2922.) Philippians 2:1-11

The Face of Christ — detail from the Crucifixion from the Isenheim Altarpiece, c. 1512-16

Philippians 2:1-11 (NIV)

Prayer

Father of us all, who gave your only begotten Son to take upon himself the form of a servant, and to become obedient even to death on the cross; give us the same mind that was in him, that sharing his humility, we may also reflect his glory here and enjoy eternal blessedness with him in the world to come. In the name of him who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Imitating Christ’s Humility

¹ Therefore

“Therefore” points back to what Paul has said in chapter 1, telling the Philippians how to stand strong for the Lord against external conflicts. Now he tells them how to act against internal conflicts in the body of Christ.

if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,

“If there is any consolation in Christ”: Is there any consolation in Christ? Of course there is! Every Christian should know what it is to have Jesus console their soul.

• Luke 2:25 says that one of the titles for Jesus as the Messiah is the Consolation of Israel. Paul could say in 2 Corinthians 1:5, For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. In 2 Thessalonians 2:16, Paul says that God has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace. Of course there is consolation in Christ!

“If there is any . . . comfort of love”: Is there any comfort of love? Of course there is! Every Christian should know what it is to have Jesus give them the comfort of love.

• 2 Corinthians 1:3 says that God is the God of all comfort. There is no way He cannot comfort us and no circumstance beyond His comfort. But this is more than comfort; this is the comfort of love.

• The word comfort in this passage is the ancient Greek word paraklesis. The idea behind this word for comfort in the New Testament is always more than soothing sympathy. It has the idea of strengthening, of helping, of making strong. The idea behind this word is communicated by the Latin word for comfort (fortis, the same root as for “fortitude” and “fortress”), which also means “brave.” The love of God in our loves makes us strong and makes us brave. Of course there is comfort of love!

“If there is any . . . fellowship of the Spirit”: Is there any fellowship of the Spirit? Of course there is! Every Christian should know what it is to have the fellowship of the Spirit.

• Fellowship is the ancient Greek word kononia. It means the sharing of things in common. We share life with the Spirit of God that we never knew before. The Holy Spirit fills and guides and moves in our lives in a powerful and precious way. Of course there is fellowship of the Spirit!

“If there is any . . . affection and mercy”: Is there any affection and mercy? Of course there is! Every Christian knows something of the affection of God, and the mercy of God.

Paul mentions these things in a manner that suggests to us that they should all be obvious parts of the Christian’s experience. To make his rhetorical point, he could have just as easily said, “If water is wet, if fire is hot, if rocks are hard” and so forth.

Each of these gifts – consolation in Christ, comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, affection and mercy – are communicated to us both in a direct, spiritual way from Jesus, and from Jesus through His people. But there isn’t any doubt that these are real gifts for Christians to really experience.

–David Guzik

² then make my JOY complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

If I consider you above me, and you consider me above you, a wonderful thing happens:  We have a community where everyone is looked up to, and no one is looked down on!

Psalm 138:6 (ESV)

For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,
   but the haughty he knows from afar.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Make a copy of these verses. Put it in a prominent place in your house. Rejoice in this truth daily.

In many ways this portion (verses 5-11) is the greatest and most moving passage Paul ever wrote about Jesus. It states a favourite thought of his. The essence of it is in the simple statement Paul made to the Corinthians that, although Jesus was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor (2 Corinthians 8:9). Here that simple idea is stated with a fulness which is without parallel. Paul is pleading with the Philippians to live in harmony, to lay aside their discords, to shed their personal ambitions and their pride and their desire for prominence and prestige, and to have in their hearts that humble, selfless desire to serve, which was the essence of the life of Christ. His final and unanswerable appeal is to point to the example of Jesus Christ.

So the follower of Christ must think always, not of himself — but of others, not of his own glory — but of the glory of God.

–William Barclay

Isaiah 43:11 (ESV)

I, I am the LORD,
   and besides me there is no savior.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is Chris Tomlin and “Name of Jesus.”

_________________________

New International Version (NIV)   Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Images courtesy of:

The Face of Christ.  https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/222497257ethe-face-of-christ-detail-from-the-crucifixion-from-the-isenheim-altarpiece-circa-1512-16-posters255b1255d.jpg

obedience of Christ.  http://www.tracts.com/slave5.gif

Jesus name above.   https://images.knowing-jesus.com/i/philippians-2-9-the-name-that-is-above-all-names-red

2921.) Philippians 1

Philippians 1 (NIV)

Prayer

Eternal God, who lives eternally in perfect unity with the Son and the Holy Spirit, you have called us to be members of one body. Join us with those who in all times and places have praised your name, that, with one heart and mind, we may show the joyful unity of your church, and bring honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

¹ Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to his close friends, the Christians in Philippi, likely from his Roman house arrest described at the end of Acts (Acts 28:30-31), waiting for his court appearance before Caesar (around the year 61). Philippi was a wealthy town, thanks to nearby gold and silver mines and a large number of (retired military) Roman citizens. The church in Philippi was founded by Paul some eleven years before this letter, on his second missionary journey (Acts 16:11-40). This was the first church established on the continent of Europe.

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with JOY ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Ezekiel 16:60 (NLT)

Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. ⁸ God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Deuteronomy 5:33 (ESV)

You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

Paul’s Chains Advance the Gospel

Paul chained to a Roman guard.

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³ As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

from Experiencing God Day-by-Day,
by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby

FURTHERING THE GOSPEL

There are two ways to look at every situation:  How it will affect you, and how it will affect God’s kingdom. The apostle Paul was always concerned with how his circumstances might aid the spreading of the Gospel. When he was unjustly imprisoned, he immediately looked to see how his imprisonment might provide God’s salvation to others (Phil. 1:13; Acts 16:19-34). When he was assailed by an angry mob, he used the opportunity to preach the Gospel (Acts 22:1-22). When Paul’s criminal proceedings took him before the king, his thoughts were on sharing his faith with the king (Acts 26:1-32)! Even when Paul was shipwrecked on an island, he used that opportunity to share the Gospel there. Regardless of his circumstance, Paul’s concern was how he could use his current situation to tell other of God’s good news of salvation.

Often when we encounter a new situation, our first thoughts are not about God’s kingdom. When we face a crisis, we can become angry or fearful for our own well-being, rather than looking to see what God intends to do through our circumstances. If we remain self-centered we will miss so much of what God could do through our experiences, both for us and for those around us.

Ask God to make you aware of how He could use your present circumstances to bless others. Perhaps someone around you needs to see the difference Christ’s presence makes in your life. Are you willing for God to use your circumstances to demonstrate His saving power to those around you?

¹⁵ It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶ The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. ¹⁸ But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I REJOICE.

Yes, and I will continue to REJOICE, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. ²⁰ I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²² If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³ I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴ but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

Since Paul was in prison awaiting trial, he had to face the fact that it was quite uncertain whether he would live or die; and to him it made no difference.

“Living,” he says, in his great phrase, “is Christ to me.” For Paul, Christ had been the beginning of life, for on that day on the Damascus road it was as if he had begun life all over again. Christ had been the continuing of life; there had never been a day when Paul had not lived in his presence, and in the frightening moments Christ had been there to bid him be of good cheer (Acts 18:9-10). Christ was the end of life, for it was towards his eternal presence that life ever led. Christ was the inspiration of life; he was the dynamic of life. To Paul, Christ had given the task of life, for it was he who had made him an apostle and sent him out as the evangelist of the Gentiles. To him Christ had given the strength for life, for it was Christ’s all-sufficient grace that was made perfect in Paul’s weakness. For him Christ was the reward of life, for to Paul the only worthwhile reward was closer fellowship with his Lord. If Christ were to be taken out of life, for Paul there would be nothing left.

“For me,” said Paul, “death is gain”. Death was entrance into Christ’s nearer presence. There are passages in which Paul seems to regard death as a sleep, from which all men at some future general resurrection shall be wakened (1 Corinthians 16:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:14 and 16); but at the moment when its breath was on him Paul thought of death not as a falling asleep but as an immediate entry into the presence of his Lord. If we believe in Jesus Christ, death for us is union and reunion, union with him and reunion with those whom we have loved and lost awhile.

The result was that Paul was swayed between two desires. “I am caught,” he says, “between two desires.” As the Revised Standard Version has it: “I am hard pressed between the two.” 

–William Barclay

²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and JOY in the faith, ²⁶ so that through my being with you again your JOY in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

Life Worthy of the Gospel

²⁷ Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel ²⁸ without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰ since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Matthew 5:11-12 (ESV)

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

_________________________

Music:

“For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.” Oh, to say these words with all my heart!  HERE  it is in musical form, by the Sidewalk Prophets.

_________________________

New International Version (NIV)   Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Images courtesy of:

Be joyful.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/philippians-joy.jpg

map showing Philippi.    http://www.jesuswalk.com/philippians/images/philippi_map.gif

Philippians 1:6 with butterfly.    https://pendernews.org/2013/07/10/todays-bible-verse-philippians-16/

Paul chained to Roman guard.    http://www.purifiedbyfaith.com/Ephesians/images/Paul%20chained%20to%20a%20Roman%20guard%20writing%20a%20letter-w-bkgnd.jpg

To live . . . to die.   https://faithful-in-christ.tumblr.com/image/114067781966

life, lips.   https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/62909726018419493/

2920.) Psalm 105

Psalm 105  The Message (MSG)

After reading Genesis and Exodus, we can see that this Psalm gives us a historical perspective. Remember, as you are part of the family of God, this history is YOUR history, too!

Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name!
Tell everyone you meet what he has done!

“Be thankful for the smallest blessing, and you will deserve to receive greater. Value the least gifts no less than the greatest, and simple graces as especial favors. If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the most high God.”

–Thomas a Kempis

Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
translate his wonders into music!
Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,
you who seek God. Live a happy life!
Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;
be alert for signs of his presence.

Remember the world of wonders he has made,
his miracles, and the verdicts he’s rendered—
O seed of Abraham, his servant,
O child of Jacob, his chosen.

^7-15 He’s God, our God,
in charge of the whole earth.

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

–from the Nicene Creed

And he remembers, remembers his Covenant—
for a thousand generations he’s been as good as his word.
It’s the Covenant he made with Abraham,
the same oath he swore to Isaac,
The very statute he established with Jacob,
the eternal Covenant with Israel,

Namely, “I give you the land.
Canaan is your hill-country inheritance.”
When they didn’t count for much,
a mere handful, and strangers at that,
Wandering from country to country,
drifting from pillar to post,

“Not all who wander are lost.”

–J. R. R. Tolkien

He permitted no one to abuse them.
He told kings to keep their hands off:
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my anointed,
don’t hurt a hair on the heads of my prophets.”

^16-22 Then he called down a famine on the country,
he broke every last blade of wheat.
But he sent a man on ahead:
Joseph, sold as a slave.

They put cruel chains on his ankles,
an iron collar around his neck,
Until God’s word came to the Pharaoh,
and God confirmed his promise.
God sent the king to release him.
The Pharaoh set Joseph free;
He appointed him master of his palace,
put him in charge of all his business
To personally instruct his princes
and train his advisors in wisdom.

Proverbs 23:17-18  (NLT)

Don’t envy sinners,
but always continue to fear the Lord.
You will be rewarded for this;
your hope will not be disappointed.

^23-42 Then Israel entered Egypt,
Jacob immigrated to the Land of Ham.
God gave his people lots of babies;
soon their numbers alarmed their foes.
He turned the Egyptians against his people;
they abused and cheated God’s servants.
Then he sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he also chose.

I tremble for my country when I hear of confidence expressed in me. I know too well my weakness, that our only hope is in God.

–General Robert E. Lee

They worked marvels in that spiritual wasteland,
miracles in the Land of Ham.
He spoke, “Darkness!” and it turned dark—
they couldn’t see what they were doing.
He turned all their water to blood
so that all their fish died;
He made frogs swarm through the land,
even into the king’s bedroom;

He gave the word and flies swarmed,
gnats filled the air.
He substituted hail for rain,
he stabbed their land with lightning;
He wasted their vines and fig trees,
smashed their groves of trees to splinters;

With a word he brought in locusts,
millions of locusts, armies of locusts;
They consumed every blade of grass in the country
and picked the ground clean of produce;
He struck down every firstborn in the land,
the first fruits of their virile powers.
He led Israel out, their arms filled with loot,
and not one among his tribes even stumbled.
Egypt was glad to have them go—
they were scared to death of them.
God spread a cloud to keep them cool through the day
and a fire to light their way through the night;

“Pillar of Fire” by Jeanne Kun

They prayed and he brought quail,
filled them with the bread of heaven;
He opened the rock and water poured out;

Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me . . .

“The earthly form of Christ is the form that died on the cross. The image of God is the image of Christ crucified. It is to this image that the life of the disciples must be conformed; in other words, they must be conformed to his death (Phil 3.10, Rom 6.4) The Christian life is a life of crucifixion (Gal 2.19) In baptism the form of Christ’s death is impressed upon his own. They are dead to the flesh and to sin, they are dead to the world, and the world is dead to them (Gal 6.14). Anybody living in the strength of Christ’s baptism lives in the strength of Christ’s death.”

–Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

it flowed like a river through that desert—
All because he remembered his Covenant,
his promise to Abraham, his servant.

^43-45 Remember this! He led his people out singing for joy;
his chosen people marched, singing their hearts out!
He made them a gift of the country they entered,
helped them seize the wealth of the nations
So they could do everything he told them—
could follow his instructions to the letter.

Hallelujah!

_________________________

Music:

Perhaps you are in a busy or difficult or trying time in your life right now. Perhaps you have lost a loved one, or maybe you are moving, or you could be looking for a different job. As I was working on this psalm, I felt a sweet assurance that, just as God led the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land, so we can count on the Lord to lead us where we need to go. And this is not wishful thinking, or a false hope — Jesus has promised to be with us always!

Fanny Crosby wrote the hymn “All the Way My Savior Leads Me.”  HERE  is Chris Tomlin’s version.

_________________________

The Message (MSG)   Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Images courtesy of:

Keep your eyes open.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/psalm105_04.jpg

Seek the Lord and his strength.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/psalm105b.jpg

Abraham and the stars.   http://www.sundayschoollessons.com/sunfolder2/image9.gif

Joseph sold.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/3_3_joseph_sold.jpg

frogs.   http://www.lindaedwards.co.uk/i/pics/sm/webphoto_dza8.jpg

hail.   http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/story/haggadah/large6195.html

Kun.   http://www.swordofthespirit.net/bulwark/pillar-of-fire-by-jeanne-kun.jpg

He opened the rock.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/c0183-12.png

Hallelujah.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/hallelujah1.jpg

2919.) Psalm 78

Psalm 78 (NIV)

Everyone knows the old adage:
Those that forget the past are doomed to repeat it. 

A psalmist’s account of what we have just finished reading in Exodus, along with a look at future attractions.

“Psalm 78 is the longest of the historical psalms. Its lesson is that history must not repeat itself. The people must never again be unbelieving.”
–James Montgomery Boice

 ¹ My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
² I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
³ things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
⁴ We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.

Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)

 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

⁵ He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
⁶ so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.

Centuries later the Apostle Paul would explain that one of the great advantages God gave to Israel was that He committed to them His word, the oracles of God (Romans 3:2).

–David Guzik

⁷ Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
⁸ They would not be like their ancestors—
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.

1 Corinthians 10:11-12 (NIV)

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

⁹ The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
turned back on the day of battle;
¹⁰ they did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by his law.
¹¹ They forgot what he had done,
the wonders he had shown them.

“Forgot; not historically, but practically. They did not so remember them, as to love, and serve, and trust that God of whose infinite power and goodness they had such ample experience.”
–Matthew Poole (1624-1679, English Nonconformist theologian

¹² He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
¹³ He divided the sea and led them through;
he made the water stand up like a wall.
¹⁴ He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.

Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield;
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.

¹⁵ He split the rocks in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
¹⁶ he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.

.

¹⁷ But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
¹⁸ They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
¹⁹ They spoke against God;
they said, “Can God really
spread a table in the wilderness?

In 1933, the middle of the Great Depression, a young Irishman named J. Edwin Orr left a good paying job. With no fixed source of income, he trusted that God would provide for him and his mother. He planned to travel around Great Britain with the message of prayer, salvation, and revival. He left Belfast with 2 shillings and 8 pence, about 65 cents. He had a bicycle, a change of clothes, and a Bible. He spent the next year travelling to every county in Great Britain and organized some 300 prayer groups dedicated to pray for revival. He wrote a book about it all and somehow convinced a publisher to take it, after being rejected 17 times. That first book was titled Can God — ?  It was based on Psalm 78:19, and was published in 1934. It sold hundreds of thousands of copies and was a tremendous inspiration to Christians in that day. Orr’s book and his life was a remarkable demonstration of the fact that God can prepare a table in the wilderness.

–David Guzik

.

.

²⁰ True, he struck the rock,
and water gushed out,

streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat for his people?”
²¹ When the LORD heard them, he was furious;

God was “furious” at their ingratitude. That is food for thought in our lives which are, let’s be honest, pretty easy, pretty comfortable. Are we careful to be thankful rather than to complain?

his fire broke out against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
²² for they did not believe in God
or trust in his deliverance.
²³ Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;
²⁴ he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
²⁵ Human beings ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.

.

.

Manna in the Morning

Cook fires,

clothing scraps,

animal dung

have long disappeared

from the desert.

But the story remains:

how the Israelites

fled Pharaoh

under a spiral

of swirling white clouds

as angels swept

stones and snakes

from their path.

For forty years,

Jews followed Moses

with manna-filled bellies,

thirst quenched by

a wondrous wandering well–

the same fountain I sipped

this candle-lit evening

with honeyed challah

and roasted chicken.

.

Carrying dishes to the sink,

my sandaled feet skip

on a freshly swept  floor,

free of snakes and stones.

Tonight, Pharaoh lies drowned

behind me

and I am traveling to Canaan

under a sheltering white cloud,

certain of manna in the morning.

–Jacqueline Jules
.

²⁶ He let loose the east wind from the heavens
and by his power made the south wind blow.
²⁷ He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds like sand on the seashore.
²⁸ He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
²⁹ They ate till they were gorged—
he had given them what they craved.
³⁰ But before they turned from what they craved,
even while the food was still in their mouths,
³¹ God’s anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.

³² In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.

What more could God have done? The tragedy of hard hearts!

³³ So he ended their days in futility
and their years in terror.
³⁴ Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;
they eagerly turned to him again.

Hosea 5:15 (ESV)

 I will return again to my place,
   until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
   and in their distress earnestly seek me.

³⁵ They remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High was their Redeemer.
³⁶ But then they would flatter him with their mouths,
lying to him with their tongues;
³⁷ their hearts were not loyal to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸ Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.
³⁹ He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.

Psalm 103:15-18 (ESV)

As for man, his days are like grass;  
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,  
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the LORD
is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,  
and his righteousness to children’s children,
to those who keep his covenant  
and remember to do his commandments.

⁴⁰ How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the wasteland!
⁴¹ Again and again they put God to the test;
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
⁴² They did not remember his power—
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,
⁴³ the day he displayed his signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the region of Zoan.

.

.

⁴⁴ He turned their river into blood;
they could not drink from their streams.
⁴⁵ He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,
and frogs that devastated them.
⁴⁶ He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
their produce to the locust.
⁴⁷ He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
⁴⁸ He gave over their cattle to the hail,
their livestock to bolts of lightning.
⁴⁹ He unleashed against them his hot anger,
his wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.
⁵⁰ He prepared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death
but gave them over to the plague.
⁵¹ He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.

⁵² But he brought his people out like a flock;
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
⁵³ He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed their enemies.
⁵⁴ And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand had taken.
⁵⁵ He drove out nations before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

Acts 13:16-20 (NLT)

So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them, and started speaking. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and you God-fearing Gentiles, listen to me.

“The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made them multiply and grow strong during their stay in Egypt. Then with a powerful arm he led them out of their slavery.  He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness.  Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance.  All this took about 450 years.”

⁵⁶ But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.
⁵⁷ Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.
⁵⁸ They angered him with their high places;
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.
⁵⁹ When God heard them, he was furious;
he rejected Israel completely.

God is “furious” again — this time for idolatry, for valuing things over God. Do we yield our lives entirely to his will? Is the Lord truly first as we consider what to think, to say, to do?

⁶⁰ He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,
the tent he had set up among humans.
⁶¹ He sent the ark of his might into captivity,
his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
⁶² He gave his people over to the sword;
he was furious with his inheritance.
⁶³ Fire consumed their young men,
and their young women had no wedding songs;
⁶⁴ their priests were put to the sword,
and their widows could not weep.

Psalm 6:8-10 (NLT)

Go away, all you who do evil,
      for the Lord has heard my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea;
      the Lord will answer my prayer.
May all my enemies be disgraced and terrified.
      May they suddenly turn back in shame.

⁶⁵ Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
⁶⁶ He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.
⁶⁷ Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
⁶⁸ but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.
⁶⁹ He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
⁷⁰ He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
⁷¹ from tending the sheep he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
⁷² And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them.

“If Israel’s record is her shame, God’s persistent goodness emerges as her hope (and ours) for the unfinished story.”
–Derek Kidner (1913-2008, British Old Testament scholar)

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Music:

One of my favorites from David and Isaac Watts!  HERE  is “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” which contains some of the most comforting lines I know:

The sure provisions of my God attend me all my days;

O may Thy house be mine abode, and all my work be praise!

There would I find a settled rest, while others go and come,

No more a stranger or a guest, but like a child at home.

_________________________

New International Version (NIV)   Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Images courtesy of:

Psalm 78:4.   https://girlsbrigade.org.au/2018/12/passing-on-the-torch/

children at church.   http://images.clipartpanda.com/kids-church-clip-art-kids20church.jpg

history.  http://philmontfirecompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/history-color1.gif

pillar of fire.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/tabernacle_by_shawnrl61.jpg

You prepare a table.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/ed126-creation-ss-6.jpg

manna falling.    https://awildernessvoice.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/1-manna-falling-from-heaven.jpg

hard heart.   http://www.deebrestin.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/heart-of-stone2.jpg

seek my face.   https://fruitfulfellowship.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/seekmyface.jpg?w=365&h=365&crop=1

beach grass swaying in the wind.     http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5025/5550514589_ba8361f09a.jpg

10 plagues.   http://www.nccg.org/10_plagues.gif

menorah.   http://rlv.zcache.com/menorah_photosculpture-p153231483757751702z89x5_400.jpg

praying hands.    http://cliparts.co/cliparts/Bca/rpo/Bcarpodzi.gif

2918.) Psalm 15

St. John’s Cathedral in North Brabant, Holland — a photograph by Tim Van Woensel

Psalm 15

Who Shall Abide in God’s Sanctuary?

¹O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?

The word translated abide can be better thought of as sojourn; it describes a visit, receiving the hospitality of a tent-dwelling host. This opening is understood in light of the customs of hospitality in the ancient near east.

“In the gracious hospitality of the antique world, a guest was sheltered from all harm; his person was inviolable, his wants all met. So the guest of Jehovah is safe, can claim asylum from every foe and share in all the bountiful provision of His abode.” (Maclaren)

–David Guzik (and all following comments in red)

²Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,

In one sense David speaks from an Old Covenant perspective. Though the Old Covenant gave an important place to sacrifice and atonement through blood, it also based blessing and cursing on obedience (Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28). The disobedient could not expect blessing, including the blessing of God’s presence.

The New Covenant gives us a different ground for blessing and relationship with God: the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Under the New Covenant, faith, not performance, is the basis for blessing.

Nevertheless, David’s principle is also accurate under the New Covenant in this sense: the conduct of one’s life is a reflection of their fellowship with God. As John wrote: If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth (1 John 1:6). We might say that under the Old Covenant a righteous walk was the precondition for fellowship with God; under the New Covenant a righteous walk is the result of fellowship with God, founded on faith.

and speak the truth from their heart;

³who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;

“I think more damage has been done to the church and its work by gossip, criticism, and slander than by any other single sin. So I say, don’t do it. Bite your tongue before you criticize another Christian.”

–James M. Boice (pastor of Philadelphia’s historic Tenth Presbyterian Church, 1968-2000)

“Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls:
Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;
’twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.”

― William Shakespeare, Othello

Oh, Lord. Let me be more careful, more gentle with my words.

⁴in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even to their hurt;

⁵who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent.

God wants us to be helpful to others, even when it might require our own expense.

Those who do these things shall never be moved.

The righteous ones will abide in God’s sanctuary!

1 John 2:17 (NLT)

And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is Hillsong with  “Dwell in Your House.”

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Van Woensel.   https://dwellingintheword.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/1676-psalm-15/

“the mouth speaks.”    http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Ph3G3Wwzgew/TqDRPos_LFI/AAAAAAAAh4Q/1gNVAImRQLc/image%25255B17%25255D.png?imgmax=800

Nathalie Kelley silk print banner.  http://nathaliekelleyart.com/Flag-Yes%20Lord.jpg

2917.) Exodus 40

“The Glory Fills the Tabernacle” digital art by Ted Larson

Exodus 40   (NRSV)

The Tabernacle Erected and Its Equipment Installed

The Lord spoke to Moses: ²On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ³You shall put in it the ark of the covenant, and you shall screen the ark with the curtain. ⁴You shall bring in the table, and arrange its setting; and you shall bring in the lampstand, and set up its lamps. ⁵You shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the covenant, and set up the screen for the entrance of the tabernacle.

⁶You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, ⁷and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.

⁹Then you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it shall become holy. ¹⁰You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar shall be most holy. ¹¹You shall also anoint the basin with its stand, and consecrate it.

¹²Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shall wash them with water, ¹³and put on Aaron the sacred vestments, and you shall anoint him and consecrate him, so that he may serve me as priest. ¹⁴You shall bring his sons also and put tunics on them, ¹⁵and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests: and their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout all generations to come.¹⁶Moses did everything just as the Lord had commanded him.

¹⁷In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was set up.

the first day of the first month of the second year

. . . one year after the children of Israel left Egypt.

¹⁸Moses set up the tabernacle; he laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars; ¹⁹and he spread the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent over it; as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁰He took the covenant and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark, and set the mercy seat above the ark; ²¹and he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the curtain for screening, and screened the ark of the covenant; as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²²He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the curtain, ²³and set the bread in order on it before the Lord; as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁴He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, ²⁵and set up the lamps before the Lord; as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁶He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the curtain, ²⁷and offered fragrant incense on it; as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁸He also put in place the screen for the entrance of the tabernacle.

²⁹He set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁰He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, ³¹with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. ³²When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed; as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³³He set up the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and put up the screen at the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

Philippians 1:6 (CEV)

God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.

The Cloud and the Glory

_________________________

Music:

“This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”  HERE  is the wonderful Oslo Gospel Choir! What marvelous thing has the Lord done for you today already?

_________________________

³⁴Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Psalm 26:8 (NIV)

I love the house where you live, O LORD,
the place where your glory dwells.

³⁶Whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out on each stage of their journey; ³⁷but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day that it was taken up. ³⁸For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, before the eyes of all the house of Israel at each stage of their journey.

“The cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle” by Marc Chagall

Reflection:

The book of Exodus is the history of God’s people during the year between their deliverance from Egypt and the erection of the tabernacle at Mount Sinai. It begins with groaning and ends in glory, with God at work throughout. What situation has you groaning, that you need to have end in deliverance and glory? God’s presence dwells gloriously in the work and walk of those who are willingly and diligently obedient, seeking the holiness of the Lord! As God graciously did wonderfully for the Israelites, he will also do wonderfully for you, according to his purposes!

THE END  of the book of Exodus.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Larson.   https://digitalartbytedlarson.net/

daisy.  http://www.christianwomenonline.net/DaisyGrunge.jpg

Chagall.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/40-chagall2.jpg?w=450

2916. Exodus 39

One idea of Aaron and his priestly garments.

Exodus 39   (NRSV)

Making the Vestments for the Priesthood

Of the blue, purple, and crimson yarns they made finely worked vestments, for ministering in the holy place; they made the sacred vestments for Aaron; as the Lord had commanded Moses.

“Dress gives one the outward sign from which people can judge the inward state of mind. One they can see . . . the other they cannot.”

–Queen Elizabeth II, quoted in Class Acts by Mary Mitchell

²He made the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen. ³Gold leaf was hammered out and cut into threads to work into the blue, purple, and crimson yarns and into the fine twisted linen, in skilled design. ⁴They made for the ephod shoulder-pieces, joined to it at its two edges. ⁵The decorated band on it was of the same materials and workmanship, of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen; as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁶The onyx stones were prepared, enclosed in settings of gold filigree and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. ⁷He set them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel; as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁸He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, like the work of the ephod, of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen. ⁹It was square; the breastpiece was made double, a span in length and a span in width when doubled. ¹⁰They set in it four rows of stones. A row of carnelian, chrysolite, and emerald was the first row; ¹¹and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a moonstone; ¹²and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. ¹⁴There were twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. ¹⁵They made on the breastpiece chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; ¹⁶and they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece; ¹⁷and they put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. ¹⁸Two ends of the two cords they had attached to the two settings of filigree; in this way they attached it in front to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod. ¹⁹Then they made two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. ²⁰They made two rings of gold, and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod, at its joining above the decorated band of the ephod. ²¹They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it should lie on the decorated band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod; as the Lord had commanded Moses.

robe of blue cloth with bells and pomegranates around the hem

²²He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue yarn; ²³and the opening of the robe in the middle of it was like the opening in a coat of mail, with a binding around the opening, so that it might not be torn. ²⁴On the lower hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen. ²⁵They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates on the lower hem of the robe all around, between the pomegranates; ²⁶a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate all around on the lower hem of the robe for ministering; as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁷They also made the tunics, woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, ²⁸and the turban of fine linen, and the head-dresses of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twisted linen, ²⁹and the sash of fine twisted linen, and of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, embroidered with needlework; as the Lord had commanded Moses.

³⁰They made the rosette of the holy diadem of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.” ³¹They tied to it a blue cord, to fasten it on the turban above; as the Lord had commanded Moses.

_________________________

Music:

After all this talk about vestments, I asked my family to name songs they knew concerning clothing. Here are some of their suggestions (some more appropriate than others!):  “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,”  by Joe Nichols. “Wonderful Tonight,” by Eric Clapton. “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress,” by the Hollies. “Underneath Your Clothes,” by Shakira. Now each one, in its own way, is a wonderful song . . . but I am going to give you the most romantic clothing song I know — “Lady in Red” sung by Chris De Burgh. It was released in 1986 and went to #1 in twenty-five countries.  HERE  it is.

_________________________

The Work Completed

Colossians 4:17 (NIV)

“See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.”

³²In this way all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished; the Israelites had done everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³³Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; ³⁴the covering of tanned rams’ skins and the covering of fine leather, and the curtain for the screen; ³⁵the ark of the covenant with its poles and the mercy seat; ³⁶the table with all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; ³⁷the pure lampstand with its lamps set on it and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; ³⁸the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent; ³⁹the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin with its stand; ⁴⁰the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; ⁴¹the finely worked vestments for ministering in the holy place, the sacred vestments for the priest Aaron, and the vestments of his sons to serve as priests.

⁴²The Israelites had done all of the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴³When Moses saw that they had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded, he blessed them.

”There are two things people want more than sex and money — recognition and praise.”
–Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

A capable leader —

• makes those who are working with him or her feel important and appreciated,
• excels at creating opportunities to provide recognition and thanks to his or her staff,
• creates a work environment in which people are valued and rewarded.

Moses showed himself a good leader by blessing the people who had accomplished their work.

Who are the people helping you accomplish your work? How can you recognize them, thank them, and bless them? Should you be careful to do such more often?

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

high priestly garments.  https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/highpriest.jpg

blue robe.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/39-blue-garment.jpg?w=450

red dress.  http://www.1920s-fashions.co.uk/vintagefashion/reddress.jpg

Larry the Cable Guy.   https://www.amazon.com/Larry-Cable-Guy-Git-R-Done-Entertainment/dp/B00UGPQH9W

thank you.   http://positivepsychologynews.com/ppnd_wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/thank_you_note.png

2915.) Exodus 38

Exodus 38   (NRSV)

Making the Altar of Burnt-Offering

He made the altar of burnt offering also of acacia wood; it was five cubits long, and five cubits wide; it was square, and three cubits high. ²He made horns for it on its four corners; its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. ³He made all the utensils of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the firepans: all its utensils he made of bronze. ⁴He made for the altar a grating, a network of bronze, under its ledge, extending halfway down. ⁵He cast four rings on the four corners of the bronze grating to hold the poles; ⁶he made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with bronze. ⁷And he put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar, to carry it with them; he made it hollow, with boards.

The altar of burnt offering represents the cross, where the Lord Jesus offered Himself to God as a complete sacrifice.

–all comments in red are by William MacDonald

Hebrews 10:1-10 (NIV)

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, O God.’ “First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is “God So Loved the World,”  by English composer and Oxford professor Sir John Stainer (1840-1901), performed by the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir.

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a “shape poem” by George Herbert, 1593-1633, Welsh poet and priest

Making the Basin for Washing

⁸He made the basin of bronze with its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

The laver speaks of the present ministry of Christ, cleansing His people by the washing of water with the Word (Ephesians 5:26).

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (ESV)

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Making the Court of the Tabernacle

⁹He made the court; for the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twisted linen, one hundred cubits long; ¹⁰its twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. ¹¹For the north side there were hangings one hundred cubits long; its twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver.

¹²For the west side there were hangings fifty cubits long, with ten pillars and ten bases; the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. ¹³And for the front to the east, fifty cubits. ¹⁴The hangings for one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with three pillars and three bases. ¹⁵And so for the other side; on each side of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with three pillars and three bases. ¹⁶All the hangings around the court were of fine twisted linen. ¹⁷The bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver; the overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were banded with silver.

¹⁸The screen for the entrance to the court was embroidered with needlework in blue, purple, and crimson yarns and fine twisted linen. It was twenty cubits long and, along the width of it, five cubits high, corresponding to the hangings of the court. ¹⁹There were four pillars; their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their bands of silver. ²⁰All the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze.

The outer court around the tabernacle consisted of white linen hangings, fifty-six pillars with bronze sockets and silver hooks, and an embroidered screen at the gate. The only entrance to the court was the gate, and this suggests Christ (“I am the door,” John 10:9) here as the only way of approach to God. The fine linen is a picture of His spotless purity. The embroidery: the blue for His heavenly origin; the purple, for His regal glory; the scarlet, for His suffering for sin.

Materials of the Tabernacle

China won Gold, Silver, and Bronze in the Men’s Singles — table tennis, 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

²¹These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant, which were drawn up at the commandment of Moses, the work of the Levites being under the direction of Ithamar son of the priest Aaron.

Acts 7:44 (NLT)

“Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses.”

²²Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses; ²³and with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, engraver, designer, and embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and in fine linen. ²⁴All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred thirty shekels, measured by the sanctuary shekel.

gold — a little more than one ton!

²⁵The silver from those of the congregation who were counted was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels, measured by the sanctuary shekel; ²⁶a beka a head (that is, half a shekel, measured by the sanctuary shekel), for everyone who was counted in the census, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred three thousand, five hundred fifty men. ²⁷The hundred talents of silver were for casting the bases of the sanctuary, and the bases of the curtain; one hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent for a base. ²⁸Of the thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their capitals and made bands for them.

silver — a little more than 3 3/4 tons!

²⁹The bronze that was contributed was seventy talents, and two thousand four hundred shekels; ³⁰with it he made the bases for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar, ³¹the bases all around the court, and the bases of the gate of the court, all the pegs of the tabernacle, and all the pegs around the court.

bronze — about 2 1/2 tons!

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

God will provide the lamb.   http://livingjourney.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/god-will-provide-the-lamb.jpg

The Altar, by George Herbert.    http://dailyoffice.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/georgeherbert-thealtar-1000.png

gold-silver-bronze medals.   https://j.17qq.com/article/swasewwcx.html

gold rings.  http://www.blogcdn.com/hotsearch.aol.co.uk/media/2009/07/wedding-ring.jpg

silver spoons.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/ex38-silver-spoons.jpg

ancient Egyptian bronze statue of a cat with a kitten.    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Ancient_Egyptian_bronze_statue_of_a_reclining_cat_and_kitten.jpg

2914.) Exodus 37

Exodus 37   (NRSV)

Making the Ark of the Covenant

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; it was two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. ²He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold around it. ³He cast for it four rings of gold for its four feet, two rings on its one side and two rings on its other side. ⁴He made poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, ⁵and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark.

The ark was a chest made of wood and overlaid with pure gold. It pointed to the humanity and deity of our Lord. It contained the tablets of the law, the golden jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded. If applied to Christ, these things speak of Him as the One who said, “Your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8); as the bread of God come down from heaven (John 6:33); and as the Priest of God’s choosing, risen from the dead (Hebrews 7:24-26). If applied to the people of Israel, they were all memorials of failure and rebellion.

–all comments in red are by William MacDonald

⁶He made a mercy seat of pure gold; two cubits and a half was its length, and a cubit and a half its width. ⁷He made two cherubim of hammered gold; at the two ends of the mercy seat he made them, ⁸one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end; of one piece with the mercy seat he made the cherubim at its two ends. ⁹The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings. They faced one another; the faces of the cherubim were turned toward the mercy seat.

The mercy seat was the lid of the ark. It was also God’s throne, the place of His dwelling on earth. When the cherubim looked down upon it, they did not see the Law or the jar of manna or the rod, all of which were reminders of Israel’s rebellions. Rather, they saw the sprinkled blood, which enabled God to be merciful to rebellious sinners.

Romans 3:21-26 (NLT)

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.  We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.  For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,  for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Making the Table for the Bread of the Presence

¹⁰He also made the table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. ¹¹He overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold around it. ¹²He made around it a rim a handbreadth wide, and made a molding of gold around the rim. ¹³He cast for it four rings of gold, and fastened the rings to the four corners at its four legs. ¹⁴The rings that held the poles used for carrying the table were close to the rim. ¹⁵He made the poles of acacia wood to carry the table, and overlaid them with gold. ¹⁶And he made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates and dishes for incense, and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings.

John 6:35 (NIV)

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry.”

Making the Lampstand

¹⁷He also made the lampstand of pure gold. The base and the shaft of the lampstand were made of hammered work; its cups, its calyxes, and its petals were of one piece with it. ¹⁸There were six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; ¹⁹three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with calyx and petals, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. ²⁰On the lampstand itself there were four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its calyxes and petals. ²¹There was a calyx of one piece with it under the first pair of branches, a calyx of one piece with it under the next pair of branches, and a calyx of one piece with it under the last pair of branches. ²²Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it, the whole of it one hammered piece of pure gold.

²³He made its seven lamps and its snuffers and its trays of pure gold. ²⁴He made it and all its utensils of a talent of pure gold.

John 8:12 (NIV)

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Making the Altar of Incense

²⁵He made the altar of incense of acacia wood, one cubit long, and one cubit wide; it was square, and was two cubits high; its horns were of one piece with it. ²⁶He overlaid it with pure gold, its top, and its sides all around, and its horns; and he made for it a molding of gold all around, ²⁷and made two golden rings for it under its molding, on two opposite sides of it, to hold the poles with which to carry it. ²⁸And he made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.

The altar of incense speaks of Christ being a perpetual sweet aroma of God.  It also suggests the present ministry of the Lord Jesus, interceding for us in heaven.

²⁹He made the holy anointing oil also, and the pure fragrant incense, blended as by the perfumer.

Hebrews 7:23-25 (NIV)

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

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Music:

All this careful preparation for the tabernacle — first in God’s mind, then told to Moses, and now being executed in physical form — so that people could be forgiven and be able to say, “I am Yours.” Such love for us from God Almighty!   HERE   we join with Casting Crowns singing “Who Am I.”

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

ark of the covenant.    https://jesuslovesyoutoday.org/bible_study_pictures_and_notes/1_kings_8-10

Jesus on the cross.   https://michaelckw.blogspot.com/2016/08/dead-man-walking.html

bread.  http://recipe-video-tube.blogspot.com/2017/10/ciabatta-bread-recipe-no-machine.html

light.    http://www.webdesign.org/img_articles/16839/final.jpg

Jesus praying.  http://lovehopefaith.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/jesus-praying.jpg

2913.) Exodus 36

Exodus 36   (NRSV)

“God created the whole world in six days, but he used forty to instruct Moses about the tabernacle. Little over one chapter was needed to describe the structure of the world, but six were used for the tabernacle.”

–Dutch theologian Herman Witsius (1636 – 1708)

Bezalel and Oholiab and every skillful one to whom the Lord has given skill and understanding to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.

² Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab and every skillful one to whom the Lord had given skill, everyone whose heart was stirred to come to do the work; ³ and they received from Moses all the freewill offerings that the Israelites had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, ⁴ so that all the artisans who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task being performed, ⁵ and said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” ⁶ So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing; ⁷ for what they had already brought was more than enough to do all the work.

This follows the pattern of God’s giving to us. God gives us much more than we ever need, and our giving is simply a response to His.

Compare the story of the anointing at Bethany (Matthew 26:7), and the generosity of the Philippian church (Philippians 4:14-19).

–David Guzik

Construction of the Tabernacle

⁸All those with skill among the workers made the tabernacle with ten curtains; they were made of fine twisted linen, and blue, purple, and crimson yarns, with cherubim skillfully worked into them.

⁹The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains were of the same size. ¹⁰He joined five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he joined to one another. ¹¹He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain of the first set; likewise he made them on the edge of the outermost curtain of the second set; ¹²he made fifty loops on the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was in the second set; the loops were opposite one another. ¹³And he made fifty clasps of gold, and joined the curtains one to the other with clasps; so the tabernacle was one whole.

¹⁴He also made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains. ¹⁵The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains were of the same size. ¹⁶He joined five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. ¹⁷He made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost curtain of the one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the other connecting curtain. ¹⁸He made fifty clasps of bronze to join the tent together so that it might be one whole. ¹⁹And he made for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and an outer covering of fine leather.

²⁰Then he made the upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood.

chest made of acacia wood

²¹Ten cubits was the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the width of each frame. ²²Each frame had two pegs for fitting together; he did this for all the frames of the tabernacle. ²³The frames for the tabernacle he made in this way: twenty frames for the south side; ²⁴and he made forty bases of silver under the twenty frames, two bases under the first frame for its two pegs, and two bases under the next frame for its two pegs. ²⁵For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty frames ²⁶and their forty bases of silver, two bases under the first frame and two bases under the next frame. ²⁷For the rear of the tabernacle westward he made six frames. ²⁸He made two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear. ²⁹They were separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring; he made two of them in this way, for the two corners. ³⁰There were eight frames with their bases of silver: sixteen bases, under every frame two bases.

³¹He made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, ³²and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle at the rear westward. ³³He made the middle bar to pass through from end to end halfway up the frames. ³⁴And he overlaid the frames with gold, and made rings of gold for them to hold the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

³⁵He made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and fine twisted linen, with cherubim skillfully worked into it. ³⁶For it he made four pillars of acacia, and overlaid them with gold; their hooks were of gold, and he cast for them four bases of silver. ³⁷He also made a screen for the entrance to the tent, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and fine twisted linen, embroidered with needlework; ³⁸and its five pillars with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their bases with gold, but their five bases were of bronze.

The repetition of so much detail reminds us that God never tires of those things which speak to Him about His beloved Son.

–William MacDonald

–for just as the tabernacle dwelt in the midst of the people, so Christ came and dwelt among us.

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Music:

For all you choir members out there — and all you choir listeners!  HERE  is “Behold I Build You a House”  composed by David Reznick. Sacred/SATB. Text from II Chronicles 2:4, 5; 6:10.

This piece is sung by East/West Symphonic Choir software. What is that? you ask. According to a Keyboard review:  “Symphonic Choirs is an ambitious and powerful instrument capable of recreating the sound of a real choir with an incredible degree of realism. Nothing else quite delivers the control, sonic quality, and flexibility that SC offers. If you absolutely, positively must have the most natural and realistic choir (and you can’t afford to hire one), Symphonic Choirs is really the only choice, a clear Key Buy.”

So this is a choir number sung by a computer program! Enjoy!

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

diagram of tabernacle.  http://a.2002-acura-tl-radio.info/page-b/diagram-of-sanctuary-82982.html

blue, purple, and red yarns.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/36-blue-purple-red.jpg?w=450

acacia wood chest.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/36-acacia-wood.jpg