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Tag: Moses (Page 2 of 2)

Flirting With Carcasses

God spoke to Moses and Aaron: “Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, Of all the animals on Earth, these are the animals that you may eat:

“You may eat any animal that has a split hoof, divided in two, and that chews the cud, but not an animal that only chews the cud or only has a split hoof. For instance, the camel chews the cud but doesn’t have a split hoof, so it’s unclean. The rock badger chews the cud but doesn’t have a split hoof and so it’s unclean. The rabbit chews the cud but doesn’t have a split hoof so is unclean. The pig has a split hoof, divided in two, but doesn’t chew the cud and so is unclean. You may not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.
-Leviticus 11:1-8 (MSG)

God begins his instructions to the Israelites with land animals that are OK to eat. He specifically goes through example by example naming some of the “unclean” animals… No camels, no rock badgers, no rabbits, no pigs. And to sum it up he simply says, “You may not eat their meat nor touch their carcasses.” And as he continues on in later verses referring to other types of animals he makes the same request.

As weird as they sound today, God did had reasons for the avoidance of eating certain animals: for the general health of the people; to separate them from other pagan religions; because of symbolic associations, etc. When you think about it, those do make sense. But why was he so concerned that they not even touch the body of a dead animal?

I think God was pointing out the severity of sin and the dangers that come with association. He was making it clear that not only do we need to not do the things he’s told us to, we need to go as far as to be totally separated from them. It’s as if he’s saying, “Don’t eat these meats… And to make sure that doesn’t happen, don’t even touch the carcasses.”

I wonder how often I have justified my flirtation with sinful things by thinking I was alright because I technically wasn’t committing the sin. The situation may be tempting but I haven’t done anything, so I’m OK, right? Not quite… The line of sin and temptation is very fine, and God recommends that we don’t even go near it.

When you think about it, God is comparing temptation to a stinky, rotten, bloated, maggot-filled, dead animal. To most the thought of even getting near a carcass sounds disgusting, let alone touching it. Flirting with sin and temptation should sound likewise.

I Am The Tabernacle

The Cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of God filled The Dwelling. Moses couldn’t enter the Tent of Meeting because the Cloud was upon it, and the Glory of God filled The Dwelling.
-Exodus 40:34-35 (MSG)

For 7 consecutive chapters in Exodus, all we get are instructions of how to build the Tabernacle (or The Dwelling, as The Message refers to it) and it’s furnishings. Then, Aaron and the Israelites momentarily slip into idolatry. And to finish things up, we have 6 more chapters of the people following the instructions for the Tabernacle that Moses was given via God.

As as I read through the Tabernacle instructions, all I could think about was the endless list of specific measurements and requirements, down the the tiniest detail. It’s basically been day after day after day of nothing but gold, acacia wood, onyx stones, goats’ hair and dolphin skins.

Honestly, it seemed like God was really picky.

However, to end Exodus, Moses says that once completed, the glory of God filled the Tabernacle. He even goes as far to say that the glory of God was so powerful and so overwhelming that he couldn’t even enter the building. What a presence he must have felt.

Later on in the Bible, Solomon builds a Temple for God and we are told that it also was filled with God’s glory. Then, even farther along, Jesus rises from the dead and we are told that God’s tabernacle/temple, his dwelling on earth, the place he fills with his glory, has changed again. From now on the church is God’s tabernacle/temple. Not the physical church building per se, but rather the entire body of believers.

I can imagine God laying out the instructions for his “tabernacle/temple” now… This eye color, this height, this weight, this many hairs on their head, this future, this promise, this hope. If he cared so much about the minute details of his dwelling place then, why would we even question whether or not he cares about any of our concerns now? Does God not love us more than buildings? Of course he does, and maybe that’s the point.

God, thank you for caring for my smallest, most trivial details. Thank you for filling me with your glory. Thank you for the poignant reminder that I am the Tabernacle.

A Simple Stick

Moses objected, “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say. They’re going to say, ‘God? Appear to him? Hardly!'”

So God said, “What’s that in your hand?” “A staff.”

“Throw it on the ground.” He threw it. It became a snake; Moses jumped back—fast!

God said to Moses, “Reach out and grab it by the tail.” He reached out and grabbed it—and he was holding his staff again. “That’s so they will trust that God appeared to you, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
-Exodus 4:1-5 (MSG)

A shepherd’s staff: a 3 to 6 foot wooden rod with a curved hook at the end. It was a like a Swiss Army Knife for shepherds, having a variety of uses like guiding sheep, balancing while walking and killing snakes.

It other words, it was a stick.

Here in Exodus, Moses was finding himself at a crossroads. Does he let God use him despite his overwhelming doubts, or does he cower, run away and hide?

Naturally, Moses was scared and objected. He felt like the piece of wood in his hand — your average, humdrum, run-of-the-mill shepherd. Definitely not the type of guy God would use. He didn’t feel worthy to do God’s amazing work, even when personally called to do it.

God, however, felt otherwise, and wanted to teach Moses an important lesson. He told him to take his shepherd’s staff, throw it on the ground, and watch it become a snake. Then he told him to pick it up and watch it turn back into his staff. And it happened. Incredible.

In other words, God was saying watch as I use a simple stick, something no one would expect, and watch something unbelievable happen.

God loves using the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary.

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