Consecration of the Priests

Resuming a chronological Bible study, this particular order designed by Skip Andrews here, I pick up with Exodus, chapter 29:

(Exodus 29:1) “And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them to minister to me in the priest's office: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, (2) And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). (3) And you shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams."

For the past several chapters of Exodus, Moses had been up on the mount with God who had most recently been giving him instructions on building a tabernacle and furnishing Aaron and his sons with all they needed to be priests for the Lord.  This chapter begins with instructions for the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the office of priesthood.  First Moses was to take a young bull and two unblemished rams.  Then he was to take three different kinds of unleavened bread made with wheat flour:  loaves of unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and thin unleavened wafers rubbed or anointed with oil.  The unleavened breads were to be placed in a basket and brought with the bull and two rams.

(4) “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and you shall wash them with water."

Then Moses was to bring or direct Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle where they were to be washed with water, surely a symbol that they must be cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit (2 Corinthians 7:1) before entering the tabernacle of the Lord, and certainly before bearing the vessels of the Lord (Isaiah 52:11).

(5) "And you shall take the garments, put the coat on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod; (6) And you shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban."

All the garments that Moses had been instructed to make or have made for Aaron were to be ceremoniously placed on him after he washed at the door of the tabernacle.  After they placed the turban on Aaron's head, they were to place the holy crown on the turban which was the gold plate with the words HOLINESS TO THE LORD engraved on it.

(7) "Then you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him."

After Aaron was dressed in his priestly garments, anointing oil was to be poured over his head in order to anoint him for the priest's office.

(8) "And you shall bring his sons and put coats on them. (9) And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the caps on them; and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute; and you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons."

Then Aaron's sons were to be brought forward and the coats that were made for them were to be placed on them.  The sashes and caps were likewise to be placed on the sons and Aaron, as well.  Thus Aaron and his sons would be consecrated to the office of the priesthood, and that office would be theirs for a perpetual statute in that it would descend from father to son in Aaron's family throughout all generations, until the Messiah came.

(10) "And you shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of the congregation, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull. (11) And you shall kill the bull before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."

Then the young bull was to be brought to the tabernacle, and Aaron and his sons were to put their hands on the head of the bull.  This act of putting their hands on the head of the bull probably signified that they understood this sacrifice was offered for them.  Then the sacrificial bull was to be killed "before the Lord" outside the door of the tabernacle, but probably inside the courtyard.

(12) "And you shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the base of the altar."

After the bull was slain and the blood was probably collected in a basin, some of the blood was to be put on the horns of the altar with the finger.  As the horns were where people in distress would later flee for refuge and laid hold on, the blood on the horns may have represented the blood of Christ, "being effectual to the cleansing of their souls, and the remission of their sins, through the application of it to them by the Spirit of God" (Dr. John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible).  The rest of the blood of the bull was to be poured beside the base of the altar.

(13) “And you shall take all the fat that covers the inwards, the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar."

There are such varying interpretations of what is meant by verse 13 that it is difficult to know exactly the true meaning.  I wish I could know with more certainty as usually God's laws had good common sense behind them, and if He said we shouldn't eat the liver or other certain organs of an animal, I would assume there is a good reason why.  Take "the fat that covers the inwards"; many take this to mean the membrane or caul of the bowels, the entrails, or the intestines.  That is quite reasonable, but I can't help but wonder if it meant all the fat covering all the organs inside the body.  The original word translated as "inwards" was "qereb" and it was defined by Strong's as "the nearest past, the center, bowels, midst, heart, within self".  Most often it was used in the Bible to mean "among" or "midst" or "within".  Indeed, I have found that whereas we consider our hearts to be our centers of emotion, in Biblical times, it was the gut.  Actually, that is much more accurate, isn't it?  Don't we have feelings down in our guts?  We get butterflies in our stomachs?  We can literally get sick in our stomachs or bowels with worry.  We might get heart flutters when we are nervous, but I think most of our emotions take place in our center part, an area around our waist or middle that includes the liver, stomach, kidneys, and intestines.  At this point, my best guess is that they were to take all the fat that covered the organs in this mid-section of the sacrificial animal.

Next consider the "caul that is above the liver".  Again, I'd really like to know if God intended for us to eat animal livers or not.  There are many health experts, even Biblically minded ones, who say that beef liver is extremely healthy.  Taking it a step at a time, the word translated as "caul" was "yothereth".  Strong's says it is a form of the word "yathar" which meant "jut over, exceed, remain or be left, left behind", thus making "yothereth" mean "the lobe or flap of the liver (as if overhanging), caul, appendage, overhang, protrusion".  In all instances in scripture, "yothereth" was always translated as "caul".  The dictionary defined caul (where it pertains to the inner organs, specifically the liver area) as "a large fold of peritoneum hanging from the stomach across the intestines; the large omentum".  Now I'm more confused!  Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary defined it this way:  "(Heb. yothe'reth; i.e., 'something redundant'), the membrane which covers the upper part of the liver (Ex. 29:13, 22; Lev. 3:4, 10, 15; 4:9; 7:4; marg., 'midriff'). In Hos. 13:8 (Heb. seghor; i.e., 'an enclosure') the pericardium, or parts about the heart, is meant."  Looking at an illustration of body organs, there does appear to be an extra flap of the liver over the stomach.  Maybe that is what is meant?  As far as whether or not the liver may be eaten, I was directed back to Exodus 12:9, where the Passover lamb was to be eaten roasted "with the purtenance" which means "the inner organs" or specifically "the liver, heart, and lungs of an animal", so it does seem there was no prohibition against eating animal liver.

Finally, the two kidneys and the fat on them were also to be burned on the altar along with the fat and caul above the liver.  Just as varied as opinions of exactly what parts of the body were meant were the opinions regarding the reasoning behind the act of burning the fat, etc.  The fact that these parts of the body made up the gut and the source of emotion, I noted with interest Dr. John Gill's pondering about whether the burning of the fat represented a good thing or a bad thing.  Perhaps they were honoring the Lord with the very center of the very best we have to offer, or "being the seat of carnal desires, affections, and lusts; it may denote that the inward part of man is very wickedness, and that the inward corruptions of nature, and the carnal affections and fleshly lusts, are to be mortified and destroyed..."

(14) “But the flesh of the bull, and its skin and its dung, you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering."

The bull's flesh, skin, and dung were to be burned outside the camp as a sin offering to make atonement for the priests.  Dr. John Gill noted that this was a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, who would suffer His painful and shameful death outside the gates of Jerusalem.  This was referred to by the apostle in Hebrews 13:11-12:  "For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate."

(15) “You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram; (16) And you shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it all around on the altar."

Then they were to take one of the two rams they had been instructed to bring, and Aaron and his sons were to put their hands on the head of the ram, again acknowledging their guilt and their need for this sacrifice.  Placing their hands on the head of the animal may have been an illustration of transferring their sin and guilt to the ram.  They were then to kill the ram and sprinkle its blood all around the altar.

(17) "And you shall cut the ram in pieces, wash its inwards and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head. (18) And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD."

The ram was to be cut into pieces and its insides and legs washed, and all the pieces with its head were to be burned on the altar.  Burning the whole ram on the altar was to be a burnt offering to the Lord.  The two words translated as "sweet aroma" actually meant more of a "smell of rest" which meant the offering made by fire to the Lord caused His justified wrath to cease, and He acquiesced and rested, taking delight and pleasure in the burnt sacrifice made to Him.

(19) "And you shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram.  (20) Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar."

Next Aaron and his sons were to put their hands on the head of the second ram, and then they were to kill it.  They were to take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons, and on their right thumbs and right big toes, surely signifying that they dedicated all their powers to the service of God.  The ears represented their hearing the word of God, their hands doing the things of God, and their feet walking in the way of God's word.  Then the second ram's blood was to be sprinkled all around the altar as with the first ram.

(21) “And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, and on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be hallowed, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him."

They were also to take some of the blood of the ram and also some anointing oil and they were to sprinkle that on Aaron and his priestly garments, and also on Aaron's sons and their garments.  In this way, Aaron and his sons and their garments would be made ceremoniously clean and holy, the blood representing the blood of Christ, that perfect sacrifice, and the oil representing the Holy Spirit.

(22) “Also you shall take the fat of the ram and the rump, the fat that covers the inwards, the caul above the liver, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and the right shoulder, for it is a ram of consecration:"

I have read that the sheep in this area were remarkable for their very broad fat tails, so that may be what is meant by the rump here.  They were to take the fat tail with the fat that was on it, and again the fat that covered the inwards, the caul above the liver, the two kidneys and the fat that was on them, and in addition, the right shoulder.  This was to be a ram of consecration, dedicating and ordaining the priests to their sacred office.  The original word for consecration used here was "millu", and it meant "fulfilling", even "setting" or "installation", as the same word was used when referring to the setting of the precious stones in the ephod.  This was the ram that represented fulfillment of the steps necessary to install the priests into their office.

(23) "And one loaf of bread, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: (24) And you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD."

Along with the parts of the ram mentioned in verse 22, they were to take of the unleavened wheat breads in the basket mentioned in verse 2, one loaf, one cake mixed with oil, and one wafer.  All these things, which would seem to include the parts of the ram mentioned in verse 22 and the three breads, were to be placed into the hands of Aaron and his sons, and they were to wave them to and fro before the Lord as a wave offering, that is, in token of their being offered to the Lord.

(25) "And you shall receive them from their hands and burn them on the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet aroma before the LORD; it is an offering made by fire to the LORD."

"You" here probably means Moses himself as Aaron and his sons were not completely installed into the office of priesthood at this point.  Moses was to accept the wave offering from their hands and burn it on the altar for a burnt offering to the Lord.  Once again this was a "smell of rest" in which the Lord took delight and pleasure in the burnt sacrifice made to Him.

(26) "And you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD; and it shall be your part."

At this point the breast of the ram was to be taken by Moses and waved for a wave offering to the Lord.  God said that the breast was to be Moses's part, as Moses would be officiating as priest in the consecration ceremony for Aaron and his sons.  Later this part of the sacrifice would belong to the priests, that is, Aaron and his sons.

(27) "And you shall sanctify the breast of the wave offering which is waved, and the shoulder of the heave offering which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons. (28) And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute forever from the children of Israel; for it is a heave offering, and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, their heave offering to the LORD."

The breast of the wave offering was to be sanctified, set apart for the use of the priests.  Also the ram's shoulder was to be heaved for a heave offering.  Was this the same shoulder from verse 22 that had already been put into Aaron's and his sons' hands and waved as a part of a wave offering?  I suppose so; I can't really find a definitive answer to that.  I can't get my head completely around the meaning of all the symbolic gestures, and perhaps get hung up on unimportant details.  I will assume that the shoulder was first waved in a gesture of offering it to the Lord, and then burnt on the altar for a sweet aroma before the Lord (v. 25).  Then the burnt meats were to be waved and heaved in wave and heave offerings.  A wave offering was in a gesture to and fro from side to side, whereas a heave offering was heaved or offered up and then back down.  Early Biblical scholars pointed out that these motions indicated a cross.  I love that!  Just as the blood on the doorposts and lintels of the doors of the Israelites in Egypt at the first great passover that gave Passover its name intimated a cross, here the priests' actions of waving and heaving suggested a cross.  I just love how often Christ is found in the Old Testament!  All things have always pointed to Him.  God's plan for salvation has been there since the beginning; man just had to understand his need for it through all his failures.   

Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, put it this way:  "The flesh of the sacrifice, with the meat-offering annexed to it, was...divided between God and them, that (to speak with reverence) God and they might feast together, in token of friendship and fellowship. Part of it was to be first waved before the Lord, and then burnt upon the altar; part of the flesh, part of the bread, for bread and flesh must go together; these were first put into the hands of Aaron to be waved to and fro, in token of their being offered to God (who, though unseen, yet compasses us round on every side), and then they were to be burnt upon the altar, for the altar was to devour God's part of the sacrifice. Thus God admitted Aaron and his sons to be his servants, and wait at his table, taking the meat of his altar from their hands."  That sounds reasonable, but where that leaves the heaved shoulder, raw or burnt, I'm not sure, but that is probably not important.

At this point, the breast was to be sanctified and set apart for Moses, and the shoulder was sanctified and set apart for Aaron and his sons.  However, as a statute forever (as long as the priesthood of Aaron lasted until the Messiah came), the breast and the shoulder would henceforth (after this first time) be the portion of the priests, Aaron and his sons.  The children of Israel would always allow the priests to have these parts, the breast and the shoulder.  Remember that Aaron wore the names of the tribes of Israel on his shoulders and on his breastplate.  Thus the heave offering was done on behalf of the children of Israel, and because the priest did this for them, they would always give this portion to the priest. 

(29) “And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them."

The holy garments they had made for Aaron were to descend from him to his sons, and would actually continue to pass from father to son as long as the priesthood continued in Aaron's family.  Aaron's sons after him would also go through the anointing ceremony of being washed, ceremoniously clothed, and anointed in the holy garments.

(30) "And that son who is priest in his place shall put them on for seven days, when he comes into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place."

The son who was priest in Aaron's place was the one who became high priest after Aaron.  The priesthood continued in Aaron's family by succession, with the eldest son being high priest.  The next successor to the office of high priest was to wear the holy garments for seven days when he went into the tabernacle to minister in the holy place.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote that the "priest in his consecration was to abide seven days and nights at the door of the tabernacle, keeping the Lord’s watch", referring to a later verse in Leviticus 8:33 that spoke of not going out of the door of the congregation seven days until the days of the consecration were at end.  The number seven was considered the number of perfection.  It is often used to denote completion, accomplishment, fullness, or perfection of a thing.  As this act of consecration lasted seven days, it signified a perfect fulfilled consecration.

(31) “And you shall take the ram of the consecration and boil its flesh in the holy place. (32) And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."

The rest of the flesh of the second ram, the ram of consecration, was to be boiled.  The scripture said it was to be boiled in the holy place, but later scriptures will indicate it was at the door of the tabernacle or holy place.  Aaron and his sons were to eat this boiled flesh and the rest of the bread in the basket by the door.  The door of the tabernacle probably referred to the whole courtyard at the entrance of the tabernacle.

(33) "And they shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy."

Aaron and his sons would be eating the things with which the atonement was made, signifying their receiving the atonement.  Scofield wrote that the word "atonement" was not a proper translation of the original Hebrew word "kaphar", but rather the translator's interpretation.  Strong's and Brown-Driver-Briggs define the word as "cover" or "make reconciliation" or "make atonement".  However, Scofield asserted that these sacrifices merely "covered" the offerer's sin and secured divine forgiveness, but did not make the sinner "at-one" with God, which is what he said "atone" actually meant.  He pointed to the scripture in Hebrews 10:4 which said, "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins."  Quoting Scofield, "The Israelite's offering implied confession of sin and of its due dessert, death; and God 'covered' (or) 'passed over' his sin, in anticipation of Christ's sacrifice."  He pointed out that the word "atonement" did not even really occur in the New Testament.  There is one KJV translation of it in Romans 5:11, but the word is "katallage" and actually means "exchanged" and most all of the other Bible translations used the word "reconciliation" rather than "atonement".

Back to commentary on verse 33 above, Aaron and his sons were to eat of those foods that had been used in the sacrificial covering of their sins, and by doing so, were consecrated and made ceremoniously clean.  However, no one outside the family of Aaron would be allowed to eat those foods because they were considered holy.

(34) “And if any of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy."

Also because the food was considered holy, if any of it remained until the next morning, they were to burn the remainder with fire, and none of it eaten that next day.  Those same orders were used with respect to what was left of the passover in Exodus 12:10.  In both cases, these sacrifices were representative of the covering of sins by Christ, and could not be allowed to spoil or be eaten by the unclean, heathens, or dogs, etc.

(35) "And thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; seven days you shall consecrate them."

All the things described before--washing, clothing, anointing them, sprinkling blood on them and their garments, and offering sacrifice for them--all those things were to be done to Aaron and his sons as commanded by God.  Although all the ceremonies were probably performed on the first day, they were not to consider their consecration completed until the end of seven days.

(36) “And you shall offer a bull every day for a sin offering for atonement; and you shall cleanse the altar when you have made atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it."

Every day of the seven days of consecration, they were to offer a bull for a sin offering.  Seven, being that perfect number of completion, was representative of the full and complete atonement for sin by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  It appears that the seven daily sacrifices made atonement for the altar itself.  The altar itself could not sin, but it did receive many sin offerings, and was to be cleaned and atonement ceremoniously made for it to purge it from the uncleanness of the sins of children of Israel.  Afterwards it was also to be anointed with holy anointing oil and set apart for holy use.  Dr. John Gill pointed out that in this way the altar represented Christ, "who is that altar believers in him have a right to partake of; and though he had no sin of his own, no guilt of that kind to expiate, nor pollution to be cleansed from, yet as he had the guilt of his people transferred to him, and was clothed with their filthy garments, and had their uncleannesses on him; by the sacrifice of himself he purged away sin from himself and them, and was justified and cleared of all, and they in him... it was a figure of Christ anointed with the oil of gladness, the Holy Spirit, above his fellows; and was sanctified and set apart for his priestly office, in which he was both altar, sacrifice, and priest."

(37) “Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it, and it shall be a most holy altar; whatever touches the altar shall be holy."

After seven days of atonement and sanctification, the altar would be considered a most holy altar.  Then whatever touched it would also be holy.  I believe this literally meant that when the altar was properly expiated and sanctified, the altar itself sanctified the gifts that were on it.  Jesus referred to this in Matthew 23:19 when He asked what was greater, the gift or the altar that sanctified the gift?  Once again, Christ is illustrated in the rituals of the Old Testament.  He is our altar; for our sakes He sanctified Himself in order that we might be sanctified and accepted by God.

(38) “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. (39) One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at evening."

Every single day, continually, two young lambs in their first year were to be offered on the altar, one in the morning and the other in the evening.  This represented Christ the Lamb of God who continually covers and takes away the sins of His people on a continual basis.

(40) "And with the one lamb shall be a tenth deal of flour mingled with one-fourth of an hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering."

With the first lamb offered in the morning, they were also to offer a tenth deal of flour, which was a tenth of an ephah, which was an omer, or about two quarts, mixed with one-fourth hin, or about a quart, of pure pressed oil.  It is interesting to note that an omer was considered to be the amount one man could eat in a day and was the amount of manna per person the people were instructed to gather every day in Exodus 16.  They were also to offer one-fourth hin (about a quart) of wine for a drink offering. 

(41) “And the other lamb you shall offer at evening and shall do as with the grain offering and the drink offering in the morning, for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD."

Likewise, in the evening, they were to offer the lamb with the same amount of flour and oil and wine.  This offering made by fire would be considered a sweet aroma to the Lord.  Matthew Henry pointed out that "the daily sacrifices were as the daily meals in God's house, and therefore they were always attended with bread and wine".

(42) “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of congregation before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak there to you."

Offered up every morning and evening, there was to be a continual burnt offering at the altar of burnt offering that stood by the door of the tabernacle.  This continual burnt offering was to last throughout the ages until Jesus Christ would become the ultimate sacrifice and put an end to these then unnecessary sacrifices.  The Lord promised to meet Moses there to speak to him.

(43) “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by My glory."

God promised also to meet the children of Israel of there, accepting their sacrifices, probably hearing their prayers and thanksgiving, and giving instruction through the priests.  What shall be sanctified by the Lord's glory?  The original KJV translators added the words "the tabernacle" where I rather supplied "it".  None of the old commentators believe the tabernacle is what was meant, as it was referred to in the next verse.  Rather the place where the Lord would meet His people would be sanctified by His glory merely by His presence there, or it might mean that the people themselves would be sanctified, or set apart or distinguished, because of His glorious presence among them.

(44) "And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar; I will also sanctify both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me in the priest's office."

The Lord would also sanctify the tabernacle, the altar, and Aaron and his sons as priests.  Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible pointed out that "the sanctification by Moses according to the Divine institution was only symbolical; and that Aaron and his sons must be sanctified, i.e., made holy, by God himself before they could officiate in holy things. From this, as well as from many other things mentioned in the sacred writings, we may safely infer that no designation by man only is sufficient to qualify any person to fill the office of a minister of the sanctuary. The approbation and consecration of man have both their propriety and use, but must never be made substitutes for the unction and inspiration of the Almighty. Let holy men ordain, but let God sanctify; then we may expect that his Church shall be built up on its most holy faith."

(45) "And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. (46) And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them; I am the LORD their God."

God promised to dwell among His children and He would be their God.  By His great blessings bestowed on them as when He brought them out of bondage in Egypt, the children of Israel would know that He was their Lord.  He brought them out to be His separate people that He might dwell among them.  Perhaps even greater than His act of bringing them out of bondage was the fact that He made them His special people who would dwell under His protection and guidance, with Him dwelling in the midst of them.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, put it this way:  "The purpose of the formal consecration of the sanctuary and of the priests who served in it was, that the whole nation which Yahweh had set free from its bondage in Egypt might be consecrated in its daily life, and dwell continually in His presence as 'a kingdom of priests and an holy nation'."  He referred to Exodus 19:6 where God said the children of Israel would be to Him a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.

To this day, we must all have our indwelling Savior.  Adam Clarke beautifully wrote, "From the beginning of the world, the salvation of the souls of men necessarily implied the indwelling influences of God. Reader, hast thou this salvation? This alone will support thee in all thy travels in this wilderness, comfort thee in death, and give thee boldness in the day of judgment."

Intermission and Reflection (Brought on by the Events of the Past Week)

I'm taking a break from my chronological Bible study to post some of my feelings and processes of thoughts over the past week.  A lot has happened in my country this past week.  While the violence in the world seems to be at an all-time high, and so much more graphic and torturous and inhumane, our government at home can't even call it what it is, can't seem to get a handle on how to handle it (if it even wants to), and seems to shun our allies who want to help fight it, and enables and emboldens our enemies.  While Rome burns, we celebrate with rainbow lights the fact that our "Supreme" court has found and/or invented rights that obviously don't exist, and has again taken away the right of the people to govern themselves.  One war we do take seriously and do pinpoint and name is that important war against trans-fats!  I can no longer buy a Confederate flag to honor my Confederate States of America Civil War veteran ancestors (and I do have many as found in my genealogical research), but I'm free to buy a Hamas or Hezbollah flag if I want!  Countries' debt crises are on the rise and I feel we are closer to that brink than anyone in our government will admit.  There was the recent black church massacre and the escape of the murderous fugitives in New York.  So many things were happening every day, as well as many personal things, that my head and heart just swirled, and I just wanted to crawl in a hole and escape!

I didn't know how to respond to it all.  My activist side wanted to scream at the top of my lungs how our country is on the brink of destruction on so many fronts.  My love for God makes me so terribly sorry to Him for our outright sins against Him, and I want everyone to understand that.  Then again for quite awhile now I have felt that even well-meaning Bible-loving Christians are a huge part of the strife going on right now.  After all, isn't the real simple answer that we all just need Jesus?  Then He will take care of the rest.  Changed hearts and new creations in Him would correct all the things for which we fight.  What if we all spent more time just doing the things Jesus called us to do--preach His good news and serve one another in love?  Preach His GOOD NEWS.  I honestly can't remember a place where Jesus stood on the square and preached against the sins of the culture.  When He did preach like this, it was against the self-righteous legalistic church leaders. 

It has been hard for me to let go of the fight for our country.  After all, how can good laws come and moral leaders of integrity come in to office if all the godly people do nothing?  Obviously our fight has been for the wrong thing.  Why do we fight for our country?  Well, I for one, am truly sorry to God that our country has turned away from Him, and I don't want to be a part of it!  But I'm not really part of this world; I'm part of a kingdom not of this world.  However, I currently have to live in this world, and I am called to live as peaceably as possible with ALL men.  Romans 12:18 didn't say to live peaceably with only other Christians who believe like I do.  I've often felt and said that I had no problem dealing lovingly with sinners, but I fought the agenda, not the individual people, but the sinful movement taking over our country.  However, it obviously has not been viewed that way.  It has been viewed as hatred.  I'm sure a liberal anti-Christian media has had much to do with making something appear as hatred which was never meant that way.  However, once again, we are to live as peaceably as we can with ALL men, and to live good lives among all and to do good deeds so that it silences ignorant talk of people who don't know the word of God (1 Peter 2:12 and 2:15).  Hidden between those two verses are two that say we must also:

"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well." - 1 Peter 2:13-14

I personally know how hard that is when our leaders are so corrupt and ungodly, but if the word of God tells us to do that, then we are being obedient to God and not to ungodly man's ungodly laws.  However, it was Peter himself who said at one point in Acts, "We ought to obey God rather than men."  There will come a time when we may be asked to do something directly against God, and that is when we must take a stand.  A doctor should take a stand against killing an unborn baby.  A pastor perhaps should take a stand against marrying a same-sex couple giving God's blessing on it, but I don't see how a county clerk can do that.  After all, all marriage licenses are about civil unions observed by the state; they have nothing to do with marriages blessed by God.  Baking a cake for a homosexual wedding doesn't mean you endorse and give God's blessing on that wedding, but what you may have done is to keep your conduct honorable and your deeds good among non-believers so that although they may not agree with your beliefs, it silences them and it brings honor to God's name rather than disdain.  When we Christians do some of the things we do supposedly in God's name, do we not sometimes bring disdain and hatred?  We may also be perceived as picking what sins we will tolerate and which ones we won't.  Will the same baker bake a cake for a divorce party?  Will he or she bake it for a corrupt wealthy businessman?  It's sometimes hard to know exactly what to do in all these cases, but I believe if we are to err, we should err on the side of love.  That is what will silence the ignorance of foolish men who do not know God (1 Peter 2:12).  Our self-righteous judgmental words have certainly not done it!

This has been a process for me.  I am sure I have been viewed as self-righteous and judgmental.  I certainly have not meant to be.  I honestly study the word of God and want to know what He says about everything.  In His word is life and wisdom.  Without it is death and chaos.  I see the chaos and deadly ways and I know where the answer lies.  But I can't force that answer; preaching and attacking people only makes them defensive.  Keeping silent sometimes feels like compromising, and I don't want to compromise God's word.  However, I have compromised His command to love my neighbor as I love myself.  Do I not want to justify my actions that might seem as intolerant?  I want people to understand that I am not wrong and to understand my point of view.  I want my feelings to be validated.  Isn't that what my non-Christian neighbor wants?  He wants to be validated; he wants to be accepted; he wants to be loved.  Jesus told us to love him.  He didn't say love only your neighbors who do right.  Think of this--Jesus said if someone took your coat, you were to give him your shirt, as well.  Someone steals your coat; he did wrong!  Yet you are to willingly give him your shirt, also.  You're to turn the other cheek.  These are the ways we are to act when others are doing wrong.  We aren't to stand in judgment preaching to them.

There is something I have had to come to terms with about myself.  Is it pride within myself that I know what God says about some of these abominations that people are celebrating?  Do I want to quote scriptures to prove I am right, and to show that I know the truth?  What does God say about pride?  Jesus had the harshest words for the prideful and self-righteous.  He had mercy on the lowly sinners.  He didn't even condemn the woman caught in the act of adultery.  He pointed out that we all have sinned, so what right do we have to condemn others for their sins?  It's not up to us to judge the sinners.  God will do that.  I am also learning that I cannot know the hearts of people.  Only God knows the heart.  Just as my heart can be perceived as being wrong, so might I judge the heart of someone else as being wrong.  Love and doing good is what I can do best to show God in the best light.  Not that God really needs my help, but I do see how Christians can give Christ a bad name in our self-righteous judgment.  Sometimes it does feel like giving up and compromising when things get tough, not standing for what we believe...but how hard have we really worked at loving and serving?  I think there are far many more scriptures that tell us we are to love and serve even our enemies than there are ones that might suggest to us we are to stand in judgment against sinful people.  The references I can think of were directed against the church, not non-believers.  I welcome comments to the contrary, but for now, if I err, I hope to err on the side of love in this cultural battle.