Today's reading was from Leviticus 4-7 and Hebrews 3. Yesterday I wrote about some of the big picture lessons we should draw from the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. Today I want to draw out some key differences between the priests under the Law and the "apostle and high priest of our confession," Jesus (Hebrews 3:1).
First of all, I noticed that in Leviticus 4 provisions were made for sacrifices in the event that the "anointed priest" sinned (4:3). Second, I noticed that there were several references to the "leftovers" of the sacrifices being reserved for the priests. This was true of the grain offering (6:16), the guilt offering (7:8-10), and the peace offering (7:14, 31-35).
Provision for sacrifices for the sins of the priest was necessary because the priests were fallible and could sin just like any other Israelite. And the physical provisions of food were essential because the Levites did not have land of their own to work, due to their unique service to Israel. They were dependent on the provisions God reserved for them in the sacrificial system (as well as the tithes, which will come up later).
All of this stands in such stark contrast to Jesus as our great high priest. He was sinless - no provision was needed for Him to be forgiven. In fact, His sinlessness is OUR provision, so that we might be forgiven (1 Peter 2:22-24). And while Jesus needed food to eat and water to drink in His earthly ministry, we know that ultimately He was the creator of all things - including whatever physical necessities He used during His lifetime (John 1:3; Col. 1:15-16).
Jesus truly came to serve rather than to be served (Matt. 20:28).
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Daily Bible Reading - February 18 - Leviticus for the Restivus
Undoubtedly the book of Leviticus has derailed more attempts to read the Bible through in a year than any other book. The intricate system of sacrifices is just so foreign to us that it can be difficult to wade through all the details found in the book. However, it is part of Scripture, and Paul said that all scripture is profitable in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. What can we learn from Leviticus that will truly be profitable?
Certainly in the first few chapters we learn about how God feels toward sin. Some lessons that leap out to me:
1. God hates sin.
2. God demands that sin be punished.
3. God demands that death be the punishment for sin.
4. God will accept a substitute.
5. God will only accept a perfect substitute.
These lessons help point us toward the ultimate perfect sacrifice for our sins, Jesus.
In that regard, I think my buddy Mark Roberts (who organized the particular schedule I am following) was wise to accompany the reading of Leviticus with Hebrews. It is really impossible to understand the argument of the writer of Hebrews without a good knowledge of the Levitical system, which is one more reason to read Leviticus.
Certainly in the first few chapters we learn about how God feels toward sin. Some lessons that leap out to me:
1. God hates sin.
2. God demands that sin be punished.
3. God demands that death be the punishment for sin.
4. God will accept a substitute.
5. God will only accept a perfect substitute.
These lessons help point us toward the ultimate perfect sacrifice for our sins, Jesus.
In that regard, I think my buddy Mark Roberts (who organized the particular schedule I am following) was wise to accompany the reading of Leviticus with Hebrews. It is really impossible to understand the argument of the writer of Hebrews without a good knowledge of the Levitical system, which is one more reason to read Leviticus.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Daily Bible Reading - February 17 - The Symbolic Significance of the Tabernacle/Temple
A few years ago I was asked to contribute a chapter to a festschrift in honor of Phil Roberts which focused on the Book of Psalms. My chapter was on the temple symbolism in Psalms, and part of my chapter focused on the symbolic significance of the tabernacle/temple. Since today's reading concluded the account of the construction of the tabernacle, I thought I would include an excerpt from that chapter.
To the Jews the temple represented heaven itself, the world as a whole, and the Garden of Eden.
Temple as Heaven. As Exodus suggests (Ex. 25:9), and Hebrews confirms (Heb. 8:5; 9:24), the model of the tabernacle was heaven itself. And when God filled the tabernacle with His glory, it became a “little replica of heaven” (Poythress 15), “the place where heaven and earth intersected” (Westerholm 764; see Isa. 6:1 for a good illustration of this). Psalm 150:1 suggests this same understanding:
“Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.”
The Book of Psalms continually refers to the temple as the “dwelling place” of God.
For the LORD has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling place:
“This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it” (Ps. 132:13-14; also 43:3; 135:21).
The tabernacle (Ex. 25:17-21; 26:31), the Solomonic temple (1 Kings 6:23-28; 6:29; 6:31-32), and Ezekiel’s temple (Ezek. 41:18-20) were all heavily decorated with cherubim, a sign that these structures were “a symbolic representation of God’s heavenly dwelling” (Enns 512). Israel believed that God was enthroned in the temple (Ps. 9:11), “enthroned upon the cherubim” of the ark of the covenant (Ps. 80:1; 99:1). In fact the Bible portrays the ark as the footstool of God’s heavenly throne. When David explained to Israel that he would not build the temple, he said, “I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building” (1 Chron. 28:2). This language is also found in the Book of Psalms.
The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
Exalt the LORD our God;
worship at his footstool!
Holy is he! (Ps. 99:1, 5; see also Ps. 132:7-8).
Of course, the Israelites understood that God did not reside in their temple in the same way that the pagans believed their gods did. Solomon acknowledged at the dedication of the temple that “the highest heaven” could not contain God (1 Kings 8:27). But the Israelites did believe that God had granted them a special sense of His presence in the temple, one that they longed to enjoy by going there to worship.
One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple (Ps. 27:4; see Murphy 39 for more discussion of this point).
The Temple as the Cosmos. The Jews also believed that the temple represented heaven and earth, the cosmos as a whole.[i] Part of the basis for this belief was the color scheme of the curtains and veils in the tabernacle: blue, purple, and scarlet, which was associated with the color of the sun-streaked sky (Beale 38).[ii] The temple also had many “earthy” decorations, such as the lampstand decorated with branches and blossoms and flowers,[iii] engravings of palm trees and open flowers, and pomegranate-circled pillars (Ex. 25:33-34; 1 Kings 6:29; 7:15-22). This symbolism is especially apparent in Solomon’s enhancement of the laver, turning it into a “sea” decorated like “the flower of a lily” (1 Kings 7:23-26; see Poythress 23).[iv] Psalm 78 makes the connection between the temple and cosmos explicit: “He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever” (Ps. 78:69; see other possible translations in Tate 283).
In the narratives describing the construction of the tabernacle and temple there are many echoes of the creation account in Genesis. As Peter Enns has pointed out (509), in Exodus 25-31 there are seven specific commands of God to build parts of the tabernacle, similar to the seven commands of God in Genesis 1 (“let there be…”). And just as the Sabbath is instituted at the end of creation in Genesis, the Sabbath command is reiterated after the instructions for the tabernacle are given (Ex. 31:12-17). Similarly, Solomon’s temple was completed in seven years (1 Kings 6:38), and his temple was closely connected to the concept of rest (1 Kings 5:4-5). Thus, the temple is a “a divine act of creation, parallel to the creation of heaven and earth” (Menn 18; see also Enns 546; Levenson 288-289).
The Temple as Eden. Given the fact that the Bible portrays the temple as the dwelling of God, and a new creation by God, a further comparison suggests itself: the temple as a new Eden, the dwelling of God at the beginning of His creation. There are many similarities between the temple and Eden[v]:
How precious is your steadfast love, O God
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
And you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
In your light do we see light (Ps. 36:7-9).
Both Kidner (147) and Wilson (593) connect the “river of your delights” with the Edenic river. Similarly, Psalm 46:4 says, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High” (Ps. 46:4). By describing the temple in this way, Mount Zion is pictured as “a veritable reembodiment of the primeval garden of God” (Roberts 685). And as such, “the Temple offers the person who enters it to worship an opportunity to rise from a fallen world, to partake in the Garden of Eden” (Levenson 288-289).[vii]
Heaven on earth – a new creation – Eden reborn. This is what the temple meant to the Jews. It is no wonder the Israelites longed to be in the courts of God. “The presence of God that suffuses the psalms is intimately connected with Zion and the Temple – this is holy space” (Murphy 55).
[i] For extensive citations from rabbinical sources, see Beale 45-48.
[ii] Josephus associated the different veils of the tabernacle with the four elements, and said that “blue is fit to signify the air” (Antiquities 2.183).
[iii] Many commentators also connect the seven lights of the lampstand with the sun, moon and five visible planets of the time of Israel (see Beale 34-35; Walton 148; Poythress 16).
[iv] It seems likely that the three-fold division of the temple symbolized the three parts of the cosmos: the land and sea (the court); the visible heavens (the Holy Place); and the invisible habitation of God (the Most Holy Place). This was Josephus’s view (Antiquities 3.181). See Beale 32-33 for more detail.
[v] I am following Roberts, “The Story” 66-68; Beale 74-75; Poythress 19; Wenham 61; Waltke 85.
[vi] It is possible that the three-compartment arrangement of the temple is parallel to three compartments of Genesis 2: the land and sea; the garden; and Eden itself (see Beale 74-75).
[vii] Levenson also points out that since in the arrangement of the Jewish Bible Genesis is the first book and Second Chronicles (see especially 35:23) is the last, that the OT from beginning to end is a story about the temple (295).
To the Jews the temple represented heaven itself, the world as a whole, and the Garden of Eden.
Temple as Heaven. As Exodus suggests (Ex. 25:9), and Hebrews confirms (Heb. 8:5; 9:24), the model of the tabernacle was heaven itself. And when God filled the tabernacle with His glory, it became a “little replica of heaven” (Poythress 15), “the place where heaven and earth intersected” (Westerholm 764; see Isa. 6:1 for a good illustration of this). Psalm 150:1 suggests this same understanding:
“Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.”
The Book of Psalms continually refers to the temple as the “dwelling place” of God.
For the LORD has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling place:
“This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it” (Ps. 132:13-14; also 43:3; 135:21).
The tabernacle (Ex. 25:17-21; 26:31), the Solomonic temple (1 Kings 6:23-28; 6:29; 6:31-32), and Ezekiel’s temple (Ezek. 41:18-20) were all heavily decorated with cherubim, a sign that these structures were “a symbolic representation of God’s heavenly dwelling” (Enns 512). Israel believed that God was enthroned in the temple (Ps. 9:11), “enthroned upon the cherubim” of the ark of the covenant (Ps. 80:1; 99:1). In fact the Bible portrays the ark as the footstool of God’s heavenly throne. When David explained to Israel that he would not build the temple, he said, “I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building” (1 Chron. 28:2). This language is also found in the Book of Psalms.
The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
Exalt the LORD our God;
worship at his footstool!
Holy is he! (Ps. 99:1, 5; see also Ps. 132:7-8).
Of course, the Israelites understood that God did not reside in their temple in the same way that the pagans believed their gods did. Solomon acknowledged at the dedication of the temple that “the highest heaven” could not contain God (1 Kings 8:27). But the Israelites did believe that God had granted them a special sense of His presence in the temple, one that they longed to enjoy by going there to worship.
One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple (Ps. 27:4; see Murphy 39 for more discussion of this point).
The Temple as the Cosmos. The Jews also believed that the temple represented heaven and earth, the cosmos as a whole.[i] Part of the basis for this belief was the color scheme of the curtains and veils in the tabernacle: blue, purple, and scarlet, which was associated with the color of the sun-streaked sky (Beale 38).[ii] The temple also had many “earthy” decorations, such as the lampstand decorated with branches and blossoms and flowers,[iii] engravings of palm trees and open flowers, and pomegranate-circled pillars (Ex. 25:33-34; 1 Kings 6:29; 7:15-22). This symbolism is especially apparent in Solomon’s enhancement of the laver, turning it into a “sea” decorated like “the flower of a lily” (1 Kings 7:23-26; see Poythress 23).[iv] Psalm 78 makes the connection between the temple and cosmos explicit: “He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever” (Ps. 78:69; see other possible translations in Tate 283).
In the narratives describing the construction of the tabernacle and temple there are many echoes of the creation account in Genesis. As Peter Enns has pointed out (509), in Exodus 25-31 there are seven specific commands of God to build parts of the tabernacle, similar to the seven commands of God in Genesis 1 (“let there be…”). And just as the Sabbath is instituted at the end of creation in Genesis, the Sabbath command is reiterated after the instructions for the tabernacle are given (Ex. 31:12-17). Similarly, Solomon’s temple was completed in seven years (1 Kings 6:38), and his temple was closely connected to the concept of rest (1 Kings 5:4-5). Thus, the temple is a “a divine act of creation, parallel to the creation of heaven and earth” (Menn 18; see also Enns 546; Levenson 288-289).
The Temple as Eden. Given the fact that the Bible portrays the temple as the dwelling of God, and a new creation by God, a further comparison suggests itself: the temple as a new Eden, the dwelling of God at the beginning of His creation. There are many similarities between the temple and Eden[v]:
- Both were located on a mountain. The temple was built on Mount Zion. Eden, Ezekiel suggests, was on “the holy mountain of God” (Ezek. 28:14, 16).
- Both had eastern entrances (Gen. 3:24; Ezek. 43:4).
- Both were guarded by cherubim (Gen. 3:24; 1 Kings 6:23-28; Ezek. 41:18-19).
- Both had rivers. “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers” (Gen. 2:10). “It may be no accident that the only stream which flowed from Mount Zion…bore the name Gihon,” one of the rivers named in Genesis 2:13 (Roberts, “The Story” 67).
- Both were known for precious stones. Genesis 2:11-12 mentions the presence of gold, bdellium, and onyx in connection with the environs of Eden, many of the same elements used in the construction of the temple (1 Chron. 29:2).
- Both were full of plants and animals. God “planted a garden in Eden” (Gen. 2:8), and gave Adam the responsibility of naming the animals (Gen. 2:19-20). As we have already seen, the temple was decorated by engravings of trees and plants (1 Kings 6:29-35). In addition to the bronze sea and its floral designs, Solomon also built ten smaller basins and stands of bronze, decorated with “cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the space of each, with wreaths all around” (1 Kings 7:36).
- And, most significantly, both were dwelling places of God with man (Gen. 3:8).[vi] Read in light of Genesis 2, all of the references in the Book of Psalms to God dwelling in the temple, or man going to dwell with God in the temple, take on a new significance.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
And you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
In your light do we see light (Ps. 36:7-9).
Both Kidner (147) and Wilson (593) connect the “river of your delights” with the Edenic river. Similarly, Psalm 46:4 says, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High” (Ps. 46:4). By describing the temple in this way, Mount Zion is pictured as “a veritable reembodiment of the primeval garden of God” (Roberts 685). And as such, “the Temple offers the person who enters it to worship an opportunity to rise from a fallen world, to partake in the Garden of Eden” (Levenson 288-289).[vii]
Heaven on earth – a new creation – Eden reborn. This is what the temple meant to the Jews. It is no wonder the Israelites longed to be in the courts of God. “The presence of God that suffuses the psalms is intimately connected with Zion and the Temple – this is holy space” (Murphy 55).
[i] For extensive citations from rabbinical sources, see Beale 45-48.
[ii] Josephus associated the different veils of the tabernacle with the four elements, and said that “blue is fit to signify the air” (Antiquities 2.183).
[iii] Many commentators also connect the seven lights of the lampstand with the sun, moon and five visible planets of the time of Israel (see Beale 34-35; Walton 148; Poythress 16).
[iv] It seems likely that the three-fold division of the temple symbolized the three parts of the cosmos: the land and sea (the court); the visible heavens (the Holy Place); and the invisible habitation of God (the Most Holy Place). This was Josephus’s view (Antiquities 3.181). See Beale 32-33 for more detail.
[v] I am following Roberts, “The Story” 66-68; Beale 74-75; Poythress 19; Wenham 61; Waltke 85.
[vi] It is possible that the three-compartment arrangement of the temple is parallel to three compartments of Genesis 2: the land and sea; the garden; and Eden itself (see Beale 74-75).
[vii] Levenson also points out that since in the arrangement of the Jewish Bible Genesis is the first book and Second Chronicles (see especially 35:23) is the last, that the OT from beginning to end is a story about the temple (295).
Daily Bible Reading - February 16 - Giving with Purpose
Today's readings from both the Old (Exodus 35-37) and New (Philippians 4) Testaments mentioned generous contributions to God's work. In the case of Exodus, it was the contributions the people of Israel made for the resources needed to construct the tabernacle. These contributions were made by those of "generous heart" (Ex. 35:5), "everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him" (Ex. 35:21), giving as "a freewill offering to the Lord" (35:29). The amount of material donated by Israel was so great that Moses had to command the giving to cease, because the people had brought "much more than enough" (36:5).
In Philippians 4, Paul thanked the church for sending him financial support to help sustain him during his imprisonment.
I don't think God ever intended for His people - either Israel under the Law or the church under the new covenant - to give just for the sake of giving. It isn't as if God needed one more check mark of good deeds from us. Giving in the Bible was prompted by need, such as the construction of the tabernacle, or the famine crisis in the Book of Acts. But needs are not always so immediate. God also ordered regular tithing for Israel in order to support the ongoing needs of the nation. And while the NT does not contain much specific information about the collections of local churches, Paul's instructions in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 seem to me to suggest a plan of regular contributions which proactively serve to meet needs.
Finally, I think it is important to see the emphasis on the spiritual aspect to these contributions. The Exodus passage emphasizes that the giving of the Israelites reflected hearts that were eager to generously give for the Lord's work - in stark contrast to the ugly disobedience at Mount Sinai. and Paul says that the financial support sent by the Philippians was in reality a sacrifice to God.
Giving is not for giving's sake. It is what generous hearts filled with love for God and His work do to meet needs both urgent and ongoing.
In Philippians 4, Paul thanked the church for sending him financial support to help sustain him during his imprisonment.
I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen (Phil. 4:18-20).I think it is easy to become cynical about the subject of giving. Part of this may be due to the fact that we understand that materialism is wrong, that many churches have distorted God's plan for their work and so need to place undue emphasis on money. And it may be due to a lack of urgency. Why do we need to give if there is no immediate need?
I don't think God ever intended for His people - either Israel under the Law or the church under the new covenant - to give just for the sake of giving. It isn't as if God needed one more check mark of good deeds from us. Giving in the Bible was prompted by need, such as the construction of the tabernacle, or the famine crisis in the Book of Acts. But needs are not always so immediate. God also ordered regular tithing for Israel in order to support the ongoing needs of the nation. And while the NT does not contain much specific information about the collections of local churches, Paul's instructions in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 seem to me to suggest a plan of regular contributions which proactively serve to meet needs.
Finally, I think it is important to see the emphasis on the spiritual aspect to these contributions. The Exodus passage emphasizes that the giving of the Israelites reflected hearts that were eager to generously give for the Lord's work - in stark contrast to the ugly disobedience at Mount Sinai. and Paul says that the financial support sent by the Philippians was in reality a sacrifice to God.
Giving is not for giving's sake. It is what generous hearts filled with love for God and His work do to meet needs both urgent and ongoing.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Daily Bible Reading - February 15 - Oh That Will Be Glory for Me
Today's reading included the sad story of Israel's failure at Mount Sinai (Exodus 32-34). There is an old cliche that it getting Israel out of Egypt was not nearly as difficult as getting Egypt out of Israel. The people had undoubtedly been influenced by the pagan practices of the Egyptians in whose land they served for hundreds of years, and it was a long time before that influence was stamped out completely.
But today's reading is also about glory. "Please show me your glory," Moses asked of God in Ex. 33:18. And the Lord acquiesced - although in a muted manner. Moses saw only the "back" of God's glory from the safety of the cleft of the rock. Yet even this indirect vision of God's glory was so profound that Moses himself gleamed with the residue of God's glory, which terrified Aaron and the rest of Israel (34:29-30). In order for Moses to speak to the people, he had to put on a veil to shield them from the radiance of this glory (34:34), almost in the same way there would be a veil that separated the people from the glory of God in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle (cf. 40:34).
If that indirect view of God's glory was so awesome, imagine what other visions must have been like, such as Isaiah's vision of God in His heavenly temple in Isaiah 6, or the disciples' vision of the transfigured Jesus on the mount in Matthew 17. Incidentally, the prophet and the apostles were afraid when they saw God's glory, just as Israel had been. God's glory is beautiful and fearful all at the same time.
God's glory is also something we have to look forward to as believers. As Paul wrote in today's New Testament reading, Christ "will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself" (Philippians 3:21). Our reward is a new body, a glorious body like Christ's (Rom. 8:17; 1 Cor. 15:43). Perhaps this is the reason that in the new heavens and earth we will not need to hide in the cleft of a rock, or be shielded from God's presence by a veil. "When he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).
But today's reading is also about glory. "Please show me your glory," Moses asked of God in Ex. 33:18. And the Lord acquiesced - although in a muted manner. Moses saw only the "back" of God's glory from the safety of the cleft of the rock. Yet even this indirect vision of God's glory was so profound that Moses himself gleamed with the residue of God's glory, which terrified Aaron and the rest of Israel (34:29-30). In order for Moses to speak to the people, he had to put on a veil to shield them from the radiance of this glory (34:34), almost in the same way there would be a veil that separated the people from the glory of God in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle (cf. 40:34).
If that indirect view of God's glory was so awesome, imagine what other visions must have been like, such as Isaiah's vision of God in His heavenly temple in Isaiah 6, or the disciples' vision of the transfigured Jesus on the mount in Matthew 17. Incidentally, the prophet and the apostles were afraid when they saw God's glory, just as Israel had been. God's glory is beautiful and fearful all at the same time.
God's glory is also something we have to look forward to as believers. As Paul wrote in today's New Testament reading, Christ "will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself" (Philippians 3:21). Our reward is a new body, a glorious body like Christ's (Rom. 8:17; 1 Cor. 15:43). Perhaps this is the reason that in the new heavens and earth we will not need to hide in the cleft of a rock, or be shielded from God's presence by a veil. "When he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).
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