OT-- The ephod was a type of garment worn by the high priests. It is not a complete garment but more like a tunic. It was probably heavy with all those precious stones on it that symbolized the 12 tribes of Israel. If it sounds like we have read this section before, we have. It was contained in chapters 29 and 30 of Exodus. Remember that there are at least 2 different strains of writings that were merged into one scroll. I guess when they could not decide on whose was right, they put both in.
My Stone Chumash says that the passive voice in Vs 17 “the tabernacle was set up” means that the Tabernacle was too heavy for anyone to set into place on the rods and acaia wood supports. God told Moses to do it and it was far too heavy for him to lift so the Tabernacle ‘stood up by itself, miraculously’. Another back story/verb tense that would have simply passed me by without Rashi.
On Sunday, we had our meeting of Presbyterian Women for the month and Melisha was teaching. She gave us all pink hearts with the words “where have you seen God” on them. To me, this is the every day miracle of being God’s child. I see Him in Publix where they give Zach, a Down’s Syndrome man, a job bagging groceries and allowing him to be independent and responsible. I see Him at the gym where a little old man tripped over the curb and 4 huge body builders rushed outside, picked him gently up and carried him in and held his bleeding hand while they waited for the ambulance. I see Him in so many places.
Is it any wonder His Tabernacle would lift of its own volition as a testament to His wonder?
NT – Mark’s gospel begins with John the Baptist. The story of John the Baptist is one of the 7 stories that are in all 4 gospels. In specific, it is the phrase “not worthy to untie his sandals” that is in all 4. This should cause you to stop and take stock of this. What does this phrase mean and why was it so important that all 4 of them included it?
Untying sandals was a slave’s job in 1st century Palestine and a disagreeable job at that. When you have pack animals in your roadway, you have poop. Lots of it. Sanitation at this time, indeed up until we started using cars and trucks for transport, made walking really hard on the feet and cleanliness. It makes you unclean to touch poop. Thus the slave.
So if John was ‘unworthy’, that meant he was lower than a slave in position to Jesus. Apparently, even when the gospels were written 30-70 years after Jesus’ death, John was still very much a force to be reckoned with although he had been executed before Jesus. Josephus mentions him “who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God”.
John was the inheritor of the OT tradition of prophets. He spoke out against the corruption and impiety of the people. He was the herald of Jesus. He was really, really good, at least as far as a human can be. And yet he was lower than a slave. What does that say about me?
OT - I did a little research on the cloud and it doesn't seemed to be studied much but it is certainly an important phenomanon. It is referred to as the "Shekinah Glory" and is mentioned 58 times in the Bible. It signified the presence of God and His protection and guidance. It may represent the Holy Spirit that dwells in our bodies that are now our temple.
ReplyDeleteNT - As we leave Matthew and begin Mark it might be helpful to know who the audience is for these books. Matthew was a Jew writing to Jews. Mark is written by John Mark, not one of the 12 disciples. It reads like a journal. He is writing to Roman Christians. A good speaker speaks to his audience. You wouldn't address a group of farmers the same way you would address a group of stockbrokers. Luke ia a Greek and a doctor who is writing to Gentiles. John is writing to new Christians. Something to think about as we study the differences of the Gospels.