Exactly what the Lord commands

Thursday, August 3, 2023

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Exactly what the Lord commands

Moses did exactly as the Lord had commanded him. It was Moses who erected the Dwelling (Tabernacle). He spread the tent over the Dwelling, as the Lord commanded him. He took the commandments and put them in the ark; he placed poles alongside the ark, he brought the ark into the Dwelling and hung the curtain veil, thus screening off the ark of the commandments, as the Lord had commanded him.

And to think we are always taught that Jesus is in our hearts. Which he is. But he was also in the Ark of the Covenant, kept in the Holy of Holies, which was in the Dwelling or Tabernacle, which was in the Tent of Meeting. The ark was well-covered, to protect the people. Only certain special “holy” people could enter the Holy of Holies, and that continued for thousands of years (I think of John the Baptist’s dad, who was a priest, receiving his revelation while attending to his duties). And this “privacy” or protection continues today, in a less stringent sense, at least in the more traditional, liturgical churches.

The Ark of the Covenant contained the the Ten Commandments, written by Moses on the second set of tablets . This covenant between God and his children also included the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants, including Moses and Aaron.

Moses, like Paul, brought this history and theology to life. As the presumed author of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), he shaped the future history as he researched and interpreted the former history and lived in the present. Then for generations so much revolved around the stories of these days in the desert, and that mixture of miracles and tempests and blessings from heaven. They have fascinated all of us, even until today. Where did the Ark of the Covenant settle? It blessed and cursed many people; does it still today?

Fortune and glory, kid. Fortune and glory.

But X never, ever marks the spot.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

Indiana Jones speaks for all of us, the curious and the power-hungry, the religious and the spiritual, the Jews, Christians and Muslims. We want to (at least I want to) be with Moses in the desert, watching him build this strange “dwelling” for Yahweh, for Yahweh to call him (and others) in to be together and speak, learn, plan … I guess. Just what were they doing in there, anyway?

Not having tea.

For awhile, however, even Moses could not enter.

The cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling (Tabernacle). Moses could not enter, because the cloud settled and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling. Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling, the children of Israel would set out on their journey. If the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward.

Strange construction. Whatever foundation built for this temple must be lifted and carried forward, in its entirety, and the Israelites would move this way back and forth across the Desert of Sin for forty years.

In the daytime the cloud of the Lord was seen over the Dwelling; whereas at night, fire was seen in the cloud by the whole house of Israel in all the stages of their journey.

Slow takes time. God is in no hurry.

 

To Whom I Belong by Steve Garnaas-Holmes

 Holy One,

 you are the gentle water

that wears down the mountain of me.

 

You are the soft root hair

that splits the rock of me.

 

You are the worm

that digests me.

 

You are the mycelium

that weaves my soil.

 

You are the silence

that utters me.

 

You are the Oneness

to whom I belong.

 

With all of my being

I belong myself to you.

 

So be it. Amen. The power of God resides in our souls, but it always wreaks its own kind of holy havoc. We are the Created Ones, nothing more.

My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.

(Exodus 40, Psalm 84, Acts 16, Matthew 13)

(posted at www.davesandel.net)

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