March 2-6

When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightening and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”

Exodus 10:22-26

Hope you got your mountain-climbing shoes on, because we are going to be up and down this rocky slope a time or two this week. How different was the people’s response to God’s manifestation on Mt. Sinai than Moses’. They would much rather be told what God said, than hear His voice for themselves. The closer they got to God, the more they perceived that He was not a being to be trifled with. Moses had come to know that YHWH, although He could be severe, was very patient and long-suffering. As we have already seen, Moses had argued with God on more than one occasion and lived to tell about it. But the children of Israel had seen enough of God’s wrath poured out on the Egyptians who blatantly rejected Him that they weren’t going to take any chances. Unfortunately, when Moses wasn’t there every minute to tell them what God was saying, they quickly forgot the powerful sight they had witnesses and influenced Aaron to give them a god that they could touch and feel. They were eager to worship something they were familiar with and the golden calf fit the bill. Aaron tried to legitimize the whole mess by saying, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord, YHWH!” Did I hear him right?!?!? Did he just give this lifeless, spiritless, soulless piece of metal God’s covenant name? YIKES!!!!!!!!! When God says He is merciful, patient and longsuffering He certainly has every right to claim them as His attributes.

We may want to stand back and look at the Israelites and wonder at their unfaithfulness. How could they so quickly turn from the powerful God they just witnessed and feared forty days earlier? But reality is, when the smoke cleared, the miracles stopped, the hype was gone and they weren’t hearing God’s voice for themselves, it was easy to forget who had delivered them. Isn’t that what happened in the Garden of Eden? As long Adam and Eve heard God’s voice and walked with Him in the “cool of the day,” “the spirit of light, or revelation” they remained true to Him. But when God wasn’t there and another voice clouded their reasoning, they quickly fell. For Moses, hearing God’s voice was not just a periodic ritual; it was a way of life. And Joshua, although he didn’t always understand everything he saw and heard, yet he was protected from the influence of evil as he waited for Moses on the mountain in the presence of God. My prayer is that these “Through The Bible” journeys that we take together, will cause us to experience God’s presence in our lives on an everyday basis. That we know the One we call God and are careful not to fashion Him into what we want Him to be, into an image different than who He is.

While the people were down in the camp, forgetting the promise they had just made, “All that YHWH has spoken, we will do,” Moses was in the mountain receiving instructions to lead them. As we listen in on the words God speaks to Moses, pay special attention to the conditions God put on the promise of His blessing. “You must serve only the Lord your God. IF YOU DO, I will bless you …” How ironic!!! Although God spoke about several topics to Moses, the one that takes the greatest amount of ink to relay is the pattern of the Tabernacle. So many details!!! God told Moses to be careful that he constructed it exactly as God revealed it to him on the mountain. But why is every detail so important; why must it be built so precisely?

Since we are going to be spending so much time with the Israelites in the wilderness and the Tabernacle, we would be wise to become familiar with it. The Tabernacle is far more than an elaborate tent. To understand the heart of the Tabernacle, we need look at Revelation 21:3 (emphasis mine):

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold the tabernacle of God is among men AND HE shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them.

This becomes even clearer when we add II Corinthians 5:1 & 4 to the equation:

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Through Paul, the Spirit of God refers to our body as a tent. When John received the Revelation, he saw a tent, a tabernacle coming down from heaven. Then he refers to the tent as “He.” Hopefully, you are connecting the dots! The Tabernacle in the wilderness is an allegoric representation of Christ Himself! No wonder it is filled with such detail! Each piece of furniture holds a description of a part of who Jesus is. To understand His mind, look at the Ark of the Covenant, to understand His heart, look at the Altar of Incense. His left hand is represented by the Table of Bread, while His right hand is understood through the Lampstand. His loins include the place from which life issues and the lower back, the place of a man’s strength. And if you want to gain greater insight of Jesus’ walk, look at the Brazen Altar with its sacrifice and stripping away of the flesh on a daily basis. (See diagram below.) There is more than a lifetime of study in the Tabernacle!!! Believe me, I know!!!!!!!!!!! As a result, every detail has meaning, so take your time and savor the words. There is no way we will glean all that is hidden in them, but at least we can get the pattern ingrained in our thoughts. We will be seeing this patter over and over for the next couple of weeks. Then, as we continue our journey with Israel, we will continually see glimpses of the Tabernacle, even when we cross over the Jordan into the Promised Land.

There is a great web site that has beautiful pictures of a full-scale model of the Tabernacle. It is located in the desert near Eilat, which is in the southern part of Israel. It is well worth checking out! http://www.bibleplaces.com/tabernacle.htm

I always enjoy stopping by and visiting Bezalel as I journey through the Word. Being a bit of an artist and a crafty kind of person (in the creative sense), I am always struck by the fact that Bezalel’s creativity was a gift of God. He is a real inspiration to all of us. He was a man whose gift brought God glory. He wasn’t a teacher or a preacher; he was an artisan. He was able to take words and concepts and fashion them in such a way that, what God saw in His mind became evident to all who beheld his work. Creativity will always be a characteristic of YHWH. What Moses became to the people of God through words, Bezalel was with artistic creation. As we journey on, we will have more time to admire Bezalel’s handiwork under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Whew! So much to see!!! So much to learn!!! God, how I love this place, but I’d better keep us moving or I may camp here longer than I should. Like the fragrance of the orange blossoms that fills our desert air at this time of year, may the unseen truths held in these passages intoxicate you with the knowledge that great revelation awaits those who will spend time in God’s presence on a daily basis. Enjoy the journey!

CHRIST IN THE TABERNACLE

*****

WEEKLY QUESTIONS

Monday – On whom does God promise to lavish with His unfailing love?

Tuesday – What are the three annual feasts that God told the Israelites to observe?

Wednesday – How many articles of clothing made up Aaron’s priestly garments?

Thursday – Three pieces of Aaron’s garments had writing on them. Which ones were they and what was the purpose for each one?

Friday – We know what the golden calf was made of, but what was it made from?


Here's a map to aid us through our journey with the Israelites in the wilderness. You will need to enlarge it, or get a mighty powerful magnifying glass!

February 23-27

“Let My people go so they can worship Me in the wilderness”








What is that he said? Did he just say, “No” to God again?!? Yep! That’s what I heard! Here God is, sending Moses to deliver His people, but before He can do that, He has to deliver Moses!!! Obviously, Moses can’t get over himself and his failures! He is chained to his past, which is making it quite difficult for him in the present. When Luke wrote the book of Acts under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we get a greater insight into Moses’ problem.

And Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians and he was a man of power in words and deeds. But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him; but they did not understand. (Luke 7:22-25) (Emphasis mine)

We have a tendency to think that Moses experienced the call of God to be the deliverer of His people when he was on the backside of the desert. But reality is, Moses knew it before he ever fled Egypt. The problem was that he “was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians.” That was no small accomplishment! Men of his stature would have had to become familiar with more than thirty languages. That’s quite shocking for most Americans who have a hard enough time learning one!!! The pursuit of knowledge and academics was always a chief concern of the Egyptians. Not only was Moses well learned, we are also told that he was powerful in “words and deeds.” You’d sure find that difficult to believe when you listen to him arguing with God. Two times we hear Moses tell God that he is not a good speaker. You may remember when God first appeared to him in the desert, Moses told God, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though You have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” Literally, what he said was, “I have a heavy tongue.” Now God has gotten him as far as Egypt, which was no small feat! God is about to send him on his first face-to-face encounter with Pharaoh, and all Moses can say is, “I can’t do it! I’m such a clumsy speaker!” Oy vey!!! What’s with this guy? Once again, the literal interpretation of what he said is, “I have uncircumcised lips!” In Leviticus, God tells the people to circumcise their hearts. God says through Jeremiah that the people are unable to hear what He has to say because they have uncircumcised ears. (Jeremiah 6:10) This may sound strange to our western ears, but to the oriental way of thinking, it made all kinds of sense.

If something is uncircumcised, it has not had the foreskin removed. In Hebrew, the word for foreskin is “orlah.” It is used for things that stand in the way of a beneficial result. Therefore, for the first three years of a tree, the fruit is called “orlah” because, according to the law, it cannot be eaten. An unrepentant heart is covered with “orlah.” The “orlah” over ones ears causes them to be unable to hear God. In other words, something is standing in the way of the beneficial result God intended.

But what is it that is standing in Moses’ way? Before he ever killed the Egyptian when he was forty, Moses knew he had been rescued from the Nile and raised in Pharaoh’s household so that he could deliver his people. But somehow Moses got it in his mind that his powers would come through what Egypt afforded him. His education in Egypt, his status, his power with words, were attributes he had put his trust in. Little did he know of the God of the Hebrews. Moses had come to rely on all that Egypt had given him, and God had to completely strip him. When God commissioned Moses to go and confront Pharaoh, the most powerful man on the earth, Moses had a difficult time understanding how 40 years of shepherding could have ever prepared him for the courts of the Pharaoh! Moses’ inability to speak came from the foreskin of flesh that clouded his understanding. From the time God met Moses in the desert, until he arrived in Egypt, Moses kept telling God what he was incapable of doing. God’s response was constantly reiterating what He could and would do. What was the “orlah” that stood in Moses’ way? He struggled with “I” trouble!

As we begin our week’s journey, we cover some familiar territory, but how well do we really know this path? Let me ask you a few questions and test your knowledge on this familiar “well-known” story.

Whose rod was cast down before Pharaoh and became a serpent?
Whose rod was used to strike the Nile when God turned it to blood?
Which plagues were ushered in without using the rod at all?
Which plagues affected Goshen and which ones did not?
Which plagues could the magicians duplicate?
What is it that the magicians could never do?
How many times did Pharaoh say he would let them go and then change his mind?
How many times did Aaron speak to Pharaoh and how many times did Moses speak?
Which plagues caused Pharaoh’s knees to buckle?

To help you glean a bit more from this familiar passage, I am sending out a chart to all registered journeyers that will aid you in dissecting this information. It will be in a “Word” document so that you can fill it in on your computer if you’d like. I will also put a copy on this entry for those who are stealthily journeying with us. That way, you can get an idea of how of what I’m suggesting. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to bring it up as a Word document and won’t be able to use it on your computer. I have a feeling that we will all discover we don’t know this story as much as we think we do!

This week is filled with lots of action. So many paths we could take! So much we could see!!! May God light your path as you continue your road of discovery!!!

***


QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK
Monday – The plagues chart (see below)

Tuesday – What crops did the hail ruin?

Wednesday –
1. When was the yearly ritual of Passover to begin?
2. Who took the bones of Joseph when they left Egypt?

Thursday
1. How much many was put in the jar that was eventually placed in the Ark of the Covenant?
2. Why is that amount significant?

Friday
1. Who led the army against the Amalekites?
2. What is extremely interesting about God’s instructions to Moses in Exodus 19:21-22?


Note: You can double click or right click on the chart and save it as an image.

February 16-20

"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?"








"Who kept the sea inside its boundaries?"









"Have you ever commanded the morning to appear?"









"Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?"









"Where does light come from?"







"Have you visited the storehouses of the snow?"








"Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground?"









"Does the rain have a father?"









"Can you direct the movement of the stars?"









"Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?"





"Or maybe you'd like to discuss My wisdom, ingenuity and creativity when I made the animals?"



















They say that a picture is worth a thousand words! If so, I just spared myself from having to write 14,000 of them. Let's just take a moment to sit down and consider all that God's hand has made. Our images today do not scratch the surface of revealing the beauty and diversity of His creation! If I were to direct your attention to the flowers, the mountains, the woods, the deserts, rivers and springs, what color, what majesty, what beauty would our eyes take in? As I consider some of the sites to have you fix your gaze on, I realized that this tiny blog couldn't begin to cause you to fathom God's creativeness. No wonder Job's response was, "I am nothing - how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say."

Elihu had given Job some excellent advice that, if he had heeded it before his accusations of God's lack of wisdom and judgment, he would not have had to retract his words. Elihu advises Job that, instead of accusing God of doing wrong, "Glorify His mighty works, singing songs of praise!" What great words of wisdom!!! Obviously, the apostle Paul knew the power of that advice and hundreds of years later; he lived by those words. When he found himself in difficult situations, he never asked, "Why?" He simply lifted his voice and glorified God! When he cried out for God to take away his thorn in the flesh and God responded with the fact that it was there for a reason, Paul determined to give God praise and glorify Him in his weakness. Yep, Paul understood the power of praise!

Don't you find it interesting that God did not come and speak to Job until after Elihu spoke? It reminds me of John the Baptist; he was a voice in the wilderness that prepared the way of the Lord! I can recall many times in my life when God has sent someone to me who had a word that opened my ears and softened my heart to hear God's voice. Sometimes He will speak through a messenger, sometimes through a friends, and sometimes He will even use an adversary! Often it is a remark that means nothing to anyone else, but it has been an arrow to my heart. Only then, was I able to hear the voice of the Lord! Come to think of it, it just happened in the last two weeks!!!

What an experience Job had. He ends his conversation with God by saying, "I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes." Wow!!!! What and awesome experience!!!!!!! Although his revelation of God came at a high price tag, it came! We end our time with Job with some sobering questions; what is a revelation of God worth to us? How badly do we want to see Him face to face? These are questions that only God really knows the answer, because He is the One who knows our hearts. We may think we do, but "the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked! Do we dare ask Him to reveal ours to us?

*******

On Thursday, we pick up a new road map and start our trek through Exodus. For some, this is familiar territory, but it is always an exciting adventure.

I won't spend a great deal of time laying out the trail map for Thursday and Friday, but I do want you to look through my spiritual binoculars and focus on one area. Do you see that burning bush over there? God is speaking to Moses, while Moses is arguing with God. Sigh!!! Moses is asking God to give him His name. Up until now, they have known God by his title Elohim. Now God reveals His covenant name YHWH. (The four letters are a transliteration of the four Hebrew letters that constitute God's name. Unfortunately, I can't put the Hebrew characters on this blog site.) God says that this is His eternal name! That brings about a very intriguing fact about the letters that make up this covenant, eternal, sacred name. The orthodox Jews feel that it is so sacred that they will not write it or speak it, except in very rare situations. Within the four letters is a hidden message for those who don't speak Hebrew - a much more vivid message to those that do! There are three Hebrew phrases that are constructed from these four letters:

HYH - these three letters make the phrase "He was."
HWH - these correspond to the phrase "He is."
YHYH - these equal "He will be."

And His eternal name is YHWH! We do not worship a God of the past, although He existed in the past. We do not worship a God who is only concerned with today, although He is there for us today. He is not a God that is only in the future, yet He has already determined what will happen in the days to come. He is the "I Am." He is the God who exists, in every generation, in every circumstance, with all power and ability to meet every situation!!! What a might God we serve!!!

*****

QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK

Monday
When Elihu speaks of God sending storms, he says there are two distinct reasons why He sends them. What are the two reasons?

Tuesday
God caused Job to consider His wisdom. Do you see a progression to the topics God points out? What is this progression representative of?

Wednesday
What modern day animals come to mind when God describes the Behemoth and the Leviathan?

Thursday
Moses' father-in-law had two names. What were they? For those who want to go one step farther, what do they mean?

Friday
Before Moses left Midian, God gave him specific instructions. He told him to tell Pharaoh that Israel had a special relationship with Him. What was that relationship?

February 8-13

"I cry to You, O God,
but you don't answer.
I stand before You,
but you don't even look."
Job 30:20

Ever been in one of those places when all you can do is pray that you will see light somewhere at the end of the tunnel? Certainly Job was at that point. As we continue to sit with him and his three friends, we can sense the hopelessness of his situation. Of course we know the end of the story, so we really don't get the full effect of what it must have been like for him. Hindsight has its advantages, but it can also cloud our understanding if we only see it from a backward glance. Job didn't have our bird's eye view. He was looking at his life from the pit of despair, without understanding of how, when or why.

In spite of all Job's pain and suffering, and no matter how much he feels God has unfairly dealt with him, one thing remains constant in his life - he knows that there is a God and the last thing you want to do is quit believing in Him.

I wonder how we would bear up under the scrutiny and counsel of Job's friends. In their effort to make us soul search for some deep, dark sin that is causing such sickness and devastation, would we be tempted to start nitpicking every little flaw we can find in ourselves, hoping to find the root of the problem. Job knew he had done nothing to incur God's wrath on this level and he was not about to admit something he didn't do. As he examines his life for his gross imperfection, he can't find it. His friends keep looking for the hidden "weapons of mass destruction," but their ammunition dumps keep coming up empty. And so Job does what we all have a tendency to do when we can't find answers - he blames God!

Job's accusations that God is wrong because he is innocent, ushers in the voice of Elihu, the young man who has been sitting listening to all this. As I listen to this young man speak, I've asked myself, "What is he saying different than the other three. He certainly isn't proclaiming Job's innocence! And why does God later indict Job's three friends, while He says nothing about Elihu?" The answer is rather simple; Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar came with one aim - to uncover Job's guilt! Elihu also had only one intent - to defend God's justice!!! Elihu has no idea why Job is sitting on this ash heap, but He knows that God's wisdom and His character is just and right.

We end the week with Elihu telling Job, "Job, you deserve the maximum penalty for the wicked way you have talked. For you have added rebellion to your sin, and you speak many angry words against God." How profound are his words!!! It is quite frightening to hear the counsel of many IN THE CHRISTIAN world today. They encourage struggling individuals to express their anger toward God. "He's a big God, He can take it," they explain. If we are frustrated because God is not doing things the way that is most convenient to us, wouldn't we be far wiser to say, "Oh God, forgive me for my negative attitude. If there is one thing I know for sure, it is that You are a good God and You love me. Give me wisdom and understanding. Give me patience. Prove my character. And when I emerge from the other side of this dark tunnel, may I know You even better." Elihu may have been a young fellow, but I think his words are certainly worth taking to heart!

**********

I've had quite a number of journeyers (several of them who have not signed up as followers and probably wouldn't blog if their lives depended on it) tell me that they really enjoyed the questions I posted a couple weeks ago. They said that it made them pay greater attention to what they are reading. So for those who like the added stimuli, I'm posting a question for each day's reading. Hope it encourages you to dig deeper.

Monday - Job is sure that when God is finished trying him, he will come forth as gold. What are the three things Job has done that gives him this assurance?

Tuesday - What is it that Job vows never to do?

Wednesday - Where are earth's greatest treasures found and how does that relate to finding wisdom?

Thursday - This question is a bit more complex. Job is judging his life. He lists things he has done or not done. Summarize each of his claims in one sentence. For example:

I made a covenant with my eyes not look with lust at a young woman. = I vowed never to lust or commit adultery.

Once you have finished the list, does this list resemble any other list we are familiar with and why is that significant?

Friday - I have two questions for today. (actually three)
1. How does God speak to man and for what reasons?
2. How does God discipline?

February 2-6, 2009

They will say, "this was the home of a wicked person,
the place of one who rejected God."
Job 18:21

A few years ago I had the privilege of enjoying a day-tour with some friends who live in Ireland. Along our route, we stopped to examine the ruins of old stone houses and castles that once were thriving with life and beauty. Today they lie in a heap of ruins! As Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar gape at the ruins of Job's life, they could only shutter at the destruction of what once was. How do you even begin to pick up the pieces?

Listening to Job's friends can be quite confusing at times. Not everything they say is rubbish. As a matter of fact, Job responds to Bildad's first attempt at consolation by saying, "Yes, I know all this is true in principle." (You may want to reread Job 8:1-22.) You can sum up his concepts in some well-known words, "You reap what you sow!" It is not that Bildad's words were false that created a problem; it was his assumption that those words fit Job's situation. Right doctrine built on faulty judgment creates a structure that is just waiting to collapse! I wish I could honestly say that I have never kept company with the likes of Bildad, but more than once in my over 60 years on this earth, I have had to remove my foot from my mouth, and fill it with words of repentance.

There is something quite profound about Job's response to each of his accusers. You may want to keep a pencil and paper handy as you read through his replies. Watch how many times Job begins his rebuttal by refuting his "friends'" indictments. It is not difficult to hear his heart of frustration at their inability to accept his words. More times than not, by the end of Job's discourse he has ceased speaking to his companions and is pouring out his heart to God. Each time Job speaks, pay special attention to the progression of his prayers. What is it that Job is seeking? Is he begging God to restore his riches? Is he praying that God gives his friends ear to hear him? Does he ever plead with God to change their hearts? What is it that Job wants? How does his prayer begin to change as time goes on? When God was speaking to Ezekiel about His impending judgment, He says that "Even those these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves." Job's life is linked with some mighty powerful men who knew how to communicate with God. We would do well to listen to this one who knew how to turn his frustrations from wrestling with men and their judgmental assessments, to wrestling with God.

As we continue to listen to Job throughout the week, once again we find ourselves looking at one of those hidden 3-D pictures. Let's examine Job's life.

1. He was innocent
2. He was bruised by satan
3. He was rejected by his friends and family
4. He was rejected by the world around him
5. He wept and prayed in great anguish
6. He had the appearance of a sinner
7. He was spit on
8. He was mocked
9. In so many words, he cried out to God, "Why have you forsaken me?"
10. He said that God's arrows caused his blood to be poured out.

There are many more facets to this picture puzzle. What other ones do you see and whose face is hidden in the clues? If we are going to gain greater insight into the events coming in the next couple of weeks, we would be wise to let the picture unfold as we go along. There is more to Job than meets the eye; he's a greater picture than a righteous man who suffers unjustly. May God open our eyes to the hidden treasures of this tremendous icon.