The Passover (Chapter 9)
It is apparent from the many recurring references, that God treasured the
Passover above all other festivals. It reflects the cross more than all the
others combined.
It begs the question, is holiness it an abstract state of being or an
associative idea?
Take the ark. Was it made holy or of holy material? No. It was made of
ordinary Acacia wood overlaid with gold. That made it precious and costly, not
holy.
Yet, to even look on that priceless relic would be unhealthy, because of
the value attributed to it. It acquired holiness through association with God’s
intent and His indwelling Spirit.
The most sacred things to God relate to His beloved son and the priceless
life He gave for sin. Therein lies the hope of heaven above and earth beneath.
Jesus may have been dust covered in gold, a mere man, but what He did was
of such value to God that He preserved it the way He still honors Abraham. Yet every soul of history is sacred to God because they contributed to the heap on which He stood.
The Passover was so special that even men who were defiled or away from
home, were expected to keep it, while those who failed to keep it
notwithstanding, were cut off.
The implications are simple: no matter the state of a man when the time
came to leave Egypt, no one who offered a lamb or bloodied their doors, was excluded. They came
as they were. God dealt with their hearts, later, in the Wilderness, but told
them to come anyway.
That is confirmed in Romans 5, where Paul says, “We were reconciled
through His death but saved through His life”, implying that we come as we are,
to be legally adopted, accepted and forgiven, but with so much transformation
yet to happen.
If things are made holy by association, then of what value is the only
remaining sacrament – the breaking of bread? It may use ordinary elements, but
its symbolic value makes it a holy and fearful occasion, which is all too often
treated dismissively.
I told my sons that the value of a prospective wife lies in the respect
she holds for her parents. Likewise, our faith and that of our community is revealed in the way we handle that sacred living memorial to the lamb of God.
He is our Passover, Atonement and Sabbath, only what we have is more
poignant for it reflects a fulfilled work, not the shadow of things to come.
The trumpets (chapter 10)
The three trumpets were made of silver and were used to sound a general alarm,
to proclaim all festivals and to call the assembly together. The same idea would be used throughout history to proclaim major prophetic events in Israel.
The alarm call was given more rarely, although I am sure they had ‘fire
drills’. I am amazed by the organization and the speed with which it all
happened.
These were no ordinary people and God’s counsel was so relevant. We are
wrong to read it all as a litany of mindless laws – a far cry from Pagan
cultures.
The cloud of God lifted and when it did, the people moved on. The alarm
would sound to bring the tribes into their marching ranks. Then they went on
their journeys.
Hobab, the son of Jethro or Raguel, as he is here called, chose not to
continue with the Jews as they left Midian. His name meant, “friend of God” and
Jews recognize it as the name of one of the seven archangels of God.
The idea of a “friend” or helper, traces back to Eliezer, “helper in the
court”, who helped Abraham, though denied an inheritance. It’s a spiritual
mystery.
As the eponymous angel helped Israel so Jethro, a prince of Midian and the
solace of Moses in his exile, came alongside God’s people and helped them.
The ark led the way by 3 days, to find a place to camp. It was protected
by the presence of God and the glory of His cloud over them.
The people complained again
(Chapter 11)
The nation had grown tired of a routine diet. They wanted the delicacies
of Egypt, which they probably did get as they lived in the most fertile part of
Egypt.
Moses then said, “you will eat meat”. It was a cynical statement. A wind
blew over the sea and drove a large flock of quails into the camp, which became
a heap, 3 feet deep. Such was their lust for food that they engorged themselves
and then suffered.
A plague (some form of food poisoning) came on them and many died. This
is the root of the third temptation: Do not tempt the Lord your God. It follows
the earlier temptation, which initiated the manna, namely: Man shall not live
by bread alone but by every word of God.
In the midst of all these events, a spirit of prophecy came on a number
of souls, notably Joshua, who prophesied, by way of a rebuke and a caution to
Israel.
Miriam challenged Moses (Chapter
12)
The sister of Moses inferred that he was not the last word on
everything. God heard it. He had the back of Moses. She was singled out and God
rebuked her. She then succumbed to leprosy and spent seven days in exile.
There was a notable shift. The Jews were no longer toddlers. They were
growing up and needed to be put in their place. They were also on the move, away from their nursery and the safe skirts of Sinai into the realities of life and their ultimate destiny.
In the context of Ezekiel’s
great dream, they had gone beyond toe wetting and wading, to reach their loins:
their moments of truth.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
