Post by Mark on Mar 7, 2009 5:46:50 GMT -8
Lots of folks are surprised to learn that the Ten Commandments are not the Ten commandments but the Ten Words. The Hebrew word "dabar" which is translated "commandments" in Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 4:13, and Deuteronomy 10:4, which described the writings inscribed on tablets of stone given in Exodus 20, is the word "words". So, maybe they really are the Ten Suggestions?
The Hebrew word "Tetzaveh" is a bit more direct: "this which I say you will do." There isn’t any room for latitude or discussion: He speaks, we obey. The two idea are brought together early in the context of Scripture in how Adonai describes His servant, Abraham.
And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. (Genesis 18:17-19 KJV)
In this passage, these two ideas are brought together: Abraham will "command" (tetzaveh) his children all that Adonai has "spoken" (dabar). The idea supports a proverb that is common for successful businessmen, "What interests my boss (or client) fascinates me." The "words" of Adonai, become respectively the "commands" that dictate the way of His people.
"Tetzaveh" carries the idea of being bound. Immediately, the old compliment comes to mind, "His word is his bond." Always, such a statement had been considered admirable. Here there is solid evidence that it is also biblical.
Yet, why would the Most High choose these different terms in dispensing different aspects of His ? Are some commands more binding than others? Is it more important to squeeze fresh olives for oil than it is to honor one’s father and mother? Quite the contrary, we tend to find the word "tetzaveh" directed at specific individuals for specific duties or purposes while "dabar" in being more general, is directed toward all of us. This doesn’t lessen the authority of Adonai’s words. It rather dissolves the argument that "some commands are impossible for us therefore all the commands can not still be binding."
How tragic it is for those with the greatest resources for knowledge and understanding of the Bible at their disposal cling to archaic arguments that absolve them from responsibilities of obedience. The stakes of accountability have gone up for us and we have gotten no better.
And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. (Exodus 27:20 KJV)
To fail to understand this verse is to miss the beauty and power of the Hanukkah story. It became part of Jewish lore that the light of the candle represented the presence of the Shekinah glory (the Holy Spirit of God among the people). The light was to burn always. When the legions of Antiochus desecrated the Temple and pillaged the Holy Sanctuary, he did more than just break the cultural will of the people. He testified that the Presence of the Most High had left.
Yet, the response was not what he might have expected. The sages, rather than admit defeat and assimilate into the new order, sought to understand why the Shekinah had abandoned them. They sought to make restitution for their sins, replacing the despondency with which they had once observed the biblical services with passion toward restoration of relationship with God.
Just as the olive yields light only when it is pounded, so are man's greatest potentials realized only under the pressure of adversity.
(The Talmud)
In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute forever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel. (Exodus 27:21 KJV)
These verses contain a paradox: "everlasting flame" implies a state of perptuality and changelessness; "from evening to morning" implies fluctuating conditions of lesser and greater luminance.
For such is our mission in life: to impart the eternity and perfection of the Divine to a temporal world, and to do so not by annihilating or overwhelming the world's temporality and diversity, but by illuminating its every state and condition--
from "evening" to "morning"--with the divine light.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. (Exodus 28:1 KJV)
And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. (Exodus 28:2 KJV)
"Glory and beauty" could also be translated "conspicuous and ornamental". When wearing the garments of the High Priest, it could be no question as to who was who.
And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. (Exodus 28:3 KJV)
And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and an embroidered coat, a miter, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. (Exodus 28:4 KJV)
And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. (Exodus 28:5 KJV)
And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. (Exodus 28:6 KJV)
It shall have the two shoulder pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. (Exodus 28:7 KJV)
And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. (Exodus 28:8 KJV)
No one today, even back as far as Rashi in the 12th Century, has a clear idea as to what the ephod must have looked like. It is most commonly represented as a sort of apron, tied in the back.
And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: (Exodus 28:9 KJV)
Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. (Exodus 28:10 KJV)
The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call them stones of beryl, and so does the Syriac version. The Septuagint describes these stones as emerald. The Arabic version states they are crystal stones. Josephus and Brannius agree that they were sardonyx. Does it matter? It will when Messiah returns and assumes His role as Priest and King over all the world. What matters more is that the names of the twelve tribes of Israel are engraved upon them. We must never forget that Messiah, High King of Heaven and Lord over the earth bears the ephod of the High Priest of Israel.
The gentile Church repudiates the requirement to be grafted in among Israel and to enter into the commonwealth of the house of Israel. Rather, they stand on their own as "separate but equal" in the name of Jesus. Messiah has no obligation to bear their weight on these terms.
With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. (Exodus 28:11 KJV)
And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial. (Exodus 28:12 KJV)
And thou shalt make ouches of gold; (Exodus 28:13 KJV)
gem settings in which to hold the various stones on the ephod and breastplate
And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches. (Exodus 28:14 KJV)
The breastplate is hung from the shoulders with golden chains so as to symbolically cover the priest’s heart, or rather in Hebraic terms, his bosom ( that place of love and nurturing feelings ).
And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. (Exodus 28:15 KJV)
Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. (Exodus 28:16 KJV)
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. (Exodus 28:17 KJV)
And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. (Exodus 28:18 KJV)
And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. (Exodus 28:19 KJV)
And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their enclosings. (Exodus 28:20 KJV)
And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes. (Exodus 28:21 KJV)
Again, the stones are given various names by various translations. It has been fun to sit around the table with even our most common English texts in broad disagreement as to what the actual gems must have been.
Rabbinically, less emphasis was placed upon the actual definiton of the stone than the color: according to Bamidbar Rabbah (2:7), the colorings of the stones were as follows: Reuben's stone, odem, was red; Simeon's stone, pitedah, was green;
Levi's stone, bareket, was white, black and red; Judah's stone, nofech, was sky-colored; Issachar's stone, sapir, was dark blue; Zebulun's stone, yahalom, was white (lavan, which can also mean clear); Dan's stone, leshem, was of a similar hue as that of the sapir; Gad's stone, shvo, was gray; Naphtali's stone, chlamah, was the color of clear wine; Asher's stone, tarshish, was "the color of the precious stone with which women decorate themselves"; Joseph's stone, shoham, was black; Benjamin's stone yashpei, had the colors of all twelve
stones.
It is worth considering the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:19-20, that the foundations of the twelve gates are the same stones that represent the twelve tribes of Israel. The point seems rather clear that Adonai declares that Israel is His chosen people. One cannot enter into the Holy City without entering through Israel.
And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold. (Exodus 28:22 KJV)
And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. (Exodus 28:23 KJV)
And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate. (Exodus 28:24 KJV)
And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod before it. (Exodus 28:25 KJV)
And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward. (Exodus 28:26 KJV)
And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. (Exodus 28:27 KJV)
And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. (Exodus 28:28 KJV)
Careful note is taken as to how the breastplate and the ephod are inseparable. One comment is that since the breastplate is on the top portion of the High Priest’s body and the ephod hangs down, this is representative that there must be no division between the upper mitvotim (the commands of in relation to God) and the lower mitzvot (those commands that decide between people). Others have brought up how the children of Israel are named above (upon the High Priest’s shoulders) and before (upon his chest), see reference 1st Kings 8:23.
And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. (Exodus 28:29 KJV)
And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually. (Exodus 28:30 KJV)
Once again, everyone is perplexed as to what the Urim and Thummim actually were. Translation of these words also carries a wide variety of interpretation, some suggesting that is simply means "ibid" concluding that these also held the names of the children of Israel, or the Names of God. More popular is the translation of "Urim" to be flame, or fire, or glowing and "Thummim" to be justice or truth. Since these were used to declare the "judgment" of God, some believe that either stone would glow as an answer to specific questions brought before God. Other legends suggest that individual letters of would burn with fire so as to spell out God’s direction for the people or verdict concerning legal disputes.
Messiah makes association between the ideas of "truth" and "light" (the principle element of fire).
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
(John 3:20-21 KJV)
The Urim and Thummim may simply be an acknowledgment that to come before God is to leave off any hope of deception.
And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. (Exodus 28:31 KJV)
And there shall be a hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of a habergeon, that it be not rent. (Exodus 28:32 KJV)
The color (or rather the specific dye) of tekhelet has a rich history- it could possibly have been one of the most precious substances of the day, at times valued at more than 20 times it’s weight in gold. It comes from a molusk found in the Mediterranean Sea, most populous off the coasts of Israel (Zebulun), that matures only every 70 years. It was decreed by one of the Caesars that only members of the royal family could wear garments of this color, contrasting the Jewish mitzvah (command) that each Jew must wear a strand of blue in the tassel of his tallit (or outer garment) (Numbers 15:38).
The tunic was a single piece of cloth with a hole cut in the middle for the High Priest’s head to come out.
And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: (Exodus 28:33 KJV)
A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. (Exodus 28:34 KJV)
Pomegranites are sweet smelling and juicy, representing goodness. Bells are joyful. The ministration of the High Priest was not to be something of somber obligation but in reverent elation. (Psalm 89:15).
And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not. (Exodus 28:35 KJV)
So… the little bells carried a practical side, too. If Aaron were to offer worship irreverently, he could potentially die. One suggestion that, by most scholarly works attribute to the writings of Zohar, was that when the High Priest went into the Most Holy Place annually, on Yom Kippur, he tied a scarlet rope around his ankle so that if he offended God and was struck dead, the others outside would be able to pull him our without defiling the sanctuary (as though a dead person in the Tabernacle would not be desecration enough. There is no reference to this article in the text of Scripture, itself, and is thus unlikely that the priests would demonstrate initiative to improve upon specific commands of God regarding this holy worship.
And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. (Exodus 28:36 KJV)
The point is so relevant, yet so easily overlooked: holiness is TO the Lord rather than OF the Lord. We are not coming to Him as His representatives. We are coming to Him offering the very best that we have, realizing that it is not enough; but that He is merciful, gracious and loving. We easily and often get that mixed up and appear in our worship as "the holiness of the Lord" thinking that we are "it" and that we’ve got it together, and our offerings are the substance of His glory.
And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the miter; upon the forefront of the miter it shall be. (Exodus 28:37 KJV)
And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. (Exodus 28:38 KJV)
This passage is used, with some merit, to suggest that donning tefilin, the black boxes attached to the forearm and forehead during set times of prayer, is not biblically mandated. The terms for applying the plate of gold to the High Priest’s forehead are very different from those given in the Sh’ma (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) declaring that shall be "frontlets before your eyes." It is argued that, if the words were to be physically placed on the forehead, as is the obvious description of the High Priest’s "license plate", the terminology would be the same. This argument is strengthened by Exodus 13:16, where, if taken as literally, would imply that we are to physically bind the dead lamb of Passover to our faces and upon our hands.
This, however, should not discourage the practice of donning tefilin for those who find it a valuable tool in personal worship, though it should not be forced upon those not embracing its legitimacy.
It is often argued by the Christian scholar that Paul dissuaded the donning of anything on the head of the male worshipper as being "shameful." The Messianic response is often a retort using this passage, that if this is what Paul meant, then the High Priest should have been in humiliation. Yet, this argument (though effectively silences the dissenter) leaves the Messianic observer arguing against the teachings of Paul. But, this is exactly what the text says, "that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts…." It is appropriate that we enter into the Sanctuary of God with humility and that we walk in understanding of our perversity- that we are covered, by the blood, by the mercyseat, by the sacrifice of our Lord; rather than the Christian abandonment to declare himself without need or understanding of God’s righteousness.
And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the miter of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework. (Exodus 28:39 KJV)
And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. (Exodus 28:40 KJV)
And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. (Exodus 28:41 KJV)
And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: (Exodus 28:42 KJV)
And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute forever unto him and his seed after him. (Exodus 28:43 KJV)
And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, (Exodus 29:1 KJV)
And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. (Exodus 29:2 KJV)
And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. (Exodus 29:3 KJV)
And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. (Exodus 29:4 KJV)
And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: (Exodus 29:5 KJV)
And thou shalt put the miter upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the miter. (Exodus 29:6 KJV)
Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. (Exodus 29:7 KJV)
And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. (Exodus 29:8 KJV)
And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. (Exodus 29:9 KJV)
And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. (Exodus 29:10 KJV)
And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Exodus 29:11 KJV)
And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. (Exodus 29:12 KJV)
And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. (Exodus 29:13 KJV)
But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering. (Exodus 29:14 KJV)
Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. (Exodus 29:15 KJV)
And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. (Exodus 29:16 KJV)
And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. (Exodus 29:17 KJV)
And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (Exodus 29:18 KJV)
And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. (Exodus 29:19 KJV)
Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. (Exodus 29:20 KJV)
And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. (Exodus 29:21 KJV)
Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration: (Exodus 29:22 KJV)
And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: (Exodus 29:23 KJV)
And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. (Exodus 29:24 KJV)
And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (Exodus 29:25 KJV)
And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part. (Exodus 29:26 KJV)
And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: (Exodus 29:27 KJV)
And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute forever from the children of Israel: for it is a heave offering: and it shall be a heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD. (Exodus 29:28 KJV)
And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. (Exodus 29:29 KJV)
And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place. (Exodus 29:30 KJV)
And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place. (Exodus 29:31 KJV)
And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Exodus 29:32 KJV)
And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. (Exodus 29:33 KJV)
And if aught of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. (Exodus 29:34 KJV)
And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. (Exodus 29:35 KJV)
And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. (Exodus 29:36 KJV)
Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy. (Exodus 29:37 KJV)
Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. (Exodus 29:38 KJV)
The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: (Exodus 29:39 KJV)
And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink offering. (Exodus 29:40 KJV)
And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (Exodus 29:41 KJV)
This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. (Exodus 29:42 KJV)
And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. (Exodus 29:43 KJV)
And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office. (Exodus 29:44 KJV)
And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. (Exodus 29:45 KJV)
And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God. (Exodus 29:46 KJV)
And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. (Exodus 30:1 KJV)
A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same. (Exodus 30:2 KJV)
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. (Exodus 30:3 KJV)
And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. (Exodus 30:4 KJV)
And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. (Exodus 30:5 KJV)
And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. (Exodus 30:6 KJV)
And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. (Exodus 30:7 KJV)
And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. (Exodus 30:8 KJV)
Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon. (Exodus 30:9 KJV)
And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD. (Exodus 30:10 KJV)
"Substitutiary Atonement" is one of my favorite big words that makes me feel smart. It’s sort of my Christian spuercalifragelistikexpialadocious. It means that in order for me to have access in relationship with Adonai, death has to occur. The substitutiary part means that the death doesn’t have to necessarily be mine.
Adonai didn’t see fit to use big words when describing His plan for us and process of entering into relationship with Him. He gives us object lessons, practical experiences and stories. Before the Tent of Meeting could become the Tabernacle of God, three things had to occur: Expiation, Consecration, and fellowship.
The sin offering is a bull: a demonstration of power and dominance. A bull can feed most families for the whole year. It is mild in nature and generally cares for itself. In order for the priests to fill the necessary role of ministering to the Most High God and for the people, the bull must die. In placing their hands upon the bull, they identify with it personally. They recognize, "here is my sin." I am self-willed and autonomous by nature. When our sin is slaughtered before our eyes, the life of it, is sprinkled upon the horns of the altar. The organs, the parts that seem most precious to us are burned before our eyes. And the part with which we would feed and clothe our families, that is taken outside the camp and burned. It is a declaration that all that I am and have and can do is an abomination in the sight of God if it is not through my relationship with Him that it is done (and without faith it is impossible to please God.)
The second animal, the sacrifice of consecration, is a ram. Rams are not fun to be around. They are aggressive and dangerous. Generally a herd of several dozen ewes is "maintained" by one ram. This makes them valuable in that they are either scarce or high maintenance. The Hebrew word "miloo" carries the idea of filling ones place, or being set apart. While the blood of the bull, the sin offering, is put upon the horns of the altar, the blood of the ram is applied to the priest (the servant of God). The breast, the fleshy roast, the bosom in which compassion resides, is eaten by the priests in the presence of the Most High. The rest of the animal is burned.
Finally, before Adonai can call this place home, the daily fellowship offering of a lamb every morning and every evening is to be offered. The meat of this animal is eaten together by the community as they come to worship: a daily barbeque in worship and in fellowship with the Most High God.
It’s disappointing that so many who come into a relationship of faith with God, stop with the sin offering, recognizing and testifying their need for a Savior and accepting His sacrifice as cleansing us from sin.
Some may go so far as to offer the offering of consecration, dedicating their lives in obedience, and tasting the sweet savor or the lamb’s breast.
Yet, once they’ve come this far, being saved freely by His grace, they disdain the Tabernacle and the system of worship ordained by God. They’ve gotten what they needed, not realizing that the best is yet to come.
The Christian Church teaches that we must come to the Altar for deliverance from sin and attain salvation through His sacrifice, through His substitutiary atonement; but then abandon the offerings that are yet to come, walking in obedience and fellowship. The reality is that they would rather be the ram out in the field than share at the Table with the Lord of all.
We believe that salvation comes by grace through faith, that by the death of our Messiah, we are made clean, if we only place our hands upon Him and accept the sacrifice as our own substitution. We believe that our lives are to be given over to Him and we offer the ram of consecration. Yet, precious few ever return to the Tabernacle again, to walk in daily fellowship with Him.
The Hebrew word "Tetzaveh" is a bit more direct: "this which I say you will do." There isn’t any room for latitude or discussion: He speaks, we obey. The two idea are brought together early in the context of Scripture in how Adonai describes His servant, Abraham.
And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. (Genesis 18:17-19 KJV)
In this passage, these two ideas are brought together: Abraham will "command" (tetzaveh) his children all that Adonai has "spoken" (dabar). The idea supports a proverb that is common for successful businessmen, "What interests my boss (or client) fascinates me." The "words" of Adonai, become respectively the "commands" that dictate the way of His people.
"Tetzaveh" carries the idea of being bound. Immediately, the old compliment comes to mind, "His word is his bond." Always, such a statement had been considered admirable. Here there is solid evidence that it is also biblical.
Yet, why would the Most High choose these different terms in dispensing different aspects of His ? Are some commands more binding than others? Is it more important to squeeze fresh olives for oil than it is to honor one’s father and mother? Quite the contrary, we tend to find the word "tetzaveh" directed at specific individuals for specific duties or purposes while "dabar" in being more general, is directed toward all of us. This doesn’t lessen the authority of Adonai’s words. It rather dissolves the argument that "some commands are impossible for us therefore all the commands can not still be binding."
How tragic it is for those with the greatest resources for knowledge and understanding of the Bible at their disposal cling to archaic arguments that absolve them from responsibilities of obedience. The stakes of accountability have gone up for us and we have gotten no better.
And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. (Exodus 27:20 KJV)
To fail to understand this verse is to miss the beauty and power of the Hanukkah story. It became part of Jewish lore that the light of the candle represented the presence of the Shekinah glory (the Holy Spirit of God among the people). The light was to burn always. When the legions of Antiochus desecrated the Temple and pillaged the Holy Sanctuary, he did more than just break the cultural will of the people. He testified that the Presence of the Most High had left.
Yet, the response was not what he might have expected. The sages, rather than admit defeat and assimilate into the new order, sought to understand why the Shekinah had abandoned them. They sought to make restitution for their sins, replacing the despondency with which they had once observed the biblical services with passion toward restoration of relationship with God.
Just as the olive yields light only when it is pounded, so are man's greatest potentials realized only under the pressure of adversity.
(The Talmud)
In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute forever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel. (Exodus 27:21 KJV)
These verses contain a paradox: "everlasting flame" implies a state of perptuality and changelessness; "from evening to morning" implies fluctuating conditions of lesser and greater luminance.
For such is our mission in life: to impart the eternity and perfection of the Divine to a temporal world, and to do so not by annihilating or overwhelming the world's temporality and diversity, but by illuminating its every state and condition--
from "evening" to "morning"--with the divine light.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. (Exodus 28:1 KJV)
And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. (Exodus 28:2 KJV)
"Glory and beauty" could also be translated "conspicuous and ornamental". When wearing the garments of the High Priest, it could be no question as to who was who.
And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. (Exodus 28:3 KJV)
And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and an embroidered coat, a miter, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. (Exodus 28:4 KJV)
And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. (Exodus 28:5 KJV)
And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. (Exodus 28:6 KJV)
It shall have the two shoulder pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. (Exodus 28:7 KJV)
And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. (Exodus 28:8 KJV)
No one today, even back as far as Rashi in the 12th Century, has a clear idea as to what the ephod must have looked like. It is most commonly represented as a sort of apron, tied in the back.
And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: (Exodus 28:9 KJV)
Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. (Exodus 28:10 KJV)
The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call them stones of beryl, and so does the Syriac version. The Septuagint describes these stones as emerald. The Arabic version states they are crystal stones. Josephus and Brannius agree that they were sardonyx. Does it matter? It will when Messiah returns and assumes His role as Priest and King over all the world. What matters more is that the names of the twelve tribes of Israel are engraved upon them. We must never forget that Messiah, High King of Heaven and Lord over the earth bears the ephod of the High Priest of Israel.
The gentile Church repudiates the requirement to be grafted in among Israel and to enter into the commonwealth of the house of Israel. Rather, they stand on their own as "separate but equal" in the name of Jesus. Messiah has no obligation to bear their weight on these terms.
With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. (Exodus 28:11 KJV)
And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial. (Exodus 28:12 KJV)
And thou shalt make ouches of gold; (Exodus 28:13 KJV)
gem settings in which to hold the various stones on the ephod and breastplate
And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches. (Exodus 28:14 KJV)
The breastplate is hung from the shoulders with golden chains so as to symbolically cover the priest’s heart, or rather in Hebraic terms, his bosom ( that place of love and nurturing feelings ).
And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. (Exodus 28:15 KJV)
Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof. (Exodus 28:16 KJV)
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. (Exodus 28:17 KJV)
And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. (Exodus 28:18 KJV)
And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. (Exodus 28:19 KJV)
And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their enclosings. (Exodus 28:20 KJV)
And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes. (Exodus 28:21 KJV)
Again, the stones are given various names by various translations. It has been fun to sit around the table with even our most common English texts in broad disagreement as to what the actual gems must have been.
Rabbinically, less emphasis was placed upon the actual definiton of the stone than the color: according to Bamidbar Rabbah (2:7), the colorings of the stones were as follows: Reuben's stone, odem, was red; Simeon's stone, pitedah, was green;
Levi's stone, bareket, was white, black and red; Judah's stone, nofech, was sky-colored; Issachar's stone, sapir, was dark blue; Zebulun's stone, yahalom, was white (lavan, which can also mean clear); Dan's stone, leshem, was of a similar hue as that of the sapir; Gad's stone, shvo, was gray; Naphtali's stone, chlamah, was the color of clear wine; Asher's stone, tarshish, was "the color of the precious stone with which women decorate themselves"; Joseph's stone, shoham, was black; Benjamin's stone yashpei, had the colors of all twelve
stones.
It is worth considering the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:19-20, that the foundations of the twelve gates are the same stones that represent the twelve tribes of Israel. The point seems rather clear that Adonai declares that Israel is His chosen people. One cannot enter into the Holy City without entering through Israel.
And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold. (Exodus 28:22 KJV)
And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. (Exodus 28:23 KJV)
And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate. (Exodus 28:24 KJV)
And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod before it. (Exodus 28:25 KJV)
And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward. (Exodus 28:26 KJV)
And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. (Exodus 28:27 KJV)
And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. (Exodus 28:28 KJV)
Careful note is taken as to how the breastplate and the ephod are inseparable. One comment is that since the breastplate is on the top portion of the High Priest’s body and the ephod hangs down, this is representative that there must be no division between the upper mitvotim (the commands of in relation to God) and the lower mitzvot (those commands that decide between people). Others have brought up how the children of Israel are named above (upon the High Priest’s shoulders) and before (upon his chest), see reference 1st Kings 8:23.
And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. (Exodus 28:29 KJV)
And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually. (Exodus 28:30 KJV)
Once again, everyone is perplexed as to what the Urim and Thummim actually were. Translation of these words also carries a wide variety of interpretation, some suggesting that is simply means "ibid" concluding that these also held the names of the children of Israel, or the Names of God. More popular is the translation of "Urim" to be flame, or fire, or glowing and "Thummim" to be justice or truth. Since these were used to declare the "judgment" of God, some believe that either stone would glow as an answer to specific questions brought before God. Other legends suggest that individual letters of would burn with fire so as to spell out God’s direction for the people or verdict concerning legal disputes.
Messiah makes association between the ideas of "truth" and "light" (the principle element of fire).
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
(John 3:20-21 KJV)
The Urim and Thummim may simply be an acknowledgment that to come before God is to leave off any hope of deception.
And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. (Exodus 28:31 KJV)
And there shall be a hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of a habergeon, that it be not rent. (Exodus 28:32 KJV)
The color (or rather the specific dye) of tekhelet has a rich history- it could possibly have been one of the most precious substances of the day, at times valued at more than 20 times it’s weight in gold. It comes from a molusk found in the Mediterranean Sea, most populous off the coasts of Israel (Zebulun), that matures only every 70 years. It was decreed by one of the Caesars that only members of the royal family could wear garments of this color, contrasting the Jewish mitzvah (command) that each Jew must wear a strand of blue in the tassel of his tallit (or outer garment) (Numbers 15:38).
The tunic was a single piece of cloth with a hole cut in the middle for the High Priest’s head to come out.
And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: (Exodus 28:33 KJV)
A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. (Exodus 28:34 KJV)
Pomegranites are sweet smelling and juicy, representing goodness. Bells are joyful. The ministration of the High Priest was not to be something of somber obligation but in reverent elation. (Psalm 89:15).
And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not. (Exodus 28:35 KJV)
So… the little bells carried a practical side, too. If Aaron were to offer worship irreverently, he could potentially die. One suggestion that, by most scholarly works attribute to the writings of Zohar, was that when the High Priest went into the Most Holy Place annually, on Yom Kippur, he tied a scarlet rope around his ankle so that if he offended God and was struck dead, the others outside would be able to pull him our without defiling the sanctuary (as though a dead person in the Tabernacle would not be desecration enough. There is no reference to this article in the text of Scripture, itself, and is thus unlikely that the priests would demonstrate initiative to improve upon specific commands of God regarding this holy worship.
And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. (Exodus 28:36 KJV)
The point is so relevant, yet so easily overlooked: holiness is TO the Lord rather than OF the Lord. We are not coming to Him as His representatives. We are coming to Him offering the very best that we have, realizing that it is not enough; but that He is merciful, gracious and loving. We easily and often get that mixed up and appear in our worship as "the holiness of the Lord" thinking that we are "it" and that we’ve got it together, and our offerings are the substance of His glory.
And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the miter; upon the forefront of the miter it shall be. (Exodus 28:37 KJV)
And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. (Exodus 28:38 KJV)
This passage is used, with some merit, to suggest that donning tefilin, the black boxes attached to the forearm and forehead during set times of prayer, is not biblically mandated. The terms for applying the plate of gold to the High Priest’s forehead are very different from those given in the Sh’ma (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) declaring that shall be "frontlets before your eyes." It is argued that, if the words were to be physically placed on the forehead, as is the obvious description of the High Priest’s "license plate", the terminology would be the same. This argument is strengthened by Exodus 13:16, where, if taken as literally, would imply that we are to physically bind the dead lamb of Passover to our faces and upon our hands.
This, however, should not discourage the practice of donning tefilin for those who find it a valuable tool in personal worship, though it should not be forced upon those not embracing its legitimacy.
It is often argued by the Christian scholar that Paul dissuaded the donning of anything on the head of the male worshipper as being "shameful." The Messianic response is often a retort using this passage, that if this is what Paul meant, then the High Priest should have been in humiliation. Yet, this argument (though effectively silences the dissenter) leaves the Messianic observer arguing against the teachings of Paul. But, this is exactly what the text says, "that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts…." It is appropriate that we enter into the Sanctuary of God with humility and that we walk in understanding of our perversity- that we are covered, by the blood, by the mercyseat, by the sacrifice of our Lord; rather than the Christian abandonment to declare himself without need or understanding of God’s righteousness.
And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the miter of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework. (Exodus 28:39 KJV)
And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. (Exodus 28:40 KJV)
And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. (Exodus 28:41 KJV)
And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: (Exodus 28:42 KJV)
And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute forever unto him and his seed after him. (Exodus 28:43 KJV)
And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, (Exodus 29:1 KJV)
And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them. (Exodus 29:2 KJV)
And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. (Exodus 29:3 KJV)
And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. (Exodus 29:4 KJV)
And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: (Exodus 29:5 KJV)
And thou shalt put the miter upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the miter. (Exodus 29:6 KJV)
Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. (Exodus 29:7 KJV)
And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. (Exodus 29:8 KJV)
And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. (Exodus 29:9 KJV)
And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. (Exodus 29:10 KJV)
And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Exodus 29:11 KJV)
And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. (Exodus 29:12 KJV)
And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. (Exodus 29:13 KJV)
But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering. (Exodus 29:14 KJV)
Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. (Exodus 29:15 KJV)
And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. (Exodus 29:16 KJV)
And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head. (Exodus 29:17 KJV)
And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (Exodus 29:18 KJV)
And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. (Exodus 29:19 KJV)
Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. (Exodus 29:20 KJV)
And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. (Exodus 29:21 KJV)
Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration: (Exodus 29:22 KJV)
And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: (Exodus 29:23 KJV)
And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. (Exodus 29:24 KJV)
And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (Exodus 29:25 KJV)
And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part. (Exodus 29:26 KJV)
And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: (Exodus 29:27 KJV)
And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute forever from the children of Israel: for it is a heave offering: and it shall be a heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD. (Exodus 29:28 KJV)
And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. (Exodus 29:29 KJV)
And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place. (Exodus 29:30 KJV)
And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place. (Exodus 29:31 KJV)
And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Exodus 29:32 KJV)
And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. (Exodus 29:33 KJV)
And if aught of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. (Exodus 29:34 KJV)
And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. (Exodus 29:35 KJV)
And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. (Exodus 29:36 KJV)
Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy. (Exodus 29:37 KJV)
Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. (Exodus 29:38 KJV)
The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: (Exodus 29:39 KJV)
And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink offering. (Exodus 29:40 KJV)
And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (Exodus 29:41 KJV)
This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. (Exodus 29:42 KJV)
And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. (Exodus 29:43 KJV)
And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office. (Exodus 29:44 KJV)
And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. (Exodus 29:45 KJV)
And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God. (Exodus 29:46 KJV)
And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. (Exodus 30:1 KJV)
A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same. (Exodus 30:2 KJV)
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. (Exodus 30:3 KJV)
And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. (Exodus 30:4 KJV)
And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. (Exodus 30:5 KJV)
And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. (Exodus 30:6 KJV)
And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. (Exodus 30:7 KJV)
And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. (Exodus 30:8 KJV)
Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon. (Exodus 30:9 KJV)
And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD. (Exodus 30:10 KJV)
"Substitutiary Atonement" is one of my favorite big words that makes me feel smart. It’s sort of my Christian spuercalifragelistikexpialadocious. It means that in order for me to have access in relationship with Adonai, death has to occur. The substitutiary part means that the death doesn’t have to necessarily be mine.
Adonai didn’t see fit to use big words when describing His plan for us and process of entering into relationship with Him. He gives us object lessons, practical experiences and stories. Before the Tent of Meeting could become the Tabernacle of God, three things had to occur: Expiation, Consecration, and fellowship.
The sin offering is a bull: a demonstration of power and dominance. A bull can feed most families for the whole year. It is mild in nature and generally cares for itself. In order for the priests to fill the necessary role of ministering to the Most High God and for the people, the bull must die. In placing their hands upon the bull, they identify with it personally. They recognize, "here is my sin." I am self-willed and autonomous by nature. When our sin is slaughtered before our eyes, the life of it, is sprinkled upon the horns of the altar. The organs, the parts that seem most precious to us are burned before our eyes. And the part with which we would feed and clothe our families, that is taken outside the camp and burned. It is a declaration that all that I am and have and can do is an abomination in the sight of God if it is not through my relationship with Him that it is done (and without faith it is impossible to please God.)
The second animal, the sacrifice of consecration, is a ram. Rams are not fun to be around. They are aggressive and dangerous. Generally a herd of several dozen ewes is "maintained" by one ram. This makes them valuable in that they are either scarce or high maintenance. The Hebrew word "miloo" carries the idea of filling ones place, or being set apart. While the blood of the bull, the sin offering, is put upon the horns of the altar, the blood of the ram is applied to the priest (the servant of God). The breast, the fleshy roast, the bosom in which compassion resides, is eaten by the priests in the presence of the Most High. The rest of the animal is burned.
Finally, before Adonai can call this place home, the daily fellowship offering of a lamb every morning and every evening is to be offered. The meat of this animal is eaten together by the community as they come to worship: a daily barbeque in worship and in fellowship with the Most High God.
It’s disappointing that so many who come into a relationship of faith with God, stop with the sin offering, recognizing and testifying their need for a Savior and accepting His sacrifice as cleansing us from sin.
Some may go so far as to offer the offering of consecration, dedicating their lives in obedience, and tasting the sweet savor or the lamb’s breast.
Yet, once they’ve come this far, being saved freely by His grace, they disdain the Tabernacle and the system of worship ordained by God. They’ve gotten what they needed, not realizing that the best is yet to come.
The Christian Church teaches that we must come to the Altar for deliverance from sin and attain salvation through His sacrifice, through His substitutiary atonement; but then abandon the offerings that are yet to come, walking in obedience and fellowship. The reality is that they would rather be the ram out in the field than share at the Table with the Lord of all.
We believe that salvation comes by grace through faith, that by the death of our Messiah, we are made clean, if we only place our hands upon Him and accept the sacrifice as our own substitution. We believe that our lives are to be given over to Him and we offer the ram of consecration. Yet, precious few ever return to the Tabernacle again, to walk in daily fellowship with Him.