MARK AND TIM

Acts 15-16

This week's lesson is about fighting and training – no, not training to fight! Although he lesson begins with a fight between two friends, both dedicated Christians who had worked together fairly constantly for a couple of years. Barnabas, in fact, was the guy who got excited about what was happening at Antioch and went to find Paul to bring him back and get him involved. They worked together, and it looks like Barney was Paul's mentor for awhile. In fact, at the beginning of the first missionary journey, Barnabas was always mentioned first and then Paul, as if Barney was the leader. Somewhere along the way, the order switches, as they seem gradually to shift the leadership as they gained experience. Remember on the first journey they were learning what it meant to “do missions” and how to do it.

The fight was over John Mark. That young man had accompanied them on the first trip, but he turned around and went home before half the journey was completed. Some have suggested he got homesick. Others that he was afraid of the opposition. Still others noted Paul was about to become the leader, and Mark didn't like the way Paul was bossing around his cousin Barnabas. We don't know. The scripture doesn't tell us. But Paul was unhappy with him and was opposed to taking him on another trip.

It was Paul's idea to take another trip and revisit the churches they had begun and see how all the new Christians were doing. But Paul didn't trust Mark and didn't want him with them. Barnaabas wanted to give the kid a second chance. The dispute became sharp enough that the two split. Barney would take the kid and go one way, breaking new ground, while Paul enlisted Silas as his companion. So they each went their own way.

Lessons that can be learned and explored further.

1 – Even mature Christian leaders can disagree. Sometimes there is honest disagreement. When I was at Southern Seminary in 1958-59, 13 professors left the school in conflict with the administration. It was not at all doctrinal, but like here in Acts, it was administrative. The school at one time had been run primarily by the faculty, and the president was seen as head of the faculty. Now the president and his administration were making more decisions and the 13 didn't like it. (That same arguments surfaces from time to time in other universities.)

2 – The Lord used the split for good. We have only the record of Paul's trip. I'd love to find a set of Barnabas's notes on his trip. What other churches might they have established and adventure they must have had.

3 – There is more than one way to do something. Often churches are locked in arguments as if the motion before it would be for all eternity. I have several times eased debate by pointing out, “If we pass it and don't like it, we can go back and do it another way.” Of course some issues are more permanent than others. If you build a half million dollar building, you can't just go back and do THAT another way.

At the second stop, Lystra, they met a man, probably a young man, whose name was Timothy. He was of mixed race, a Jewish mother and a Gentile father. To avoid unnecessary disputes, he circumcised Tim, so the Jews would accept him. Remember Paul first entered synagogues everywhere he went as long as they would let him teach there.

4 – Notice both Paul and Silas mentored apparently younger men. These men would be able in a year or so to do what their mentors were now doing. Learning by example is an excellent way to learn. Almost certainly both Mark and Tim in their travels came across one or more of Jesus's original Twelve and hear the message from their mouths.

Who are YOU training?

THE PIVOT POINT

Acts 15

Remember that time you were introduced to someone, and that someone changed your life? Or that time you chose a job in this state rather than a very different one? Pivot points crop up in life. The decision made then determines a huge amount of your future. The early church had come to that point.

Remember two weeks ago I wrote an introduction to the Book o f Acts. I told of the Faith beginning with 120 people filled with the Holy Spirit, who hit the streets and changed the world by thousands at a time. By the end of the book, the Gospel is being preached in the capital of the Roman Empire unhindered. Along the way, we discover how God led His people away from being a privileged few to an open altar call of “Whosoever will may come and take of the water of life freely and without cost.” Today's lesson hits at a critical point, and a decision shared by a group that seemed to be the pillars at the center of the young church.

The early church began in many people's minds as an off-shoot of Judaism. They considered it branch of Judaism. After all, they had Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes (of the Dead Sea Scrolls). And they were all Jews. They differed on some things, but had a core set of beliefs for all of them: circumcision, sacrifices, and certain dietary laws, for example.

But a problem emerged as the Gospel began to spread. Some of the Christians came from Gentiles. They were not circumcised and they did not follow the Jewish dietary laws. In addition they came from a background with a very different morality. So some of those who objected and believed one had to become a Jew first and then a Christian, began to stir up dissent. They would follow Paul and Barnabas into various towns and begin to teach the new Christians they

needed to be circumcised.

Paul makes very clear in his writings that salvation comes by grace through faith without works. The changed life produces works, but a very different kind of works. The Judaisers are talking about keeping the Law, including circumcision and dietary laws. But Paul means works such as service to people stemming from God's transformation. See Ephesians 2:8-10.

Sometimes the Jewish opponents became violent, even to the point of stoning Paul and running him and his crew out of town. When Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch from where they had started, they were well received. As they related their successes, Then the Christians in their home base rejoiced. But word reached the church at Jerusalem that They were preaching and baptizing Gentiles without requiring circumcision or other observances.

Meantime a group of these Judaizers (as they were called) had come to Antioch to teach circumcision. That got Paul and Barnabas bent all out of shape and they contradicted these men, and a “church fight” ensued. To solve the squabble, the Antioch Church sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem along with some others to ask some of Jesus's original Twelve how they understood the Gospel.

Along the way, they told their stories of God's great salvation transforming many Jews and Gentiles in different cities in “Asia” (mostly part of what we call Turkey today). In 15:4 Luke tells us they were well received by the “apostles and elders.” They told their story.

Thena group, who were Pharisees and Christians combined insisted that the new Christians must be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. Apparently they discussed the issue back and forth for a good while. Finally, Peter stood up and reminded them of his experience with the Roman Centurion. On that occasion he witnessed an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that took him back to the Spirit's coming on the day of Pentecost. He said that God knows our hearts, and if He confirmed their conversion without requiring more, that what right do we have to “place that burden on them?”

Paul and Barnabas continued to add the signs and wonders they had witnessed as God moved among the Gentiles. Jesus's brother James then stood and pointed out that it had always been God's intention to offer salvation to all. He quoted scripture to prove it. (Note the early church valued what we call the Old Testament.) James then proposed a sort of compromise. He stated four things he – and presumably the others – considered important and suggested writing a letter to the churches asking four things of them:

1 – Abstain from food offered to idols.

2 – Abstain from sexual immorality

3 - From eating meat from animals killed by strangling (probably because of the importance of blood being spilled).

4 – And from blood, which was offered to the Lord. There goes my rare steaks!

The group agreed and further decided to send some men back to Antioch with the missionaries to confirm what they had said. They carried with them the letter you can read in verses 23-29.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COUNCIL...

1 – It settled that only acceptance of the gospel was necessary to become a Christian. Neither circumcision, nor observance of the Jewish law was required.

2 – The Judaizing issue was settle.

3 – The argument from experience was laid alongside Scripture that explained it.

4 – At least two of the Twelve who had been with Jesus, probably more, agreed Paul and Barnabas had it right. Scholars consider James the leader at Jerusalem.

5 – The possible establishment of the Council idea and principle. The history of the church, especially the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, established a great deal of official doctrine through Councils, such as Nicaea. But was this idea correct?

Suppose for example that Peter and James had ruled that Gentiles must be circumcised also, do you think Paul would have accepted this. Or would he have said, as Luther did 1500 years later, “Here I stand. I can do not other?” I for one believe that had Paul not got their approval, he would have told that Council at Jerusalem, That they were wrong, and he would continue to baptize the uncircumcised.

Baptists, by the way, have been strong supporters of the “Priesthood of the Believers.” Until around 1970 that doctrine meant that we did not have to go through any priest, church, or creed to get to God. Rather we could go directly to Him . Our beliefs come from the Bible as interpreted by the individual believer, and there is no creed but the Bible.

A “conservative resurgence in the SBC from about 1970 til now has moved away from that idea and given more authority to The Baptist Faith and Message than any previous confession of faith. From Baptist origins in the 17^th century until the late 20^th, our theology was in reaction to the Catholic church. But the Second Vatican Counsel made significant churches to the Catholic approach to laity and the world. Taking their place as the foil for SBC doctrine was modernism: Evolution, the “Big Bang,” and certain forms of Biblical criticism. Thus the shift from a loose interpretation of the individual's priesthood to a more authoritative creed-like structure in an effort to clarify and assure our conservative stance.

It is instructive to read and compare the 1963 and 2000 versions of that document, voted on by the SBC in session. I consider the intrduction to 1963 among the greatest doctrinal statements in Baptist History.

GODS OR DEMONS?

WELCOMED OR STONED?

Acts 14

Paul's in boot-camp! In Philippiaans 4:11 he tells us he has learned to be content or at least able to deal with any condition that comes along – for better and worse. Chapter 14 tells us some of the first lessons of both good and bad times. Although, he needed to get rid of both.

Remember the Antioch church had set them aside at the Spirit's direction, and Barnabas and Paul went on what's known as Paul's first missionary journey. It may be the first foreign missionary journey any time – at least for Christianity. In Chapter 14, they find themselves worshiped as gods and stoned for demons. Man! Talk about an emotional roller-coaster!

But for aa minute let's back up and see what has happened since leaving Antioch.

First, they went by boat to Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Luke notes that John Mark was with them. They began a pattern they followed almost everywhere. Since Paul was a well-respected rabbi, trained under the best, he had an open pulpit in any synagogue. From examples of apostolic teaching elsewhere, he almost certainly began by scanning Jewish history from the Exodus through the prophets, often beginning as far back as Abraham. Then he proclaimed what God had done in recent days through Jesus the Messiah and usually adding his own testimony. Throughout Acts, we see the same three results, some believed and joyfully joined their growing numbers, some were interested but not ready to commit, and the third group rejected the message and its messengers. At least half the time, these were fellow Jews who wanted to remain in their belief. A few became violent enough to chase the apostles out of town or even try to kill them. Life following Jesus can be hard.

I found a website of “Christian Hedonists” with one article labeled, “God Wants His Pastors to Be Happy!” Well. I still think of myself as a pastor, even in a retirement, and you know, I never thought of that as God's will for me. Yeah, most of the time I was very happy and enjoyed what I was doing. God created me for that lifestyle. But I would have to say God primarily calls His pastors (and people) to be faithful! To carry out the mission and the assignment he has given them. What about the third world countries in which pastors aare imprisoned for being Christians and trying to win others? Any sound doctrine of ecclesiology and Christian leadership should apply across the globe and in multiple societies.

Meanwhile, back in Cypress and “Asia” (now Turkey) some of the Jews who did not accept that Jesus was the promised Messiah, tried to squelch the new faith they considered a Jewish heresy. They drove Paul and Barnabas out of town. Further they followed him to other towns and told their cohorts to watch out for those imposters preaching heresy.

Their first opponent on Cypress was a “sorcerer” named Elymas, who got really bent out of shape when a government official, the proconsul of the area got interested in Christianity. He began loudly abusing Paul, but the preacher out-trash-talked him and threw a spell of blindness on him. Note he was already blind to the gospel.

The missionaries then left Cypress for the mainland at Perga. At that point, John Mark turned back. No explanation is given, but a bit later when about to set out on a second journey, Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them. Paul refused on the grounds he turned back, and the two split. Noticed God used even this disagreement between two good men to double the missionary force. Notice also Paul picked up Timothy to accompany him and Silas. (I'm getting ahead of the story, but I'm my own editor, so...) You could conclude that from the very beginning training the next generation is vital. Who are you mentoring?

Chapte 13 contains another example of the first century sermons I mentioned above. The audience apparently received the message well, because they hung around afterward and invited them to speak again the next Sabbath. A huge crowd (“the whole city”) came the next week. Some of the Jews disagreed violently and started heckling them. Paul then told them they always preached first to the Jews as God's people, but if they didn't accept the message, they would turn to the Gentiles. He also quoted scripture to show God allowed, predicted, and approved of the whole world getting the message.

And now we come (finally!) to Sunday's lesson from Acts 14. Some troublemakers had followed the missionary expeditions and stirred up the local citizenry about the Gospel. As a result of that pressure, Paul and Barnabas traveled away from the coast into the heartlands of what is not Turkey. The next stop was in Iconium on the border of Capadocia. Cappadocia is still a remarkable area with its “fairy chimneys,” mountains with caves, and homes emerging from the rocks. Google it and click on Images.

In Iconium, the apostles ran into the same emerging pattern. First came successful preaching and many new converts. This led to a division among the people and sometimes rioting. Then Paul healed a man and chaos broke loose. They had no idea what to do. The Greek's first reaction was to call them gods walking on earth. Since a major Temple to Zeus, the chief of the gods (you may remember him from the Roman system as Jupiter) was there in Lystra, the people called them Zeus and Hermes (Mercury). The chief priest of the shrine to Zeus came prepared to offer sacrifice to them. So the same day they were called demonic and divine. With difficulty they convinced the people not to crown them or sacrifice to them.

Next, the persistent Jewish opposition showed up and swayed the crowd back to hostility. So they stoned Paul, pulled him outside the city, and left him for dead. But like Mark Twain, the rumor of his death was greatly exaggerated. He eventually aroused and the next day He and Barnabas left town and resumed their travels. More learning how to be content, via the college of literal hard knocks.

Look down to the last paragraph of the chapter. Paul and Barnabas began to retrace their steps, even into the cities they had been chased out of! They were beginning the process of deepening their discipleship and appointing leaders for the churches. Note especially verse 22: We must go through many hardshipsto enter the Kingdom of God! Hardships? How does that fit into the “prosperity gospel”? You're right, it doesn't. Remember Jesus talking about a wide road and a narrow road?

They retraced their steps, once again visiting the churches they had established. Their intention was to make sure the church was still growing, and the leaders were capable. Eventually, they came back to a huge welcome in their base church of Antioch. They reported their experiences in detail to that congregation and stayed with them “a long time.”

NEXT WEEK: A major crossroad!

INTRO TO ACTS

FOCUS ON 13-28

I have retired from my Sunday School class, but I plan to keep posting these notes, at least for awhile. I will re-emphasize that I'm assuming those following these lessons are in classes studying Experiencing the Bible, published by Lifeway. My focus is on ideas not contained or perhaps not adequately explained in the printed quarterly. The quarterlies have a space limit and must follow certain guidelines. I don't, so I can ignore some things and expand on others. By the time when the quarterly writer gets his assignment, the editor has already chosen the specific passage to be studied and outlined it. My notes may jump around all over the place.

If you are a long time Bible student, let me recommend to you the “Daily Study Bible” by William Barclay, a Scottish pastor and scholar. In sermon prep, I frequently started with the technical commentaries, from the most detailed on down. Barclay was last, because his work is in small volumes and divided into daily readings if you want to do it that way. But I soon discovered, he was regularly choosing the best parts from the technical study and putting them in simple language. You can buy the whole NT set in hardback or paperback, or you could just buy the one or two on the book you are presently interested in.

Having said that, I think this will be an excellent quarterly. By all means read the editor's introduction, short but excellent. Likewise the writer's intro is well done. I won't repeat their points, but you should read it and refer back from time to time.

One of them points out a traditional division of Acts as first about Peter in the first 12 chapters, and the rest about Paul. Well...sort of...It's more about the Gospel's progress from Jerusalem to Rome. Luke follows the outline given by Jesus's last words to His disciples: You shall be my witnesses,beginning in Jerusalem, then all Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth!” The first 12 chapters cover Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. From 13 on, we see the faith exploding worldwide. Baptist scholar and New Orleans Seminary prof Frank Stagg put out an easily understood commentary on Acts, emphasizing the expansion from Jerusalem to Rome. Luke famously changed the voice of many of his sentences (remember your grammar?) from third person to first about half way through. He begins to say “We” instead of “he or they.”

I see no compelling reason to look for any other author than the traditional Luke, though some have. Acts is the second part of a two-part work, Luke-Acts. Both are addressed to someone he calls “Theophilus.” which means friend of God. That could actually be his name or nickname, or it could be an open invitation to any God-follower to get some basic information. In his gospel, Luke says he researched all the information he could find to make sure he presented the best account of what happened that he could. He repeated his greeting to the same man at the beginning of Acts. Presumably he continued his research into the various accounts of what happened, how, and why. Remember, as a companion of Paul, he would have met at least Peter, James, and John – and possibly many others.

Now back to the unfolding of Acts. We get sidetracked on the day of Pentecost by focusing on the speaking in tongues. BUT DON'T MISS WHAT HAPPENED!

That first evangelistic explosion happened to thousands who had come to Jerusalem from ALL OVER THE WORLD! And 3,000 were converted that day! FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD! Most of them were Jews, of course, or at least God-fearers, such as the Centurion that sent for Peter later. But these people would have returned to their home countries with an excitement of what happened to them and telling the story of Jesus all over the world. Indeed, they may well have been part of the continuing teaching the next few days in Jerusalem, where another 2,000 were added to the church (4:4).

THE CHRISTIAN FAITH BEGAN AS A MISSIONARY RELIGION! Make no apology for sharing your testimony as to what God has done in your life. A changed life is an unanswerable “argument.”

The book does begin with Peter and his adventures. But when the new church ran into its first church fight (Chap 6) the Twelve appoint the Seven from a group chosen by the congregation – or its emerging leaders. Then the Seven begin first to solve the problem and then turned to witnessing. Indeed one commentator took the famous statement, It would not be right to neglect the ministry of the word of God to serve tables. That commentator pointed out that disdain for doing a lowly job may have hurt their witness, because the story immediately switches from the original Twelve to Stephen and Philip from the Seven.

But notice that the Seven all had Greek names, choosing from among the dispersion people who could relate to the Greeks who were complaining. My point here is the gospel from the very beginning was reaching out to all kinds of people. I imagine my readership from Facebook posts may vary in their feelings about the current political battles on immigration and “the wall.” Aside from that, I don't understand why the church hasn't raised up and said, “The Lord is sending us people. Let's share the gospel with them, even if we have to 'wait tables' to do it!?”

Stephen then preaches to the multitude, raises great opposition, and is stoned to death. As a result the whole church was persecuted and fled from Jerusalem into the countryside and even into Samaria. There Philip preached to crowds, converted a sorcerer, and was led by the Spirit to an appointment with an Ethiopian eunuck, definitely a foreigner, probably black. He was already a God-fearer, and Philip won Him to Christ and baptized him on the spot. Tradition says he went home and established the longest lasting Christian church in the world. The Ethiopian church continued until the government shifted toward Islam in the last 20 or30 years.

Notice that the Holy Spirit led Philip. He didn't move around on his on. The Spirit led him into the desert to find the eunuch. After baptizing the man, that same Spirit led him on a preaching tour from Azotus up to Caesarea, where more action is about to happen.

Two thoughts here: First some have suggested the book be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, because from first to last we see Him at work. The tongues of fire descending on the original 120 in the upper room, and the continuing emphasis on his leadership of Philip, and also Peter preaching up to Caesarea. And at the end of chapter 9, the church enjoys a period of freedom and growth directed by the Spirit.

Second, note that the new group is called the Seven, not deacons. We infer this as the origin of the deacons because of the comment about “serving tables.” The Greek term for serving is “diacono,” thus deacons. The early church did have deacons – their qualifications are spelled out in 1 Timothy. But the Seven might have been an ad hoc committee called to solve one problem, which they did. And by the way, both the Seven and the deacons are to be “filled with the Holy Spirit,” which we conveniently forget. We argue of what is meant by “not given to much strong drink,” and ignore the Spirit. The strong drink means we don't need alcoholics in positions of church leadership. We tend to make our actual choices on how good their attendance is. Does anyone know a local church that might have required evidence of soul-winning for eligibility?

Moving right along, in chapter 10 Peter also has arrived at Caesarea. (It's interesting that Philip is already there. Did he have anything to do with the invitation?) He had the miraculous dream/vision of the unclean animals let down on a sheet from heaven. What God has cleansed THAT call thou NOT common or unclean! And Peter woke and went with a delegation that brought him to a Roman centurion, also a God-fearer, but a Roman and not a Jew. Do you see the dream as a call to missions? And Peter, considered by many the chief of the disciples, had to struggle with it. He who preached to thousands walked in and asked the Centurion, what do you want? HE KNEW what the man wanted, but he was a Roman and not a Jew. And Peter says in effect, “I am just beginning to catch on that God is no respecter of persons.” Just beginning? Just beginning? After preaching to thousands? Before I jump on Peter, though, I need to ask Perry how quick he catches on to what the Spirit is doing? And what about you?

Do you see the progress here?All kinds of people are being saved. The church is already a hodge-podge. A couple more chapters about Peter, and then the scene shifts to the Church at Antioch, already a multi-racial and mixed Jewish/Gentile congregation. According to 11: 19 the Antioch church was founded by men from Cypress and Cyrene, an island nation and a city in Northern Africa. These men were used to living among Gentiles, so they had no trouble sharing the gospel story with these Gentiles as well. They had a diverse group, as you can see in 13:1 – even including a likely black man named Niger or Blackie.

Now the disciples in Jerusalem were getting nervous as the faith spread outside of their immediate watchcare. When they heard about Antioch, they sent Barnabas to check it out. (Barney was a committed Christian who had sold land and donated it to the church. His name, Bar – nabas, means son of encouragement in Aramaic.) He did and got excited over what was happening. He had heard of Saul (converted in chapter nine) and went up to his home town of Tarsus and persuaded him to come back with him to Antioch. Neither of them realized what they were about to get into. For a year they taught together, evangelizing and developing the Christians (first called that in Antioch, btw. Before the faith was called the Way.) and I'm sure they learned a great deal themselves along the way that stood them in good stead in the journeys to follow.

Luke does not tell us how, only that the Holy Spirit told the Antiochan church to let Him have Barnabas and Paul for a job he had for them. Possibly the two strongest leaders of the church, and God calls them away. But He also must have thought the church was built up and strong enough to flourish without them. >A church I once pastored had three pianists, and I though we were in good shape. Then one left to play for another church who had NO pianist, but left us in good shape with the first string keyboardist. But then she and her husband moved out of town, leaving us with a third string pianist. But guess what happened. She worked on it and improved and within a year was very capable. The Lord provides, taking care of His church and also developing his people!

Pay attention to their approach. Paul had been a leading rabbi, trained by Gamaliel, the most respected teacher of the time. Therefore he had an open door to Jewish synagogues wherever they travelled, so he began there. Read Chapter 13 for the details. You'll also find a sample sermon that follows the same two-part outline that Peter used on the day of Pentecost. He began with an outline of Jewish history, from Abraham through the Exodus and the Kingdom of David. Next he spoke of prophesies in Scripture, thus leading to the identification of Jesus as Messiah. He then told of the cross and resurrection and salvation open to all who believed. It's a good practice today to begin witnessing to people by beginning from where they are and moving toward your testimony of what God has done for you, confirming it from Scripture, and inviting them to follow Christ.

Notice the simple little verse 13 where Luke throws out casually in passing that John (Mark) left them and returned to Jerusalem. No explanation. But later Paul and Barnabas broke up their team when Barnabas wanted to include Mark s an aide on their second trip. Paul was adamant and went off with Silas and Timothy instead. Note they were training younger team members on both trips. Are you mentoring anyone?

HOW TO GET IT RIGHT!

Leviticus 17 to the End

Zombies are popular these days! It used to be vampires, but now it's zombies. I don't understand the attraction. But I'm pretty sure if I ever met a real one, I'd get a hair-raising experience. Which reminds me: Angels are neither zombies nor vampires, but whenever they show up, people get scared. In the Bible angel appearances almost always begin with “Don't be afraid!” As you stand there with chills going up your spine, you could be said to have a “numinous” experience.”

Numinous – a weird word you may not have met. If you stood by Moses at the bush that burned but wasn't consumed, you may have felt the hair on your arms and the back of your neck tingle. That's numinous. If you had gone to Belshazar's banquet and seen the handwriting appear on the wall, that same spine-tingling feeling might have grabbed you. That's numinous. And if you had been with the three disciples who saw Jesus glowing and transfigured, you might have felt an incredible awe! Who IS this Man? That's numinous.

You feel the numinous when you encounter the holy.

Some books last. A man named Rudolf Otto wrote “The Idea of the Holy” in 1929. He speaks of early humans coming across a place where lightning struck someone and felt awe. This feeling forms the core of religious experience. If you have a scholarly mind, you can buy the book, perhaps from the used books on Amazon. As theological works go, Otto is easy reading.

Another book if you're a reader and want to go deeper, try Worship by Evelyn Underhill.. As the title suggests, she explores the various ways of worship and helps us think through our own understanding of worship.

The central part and main thrust of Leviticus is The Holiness Code that begins in chapter 17 and continues through the end. But this code is different from what Otto and Underhill write about. This code focuses on doing things exactly right in the worship of God. It aims at perfect worship from an imperfect people in an imperfect world.

Of major importance is the concept of clean and unclean. These words mean ritually clean and unclean, fit to enter the temple, offer sacrifice, and worship. This is the path to forgiveness of sin and proper worship. Just from reading the rules for the priests and for sacrifices, we can see how meticulous the worshiper had to be. A side effect of the holiness system is keeping the priesthood of central importance in Israel.

The system was limited, however, as the prophets saw. Jeremiah called for a New Covenant written on the heart that would change behavior as well as purify all their rituals. Eventually, Christ died to extend God's forgiveness to the world.

 

 

YOM KIPPUR

DAY OF ATONEMENT

Leviticus 16

I confess. I did it.

Eve make an excuse: The snake made it look so good to me, but I did it. I ate.

Adam blamed both Eve and God: The Woman whom YOU gave to me gave me a piece of forbidden fruit, but I did eat!

And what did You do?

Each one of us has done wrong and been much less than God called us to be.

In church words: We sinned, we continue to sin, and we will sin!

And what are you going to do about it?

Here's what Israel did (and Jews still observe Yon Kippur somewhat differently – well, a whole lot differently, since they no longer have to haul a bull up to the temple and kill it.)

They held a Day of Atonement (or Covering). Here's a simplified order of service:

The priests take care of their sins first: animal sacrifices!

Then the priest casts lots over two goats, and one is sacrificed. The other

Symbolically receives the sin of the entire congregation and is driven

Outside the camp into the wilderness, thus bearing away their sins.

(Note this is described twice in the same chapter. The first books of the Bible

Often repeat stuff, presumable so you'll get it.)

Then the people come one after the other, bringing the appropriate animal:

They bring bulls, cows, goats, sheep, birds.

They kill the animal themselves after the priest approves it.

They butcher their own animals, possibly with the help of the priests.

The priests sprinkles the blood liberally on the altar.

They either burn the entire animal (whole offering) or parts, such as organs

And fat – especially fat!

Throughout the day, blood from the sacrifice is thrown on the altar again and again. “The life is in the blood.” Thus, the sacrifice of the life blood of the animal makes life available for the worshiper. Incidentally, the Lord also commanded Israel NOT to eat the blood of animals. That would bug me, because I do like my steaks medium rare!

After making the sacrifice, They were to barbecue the remainder of the animal and eat all of it that day. If their family was too small, they were to invite other families, perhaps those who could not afford the larger sacrifices. Thus, the Lord and Moses invented tailgating even before Henry Ford!

Recognize the fellowship created by this feast day and communal eating. It would be like a church picnic or dinner on the grounds. Never underestimate the importance of fellowship. The NT word is koinonia, and it is a basic doctrine of the Christian church. Be very careful before you disrupt the fellowship in the church. If an issue is contentious, ask whether settling this issue now is important enough to disrupt the fellowship. Better to discuss it respectfully and explore the possibilities and options than to create even a hairline fracture in the fellowship. Occasionally there's a issue that important, but most church ruckuses don't come close. Our pastor has several times over the years publicly stated that if we don't get 75-90% agreement, we'll back off. I drive Toyotas, but I am nonetheless in Accord!

The Day of Atonement in Hebrew is Yom Kippur. Literally, the words mean Day of Covering. The word Kippur is the same term used in Exodus for the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. I assume the word atonement came about because they were not merely covering their sins, they were, in a sense, paying for them.

 

 

VERY STRANGE FIRE

Leviticus 10-12

Today's lesson features fire falling from heaven – on the priests! Sons of Aaron, probably his oldest, Nadab and Abihu offered “strange fire” in their fire pans or incense burners. What was this stuff that the KJV calls “strange.”

1 – the Hebrew word means exactly that: strange.

2 – several modern translations say “unauthorized” or “unacceptable. They are reacting to Exodus 30:9, where the Lord tells Moses to keep incense burning before the LORD every morning and evening, but is very specific about making no other offerings on this incense altar.

3 – Both Spanish and German versions use their word for strange.

4 – Your quarterly takes the view that it was not according to God's orders. That might mean an extra offering of some sort or the wrong ritual.

5 – Since Israel always had trouble with idolatry and other gods, they could have offered this to some other god they preferred.

6 – I think there's a good possibility these guys were drunk as skunks. After instructions on dealing with the death of the two priests, the LORD immediately turns to instruct all future generations of priests “Drink no wine or strong drink … when you go into the tent of meeting that you die not!”

How God dealt with their deaths may be interesting. He specified two cousins to bury them, wrapped in the tunics they wore – was this meant to be their secular clothes worn under the priestly garments? It also indicates the heavenly fire didn't burn them into crisps. (Sorry, that's how my mind works...)

Finally, he told Moses and Aaron not to show any signs of grief, but to remain at the door of the Tabernacle. The rest of the tribe of Levi may grieve, however, except for the two brothers next in line for the priesthood. Note also that the next two in line replaced the two buried sons as a sign that the priesthood was biffer than any one person. I have been replaced as pastor a number of times in my life. Obviously others still write the quarterlies I used to write, and other counselors have helped people I once worked with. I can be replaced. So can you. But God's work goes on. (And so does the rest of the world.)

Verses 10-11 explain why priests need clear minds. They must be able to distinguish between clean and unclean, holy and common, and they must be able to teach that to the people. Likewise today, church leaders, including mature laymen, must be able to think clearly about right and wrong, policies of the church, ways of witnessing, Bible interpretation – especially for teachers. How clear and sharp is your mind?

Verses 12-15 instruct the priests to eat their share of the offerings. We should remember “the laborer (church staff) is worthy of his hire” and not begrudge paying them. Remember anytime you don't raise a salary, you are cutting it. If you don't believe that, ask anyone with a fixed income whether it's worth as much today as 5 or 10 years ago.

Chapters 11-12 are regarding clean and unclean foods. Some people have tried to maintain these translate into health considerations. Others disagree. Frankly, I don't feel this applies to us today, and I do not find it useful. Except in one way:

Clean and unclean are not referring to character. They refer to fitness to worship, the ability to stand before God. In the NT Jesus uses different standards. If you have a problem between you and your brother or neighbor, solve it before you go to worship. Some OT scholars, I think also those delving into the Dead Sea Scrolls, are saying that to the people of that day there was no difference between cultic (worship) rules and ethics. Today's application can be seen in the old Catholic tradition of confession the night before mass. I like the idea of clearing your conscience before worship, seeking God's confession of sins.

Frankly I'm sorry the Catholics are moving away from their practice and emphasis on confession. As a counseling pastor, I have seen again and again the freedom that people experience when they actually grasp that God really does forgive them, and they can let go of the guilt. Before you worship this Sunday, what do you need to let go of, confess to God, or receive His forgiveness for?

A LOT OF BULL(S)
Leviticus, Chapters 1-7

I was walking through the huge barn of a county fair one time when the thought hit me: When Israel sacrificed, these are the kinds of animals they would offer! Males without spot or blemish – prize-worthy animals!

The first lesson from sacrifice: Only the best will do. In Genesis 4, Cain brings an offering of the fruit of the ground. Abel brings the fat portions (the best, see below) as his offering. Cain is rejected, Abel accepted. Some have said it's because Abel brought a blood offering, but this doesn't fit with the rest of the Torah, especially today's lessons. To me, the obvious difference is Abel brought the best, Cain brought lesser quality. Sacrifice as an act means sacrifice as an attitude, the willingness to give up something.

The second lesson from sacrifice: the Lord designed the system for any level of society. The offerings include male and females, cattle, sheep, goats, birds, grains. Likewise the 10% tithe is automatically a sliding scale for the pauper and the rich man.

The third lesson surprised me. I just now noticed that some sacrifices could be either male or female, not only bulls and rams, but cows, sheep, and goats.

A fourth lesson also surprised me: Offering the fat parts was essential. The next to last verse of Chapter 3 even says “The fat is the Lord's!” Do you suppose that means the Lord specially loves the obese among us? At least it's eternally safe to be overweight. On the other hand, you might get to eternity more quickly!

The fifth lesson is that sin is serious, it costs us something. In reality sin is sin because it hurts us and other people. Often the pain recoils on us and sin becomes its own punishment. But all sin is also against God, and He must forgive us. Sacrifice leads to the covering, or atonement, of our sin. The word translated “atonement” here is very similar to the word “cover” in speaking of the lid of the ark. Thus sacrifice, whether of bulls or goats or Jesus Christ covers our sins, or atones for them.

Sixth lesson: God provides a way out, a covering, an atonement. From the beginnings of Israel as the people of God, He designed an appropriate way to find forgiveness.

Seventh: This is highly participating worship! In NO sense can one find atonement only by watching sacrifice. The one who brought the animal must lay his hand on that animal, have the priest accept it, and then slaughter it himself! It's unclear at what point the priests helped in the sacrifice, but my guess is during the butchering of the meat. Those of you who have field dressed and perhaps prepared deer meat should have a good sense of what this was like.

Eighth: This was also joint worship and fellowship – sort of like tailgating! For many, perhaps most, of the sacrifices, the priests threw the blood and fat and sometimes various organs on the altar. The rest was barbecued and eaten by the family of the one who sacrificed but also including other families they may have invited. Reminds me of after-church fellowships!

NOTE:  Be sure and read the quarterly. This is unusually good, and you may want to save the comparison chart of sacrifices.

Exodus and Freedom

Sunday is our last lesson in Exodus. In November we study Leviticus, but not to panic. I had to write a quarterly once on Lev-Numbers, and I found a lot more interesting stuff than I expected to. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we're entering Halloween week – Hallowed Eve, All Saints Day. The latter was begun by Catholics, I imagine in the tradition of the Athens altar to the “unknown god” in case they had missed one. Paul declared he had met that God and His name was Jesus, so He is no longer unknown.

Speaking of Catholics, I found a beautiful blog this week from a Nun with a great idea. She teaches school kids New Testament, and she always asks how this passage contributes to freedom! Don't know whether I've even mentioned freedom in this study, certainly not enough. Exodus is all about freedom. The Lord freeing His people from slavery is the central theme. In fact, it's the great saving act of God in the OT, mentioned again and again in the Psalms and prophets, even in the NT!

But notice how Israel had trouble with freedom. They kept limiting it. Run into a spot of trouble, and they were all for running back to let the Egyptians take care of them. Then when Moses stayed on the mountain longer than they thought proper, they chained themselves to a golden statue, fashioning their own slavery. They couldn't control this YAHWEH, let's confine Him in a bull's body where He's predictable. No more scary appearances and commanding discipline.

Sound like anyone you know? Sure.

But how free are you? How have you chained yourself up?

Now let's look at the parts of the last chapters that our editors have chosen for Sunday...

When the craftsmen finished their work, they presented it, and Moses inspected it. The Lord instructed Moses to set up the tabernacle on the first day of the first month. That may be indicating a tradition that Israel's dating system was to begin with the setting up of the tabernacle and all its fittings.

When they set up the Tabernacle, aka the Tent of Meeting, the cloud covered it, and even Moses would not enter. The cloud was the strong indicator of the presence of the Lord. That first awesome appearance was perhaps His way of personally dedicating their place of worship.

The cloud found its resting lace over the tent. At night it was replaced by fire. Sinai, aka Horeb, was also called the Mount of God. They may have thought of it as His dwelling place. Scholars mostly agree that Sinai was a volcano, which fits with Moses and Elijah experiencing God in earthquake, fire, and wind. If so, the cloud and fire would be a reminder of the Lord, and it may have been as if God were taking His home with them and pitching His tent among His people.

Finally, the Lord would lead them by the cloud and the pillar of fire. They were to follow the cloud when it moved on, and when it grew too dark to see, the fire replaced it. God was leading His people and pitched His tent among them.

How does God lead you today? Probably not by clouds or fired. How? Do you feel He dwells among us still?

And do His laws restrict us or free us?

MORE GOLDEN CALF STUFF

I realized in the middle of last night that if the Israelites had athletic teams, they must have been called Golden Bulls!

Then Thursday morning in an eThought article, my friend and excellent church consultant, Randy Tompkins, reminded me of some things, one of which had never crossed my mind although it should have. Look in Exodus 24!

Before the events of Sunday's lesson I posted Wednesday night, and after the giving of the 10 Commandments, God called Moses AND A WHOLE DELEGATION at least partway up Mt Sinai. It included three leaders (a sort of executive committee?) and 70 elders, probably from the judges we saw established in Chapter 19.

The purpose seems to have been a worship experience crafted by the Lord Himself. But before they went up, Moses gathered Israel and read the Ten Words to them plus some other materials that made up the Book of the Covenant. In response, the people affirmed again “All the Lord said, we will do.” Then Moses took sacrificial blood and sprinkled it on the people. Sprinkle implies a throwing, perhaps dipping a leafy branch into the blood and symbolically throwing it toward the crowd. Again Israel confirmed the covenant, the same one they would a few days later smash!

Then to the 73 men plus Moses and Joshua God revealed Himself in an awesome display of holiness. His glory lingered on the mountain for a week, after which He called Moses higher. Moses challenged them to wait for him near the base of the hill with Aaron and Hur in charge. Then with Joshua he disappeared into the glory/mist toward the top of Sinai.

Then in Chapter 33 Moses continues contending for his people. God still is claiming Moses brought HIS people from Egypt, and Moses isn't buying it. They are the Lord's people. Furthermore the Lord has been saying He's still furious and the people and will delegate leadership to an angel, because if He Himself went, He would lose it and burn them all up! Moses put the brakes on that pretty quick. Lord if You Yourself don't go with us, we're not going anywhere, and I certainly won't. Once again the Lord relents and promises His presence in their travels.

Then Moses asks for his own spiritual revival/renewal. He asks for the Lord to reveal Himself again. God grants his wish and reveals Himself to Moses in a tremendous display of glory.

Once again pay attention that the Old Testament is not merely about law. When The Law was first given to Israel, the Lord called 73 men up the hill for a tremendous worship experience. Now Moses has been through what must have been a very scary rebellion (altho Moses was so mad, he didn't have time to be afraid). He had put down first the rebellion of the people, then God's threatening Himself to rebel and destroy His people. He needed the refreshment of holiness.

Neither can we live the Christian life based on our childhood experiences. Or even later adult rededications. We need day to day nourishment through a quiet time, weekly corporate worship, and occasional high experiences of revival. Moses asked God for it. I dare you to do the same!

WHEN GOD WANTED TO START OVER

God: Moses, I'm still furious! Get out of my way. I'm gonna burn 'em all up and start over with you. You'll be the new Abraham! I've had it with YOUR people YOU brought out of Egypt. Golden calves indeed!

Moses: Whoa, Lord! These are YOUR people that YOU brought out of the land of Egypt! Remember all that stuff about bringing them here on eagle's wings?

G: They sure don't act like it. After all I've done for them, they built a golden calf and claimed THAT CALF brought them from Egypt. Nonsense. I'll burn 'em all up!

M: And then the Egyptians will say You only brought them into the desert to kill them. What kind of God is that? Besides, you promised Abraham that his descendants will become a great nation. We're just about to do that.

G: Well, maybe I WAS a bit too hasty there. OK, I'll give them another chance, but we got to deal with this first.

It's easy to miss how important this is. Pay special attention to the pronouns. The Lord is trying to foist the people off on Moses, but Moses will have none of it. He keeps pointing out God chose these people and delivered them. Remember these are also the same people Moses must be frustrated with. Over and over, they had tried to rebel, claiming Moses brought them out to the desert to die. Over and over they had griped and him. And they would keep doing it! And MOSES KNEW THAT. He had never wanted this job in the first place. Tried everything he could to talk God out of it with no success.

To me, this is a high point of the Old Testament. In begging God not to give up on the people, Moses himself had to forgive those same people. Think for a minute. These are the same people who a few days before swore in a pledge to the Lord, “You only will we serve.” But Moses had their back. With all their faults, he had learned to love them and identify with them. And God honored Moses and His covenant with Abraham.

Note we often hear that in those days they were under law, and we are under grace. Sounds good, but not true. The Sinai covenant was a covenant of grace. Israel had violated radically the covenant even white the details were being spelled out. When one party violates a covenant, it is no longer good. But the Lord honored His covenant anyway. That's grace, not law. The Law itself was given by grace!

Now let's back up and look at what caused this word duel between God and Moses. At the beginning of Chapter 32 the people are (surprise!) grumbling again. Moses is gone.

We haven't seen any sign of him for several days. For that matter, we've seen no sign of that God of his – what was His name? Yahweh or something? Hey Aaron! Make us some gods to lead us. We need some kind of leader. We have no clue what has happened to Moses.

Exodus records no sign of Aaron resisting their request. He doesn't stand up for his brother, nor counsel patience, at least for a few days. He simply says to bring him some gold to work with. Then he takes the gold and with great craftsmanship he creates a golden calf. I suspect this is a bull calf. The Secomd Commandment may have been aimed specifically at Israel's tendency to represent God as a bull. Years later when Solomon died, Israel split off its ten tribes from Judah. To prevent his people from returning to the temple in Jerusalem to worship, Jereboam built temples at Bethel and Dan, the southern and northern borders, and placed bulls as their god to worship. Very possibly Israel called those bulls Yahweh – or at least thought of them that way if they didn't say the name.

Then Aaron spoke blasphemy, knowing he was not telling the truth, saying “These are your gods that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” So they worshipped, ate, and “rose up to party!” KJV says “play,” but this was certainly sexual play and moral depravity.

In the middle of the revelry Moses came down the mountain in a rage, breaking all ten commandments at once! He immediately confronted Aaron, “I left you in charge! What are these people doing?”

“Moses, you know what these people are like! They came to me with all their jewelry telling me to make them a god. I through the stuff in the fire, and this calf came out!” (If you believe that...) Moses pushed past his brother, grabbed the calf and somehow ground it into powder. He poured the powder into water and made the people drink it! Then he called for those who were with him, and the tribe of Levi (Moses and Aaron's people) answered and proceeded to put down the rebellion. I imagine they had witnessed those who led the rebellion, attacked those first and then any who supported them.

It has always troubled me that Moses never punished his brother. I expect they had some furious arguments in the privacy of their tents, tho.

This is Perry's speculation:

The tribe of Levi, Moses's own tribe, responded to his call. We were raised with the knowledge of Israel's 12 tribes, but I'm not sure I grasped it until the Iraq war came along with the emphasis on the Middle East. Sadam Hussein filled his government with his family and friends from his home town of Tikrit. These were the only people he felt he coult trust. An old Arab saying has it you can only fully trust your immediate family, then the tribe, but no one else. A lot of the trouble in the Middle East comes from the colonialists dividing the land into countries and other divisions without paying attention to tribes and religions. In Korea, Kim can't even trust his family. (Reminds me of Herod the Great.

Later, David first became king for seven years only over Judah, Benjamin, and the half tribe of Dan. That was the exacr split three generations later into the northern and southern kingdoms. Tribal alliances.

A PORTABLE GOD

Back in 1976 I was writing my second quarterly for the Baptist Sunday School Board, now Lifeway, and the first, I think, in a new curriculum called the Bible Book Series. I came to the lesson about God's command to build the Tabernacle and found plenty of commentary discussions and information. Two lessons later, the last in the book, was a discussion of how they built the Tabernacle. When I turned back to the commentaries, every corron-picking one referred me back to their previous discussion under God's command! I probably learned a few cuss words at the time. (Forgotten them now, of course.)

One overwhelming truth comes forth: They obeyed God exactly! Exactly!

Every father reading this who had a child over ten has put together a swing set – once! We ordered one from Sears and the delibery man unloaded it in my driveway. It was one box, 8-10 feet long, and about four by eight at the end. “That's it?” I asked. “That's it. Sign here.” I signed. I then found aall the parts were cleverly packed in that one box and proceeded to assemble it. Being male, I only occasionally looked at the instructions, but did amazingly well until...until I was almost through and found I did not have the particular bolt that would fit in that place. I took the instructions and went to get something to drink and to rest a bit. I found they did indeed include the bolt, but I had used it in another place earlier. I had to take apart half of what I had done to retrieve the part the set required. Eventually, I got it put up but vowed never again. And by the way, whenever I have told that tale, every father in the room gets this silly look on his face and bobs his head up and down. We've also maliciously received satisfaction as our sons have followed with the same experience.

Israel did not have that problem. They followed God's commands exactly. Could some of our problems come from...?

Some miscellaneous thoughts about the Tabernacle:

1 – They took up a free-will offering from those who were willing. The offering consisted of materials needed to build the Tabernacle. Today's lesson in the quarterly comes out of chapter 25, but it's repeated again around 35. In between is the golden calf episode. I can't help but wonder whether they robbed the Tabernacle offering to build the calf? What gift has God asked of you that you failed to deliver because you spent it on another of your gods?

Note that the offering was not a levy, but was free-will. They were to give as an act of worship. Likewise, no amount would be specified, therefore they gave as they were able. Why do we honor those who give large gifts? Jesus particularly pointed out the woman who dropped only a penny in the collection box.

2 – The Tabernacle was portable. It had to last through 40 years in the wilderness. Wherever Israel went, the Tabernacle went. Its presence reminded them that God was with them and leading them. Many in that day thought of gods as ruling over particular territories. Later, when Israel was established in the Promised Land, if a drought came, they would sometimes worship the Baals of the Canaanites, thinking perhaps that was the rain god. But the Lord Yahweh was the God of the whole earth. Wherever they went, and wherever we go, He is there.

3 – The Tabernacle shows that God intends to be the center of our lives. Whenever and wherever Israel encamped, they first set up the Tabernacle in the center of the camp. Then all the tribes set up around it in the same designated place. Their camp always looked the same. I suspect thaat gave a sense of security, since you could always know where to find your friends and relations. You can often see pictures of small towns with a white frame church and a steeple pointing to the sky. For many in that town, the church was central to their life. How central is Christ in your life?

The Ark of the Covenant

Don't confuse with Noah. This ark was the size of a modern day cedar chest, gold-plated with rings danglin from the sides through which poles could be inserted for priests to carry the ark in their travels. The ark was the center of the Tabernacle (metaphorically, not physically). God would speak to Moses and Aaron from between two cherubim on the cover of the ark. In the ark would be placed samples of manna and Aaron's rod which had miraculously flowered.

To other features of the ark need to be discussed. First, cherubim were not baby angels as portrayed by medieval artists. (Incidentally, the angels that show up in the Bible don't look like those pictures either. When described, they always look like men.) Cherubim were beasts like the four portrayed along with the wheels in Ezekiel. The cherub was an animal/human mixture. The Sphinx is a form of cherub. My guess is that they were winged bulls with men's heads. I saw a huge version of one in Chicago's Oriental Museum that had stood beside the gates of Babylon. I suspect that's a replica, but a good one.

King James uses the term “Mercy Seat” to describe the cover of the ark. Years ago the term bugged me. Apparently the term was invented in the 4^th century AD by a monk – I'm not sure why. I looked up the Hebrew word used here. It is “cabod,” which should be translated cover or lid. It was a gold covered lid with two cherubim on it, but it was still a lid, a cover.

Incidentally, the same word got to be translated as “atonement” later in the OT. In the Greek translation of the word “cabod” the scribes used the word “hilasmos.” also translated “atonement.” It's an interesting NT study to substitute the word “cover or covering” for atonement. You'll find it works in many places. One particular place is 1 John 2:1, where KJV uses “propitiation” and nowadays almost always “atonement.” The latter is better, IMHO, that propitiation, but I still wonder whether John was thinking, “He is the covering for our sins...”

I can't help but note God named his sub-contractors! He knew their names and the quality of their work. Besalil, son of Uri, son of Hur, plus Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. The Lord even knew their lineage! Further, He has equipped them with special wisdom and technical wisdom to carry out the Lord's command.

I find it easy to believe also that God led Moses and his subs to choose the laborers to put together the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. One of the most important concepts in the Christian life is discovering, developing, and utilizing the gifts God has given each of us. Key passages to follow up here are Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and I believe 1 Peter 2.

By giving of their personal jewelry and other materials, all Israel had a part in the building. Thus when you contribute to a building fund, you can later point ot it and say you had a very real part in its construction.

WAR
ORGANIZING
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

War

As the covered wagons drew up in circles to fight off marauding Indians, so the Israelites had to confront Amalekites. These warriors were from the tribe of Amalek and could be compared to our Indians. Don't think of this as a full fledged war, such as we read in the days of David. Rather, this is a passing action to drive off this group that hoped to plunder these strngers moving through their desert.

Moses appointed Joshua the military leader. A fine choice, for he eventually took over when Moses died, but now he's about to fight his first battle. Recognize the Lord's hand in this battle. The Israelites were in great physical condition, as construction workers are today. But they were not soldiers and would not have had many actual weapons. The victory was definitely as much a miracle as the manna, quail, and plagues.

Moses when to a hilltop to oversee the battle. Aaron and Hur accompanied him. They noticed that when Moses held up his staff for all to see, Joshua's side began to win. As the day wore on, and Moses grew tired, however, his arms failed and he lowered the rod. Aaron and Hur noticed that when the rod dropped, the Amalekites recovered lost ground, so they immediately propped up Moses arm and kept, as it were, the flag flying!

                        Organization

By now, they were approaching Sinai, where Moses originally saw the burning bush. They were also back into his father-in-law Jethro's terriroty. (Notice in the Hebrew and KJV it's ALWAYS “Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses.” By the end of the book we definitely know their relationship!) Anyway, Jethro shows up with Moses's wife nd two sons. The wife's name was Zipporah, or Birdie, and the older son was called Gershom, because Moses had been a “stranger in a strange land.” Science fiction writer Robert Heinlein wrote a book by that name, a visit from a man from another planet, whose earthly experience loosely followed that of Jesus. Good book. I recommend it. Gave us the word “grok.”


Anyway, Moses goes to greet them, ignores his wife, and kisses his father-in-law. Does that seem strange to you? Moses gives Jethro a full retelling of all the Lord had done for them. Jethro rejoices and offers sacrifice to the Lord. Apparently Jethro worshiped the same God in much the same way. Just as the patriarchs seem to have returned to places of origin to find wives, so perhaps Moses may have done likewise, looking for his own Little Bird.

The next day Moses went out as appears to be his habit to “judge” the people of Israel. Long lines awaited an audience with him, and this went on all day. That night, Jethro asked his son-in-law what he had been doing. Moses couldn't help but brag a little. “They all trust my judgment and come to me whenever they have squabbles and disagreements.”

Rather than being impressed, Jethro tells Moses he is out of his every-loving mind! You are worn out, and nobody wants to stand in line all day with someone they're squabbling with. Get some organization here. I'll show you how.” And they set up a hierarchy. At the borrom a judge would handle only ten families. Over ten of those judges was another level, a judge of a hundred. Likewise over a thousand. It must have functioned like our appelate court system.

Now catch this, because I have never seen it in a commentary, but it practically screams at me. In the next couple of chapters, God is going to give Moses the law, not just the Ten Commandments, but much more. Before the Lord did this, He led Moses to set up and organization to teach and administer that law! Likewise, God is providing for our future right now!

                                        Making a Covenant                       

When Israel arrived at the base of Sinai, the Lord spoke to Moses very beautifully: “I have brought you on eagles' wings to myself! He pointed to what they had seen Him do to Egypt and all He had done to escort them across the desert. Then He offered them the same covenant He had offfered to Abraham. “If you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.”

The people all responded together, “WE WILL DO EVERYTHING THE LORD HAS SAID!”  Note this especially, because next week we will see that their piety disappeared like the morning dew.

Then the Lord gave them a ceremony to mark the beginning of the covenant with His new people. The next day, He appeared to them from the mountain in earthquakes, smoke, and lighting. In the background came the sounds of thunder and a trumpet (probably a shofar – the ram sheep horn.)

In the middle of the last century, a theologian pointed out that God always gives before He demands. In the NT, He gives us His Son before he demands we receive that gift. It is so here. God brought them to Sinai on eagles' wings. He reminds them that He freed them from Egypt and led them across the desert to Sinai. Now His demand is they accept Him as their God and obey His commands. Note that He still gives them the choice, which they clearly accept!

God today still gives and demands. When we consider how much He has done for us, those memories and thanksgivings can impel us to follow His calls!

                                        The Ten Commandments

Introducing the Ten Commandments, also known as The Ten Words, God again reminds the people of His gift before laying down His commands. He had brought them from Egypt and freed them from slavery, THEREFORE...

Note He also identified Himself clearly. He is Yahweh, written without vowels, YHWH, four letters called the Tetragrammaton. As revealed to Moses in Chapter 3, the name is based on the verb to be. I like Paul Tillich's characterization of God as the Ground of Being (the source of existence, the Creator). But this is meant as a personal name, reflecting personhood of God. What does it mean to say God is a Person. A Russian theologian said it means at least what we mean in referring to a human as a person.

The First Commandment: No other gods. Because there are no other gods. Some interpreters try to accommodate this commandment to the prevailing polytheism by reading it to mean they should not put any gods ahead of Him, although they may worship some lesser gods. I don't agree that this reading will fly, because the whole thrust of the Bible is that there IS no other god. The prophets wonder why a man can carve an idol himself, then set it on  a shelf and worship it as a god! You MADE the god, therefore you are greater than the god, therefore it is NOT a god! Freud had a sharp observation, though he took it in the wrong direction, when he pointed out that humans tend to create their own gods. Is football one of my gods? Or do I keep it as only a pastime? Is my family my god, or do I accept my children , their mates and descendants as one of God's good gifts and responsibilities to me? A handy way to check: where do you spend your time and your money?

Second Commandment: No graven images, no idols. Traditionally many Roman Catholic interpreters have counted this as part of the First Commandment and divided another, usually coveting, into two. This avoids the argument around the statues of saints. Probably we should recognize when Israel made the golden calf, they were violating this command, not the First. Likely they conceived of Yahweh as a young bull, which we find showing up elsewhere as well. The problem with a physical representation of God is the same as described above. If YOU made it, you are superior to it. Also you confine your god to a particular place. And God will not be confined. “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit!”

Third: You shal not take/take up/pick up/bear/ or carry the name of YHWH your God in vain/to a falsehood. This is why traditionally Jews do not pronounce the word “Yahweh.” When they see in scripture the Tetragrammaton, they read “adonai,” Lord. Whenever you see in your Bible the word LORD in all capital letters, you can know that the Hebrew text reads the name of God, YHWH. In some Jewish writings, you will find them substitution The Name or even writing G_d to avoid breaking this commandment. By the way, if you interpret this literally, expressions such as “my God” and “Good Lord” are worse than other four-letter words we find offensive. The idea behind the command is that when you call His name, you think of Him and invoke His presence. Therefore always use it with reverence!

>NOTE: These first three commandments are definitely part of the Judaeo-Christian heritage. Many who object to placing the Ten in public places paid by tax dollars have trouble at this point. It seems to them that the public space should respect all citizens' beliefs, including atheists, Buddhists, and others. Others respond by pointing out their place in the history of law and perhaps add another law code such as Hammurabi's  which came even before this one. Still others contend America was founded on faith in the Christian God, so there should be no problem.

The Fourth: Remember the Seventh (Sabbath) Day and keep it holy. The Lord goes on to specify no work for anyone in Israel, including slaves. Many Orthodox and Conservative Jews observe the rule until this day. Senator Joe Lieberman had another member of Congress who was his friend and a Gentile come to his apartment on the Sabbath to turn on the lights and the coffee maker.

One reason to observe the seventh day, was because God rested from His acts of creation on that day. It was a way of remembering the Lord. One of my seminary profs was convinced this law was written into our bodies. He said if we did not observe it, our bodies would rebel and we would end up sick. In one of my churches a young couple sought to save money by finishing the interior of their new house: installing sheet rock and painting. They took the weekends to do this, and their church attendance disappeared along with their recreation. He came to me one day and reminded me of a sermon on this point. “We worked every weekend, and we both ended up in bed two weeks with the flu.”  Our bodies do need rest, and our spirits need worship!

THE SECOND “HALF” or the last six.
The Fifth: Honor your parents. This does apply to children, of course, but remember it was presented first to adult males. The command was for adult children to honor their older parents. A society that respects its senior adults, is a healthier society and a longer-lived one.

In Ephesians 5, Paul encourages families to live in love and respect. Note that each has a responsibility to the others. Children are to obey their parents. Up to what age? While Jesus was always respectful to His mother, He clearly defined His separateness at the wedding: “Woman, what difference does it make to me/us?) Yet even from the cross, He looked after her welfare in handing her care to the beloved disciple.

And Paul immediately cautions fathers against driving their children into rage. I once knew a fine man, who could have been an even better father. He thought children had to be broken like wild horses. I  was not surprised when two of his kids had severe mental problems, though getting past them they were fine people. Children are not slaves to be kept in line, but God's creations who need to be taught, loved, and developed. Discipline should come from the word disciple, which means follower or learning. In this commandment, implied is the idea that if you take care of your parents, your children will honor you.

Commandments 6-9 in verse 13.
No murder - “kill” is correct, but its use elsewhere shows the word refers to murder of another human being, and probably intends a fellow Israelite. These were the foundation code of a nation, remember. And the same Lord who gave the commandments also led them into battles, both defensive and offensive. One can rationally argue against war, but this is not the verse to use. Notice that Jesus did expand the verse into emotions – there is guilt before you actually kill someone. Anger, cursing, denigrating remarks all are liable for punishment.

I have often heard people arguing that anger is the same as murder and that lust is the same as adultery. I disagree. I would much rather have you get mad at me, swear at me, and accuse me of all kinds of stuff than to murder me. And I expect any woman would prefer a man to stop at lust rather than go on to rape, even “date rape.” Grudges and lust are indeed sin, but I would maintain there are degrees of sin depending on how bad the hurt from them is.  Sin is sin because it hurts someone, including the sinner.

No killing does point to the sacredness of life. I feel it legitimate to question the widespread abortion that stops millions of lives from coming into the world. Likewise today especially, we can evaluate Christian responsibility in the face of a nuclear armed world. Indeed, war itself is a huge problem, although the church has usually accepted the concept of a just war. I strongly suspect we may need to preach and teach more often about murder itself in a world with way too much drug and gang related shootings, What are our Christian responsibilities for dealing with violence?

No adultery: As used in the OT, it refers to relations with another man's wife.  As mentioned above, Jesus brought lust into the picture. Today we are faced with an incredible shift of popular ideas in my lifetime. The public idea right after WWII was that marriage, lasting marriage, between a man and a woman was the normal way to look at it. Sex was within marriage and for the most part, there was much less extra-marital sex then than now.

Washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, and other appliances came along that freed women from much housework. Women went to work during the wartime shortage of men, and they continued to work after the war. This opened opportunities to meet others and find more temptations. Then the birth control pill came along, and the fear of pregnancy decreased. One thing led to another, so today society's general attitude is that anything goes between consenting adults. Again we need to revert to teaching the proper place of sex in the Christian life.

No Stealing: This seems fairly simple. We need to continue to preach this to kids. Perfectly good kids can be found walking off from another's house with a toy in his pocket. And how do we update this for our time? I confess I don't like to pay for any program I can get free for my computer, pad, or cell. I turn to YouTube for music, since I can find any version of any piece of music I choose. But ASCAP is correct when they point out that artists and writers deserve pay for what they produce. Plus what do we do about computer theft of private information, whether by hackers or the government?

No False Witness: The word translated neighbor can also mean simply another person. This command is the basis of the legal system. Later in the law, two witnesses that agree must be present to convict. Jesus said you don't need to swear. Answer simply, yes or no or whatever, and your testimony should always be true. Today, I'd be tempted to translate it, “No Gossip!”

Thou Shall Not Covet: You don't look longingly at anything that belongs to another. This is the only command that deals directly with thoughts and emotions. Coveting leads to adultery and stealing. Don't try to “keep up with the Joneses” or anyone else. With God's guidance, create your own life!

Ten Laws for Israel. Ten Laws for the world. Ten laws for you and me!