Thoughts on the Priesthood

This week's reading is Exodus 28-31.  After instructing Moses regarding the Tabernacle, God continued by defining the priesthood.  The priests were those who had the special role of appearing before the presence of God on behalf of the people.  They did not so much lead the people in worship (as pastors are in the church).  Rather, they performed the worship of Israel.  Most Israelites personally came to worship only very infrequently.  The rituals for purification were too time-consuming to be done regularly; and, after the land was settled, most people lived too far away to attend the temple frequently.  However, the priests maintained Israel's worship, interceding on behalf of the whole nation.

28:1-2 Throughout Exodus, Moses has been the primary representative of the people before God.  He was the one who constantly communicated with God, interceded on behalf of the people, and made sacrifices (24:4-8).  However, somewhat surprisingly, the priesthood is given to Aaron and his descendants, rather than Moses.

28:2-43 As was the case with the Tabernacle, the garments of the priests are described in great detail.  These sacred garments are full of meaning:

• They "give [the priests] dignity and honor" (2).
• A breastpiece (15-29) bears twelve stones engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel.  Thus, the priest symbolically carries Israel into God's presence.
• The priest wears a plate that states "Holy to the Lord."  This is a symbol of the priest's consecration to God: being set apart for Holy purposes.
• The garments also prevent the priests from dying (35, 43)!  In the Old Testament, what we would call symbolism is often more than symbolic.  The "symbol" actually takes on the meaning of what it represents.  So the clothing is not merely a symbol of the priestly role; it is a necessary part of the office.  A priest without his linen undergarments is not really a priest

28:30 In the breastpiece are the Urim and Thummim.  These are called "the means of making decisions for the Israelites".  No one knows for sure what they were.  However, it seems they were a way of seeking the Lord's will.  The Israelites believed that God's will could be communicated through an apparently random activity like casting lots.  For example, see 1 Samuel 14:36-41.  Perhaps the Urim and Thummim were objects that allowed for this--some form of dice, flat coin-like objects, etc.  This sort of divination seems awfully superstitious to us.  However, it is worth noting that even in the New Testament the apostles cast lots. To choose a successor to Judas.  When I worked for a Christian company, we decided who to pray for each morning by randomly selecting an index card with someone's name written on it.  Not infrequently, the choice turned out to be timely.  This sort of thing may well be an appropriate way of submitting to God's will in certain situations (provided your heart is in the right place, all of the options before you are good, it is not used to try to manipulate God or determine the future, etc.).

29:1-44 The priests are consecrated (set apart as holy) and ordained (called and placed in service) through an elaborate series of sacrifices.  The shedding of blood is for purification and forgiveness of sins.  The priests need this most of all, because they will be in such dangerous proximity to the presence of God.  The priests intercede on behalf of the sins of the Israelites, yet they themselves are sinful as well, and need forgiveness before they can minister.  To close, consider the reflection in Hebrews on this fact: 

The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: 

   "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 

   'You are a priest forever.' "

Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

 Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Thoughts on the Tabernacle

The reading for this week is Exodus 25-27.  These chapters are a detailed prescription for building the Tabernacle, a portable house of worship.  We may be inclined to skip over this seemingly endless list of measurements and descriptions--this simply doesn't seem very important.  However, even if it isn't important to us, this material is quite important in the Book of Exodus.  The same number of chapters is devoted to the Tabernacle and the priestly garments as was given to the entirety of the Law.  Not only that, all of this material is repeated later on in chapters 35-40, when the Israelites actually build the Tabernacle!  Apparently, this description of the Tabernacle was critically important.  Our question should be: why?  What does this material communicate?  This is what I hope to focus on in my sermon this week.  But for now, a few notes:

Because the Tabernacle is described in so much detail, it is possible to create a pretty accurate reconstruction of what it looked like.  This website contains pictures of a full-size replica.  Also, here is a computer model of it, and here is a floor plan.

The Tabernacle consisted of a courtyard with a tent in the middle (the Holy Place).  One end of the tent was separated from the rest by a curtain and designated the Most Holy Place.  Inside was the Ark of the Covenant, an elaborate box that contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments.  It was there that God promised to meet with His people.

This basic design was replicated in the Temple; it has also influenced Jewish Synagogue construction.

It must have been quite an operation to disassemble, move, and reassemble this elaborate tent.  Couldn't God have instituted a simpler form of worship?  Yet, the emphasis that was placed on the Israelites' house of worship showed that they were God's precious possession--and that God's presence with them was their most precious possession.

Thoughts on the Covenant

Oops--I forgot to blog last week.  We will continue on this week's reading, Exodus 24.  This is one of many reiterations of the covenant between God and His people.  While we have seen this theme quite often, this case is particularly important because it accompanies the giving of the Law.  God has saved the Israelites and promised blessings.  Now, in the law, He has given them their side of the agreement.

24:1 You may be wondering about the sudden appearance of Nadab and Abihu.  Who were they?  Actually, they were Aaron's sons.  They were mentioned quite briefly back in chapter 6, and we haven't heard about them since until now.  They will become significant members of the priesthood later in the story, however.

24:2 Different groups of people are allowed to approach to different distances from God.  Only the seventy elders are allowed to come near the top; only Moses can go to the very top.  This arrangement is similar to the Tabernacle and Temple, in which only the high priest could enter the most holy place, only priests could enter the room outside that, etc.  The Holy God can only be approached by those who have specially purified themselves and have been chosen by Him to come.

24:3-8 The covenant is ratified in a ceremony involving sacrifices and sprinkled blood.

24:9-11 In one of the most mysterious passages in Exodus, it is reported that the elders saw God.  And yet, they were not harmed by the sight

24:12-14 Only after the people agreed to the Lord's commands are the stone tablets written.  I find this interesting.  This makes it appear that the covenant is not simply a one-way command from God to His people.  Instead, it is a mutual agreement between God and Israel.  Both parties must agree to it; it is a two-way relationship.  We tend to think of an intimate relationship between God and humanity as beginning with Jesus, but this was also true in Old Testament times.

24:15-18 The scene of smoke and fire recalls the beginning of the Sinai passage.  This suggests that Exodus 19-24 form a complete unit.


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Thoughts on the Ten Commandments

This week's reading is Exodus 20. In this, one of the best-known passages in the Bible, God gives the Ten Commandments to Moses.

Interestingly enough, while everyone agrees that there are ten commandments, it is not actually clear from the text how to break it up into sections.  As a result, there are at least four different lists of ten commandments.  See Wikipedia's description for more information.  From here on I will refer to the standard Protestant division of the Commandments.

In introducing the commandments, God announced, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."  Once again we see that the law is a response to God's salvation.  Some people contrast the law to the Gospel by saying that the law was about earning salvation by works, while in the Gospel salvation is a gift of grace.  However, the law, properly understood, was always about responding to God's grace.  God had already saved his people out of Egypt, and the people were asked to obey Him in response.  Even in the Old Testament, there is never a sense that the people earned their salvation.  It seems that some people did begin to see the law as a way to earn salvation.  Jesus criticized some Pharisees for this, and Paul looked back on his own life as a Jew as an attempt to earn righteousness.  However, these were misunderstandings of the true meaning of the law.

The Commandments are not ten unrelated items; they have a logical structure.  Commandments 1-4 involve the people's relationship to God, while 5-10 concern people's relationships with each other.  The first commandment of each section serves as a summary:

1. Have no other Gods before me
2.      Do not make idols.
3.      Do not take the Lord's name in vain.
4.      Keep the Sabbath.
5. Honor your father and mother.
6.      Do not murder.
7.      Do not commit adultery.
8.      Do not steal.
9.      Do not give false witness.
10.      Do not covet.

So, the first section is all about how to "have no other Gods."  The second section is all about how to "honor your father and mother", i. e. how to live in right relationship with your kin.  "Kin" is broad enough to include all of Israel, since the whole nation found its identity (and name) in being descendants of Jacob (Israel).

Historically, the Ten Commandments have been very important in Christian understanding of morality.  This continued to be true in Protestant churches.  The Protestant emphasis on grace and being freed from the Law was not seen as conflicting with this.  In John Calvin's day (and for many years following Calvin) the Reformed churches read the Commandments in unison during each Sunday service.  John Burgess, one of my seminary professors, taught us how Protestant theologians made three moves that expanded the meaning of the Commandments to cover pretty much all moral behavior:

1.   A specific command was broadened into a category.  For example, "Do not give false witness" was seen as a prohibition of any deceptive behavior, even that which didn't involve outright lying.  This move can be taken directly from the teaching of Jesus.  In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus expands the command "Do not murder" to cover any hateful action toward a brother.  Even one who hurls an insult has violated the command not to murder.
2. An external command was internalized to involve attitudes of the heart.  Once again, this comes directly from Jesus.  In Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus explains that thinking lustful thoughts is effectively committing adultery in one's heart.
3. A negative command is inverted to become a positive command (and vice versa).  The command, "do not steal" is also taken to mean, "you shall do everything you can to promote life."  "Do not lie" also means that one should do everything possible to proclaim the truth.  "Do not make idols" is also an imperative to properly worship the true God.  "Do not steal" and "Do not covet" in reverse would lead us to give away generously.  I can't think of a time when Jesus applied this move specifically to a commandment, but the whole of His teaching implies it.

When the Commandments are read in this way, they are no longer a legalistic list to check off; nor are they a catalog of the "big sins" that are easy to avoid.  Instead, they become an all-encompassing standard for life according to God's will.