Imagine going to mass, service or whatever your church, congregation calls it way back when during the time of Moses. Right there at the first Tabernacle near Mount Sinai on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. The Tabernacle was the portable earthly meeting place of God with the children of Israel from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan.
I never knew that about the tabernacle being portable. I wonder what happened to it eventually when they arrived in Canaan? I also wonder if reading the Bible will help me understand all the issues in the Middle East. It seems to me that people and their descendants who have been in a place a long time with good spiritual principles would have figured our peace and prosperity for all by now. Easy for an American to say as we were the ultimate example of a geographical cure—find a new place and build it from the ground up the way it needs to be built. We have our challenges in life too for sure.
Getting back to going to mass at the Tabernacle way back when with fire on the altar and burnt offerings and holocausts. Before Christ, the oblation was the act of making an offering, not the Eucharist, of herds, flocks, and fowl. I guess everything gets modernized, translated or what have you. It’s a big deal today if communion is a piece of real bread instead of the wafer. The wafer which did not taste good to me as a young boy. I would do the prayer with hands over the face and slip the soggy wafer out of my mouth and hide it under the pew. Bad sin I know. I often wondered if anybody wondered why there were dried out wafers under my seat.
Peace offerings to God so that they would be favored in future battles with their enemies? First make peace with God, then yourself and others. Peace, in the Scripture language, signifies happiness, welfare, or prosperity in a word, all kinds of blessings. I am surprised the word ‘happiness’ is used instead of ‘joy.’ Peace, joy and freedom, freedom from hurts, habits and hang-ups, freedom from addictions, freedom to wake up in the morning and say “this is the best day of my life, absolutely, positively, without a doubt, and they go live that one day in a clear, present, open-minded, open-hearted way—The Ultimate Love of God, Self, Others & Life!
Peace be with you, God and myself.
Sinners all are we!
The soul that sinneth through ignorance, and doth any thing concerning any of the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded not to be done.
And afterwards shall understand their sin; and afterwards shall come to know his sin
Sin, but know your sin; come out of denial, justification and rationalization. Come out of perfectionism, control, all-or-nothing thinking and judgmentalism. Speak to the Lord and confess your sins. Recommit to Jesus in your heart and live to be better for the next day.
Sinners all are we–the priest that is anointed; all the multitude of Israel; a prince; and a common person.
Yes even way back when the Bible was written in Chapter 4 of Leviticus, God’s Word accounted for the sins of a priest. Nobody, nobody on earth, of all the one hundred billion that have lived to date, except Jesus, was or is perfect. Get over yourself!
The priest shall pray for him and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. We are only as sick as our darkest secrets. Tell a priest, your rabbi, reverend or tell a trusted friend but first be honest with yourself and tell God. We can all come out of the shame, isolation and abandonment of dysfunctional childhoods. We are all valuable children of God.
Consecration of Aaron and his sons. This is the oblation of Aaron, and of his sons, which they must offer to the Lord, in the day of their anointing. And you shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle for seven days, until the day wherein the time of your consecration shall be expired.
And when the eighth day was come, Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the ancients of Israel… for today the Lord will appear to you. This is the word, which the Lord hath commanded: do it, and his glory will appear to you.
And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of testimony, and afterwards came forth and blessed the people. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the multitude… and behold a fire, coming forth from the Lord… which when the multitude saw, they praised the Lord, falling on their faces.
Well that was an awesome eight days… A Portable Tabernacle; God, Sinners and Priests!
Day 35: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; A Portable Tabernacle; God, Sinners and Priests.
Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Leviticus Chapters 1-9.
Bible Notes:
This Book of Leviticus is so called, because it treats chiefly of divine worship for which God had chosen the tribe of Levi.
After describing the ordination of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood, it records the Mosaic laws of sacrifice, of legal purity, of holiness, of vows, and of tithes.
Leviticus Chapter 1: Holocausts of the herds; Holocausts of the flocks; Holocausts of fowl.
And the Lord called Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of the testimony, saying:
He shall offer a make without blemish, at the door of the testimony, to make the Lord favorable to him…
Expiation—the means by which atonement or reparation is made; the act of expiating; to atone for; make amends or reparation for: to expiate one’s crimes.
Immolate—to sacrifice; to kill as a sacrificial victim, as by fire; offer in sacrifice; to destroy by fire.
And shall put fire on the altar
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for a holocaust, and a sweet savor to the Lord.
Savor—the quality in a substance that affects the sense of taste or of smell; a particular taste or smell.
And all that cleave to the liver.
Herds, flocks and fowl
Oblation—the offering to God of the elements of bread and wine in the Eucharist; the whole office of the Eucharist; the act of making an offering, especially to a deity.
Leviticus Chapter 2: Offerings of flour; Offerings of firstfruits.
His offering should be of fine flour
Shall put it a memorial upon the altar for a most sweet savor to the Lord
Aaron’s and his sons’ holy of holies of the offerings of the Lord.
Every oblation that is offered to the Lord shall be made without leaven
Leviticus Chapter 3: Peace offering of the herd; Peace offering of a lamb; Peace offering of a goat.
The sacrifice of peace offerings
They shall take of it for the food of the Lord’s fire
Peace, in the Scripture language signifies happiness, welfare, or prosperity in a word, all kinds of blessings.
Leviticus Chapter 4: Offerings for priests who sin; Offering for the multitude that sins; Offering for a prince who sins; Offering for a common person who sins.
The soul that sinneth through ignorance, and doth any thing concerning any of the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded not to be done.
If the priest that is anointed shall sin
And the dung
Shall be ignorant, and through ignorance shall do that which is against the commandment of the Lord, and afterwards shall understand their sin
All the multitude of Israel
Shall sin and through ignorance do any one of the things that the law of the Lord forbiddeth, and afterwards shall come to know his sin
A prince
Shall sin through ignorance, doing any of those things that by the law of the Lord are forbidden, and offending, and shall come to know his sin.
Common person
Leviticus Chapter 5: Offerings for various sins; Offering for the sin of sacrilege; Offering for violating the commandments.
If any one sin, and hear the voice of one swearing, and is a witness either because he himself hath seen, or is privy to it: if he do not utter it, he shall bear his iniquity.
Iniquity—gross injustice or wickedness; a violation of right or duty; wicked act; sin.
Whosoever toucheth any unclean thing
And having forgotten it, come afterwards to know it, he shall be guilty of an offence
The priest shall pray for him and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
One for sin, and the other for a holocaust.
If any one shall sin through mistake, transgressing the ceremonies in those things that are sanctified to the Lord.
And the priest shall pray for him, because he did it ignorantly: and it shall be forgiven him because by mistake he trespassed against the Lord.
Leviticus Chapter 6: Atonement for sins of injustice; Law of a holocaust; Law of sacrifice and libations; Offering of a priest at his anointing; Law of the sin offering.
He shall restore all that he would have gotten by fraud.
And he shall have forgiveness for every thing in doing of which he hath sinned.
The is the law of the holocaust.
This is the perpetual fire which shall never go out on the altar.
It shall be most holy, as that which is offered for sin and for trespass.
This is the oblation of Aaron, and of his sons, which they must offer to the Lord, in the day of their anointing.
It is the holy of holies.
Every male of the priestly race shall eat of the flesh thereof, because it is holy of holies.
Leviticus Chapter 7: The sacrifice for a trespass; sacrifice of peace offerings; Fat and blood forbidden; The priest portions.
Moreover you shall not eat the blood of any creatures whatsoever, whether of birds or beasts. Every one that eateth blood, shall perish from among the people.
Leviticus Chapter 8: Consecration of Aaron and his sons; Offering of a calf for sin; Offering of a ram for a holocaust; The ram of consecration; Seven days for the consecration of priests.
Girding him with the girdle
Because it was a holocaust of most sweet odor (previously savor so sense is smell, not taste).
The basket of unleavened bread
Having lifted them up before the Lord
The oblation of consecration
Consecration—the act of consecrating; dedication to the service and worship of a deity; the act of giving the sacramental character to the Eucharistic elements of bread and wine, especially in the Roman Catholic Church; ordination to a sacred office, especially to the episcopate.
And you shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle for seven days, until the day wherein the time of your consecration shall be expired.
Observing the watches of the Lord.
Leviticus Chapter 9: Moses says the Lord will appear; Sacrifices for Aaron and the people; Moses and Aaron bless the people; Fire comes from the Lord.
And when the eighth day was come, Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the ancients of Israel… for today the Lord will appear to you.
This is the word, which the Lord hath commanded: do it, and his glory will appear to you.
Aaron: approach the altar, and offer sacrifice for thy sin.
And stretching forth his hands to the people, he blessed them.
And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of testimony, and afterwards came forth and blessed the people. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the multitude… and behold a fire, coming forth from the Lord… which when the multitude saw, they praised the Lord, falling on their faces.
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