anitasanecdotes

Exodus 29 describes the ordination ritual for Aaron and his sons. God establishes this ordination to extend from one generation to the other. The ritual lasts seven days and involves the sacrifice of seven bulls and two rams. Each day there is to be a sin offering. Aaron and his sons are made holy by the sacrifices and are to eat of the holy sacrifice of the ram of ordination.

The altar is also consecrated for seven days and God has them consecrate the altar each year.  God consecrates the tent of meeting, the altar, and Aaron and his sons. He promises to dwell among the Israelites and be their God.

In Exodus 30 God commands Moses to make an altar that will stand in front of the curtain that is in front of the ark. Aaron is to offer incense on it every morning and evening. This practice is to continue throughout the generations.

Every year Aaron is to perform a rite of atonement (Yom Kippur) including a sin offering. Moses is to take a census of the people to register them. Each person is to give an offering of atonement money, a half shekel for each person no matter what their economic status. This per capita “tax” is different from the gift from the heart that the people gave for the construction of the tent of meeting. It is meant for the upkeep of the tent of meeting as a reminder of the ransom given for their lives.

Before Aaron and his sons go in to the altar they are to wash their hands and feet. If they don’t do this they will die.

Moses is to make a special anointing oil and anoint every part of the tent of meeting and the priests. This blend is only to be used for anointing.

It is hard for us to identify with this exacting ritual, but God clearly wanted the people to be aware that what they were doing was significant and that Aaron and his sons were selected to perform an essential function in their preservation. We often like to get rid of rituals in our daily lives. They can function to remind us of important happenings. The crucial thing is to remember why the ritual is happening and to allow it to speak to us in ways that other day to day activities cannot.

Psalm 18 has a special description as being written by David on the day he was delivered from King Saul. He acknowledges that God is his protection. He cried out in distress and God heard him. David describes the cosmic scene God saved him. It almost sounds like David believes God can make him a super hero. David doesn’t take any credit for winning the battle. He knows that it is God who delivered his enemies from him and he gives God all the praise.

Exodus 27 finishes the instructions for the tabernacle and the items that it contains. The entire tabernacle is quite substantial and yet it is meant to be transportable. God has even arranged for that by way of putting rings through which poles are threaded so that the people can carry the larger pieces. A lamp is placed outside of the area where the Ark of the Covenant rests and the lamp is to remain lit at all times. Aaron and his sons are given the task of tending to the light.

Exodus 28 gives instructions for the vestments Aaron and his sons are to wear. Pastors often complain about the weight and heat that their robes afflict, but they are nothing compared to the vestments Aaron wears. Some items of note are the two onyx stones that become epaulets containing the names of the 12 sons of Israel. The breastplate of judgment with 12 stones set in gold also with the names of the 12 tribes. These provide a reminder before God. Aaron’s robe has bells all around the bottom so that they will ring when he goes into the holy place of the Lord, as it says so he won’t die. There is also a gold signet placed on a turban Aaron wears that says “Holy to the Lord.” Aaron is to take on any guilt in the offerings he brings to God. God will see the signet and find favor with the people. The priests even have special underwear they must wear when they enter the tent of meeting so that they won’t bring any guilt on themselves and die. Moses is to anoint, ordain and consecrate them to the task of being the priests representing the people before God in the tent of meeting.

It is apparent that the priests are dressing for battle. They bear the judgment of the Lord and must be protected. But they also bear the reminder that they have been made holy in God’s sight. This is a serious charge and duty they are to perform for the people of Israel.

In Matthew 28 a new week dawns. The two Marys come to the tomb. There is an earthquake and an angel of the Lord rolls the stone away. The guards that Pilate assigned are scared stiff. The angel tells the women not to be afraid. Jesus is not here, because he has been raised, just as he told them. They see the empty place where he had lain. The angel tells them to go to the disciples and tell them the good news.

While they are running Jesus meets them and they fall at his feet. Jesus tells the women to go to the disciples.

Meanwhile some of the guards tell the chief priests what has happened. The priests and elders pay the soldiers off to spread a lie that the disciples came in the night and stole the body.

The disciples meet Jesus in Galilee where his ministry began. They meet Jesus with awe and doubt. Jesus commissions them to go into the world and make disciples, baptizing them in name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus promises to be with them always.

Even with the evidence in front of them the priests could not give in to God’s plan. They continued to try to thwart Jesus and his purposes. As we know, they failed.

Exodus 25 and 26 involve the making of what God calls a sanctuary for Him so that He may dwell among the people. If you remember God had the Israelites take many things from the Egyptians and now He is asking for some of them to be used for Him. In these chapters God gives instructions for the Ark of the Covenant and the tabernacle which will house the ark as well as many other accoutrements used for worship. This is one grand worship space: the finest cloth, the finest woods, gold covering everything, brilliant jewels…a place befitting God’s presence.

The one sentence that intrigues me is Ex. 25:2. God has Moses tell the people to give an offering and he will receive the offering “from all whose hearts prompt them to give.” Sometimes churches think that it would be good to charge dues to their membership to guarantee giving. There are some faith groups that even do this. But, here, God wants the gifts to be prompted by the heart. God has heard the people’s promise to have a relationship with Him and to obey His commands and now He trusts that they will be moved to respond. While in other places He asks for the firstfruits or firstborn, at this time he asks for them to give as they are prompted. Giving is our offering for the privilege of having a God who wants to dwell with us.

Matthew 27 opens with the arrest of Jesus because of Judas’ betrayal. Judas repents and tries to return the money he was paid. The priests do not accept the money, but Judas throws it down and is driven by his guilt ot hang himself. The priests recognize that this money is sinful and in a feeble attempt to appease their own guilt they use the money to buy a field for the burial of foreigners.

The priests take Jesus to the governor, Pilate. He sees that they have brought Jesus for trial out of jealousy and gives them an option of killing either Jesus or a murderer, Barabbas. The priests convince the crowd to ask for Barabbas’ release. When Pilate asks what he should do with Jesus, they say to crucify him. Pilate states that Jesus is innocent and the people agree to have Jesus’ blood on their hands. All this time Jesus says nothing in his defense.

The soldiers who take Jesus to be crucified dress him in a scarlet robe and place a crown of thorns on his head. They mock him as the King of the Jews. This is done as much to upset the priests as it is to degrade Jesus. The soldiers try to give Jesus wine mixed with gall to relieve some of the pain involved in crucifixion but Jesus refuses. He will bear all the pain without relief. Jesus is taunted by all those around the cross, even the bandits who are hung with him and he remains silent.

Finally Jesus cries out to God. He has borne the sins of all those who surround him, he has borne the sins of all those who have come before and he has borne our sins as well. God must turn His back on such sin. Jesus knows that He, at this moment, is completely alone, without God’s presence. And Jesus died.

There is a veil in the temple that surrounds the Holy of Holies, where God dwells. At Jesus’ death the veil is split and all of God’s glory is available for everyone to see. The earth shook with God’s judgment. Even the centurion watching Jesus realizes that something extraordinary is happening. He admits that Jesus is God’s Son.

While there is no mention of Jesus’ disciples being present at the crucifixion, Matthew does say that some of the women who followed Jesus were there. They remained faithful even when the others fled.

Jesus was placed in the tomb of a wealthy man and a large stone was rolled in front of the tomb. The priests and Pharisees have Pilate put guards in front of the tomb to make sure no one steals the body away since Jesus had said he would rise after three days.

We often wonder how such evil could happen, and yet we are confronted daily with those who make one wrong choice after another. They are deluded into believing that these choices are necessary for some sort of good that only they can see. These choices snowball into larger and larger disasters which affect many lives. Jesus chose to succumb to the wrong decisions in order to transform them into something of a much greater purpose. We must pray that God intervenes when we set out on the wrong course so that everything will work for good and those that have been hurt will be healed and saved.

Exodus 23 continues the commands for justice begun in yesterday’s readings. Many of them seem to be elaborations of the Ten Commandments. God continues to have a concern for the poor, mentioning them 3 times in the first 11 verses. Most of the rest of the commands in this chapter deal with bearing witness, right treatment of enemies and strangers (aliens), and Sabbath and feast day regulations.

God says that he is going to send an angel to guide the Israelites to the Promised Land. They are to obey him, worship only the Lord and not be influenced by other peoples. If they do as God has commanded, God will protect them, take care of their provisions and keep them healthy.

In Exodus 24 God has Moses come to him. Aaron and the elders are allowed to come closer but are allowed to worship only at a distance.

Moses tells the people what God has commanded and the promise to obey. Moses writes down what God has told him. He builds an altar and the people offer sacrifices to the Lord. God allows the elders to see him.

God has Moses go to the top of the mountain to receive stone tablet with the law and the commandment on it. God was in a cloud which covered the top of the mountain. To the people it looked like a fire. Moses entered the cloud and stayed forty days and forty nights.

At this point everything seems to be going well. When the people are confronted with God they promise to obey. They worship God whom they have seen and heard.

In Matthew 26 Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to be handed over to be crucified. Meanwhile the chief priests and elders discuss having Jesus arrested. They decide to wait until after Passover so the people will not riot.

Jesus and his disciples are staying n Bethany. A woman comes to him with a jar of expensive ointment and pours it on his head. The disciples object, but Jesus says that she is preparing him for burial.

Judas is clearly disappointed with the way things are going. He goes to the chief priests and asks what they will pay for his betrayal of Jesus. They offer thirty pieces of silver, the cost of a slave.

Jesus and the disciples celebrate Passover together. While they are eating he predicts that one of them will betray him. They all deny it. Even though Judas denies it also Jesus knows his intentions.

Jesus takes bread and wine that are used for the Passover observance and gives them new meaning by saying that they are his body and blood.  He then tells them that he will not drink again until he drinks with them in his Father’s kingdom.

After the meal they go to the Mount of Olives. Jesus says all of them will desert him. Peter says he will never desert Jesus, but Jesus says that before the cock crows the next morning Peter will deny him three times.

Jesus takes Peter, James and John to pray. He asks them to stay awake with him, but three times when he return they are sleeping. While Jesus prays he asks his Father to change the plan that he will follow but acknowledges that he will do whatever God wills.

It is time for Jesus to be betrayed and Judas approaches Jesus and kisses him. He brings a crowd with him and they arrest Jesus. One of the disciples draws a sword and cuts the ear off of a slave, but Jesus tells him to stop. He tells them that if he wanted he could have God protect him but then the scriptures would not be fulfilled. The disciples desert Jesus.

Jesus is brought to Caiaphas, the high priest. Peter follows at a distance. While Jesus is being put on trial and found guilty of blasphemy because of false testimony given against him, Peter is accused three times of being associated with Jesus. Each time he denies the charge. When he hear a cock crow he remembers what Jesus said and he runs away weeping.

All of us would rather that Jesus did not have to go through the humiliation and torture he did. But as he continually reminded the disciples he needed to do this in order to fulfill the scriptures. God had destined Jesus to save us in this manner before the world began. He told us about it throughout the Old Testament. It is hard for us to believe that the priests who know the scriptures backward and forward would participate in this manner, but then, again, we read these same scriptures and have a hard time believing ourselves. Reading them now, can you see God’s plan? Can you believe?

Exodus 21 and 22 deal with issues of justice. Of note are the laws made regarding slaves. Slaves were treated very cruelly in the cultures of the day. God is establishing a system of laws that have regard for all people, including slaves.

The laws include many property issues. In summary, if harm comes because of intentional acts the punishment is much more severe than if the harm comes as a result of an accident.

There are also laws considering the marriage relationship especially with regard to wives. Again, this care for women is more compassionate than what is culturally acceptable.

There are laws regarding the treatment of non-Israelites, widows, orphans, and the poor (which the Pharisees ignored, by the way).

While many of these laws are no longer appropriate in our society, it is clear that God has a real sense of compassion for those who are not powerful. If we are the one who is blessed we are to be responsible for the care of those who are not. We must also live accountable lives when we harm another person or his/her property, even if the harm occurred by accident.

God reminds the people to consecrate their firstborn, including giving from the first and best of their harvest to the Lord.

Psalm 17 is a cry for justice from God. The writer makes his case that he is righteous and therefore deserves God’s protection and vindication against his enemies.

In Exodus 19 God wants Moses to tell the people that if they keep his covenant with them they will become his treasured possession. He emphasizes that the whole earth belongs to him, but Israel will be separated out to be a holy nation, priests of the world. Moses relays God’s message and the people say they will do what God says.

It is unfortunate that they never really understood what this phrase meant. We, too, are called out to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Do we comprehend what this means for us in any better way than the Israelites understood God?

The people are gathered near Mount Sinai. God has Moses prepare the people to meet God on the mountain. They are consecrated, wash their clothes and gather at the foot of the mountain. God comes onto the mountain in fire and smoke. The mountain shakes and a loud trumpet sounds. The people are warned not to come close to the cloud or they will die. Only Moses is allowed to come to the top of the mountain. God has Moses go down the mountain again and repeat the warning.

In Exodus 20, God lays out his covenant with the people Israel. Remember a covenant is a contract between someone of power with the people under his power. God establishes the reason he is in charge: he is the one who brought the people out of Egypt. He then lays out the conditions of the covenant.

These conditions are known as the Ten Commandments. They set up the relationship we are to have with God, keeping him first in our faith life, including setting aside a day each week to give to the Lord. The commandments, also, set up the way we are to relate to others, treating them with respect and consideration.

The people are frightened to hear and see God in all of his power and glory. They ask Moses to be the one to relay what God says. They are afraid to hear it directly from God. Moses tells them not to be afraid because God just wants them to know who he is so they will keep the covenant.

The people move away from the mountain and Moses goes into the cloud. God gives Moses a message for the people that he does not want any idols made. He wants them to simply build an altar to him wherever they are and to worship him with sacrifices and offerings of well-being.

Spend some time looking at the Ten Commandments. You will see that they are divided into to classes: dealing with God and dealing with other people. In between these two sections is the command to remember the sabbath. God knows that in order for us to truly be able to keep the other commandments, sabbath rest and worship is key. We need to take time each week to remember our relationship with God and to contemplate how he wants us to live with people. If we do not do this we will lose our way.

Matthew 25 continues Jesus teachings on the kingdom of heaven and the end of the world. He exhorts his followers to be prepared and vigilant. The parable of the bridesmaids emphasize that he wants us to always be ready because we do not know when this day will come.

In the parable of the talents Jesus tells us that we need to continue to do the work we have been called to do. We need to keep bearing fruit. We are not to shut ourselves away and wait until he comes. We should be about his business until the end.

The final parable in this chapter speaks of the kind of work we are called to do. We will be judged by our deeds of compassion and living out the faith that we proclaim.

Both our Old and New Testament lessons speak about what it takes to be a person chosen by God. Our lives must reflect the words we speak. If we say that we believe and are willing to obey then the way we live our lives must bear this out: we need to keep God first in our lives; we need to devote time to God in sabbath rest and worship; we need to treat others with care and compassion, regardless of whether they are family, friends, or strangers. Reading these scriptures, we learn how we are to live, we cannot remain ignorant of God’s expectations.

In Exodus 17 the people are complaining to Moses because they do not have water. Moses gets exasperated and cries out to God. God has Moses strike a rock at Horeb and water flows out of it.

Then Amalek wages war on the Israelites. God has Moses stand on top of a hill while the war rages on below. Moses carries the staff of God in his hand. As long as his hand is raised the Israelites prevail. Moses brought Aaron and Hur with him. They held Moses’ hands up and the Israelites led by Joshua defeated Amalek.

In Exodus 18 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law comes into the wilderness to meet with Moses. Apparently, Moses had sent his wife and sons to be with Jethro and now Jethro is bringing them to see Moses.

Moses relays to Jethro everything that God has done, delivering them from the Egyptians. Even though Jethro is a priest of Midian he knows the Lord and praises him for what he has done.

The next day Moses sits as judge for the people. They bring every complaint, whether large or small to him. Jethro sees this and confronts Moses. He tells him that he is taking on too heavy a burden and should get help. Moses says that he is the one who gives God’s instructions to the people. Jethro acknowledges that this is what Moses should be doing: representing the people before God and teaching them what God wants them to do, but he counsels Moses to find other God-fearing men to sit as judges for smaller groups of people. They will handle the small cases and bring the important ones to Moses. Moses does as his father-in-law counsels.

Often when we are given a task by God we try to do it alone. Sometimes the tasks are just too much for one person to handle. It is not a sign of failure to ask for help and spread the duties around. A worn-out leader is as worthless as no leader at all. We must use good judgment when we are feeling stretched to the max. It is not necessary to give up altogether, just share the burden.

In Matthew 24 Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple (which happened in 70 A.D.). The disciples ask when this will happen as well as the end of the world. Jesus warns against listening to people who say they have the answer. He tells them that many terrible things will happen: wars, famine apostasy, oppression, lawlessness, etc. The good news of the kingdom of God will also be proclaimed until the end  But only the Father knows the exact time. We must always be ready and working for the kingdom.

Exodus 15 opens with the people singing songs of praise to God. They repeat the events that occurred as God saved the people form the pursuit of the Egyptians. After all of the people sing their hymn of praise Miriam, Moses’ sister, leads the women in a dance of praise.

The people travel for three days and come to a place where the water is bitter (Marah). The people ask what they will drink. Moses talks to God who tells him to put w piece of wood in the water and it becomes sweet.

The Lord offers and agreement with the people that if they obey him He will not bring the plagues he brought on the Egyptians on them.

As Exodus 16 attests it doesn’t take long for the Israelites to forget what God has done for them. They are out in the wilderness and are complaining. They say they would have rather died in the land of Egypt. They talk about how good they had it, being able to eat their fill. They have totally forgotten what it was really like in Egypt and how they cried out to God to deliver them.

Moses points out that their complaints are not against Aaron and him, but against God. God, though, has heard their complaints and gives them food. In the evening quails come into the camp and in the morning the wilderness is covered with a white flaky substance. The people ask, “What is it?” This is the Hebrew word “manna,” so that becomes its name. Moses tells the people it is the bread God has given them.

God gives them specific instructions on how to collect the manna. If they follow the rules the manna remains fresh, if they don’t it goes bad and gets worms. In keeping with the fact that God rested on the seventh day God establishes a sabbath day where the people do not collect manna. They are able to gather twice as much food the day before.

God gives the people only what they need, not necessarily what they want. If they collect too much or too little food, they end up with just enough, no more no less. Even in giving us our heart’s desires, God gives us what we need to continue on. We may want more or something different but God knows what is good for us and gives that. We can decide whether we will complain like the people of Israel or whether we will be grateful for God’s provision for us.

Psalm 15 is a teaching psalm. It encourages us to do what is right in God’s sight. It gives us some examples of that right living. It acknowledges that those who obey God’s commands will dwell with the Lord.

Psalm 16 is a psalm of faithfulness. The writer acknowledges that it is only through God that we have everything good. The writer chooses to be faithful to God even though others may worship other gods. The writer pledges to be faithful and offers praise to God.

While God kills the firstborn of all the people and animals of Egypt, God wants the Israelites to consecrate their firstborn to him in Exodus 13. This seems to be a change in the way God deals with his people. Up until this point the firstborn often seem to get the short straw, but now God asks for them to be dedicated to God’s care.

God also establishes a regular Passover festival that will begin when the Israelites reach the land flowing with mild and honey. At the Passover the firstborn males shall be redeemed to remind them of how God freed them from slavery.

Pharaoh lets the people go. And God leads them out of Egypt, but he leads them on a roundabout path because he thinks that they may change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war. This certainly is a prescient thought. Moses remembers to take Joseph’s bones with him to bury in the Promised Land just as he had asked. God leads the people with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The pillars never leave the people.

In Exodus 14 As God leads the people to the Red Sea (or Reed Sea, Sea of Reeds), Pharaoh realizes what he has done and takes an army to pursue the Israelites. The Israelites see the Egyptians coming and are afraid. They ask to be returned to the Egyptians just as God feared. But Moses tells the people to stand firm because the Lord will fight for them.

God tells Moses to stretch his staff over the sea and the waters divide. The Israelites cross over the sea on dry ground. The Egyptians follow the Israelites but God confuses them and they become mired in the mud. Moses stretches out his staff again and the waters of the sea cover the Egyptians until all are lost. The people of Israel saw the great work the God has done and they fear him. They believe in the Lord and in Moses, his servant.

In Matthew 23 Jesus explains to the crowds that the scribes and Pharisees teach the Law of Moses so they should obey what they say. However, he warns the people not to follow their example. They practice their religion for show but do not do the things they should do in living out justice, mercy and faith.

Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees for not being on the inside the way they force others to be, for looking good on the outside, but being corrupt on the inside. He prophesies the killing of his righteous followers at their hands.

Jesus makes a distinction between the teachings of the scriptures and the teachers of the scriptures. He notes that the scriptures are true and should be followed even if the teachers are not true and are hypocrites in that their lives to not reflect their teachings. Often we in the church are called hypocrites because we do not live out the faith we profess. Despite our inability to be good examples the words of the scriptures remain true guides for living. Believers can count on them.

In Exodus 11 and 12 God works out the details of the final plague. The Israelites gather their things and ask their neighbors for objects of silver and gold. Moses tells Pharaoh that every firstborn in Egypt will die at midnight: slaves, officials, even animals will not be spared except for the Israelites. Pharaoh still does not relent and Moses leaves in anger.

God gives the people of Israel specific instructions on what they must do. They are to take a lamb without blemish, kill it and place the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and lintel of their houses. Then they shall roast the lamb and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. There are to be no leftovers of meat, whatever is left is to be burned. They should be ready to move quickly. At midnight the Lord passes over all of the buildings in Egypt. The ones that have the sign of blood on them are spared, but in the ones that do not have the sign the firstborn dies. The people of Egypt cry out in mourning and Pharaoh tells the people of Israel to leave Egypt.

This becomes the feast of Passover which still celebrated every year by Jewish people. Each year the question is asked “What do you mean by this observance?” and the story is told of how God freed the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. This is the feast that Jesus observes with his disciples when he establishes the Lord’s Supper. He is the spotless Lamb of God who saves us from death, from our bondage to sin.

In Matthew 22 Jesus tells a parable about a king who holds a wedding banquet but all the invited guests refuse to come so the slaves go out into the streets and invite everyone they find to the banquet but in the end only the ones who are ready for the banquet are able to come.

Jesus came to save Israel but many in Israel refused to follow him, particularly those who had been trained in the Law. They should have recognized him as God’s chosen one but they did not. So he opened the way for others to enter the kingdom of heaven and those who are prepared will come.

The Pharisees try to trick Jesus by asking questions that will cause him to make enemies of the state or religious followers, but Jesus will not be tricked. Instead he asks them a question they dare not answer and silences them.

In asking him to judge which is the greatest commandment Jesus answers. “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”  With these two commandments Jesus summarizes the Ten Commandments and all of the other laws and teachings of the prophets. If we love God with every part of our being, we will desire to obey him and be faithful to him. If we love ourselves we will value ourselves as god values us. If we love our neighbors as ourselves we will do nothing to hurt others. This is the fulfillment of all of scripture.