Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:16-19

16 The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,

17 The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court,

18 The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords,

19 The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office.

Yesterday we got the first half of Moses listing out everything for the tabernacle and now we get the second half. As I said yesterday, the scope and grandeur of God’s idea for worship far surpasses the Israelite concept of a single golden calf.

Not only was God’s vision better in terms of size and decoration, but He also asked much more from the people in terms of expertise and craft. Presumably the golden calf had required the work of some skilled metalworker, but so far as we know, no special consideration after that. God’s vision required entire teams of metalworkers, woodworkers, needleworkers, and perfumers.

And that would just be for the initial labor. Then, after the place was finished, there would have to be a special priest class forever devoted to the management of the worship practice. Bread would have to be cooked, lamps trimmed, animals slaughtered and for the golden calf as well, but I assume it was on a much smaller scale given the simplicity of its subject.

Even today we seek idols that require less from us than the Lord. We want to work just enough to buy our vanities, without caring whether we are building something that actually matters. We want to virtue signal for social acceptance, without ever taking a position against majority wrong. We want to gain notoriety for doing something flashy before all the world, without doing good deeds that no one will see.

God does not call for a one-time or transactional effort from us. He calls us to become His hands, to do His labor, and to live His life. He was asking His chosen people not only to give their riches or temporary labor. He was asking them to give their whole selves to this worship. Previously, the people had a golden calf, but now they would be disciples of the Lord.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:10-15

10 And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded;

11 The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets,

12 The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering,

13 The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread,

14 The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,

15 And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,

Moses speeds through each of the elements required for the tabernacle. Seeing how long this takes to summarize highlights how involved of a project this is going to be. Today we are only looking at the first half of the list, which includes the body of the tabernacle itself and all of its interior.

What stands out to me is just how much grander the vision of God is than that of man. When Israel longed for objects of worship, they were willing to content themselves with a single golden calf. Now look at how much more structure, and effort, and riches, and beauty there is in God’s vision for where they would worship! A mercy seat, a house for it to rest in, two altars, a golden lampstand, a table, an outer courtyard, priestly robes, incense and perfume!

Today I believe this pattern continues when consider the objects of our devotion. When we choose our own, we settle for relatively cheap and easy things. Money, fame, social acceptance, and hedonistic pleasure. These are paltry when compared to the deep and abiding ambitions of the godly life: family, dignity, eternal purpose, and contentment of the soul. What the Lord has in store for us doesn’t come cheap. It asks so much more of us, but also it gives us so much more.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:4-9

4 And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying,

5 Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord; gold, and silver, and brass,

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

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

8 And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,

9 And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

We have had verses that show God reinstated instructions from the time Israel was led out of Egypt and from the time Moses first ascended Mount Sinai, and today we see instructions repeated from the second ascension also. Thus, every major period of lawgiving has been touched in these verses, which I believe is meant to represent that all of the commandments from all of these periods were re-established.

What we specifically see repeated today is the invitation for the Israelites to donate their precious materials for the building of the tabernacle. Once again, this is to be a voluntary offering, only from those who can afford it and are moved to do so, not a general requirement for all.

We, the readers, are already familiar with these instructions, but so far as we know this is the first time that the Israelites heard them, given that Moses previously broke the tablets when he saw their idolatry. I wonder how the Israelites felt, being asked to give gold for the crafting of the tabernacle, when they had just previously given gold to the creation of their shameful idol. Perhaps they saw this as an awkward reminder, or perhaps as an opportunity for redemption.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:1-3

1 And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the Lord hath commanded, that ye should do them.

2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

These first three verses are a continuation of God’s laws being extended anew to Israel. God had repeated the sabbath day commandment to Moses in the mountain, and now Moses repeated it to the people.

Interestingly, this description of the commandment contains a detail that we haven’t seen before: that the Israelites are not to light a fire on the sabbath day. Other scholars have noted that while this requirement was not explicit in our previous records, it was implied by Exodus 16:23’s instruction that the people cook their double-portion of manna on the day prior and use the extra for the sabbath.

We have already discussed how the sabbath day commandments prohibit the performance of “work” in terms of pursuing one’s livelihood, but this extra restriction seems to suggest that even household labor, such as cooking, was meant to be avoided. One has to wonder just how far this expectation extended. Would a person really be expected to go through the day without performing a single household chore? Not even to pick something up off the floor and put it away? Or was this restriction only meant to apply to more strenuous activity, since lighting a fire was much more difficult then than today’s turning a knob on today’s appliances?

Suffice it to say that there are opinions and interpretations up and down the spectrum on this matter. The fact is, it seems doubtful that we have anywhere in the Old Testament the full transcript of the Lord’s commands, nor the commentary of the day that would explain whether these were eternal laws or contextual ones only. Moses was in the mountain for a full forty days, so there is definitely room for him to have received much more exhaustive detail than what we have today. Today we must depend on our own conscience, good intentions, and any divine whisperings to decide what specifications still apply to us in our age.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Is it Weak to be Meek?

“Blessed are the meek,” Jesus taught, “for they shall inherit the earth.” I have heard several Christians discuss this passage, and they often take time to explain that meekness should not be associated with weakness, as the two mean different things.

It is true that the words have different meanings and shouldn’t be used as synonyms, but obviously there is a reason why the two are often associated with one another. Meekness, as well as other submissive qualities like humility and obedience, are indeed traits that are often found among the weak. Young children come to mind in particular. They are small and lacking in power, so they are required to be meek and submissive, because the will of the adults is imposed on them whether they want it or not.

Then, as they grow, children gain their own power. Resisting the will of others, and even of imposing their own, become viable options. Having gained this power, most people never want to go back to that state of being beholden to others.

However, just because we have enough power to make our own rules for ourselves, doesn’t mean that we should. Jesus called on us “to become as little children,” and showed an example of giving up his will for that of the Father. Jesus wasn’t calling on us to become weak again, though. It was a call to become submissive even though we have our own strength. Unlike a child, meekness, humility, obedience, and submission become a choice for us now, rather than the default way of being. We are not weak, but we place our strength upon the altar and become as though we were weak, complying with the Lord’s will even when it differs from our own.

Now I have been saying that when we become adults, we finally possess our own power, but that’s only relatively speaking. When we get to the other side, I’m sure we will recognize how truly insignificant and powerless we were even as adults in the broader scheme of things. God gives us the illusion of control now so that the quality of our character can be tested before we would be conferred with any real power in the hereafter. Meekness, even in strength, is essential to using our strength correctly.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Tempted by Glory, Frightened by Pain

After his baptism, Jesus was led into the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days and nights in preparation for his earthly ministry. It was in that vulnerable state that Satan met him and presented to Jesus a series of three temptations. First, Satan suggested that Jesus should turn rocks into bread to satiate his hunger, then to prove his divine sonship by leaping off a building so that angels might catch him, and finally to receive all the kingdoms of the world as a reward if he would worship Satan.

We say that these were the temptations of Jesus, but it isn’t specified whether he was actually tempted by any of them. In the records that we have, Jesus seems to dismiss each offer without any trouble.

At their core, each of these temptations has to do with worldly pleasure and glory. The pleasure of satiating one’s appetites, the glory of receiving the honor of others, the glory of dominating the world. Jesus was given temptations of glory, but these might have had little sway on him.

But temptations of glory are not the only foe that must be overcome. Satan also influences mankind by our fear of pain. Fear of being an outcast, of being punished, of even being killed. Jesus was subjected to these also when he bore the sins and pains of the world, was betrayed by his own people, and condemned to a torturous death. Here, Jesus actually did seem to have been tempted to turn from his calling.

At the point of embarking on that great sacrificial journey he prayed, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me” (Luke 22:42). Not only this, but near the end of his suffering he exclaimed, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus had been impervious to glory, but clearly not to despair. This does not surprise me. I believe that fear has more power over all of us than offers of glory.

Of course, it is important to note that feelings of fear and despondency do not, in and of themselves, constitute a sin, though they can ruin us depending on our reaction to them. In both cases, we must note that Jesus prevailed. In the first, he followed his desire for the cup to be removed with, “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” In the latter, even though he felt abandoned by his Father, still he showed continuing trust in Him with his final words: “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Perhaps Jesus feared, but ultimately, he remained faithful.

Each of us will face both of these challenges in life, and at one point or another succumb to them. We will compromise ourselves for the glory of others, or we will shrink from our responsibility because we are crippled by fear. Knowing that these are the strategies of Satan, we can prepare ourselves to weather them as best we can, and when at times we inevitably fail, we can turn for help to the one that never did.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 34:33-35

33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

34 But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.

35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

This chapter finishes by returning to the matter of Moses’s shining face. Because of the discomfort that his radiance caused the people, Moses wore a veil covering his face while in their presence. When he would go in to the Lord, he took the veil off, but when he came back out to the people, he covered its brightness.

I do not think we have enough of a description to understand why a shining face would have been distressing and not attractive to the people. Apparently, the effect went beyond an amusing novelty to something challenging to behold.

This is an excellent demonstration of why we live today at a distance from God. If Moses’s shining face was already too much for the people, how much more the full glory of the Almighty? It is for our own benefit that He has veiled Himself from us, speaking through indirect means, to try and prepare us for His coming. When He returns again in His majesty, He will have a purifying aura before Him, so powerful that the unworthy will not survive it. We should be careful about seeking glory that we are not ready for, and ought to be grateful for the time we have to prepare.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 34:31-32

31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.

32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai.

Just as God had given the commandments anew to Moses, Moses gave them anew to all of Israel. And, to their credit, this time the Israelites had not become restless and gone astray. The previous time Moses had been gone for forty days and nights, that was long enough for them to be unsure of his fate, and to demand that they be led by someone (or something) new.

It occurs to me that maybe the reason that Israel went astray was not so much that they thirsted for sin as that they could not tolerate the silence. As the Preacher observed in Proverbs 29:18, “where there is no vision, the people perish.” So long as Moses and the word of God was present, the people knew what they were following and what they were about. But when there was no voice for a time, no vision before them, then perhaps the Israelites were anxious to be led by something, even if it wasn’t the right thing.

We do the same thing today. Yes, we have the word of God with us, but many of us crave direct communion. We miss our savior, and we want him to return to dwell with us personally. But first we have a long time down here on our own, and many of us crave direction so much that we are tempted by the voices of society’s whims, just for the comfort of following something close and near. A great test for the Israelites, and for all of us, is whether we will hold the first instruction through the long dark while we wait for the next. Yes, we can follow, but can we also wait?

Israel had not been able to the first time around, and as part of their reunification with God they were given this chance to try again. Being able to succeed where they had before failed was the true measure of their growth and change.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 34:29-30

29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, it seems that Moses must have been somewhat transfigured to survive 40 days and nights in the top of the mountain without even water. And so, it is understandable that when he descended back down to the people his face was shining, such that people were too afraid to even approach him. Moses may have been back among the common man, but the glory of God still burned within him.

While I certainly have never been transfigured like this, I am well aware of the glow within the soul that follows a period of deep spiritual connection. It is unquestionably the best that I have ever felt, and it can continue for days after the original experience. I’ve never had that flush last forever, but there have been personal changes made in that time which have continued with me to this day (including the writing of this blog). While we are not told whether Moses’s face ever returned to normal, my assumption would be that after some time it did.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 34:27-28

27 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.

28 And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

We heard a few of the commandments that the Lord reinstated to Moses, but now we are told that the two remained in communion for another forty days and nights. Given that duration, it seems entirely plausible that every single commandment that the Lord had given thus far, from when the Israelites first left Egypt to the time Most first ascended Mount Sinai to the time he ascended it the second time, were all included in this restoration of God’s law. All of the commandments around the feast days, and surrounding betrothal and marriage, and the management of servants, and the ten commandments, and the structure of the tabernacle, and the process for each sacrifice, all of it. In fact, verse 28 specifically calls out the ten commandments as being one of those things that was communicated, even though we do not have the full transcription of that here, so it stands to reason that all these others might have been as well.

How Moses was sustained for forty days and nights without even water is a wonder, and I must assume that there was some sort of divine intervention there. I wonder if he was being nourished by the spirit, and whether partaking of the food and drink of our fallen world would have made him unfit to remain in the presence of the Lord. Indeed, we will see in the following verses that he really was somewhat transfigured during his time in the mountain, and that it altered his very appearance.