittim wood is described as being strong and sturdy, close-grained and dense. Gold is a precious metal that is also a single chemical element, not a compound of different materials. Thus, the ark will have a structure of strength and resilience, carved to precise specifications. And over that precise structure shall be a layer of pure, natural beauty. There can be seen in this a representation of order being the foundation upon which beauty may thrive. This is a truth we can see repeated many times throughout our societies. A stable law provides the security for an artistic culture to thrive, a well-governed home gives its children the courage to dare, and a strong moral code is the basis for beautiful acts of charity. Order and beauty in one.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 25:8-9

8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

Now we see what the offering of riches and valuables is for: to make a tabernacle for the Lord “that he may dwell among them.” If the people were willing to consecrate their very best to God, if they would show great attention in following his building instructions exactly, if they would dedicate their time and labor to building the place, then they would be able to create a sacred place where He could reside. I believe that more important than the valuables, the attention, and the effort, is the sacrifice. What would make this place worthy of God would not be the minerals or man-hours, it would be the heart and will that had been poured into it, prioritizing this cause above all other alternatives. That was what would make this place an acceptable receptacle for the Lord’s presence.

Or, at least, it would make it acceptable for the Lord’s purifying spirit to come and sanctify the place, and then that purification would be what made the place an acceptable receptacle for the Lord’s presence. See Exodus 40:34.

It is the same with our hearts also. When we perform our acts of faith, it is the faith that matters far more than the act itself. It is not what we sacrifice, but that we sacrifice. And the offerings of time and effort that we make to the Lord do not make us worthy of His name, but it does invite His spirit to come and sanctify our hearts so that then we are worthy of His name.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 25:3-7

3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,

4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,

5 And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood,

6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,

7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.

God had just offered the Israelites the opportunity to make an optional offering, and today we learn it was to be an offering of all the valuables of the world. Precious metals, stones, cloths, animal skins, wood, oil, and spices. Some of these things are precious for symbolic reasons, such as gold which is a pure metal and does not mix with other alloys. Some are precious for aesthetic reasons, such as spices that pleased the senses. Some are precious for their rarity, such as purple cloth, which was a notoriously difficult color to get dye for.

The people are being asked to give that which is rare, functional, beautiful, and symbolic. Of course, in many cases the value of these things is arbitrary. Whatever man decides to assign his greatest value to, those are the same things that he must be willing to part with. Gold is not required because it has great value to God, but because it has great value to man.

And why must man be willing to part with the things of greatest value? Because that is how we show what our highest ideal is. If we don’t give the most to God, then He isn’t actually our highest ideal. If, for example, we retain the best for our own selves instead, then there is nothing more important to us than the self, which precludes any genuine worship of God. Sacrifice of our greatest riches is a necessity for us to engage in worship of the almighty, just as sacrifice of His own Beloved Son was a necessity for God to engage in condescension to us.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 25:1-2

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.

The Lord is now going to describe a different sort of offering. Sacrifices for purification and worship are mandatory for every faithful household, but the sacrifices being described here are entirely optional. The Israelite who makes this sacrifice is to give “it willingly with his heart.” And if the man can not offer it willingly, the Lord describes no punishment or penalty for him abstaining from the opportunity.

There is in our morality a basic set of laws that we are all expected to abide by. Fundamental things that we are all expected to do and not do. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, help your neighbor, be kind to one another, etc. So long as we follow these rules we are “good citizens” and “decent people.” We are living the way that society expects of us. But there is also a higher level of elective good works. Things like making a serious sacrifice to help someone in need, being willing to die for the greater good, and speaking the truth even when it harms us. We don’t necessarily have to do these things to be “decent people,” but we are considered heroes when we elect to do them anyway.

Posted on by Abe Austin

What We Are, Fundamentally- Where We Begin

Presupposition)

I have already discussed the physical-materialist view of determinism, and also the contrasting-premise-but-identical-conclusion view of fundamental chaos. I wish to say something more about that fundamental chaos view, which asserts that since the building blocks of reality—and of our own persons—are subject to random quantum mechanics, every system and decision that is built upon those transient parts must also be random and nondeliberate.

For a moment, let us assume that this theory is correct. Let us assume that all of our choices and behaviors are based upon their material composition, and that the root of that material composition is random and unpredictable.

Even then, this view presupposes that we all begin at the material. It assumes that there is nothing that comes before the random fluctuations of the quantum mechanic layer.

Back to the Metaphysical)

But who is to say what might come before the random? If you were to fall asleep in a thousand theaters, and in each one suddenly wake up in the middle of the second act of a play, the first line of dialogue that you heard would always appear to be random. But none of them actually would be random, they would be the continued thrust of all the unseen moments that came before.

From the metaphysical view, where the material world begins is the same as suddenly gaining consciousness in the middle of the play. Who is to say that there is not an imperceptible spirit whose invisible choices travel through the spiritual realm and then continue their thrust into the material world via quantum mechanics? And the quantum mechanics only seem random because we cannot see all the parts of the play that came before.

If we ever are certain that we have found the true root of the material, that still does not mean we have necessarily found the root of being. Indeed, the more our understanding of the material leads us to conclusions that defy our basic perceptions, such as humanity being all preprogrammed or humanity being all chaotic, the more it seems apparent that the material is not telling us the entire story. The more we know of the physical world the more it seems incapable of aligning with reality by itself. It continually and increasingly becomes apparent that there is something immaterial at play as well.

With that, I will end my examination on these matters for now, though I won’t be surprised if I return to them at some later date.

Posted on by Abe Austin

What We Are, Fundamentally- Chaotic Nature

Competing Nihilism)

I have already criticized the logic of the determinist in my previous posts. Today I will continue by introducing an alternative view that emerges from the same physical-materialist foundation, but which comes to an opposite conclusion.

The determinist, as already discussed, concludes that there is no free will or metaphysical reality because they assume that the environment, stimulus, and reaction are all part of a biochemical closed loop. Because every aspect is controlled, all behaviors are entirely predictable, if only one could measure all of the participating factors.

However there is another argument that also concludes that there is no free will, but by arguing that our material nature is nothing put pure, unpredictable chaos. This notion is based on the observation that our most fundamental components—protons, electrons, leptons, and quarks—seem to be subject to random quantum mechanics. If the lowest level of our material trembles between random states of reality, then how can we claim that everything built up from them, including ourselves, could act in a way that is deliberate, conscious, and chosen?

Both these viewpoints go to great lengths to deny the reality of human choice, but by totally opposite means. On the one hand humans are rigid, fixed machines that only act and react according to predictable programming, on the other hand humans are unpredictable, wild, and chaotic, whose behaviors have nothing to do with thought or reason.

Consistent Inconsistency)

As with determinism, this chaotic view once again defies our basic experience. Perhaps the chaotic view seems to provide a solution for why our behaviors are not totally ordered, but it raises an even bigger problem for why our behaviors aren’t totally chaotic either. Sometimes we do keep to plans, we do hold to our word, and we do follow through. And sometimes we maintain that reliability our whole lives long. How do we have these consistent streaks if at our beginnings is nothing but chaotic noise?

Our own experience balks at the idea that we are either totally predetermined or totally chaotic. These arguments sound intelligent because they take a long time to explain, but they are each childish in their lack of nuance. Their complexity does not bring life into sharper understanding, they try to flatten it into an over-simplistic single dimension.

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools- Romans 1:22

Posted on by Abe Austin

What We Are, Fundamentally- The Result of Determinism

Determinism Again)

Yesterday I spoke of the physical-materialist theory of determinism, which maintains that all of our behaviors and “choices” are actually predetermined programming. The stimuli to our senses come from an environment that we cannot control, and our reactions to those stimuli are dictated by the preset mapping of the synapses within our brains.

Input + Function = Output, and because the Input and the Function are controlled, so is the Output.

Free will and control are only illusions that arise from the fact that the environment and the brain mapping are so complex that we cannot predict the outcomes before they occur. But just because we mortals can’t predict those outcomes, doesn’t mean that they aren’t predestined. The things that we do are simply the things that we were always going to do.

Moral License)

If this theory is true, though, then I cannot be responsible for anything that I do. I might feel as though I make my own choices, that I wrestle between decisions, but that’s simply my computer-brain evaluating between two programmed priorities, until it finally settles on the option that its biological algorithms were pre-weighted towards. I was always going to come to the conclusion that I was going to come to, and I am no more responsible for coming to that conclusion than a domino is guilty of falling when pushed.

Thus, if I decide to kill another person, there was no alternative to that outcome. There was no option for me to have chosen otherwise. I might have chosen differently if I had been born to a different environment, or if I had a different composition of the brain, but the function and the parameters were already set, and so I simply had to give the only possible output: murder.

And if I were to go around proselyting for this worldview, and the logic of it were to incite a person to decide there was no morality and that he truly was permitted to do anything and none of it would be his fault, and if he were to then go out and planted bombs that killed hundreds of innocent schoolchildren, well it couldn’t be helped because his mind was already such as to take the input of my words and derive those predestined conclusions. And it couldn’t be helped that I inspired him to do those things, because I was also predestined to make those arguments. And though it may appear to the outside world that I had influence and he had choice, even though everything in our natural perception and experience screams at us that such is the case, it would all be a lie and an illusion. The creation of that terrible, bloody would have been necessary and unavoidable.

Common Sense)

The horrifying conclusions of determinism are reason enough to reject it, but even more important than the unacceptable nature of its ends is the fact that it defies so much of our common sense that we have to conclude it isn’t true. Like I said in the last paragraph, everything in our natural perception and reason tells us that we actually do choose what we do, and that the evil are guilty, and that people can decide whether to live as good or evil.

Determinism asks for an even greater level of blind faith than any system of religious morality. It not only asks us to trust its claims, but to do so against all of our perception and reason. It asks us to deny the apparent and obvious reality to accept an unprovable and theoretical one. Everything natural and instinctive about us protests that is a lie, and that would explain why its ends are so horrific and destructive. A reality based upon a lie can only end in obliteration, for a lie is the inversion of reality.