Exodus 38

Exodus 38:26

a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for each one who passed over to those who were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men.

If I've done all my math right, the current best guess on this amount of silver would be 138,313 troy ounces, or about 9500 lbs of silver.  That would have a market value today of roughly $2.5M.  And that's just the silver, it doesn't count the gold or bronze.

For a people who had just come out of Egypt, no land of their own, to spend that much on a place for God to worship says something.  My church a couple years ago spent about the same amount on a new worship center, and it took years to raise the funds.  While the Israelites did "plunder" the Egyptians before leaving, this is still a significant amount of wealth, and it's all for the purpose of glorifying God.

Exodus 37

Exodus 37:9

The cherubim had their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faced toward each other; the faced of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.

Okay, I know I'm stretching here, but bear with me.  It's honestly a dull chapter, saying "he built what he was told to build."

I never quite understood this description/arrangement of the cherubim.  From how it's stated, I'm assuming that normally (a.k.a. pagan cultures) the mercy seat would be open, with the cherubim facing outwards.  So if that assumption is correct, why are the cherubim facing inwards on the Ark?

Here's my theory:  normally, there would be somebody or someone on the mercy seat.  You don't build a seat that will never be sat upon.  So normally, either an idol or some ruler/high priest equivalent would use such a seat as a throne, declaring his divinity.  However, for the Ark, that is not possible.  With the mercy seat covered, no one could sit on it.  Not, that is, unless he were incorporeal, not restrained by physical limitations.  My theory is that this is almost a "seat reserved" sign, that it's only possible for God to sit here.  No imposters possible.

Exodus 36

Exodus 36:7

For the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.

God will provide for His work, and there will always be enough when need arises.  I would point out that while God could have brought the supply from anywhere, he chose to use His people.

He could have had them go defeat some other nation, and use the spoil to supply the tabernacle, but he didn't.  He used the people who would worship at the tabernacle, perhaps as a way of allowing them to understand how their efforts would reap benefits.  I don't know if that was God intention, but it does have that side effect.  While it's possible for people to become prideful, it always seems harder to do when the work is for God's purpose.

Exodus 35

Exodus 35:29

The Israelites, all the men and women, whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work, which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill offering to the Lord.

A couple things are noted here about this contribution to the tabernacle.  First, this was a voluntary gift.  We still use the term "freewill offering" today for such circumstances, though in some churches "freewill" is tacked on as a veneer, which I strongly disapprove of.  Giving to God must be done by choice, not be a requirement or guilt trip.  Otherwise, with wrong motives, there is no learning or growth through the gift.

Second, those who gave did so because their hearts were moved to do so.  This may just be a literary trick, but to me that terminology means more than just feeling like, yeah, I should chip in to that.  Giving for something like this should occur because you feel you are being instructed by God to do it.  Many give because it makes them feel good, or gains them some favor with others.  Jesus reminds us later that wrong motivations are useless, but following God's guidance is great gain.

Exodus 34

Exodus 34:12

Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst.

I believe that the disregard for this short instruction was a main cause of Israel's downfall.  Not the only cause, but one of the main ones.  This is the command not to compromise in one's faith, and the instruction on how to do it.  If in doubt, avoid the possibility of contamination.

Now, many can carry this too far in the modern world, don't get me wrong.  It was much simpler for the Israelites, since they were called to be set apart from the other nations.  However, it is still an area we today have troubles with.  We are easily attached to the culture, and allow many non-honoring parts to infiltrate our lives.  But if we do not have connections in the culture, we easily can become so different from it that there is no appeal for others to join us.  The difficulty is striking the balance between separation and snare, to where we are accessible and able to relate to the modern world, without being compromised to the point of being indistinguishable.  I can't say I've always done a good job of finding this balance, in either direction.  I pray for God's insight into where I can correct my path, to be the conduit he wants me to be.

Exodus 33

Exodus 33:3

Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way."

OK, I could do a re-hash of my previous post, regarding God's use of the word "might" here, but I will refrain.

Instead, I'm downright fearful of God's saying he could end up destroying the Israelites if he continued with them.  They are an obstinate people, and that merits them worthy of destruction?  If that's the case, how much more are we deserving?  Christians are no less perfect than Jews.  In fact, I'd say we're probably more obstinate, because we have fewer rules to live by.

Does/did a conversation like this ever have to take place between God the Father and Jesus, where God would have destroyed the church if Christ had not claimed us?  We are part of Christ's family, children of God.  He stays his hand because He has made a promise.  Do we need to hear a threat like this now and again, to keep us in line?  Or would that be going too far towards a vengeful God rather of a loving God for modern Christians to handle?  Personally, I think a rebuke like this now and again would do the church good.

Exodus 32

Exodus 32:14

So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

I like to think I'm pretty good at wrapping my brain around difficult concepts.  I may not understand the why, but normally I can get an idea for the how.  This however, is the kind of thing that makes my head hurt.  The closest analogy I can think of my confusion here is the worst kind of temporal paradox in science fiction.

We here have the infinite, outside of time, unchanging God who changes His mind.  By most understandings, God shouldn't be able to change His mind.  He already knows everything that's going to ever happen, so He should already have accounted for how He will react.  But somehow He doesn't.  Moses has to convince Him not to wipe the Israelites out, which He already knew He wouldn't, but he'd decided to already...

Anybody got some ideas on this?  This would be one part of God's nature that I don't have a clue on.

Exodus 31

Exodus 31:16

So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.'

I don't claim to have robust knowledge of modern Jewish customs, but I believe that this may be the only specific point of worship to which modern Jews still hold.  I realize that there are other parts of these original commands that Jews still follow (dietary laws and festivals being the two that jump to memory), but what else from the original reasons for non-festival worship still exists, besides observing the sabbath?

However, this verse caught my attention because it raises a question:  to what extent are Christians bound to this command?  I've written on this topic before, though not in this blog, but it's a question that concerns me at times.  It often seems to me that modern Christians seem to disregard this command more than any of the others.  Sunday for many believers is the day of socializing, the day, even more than Saturday, to go out to restaurants with friends, or to go to big events.  While I don't claim to be perfect about this, I do try to minimize it as much as practical, though much of my reasoning comes from the desire to not force others to work by having to attend me.  But is my consideration misplaced?  We are free from the Law, but that doesn't mean much of the Law isn't still a good idea.  So how much consideration should Christians give to how they spend their Sundays?

Exodus 30

Exodus 30:12

"When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them so that there will be no plague among them when you number them.

Maybe this verse caught my eye because we're in the middle of our census.  I'm not sure.  But I find it interesting how they don't just stand and be counted.  There is a price to be paid for being one of God's chosen.  For being born into the people of God, you have to pay a specific price.

Today, the idea of having to pay to, say, become a Christian or join a church is something reserved for the most vile of con men.  However, that doesn't mean we don't pay; it's just not direct, and not just money.  Instead, we have to give up our time, or our future, or maybe our dreams.  We have to be willing to submit everything to God for him to use as He wills.  That may mean that we don't get a promotion down the line sometime, or that we are ridiculed by others.  But for that price, what a blessing we receive in return, to be counted among the children of God.

Exodus 29

Exodus 29:10

"Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull.

For a long time, the laying of hands was a confusing action to me.  Maybe that's because I grew up in a family and a church where that sort of thing didn't occur frequently.  When someone laid hands on me, it usually meant that either I'd just gotten in trouble, or that I was about to be told something extremely important.  It wasn't until the last few years that I finally understood that my perception wasn't the norm, and that the laying of hands is today used for solidarity and blessing.

In the case of animals being sacrificed, my original perception is closer to truth.  The animals were in trouble.  They were going to have to take the penalty for someone else, and that penalty was death.  At the same time something important was about to happen.  They were going to die, so that someone else didn't have to.  The fact that the priests were laying their hands on the bull signified that the priests were not acceptable to God, and the bull had to die for them to be forgiven.

Also, laying hands on the bull turned it into a personal act.  This isn't taking your bull down to the butcher, dropping it off, and going home again.  Anyone who's known a kid who did 4H animal work knows how that kind of contact can make a loss personal.  That, I think, was part of the point, to make the sacrifice personal.  The people had to learn to improve, or more would die on their account.  It's one of the details that I think we've lost today, since Christ has already made the sacrifice needed.

Exodus 28

Exodus 28:3

You shall speak to all the skillful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me.

It's interesting how God appears to make a connection between skill and wisdom.  That's not something that we frequently do in modern society.  Today, it's more common to link skill to knowledge, or experience, or even genius, but wisdom is seen as a different trait.

Today, wisdom is seen as the person who knows what to say, or when to say it; the one who corrects the mistakes of others, and makes it look easy.  It's not the one we think of as the person who knows how to make a beautiful painting, or the sturdy house, or the easy-to-understand teacher.  Who would we look at as wise, if we linked it to having a skill given by God?

Exodus 27

Exodus 27:21

In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord; it shall be a perpetual statue throughout their generations for the sons of Israel.

OK, I don't like the thought of questioning God's priorities, but this one has me confused.  The first instruction about the processes and rituals of the tabernacle is to...keep a lamp on?  I don't get it.

Maybe this is just sometime that's too far outside my modern cultural interpretations.  But it seems to me that if you're going to issue your first command, it would normally be something besides keeping the light on.  I mean, having light at night, when you're not going to be doing any rituals anyhow, take priority over, say, how to perform a sacrifice, or when the people are to worship at the tabernacle?  I realize this shows a devotion to service, but it just doesn't make sense to me why it should be first on the list of instructions for worship.

Exodus 26

Exodus 26:33

You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies.

The separations between areas of the tabernacle, and later the temple, has been of interest to me for a while now.  In our modern culture, the idea of having places that are more and more holy seems to have been lost.  The ark is such a special item, so closely linked to God, that the people cannot even be permitted to see it.  Even almost all the priests, those closest to God, cannot see it, if I remember correctly.

Contrast this with our modern Christianity, where there is theoretically little divide between priest and laity, between holy and secular.  Protestants do not even recognize there being any special sanctified status of items.  If somebody were to rediscover the ark today, what would be the reaction?  After all, Christ's death ripped apart the veil described here, exposing the holy of holies.  With the Holy Spirit endwellt in us, is the ark no longer worth concerning ourselves about?  Is the specialness of God's presence no longer to be found there?  Or would we still be afraid to approach it, and wall it off again from the people?

Exodus 25

Exodus 25:40

See that you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.

Coming from an engineering education, albeit not practicing, this just amazes me.  A lot of engineering is diagrams, drawings, and models.  To think that God Himself made some kind of "blueprint" for Moses to at least see, and possibly take with him, is humbling to think about.

I have a fair mind for picturing something that's described (not wonderful, but normally enough to get by in tasks), but I get lost in the descriptions given here of the Sanctuary's elements.  I wonder if God placed images of the finished product into Moses' mind directly like some type of vision, or if He actually made more conventional plans for him to take back down to the craftsmen.  These have to be made perfectly, without flaw or error, so God had to ensure somehow that the people making them would know what they were doing, and not just stumbling along to Moses' "second-hand" description.  God knew this had to be done right, and he obviously took the time to show Moses how they should be done.  We still have at least a part of that description thousands of years later.

Exodus 24

Exodus 24:7

Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!"

Ah, if only.

I can't really say I'm any better than the Israelites at this juncture.  I've done the exact same thing, many times.  I read/hear/learn about what God's instructions for our lives, I say out loud/in my head, "yeah, I'm going to do that!"  And more often than not, within a very short time, I've forgot/backslid/ignored it, and am back to my old self.  It seems far too rare when I actually manage to make a change permanent.

However, that doesn't mean I stop trying, just as the Israelites would keep coming back to God after messing up.  We're going to make mistakes, both accidental and deliberate.  What determines our commitment is whether we then try to fix those mistakes, or just accept them and forget our goals.

Exodus 23

Exodus 23:29

I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.

How many times do we ask God to do something amazing or supernatural?  How many times do we despair, or question Him, when He doesn't?  We wonder why God does not make our ways easier, the paths for us to walk carefree, or why he doesn't just make some business deal go wonderfully and us wealthy as a result?

I think this verse contains much of the answer to these questions.  God is so much bigger than we can comprehend.  With that comes the power to do amazing things.  However, we are not supernatural, but limited.  We cannot see what God's long-term plans are.  What he gives to us, is only what we are capable of using.  Tomorrow, God could send someone to me with a job offer for $100,000 as the CISO of a big company.  But I seriously doubt He will, because I'm not ready for that type of position yet.  I don't know what I would need to know in order to properly discharge those responsibilities.  If I tried, I would be very quickly overwhelmed on all sides, and either forced out or easily manipulated by others for their agendas.  Therefore, if God wants me to end up in that type of position (though I'm not saying He does), He will not just drop it on me, but will train me slowly, as I am ready and able to process the lessons, so that when that theoretical day occurs, I am able to step into the job properly and bring praise to Him in the process.

Exodus 22

Exodus 22:25

"If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.

I must admit, ever since I found out about Dave Ramsey, I have had particular interest in verses that speak about money or debt.  I find it interesting how this verse changes the mindset of lending.  It is no longer a business for Jews; it is a means of assisting one another.  People are not to be banks to one another.  If a Jew loans to another Jew, it should not be with the intent of profit.

Instead, this would appear to be a form of not-quite-charity.  A means to assist a fellow Jew, without concern for coming out ahead in the end.  I have been known to do things like this from time to time, though this verse was not in my mind at the time.  When a brother is in a short-term jam, and needs a way out without hurting his pride or dignity, a loan without interest can work.  However, there are risks to this approach, if the person cannot pay you back in a timely fashion.  The relationship can be strained by failure to pay, so any loan should only be made under the most careful of conditions.

Exodus 21

Exodus 21:16

"He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death.

As I proceed further into this, it's going to be difficult for me to choose what verses to comment on throughout the law.  I find myself most drawn to those that are either the most starkly clear, or ones that show the changes our "modern morals" have made.  This one falls into both categories for me.

First, it's interesting to me how different the Bible would have been if God had given this particular law to Jacob, or before.  Would Joseph have been sold by his brothers, knowing this would be the penalty if it were discovered?  If so, would Jacob have carried out the sentence when the truth was discovered?  The nation of Israel would have been very different if either of those changes had been made; either it could have starved during the famine, or it just might not have entered the land of Egypt.

This leads me to the question of why God waited until now, 500 years after guiding Abraham to the Promised Land, to give his law to the people?  What changed in those 500 years where the Law was unnecessary before, but was mandated?  Were most/all of these rules part of common culture at the time?  Was it that if these had been done before, the penalty for transgressions would have thinned out the people to the point where they were no longer a nation, lopping off whole branches of the family tree?  Why not earlier, so that there would be no question of the consistency of God?  Unfortunately, this is a question I don't have an answer for, beyond the platitudes Christians use to cover when they don't know something.  I really wish I did have an answer, but I don't.