Exodus 32:1-6 comments: Aaron makes a golden calf to worship and the Hebrews engage in a heathen religious orgy

Exodus 32:1 ¶  And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2  And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 5  And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. 6  And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

These people who have spent so long in Egypt with the worship of heathen gods want Aaron to make gods for them to worship. That is what they have known for hundreds of years and they are quick to abandon the singular devotion to the magnificent God who created them and called them out of Egypt with such mighty signs. This is a problem for Christians as we are often not willing to wait for God to do something in our lives and rather quickly began looking backwards into the things that we leaned on before we came to Christ.

As far as they were concerned, Moses might have died on the mountain. Aaron is either a creature of public opinion, maybe afraid of the masses, or he also doubts whether or not Moses will return. So, he calls for their earrings.

Earrings had a special significance, which I pointed out in Genesis. Jewelry played a part in ancient worship. Earrings were not merely ornamentation for both men and women but were, scholars tell us, sometimes amulets and charms to protect the openings of the face and head from entry by evil spirits. They were clearly part of the idol worship of the ancient world, the spiritual system that developed after the Flood.  If you have difficulty seeing that side of facial jewelry just look at the hundreds of occult earrings on a website like Etsy.com. Some verses of note regarding men and women wearing earrings and of a possible link to their occultic practices are;

Genesis 35:4  And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

Judges 8:24  And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25  And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.

In the passage in Genesis, chapter 35, and here in Exodus we have a very clear indication that something linked earrings to the spirit world.

Verse 4 is an astounding statement that makes Aaron worthy of death. Of course, if you think about it, we do very much the same thing when we say, “good luck!” or, “oh, how lucky you were.” When we, even absent-mindedly, attribute our good fortune or our trouble to something or someone other than God we do blaspheme His name and diminish the glory due Him.

Malachi 2:2  If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.

Aaron made a molten calf. The calf/bull was a commonly worshipped as a god in the Ancient Near East and in Egypt. While Moses was receiving what may have been the introduction of the alphabet over pictographic writing the Hebrews were falling down to worship the object symbolized by the pictographic rendering of a calf, a young bull. Aleph, the first letter of Hebrew, is derived from the pictographic representation of the young bull. Alpha, the Greek letter, was derived from Aleph. With the ‘alpha-bet’ God removed the pictures that were worshipped to letters that represented thoughts and ideas only rather than sacred objects representing thoughts and ideas.

This is a return to Egypt in a religious sense. The ensuing nudity and orgy was in keeping with the sexual aspects of Ancient Near Eastern religion. See verse 25 in this chapter coming up.

To explain further, in ancient Greece and Rome orgia was a sacred word denoting worship in the mystery cults such as that devoted to Dionysus. It included dancing, singing, and drinking as well as promiscuous sexual behavior. You cannot underestimate the sexual perversion of ancient religion after the Flood. The ancient Egyptians practiced every kind of perversion in their religion.

This was an abomination to God and a corruption of His will for mankind to enjoy the physical bond between a husband and a wife. Below is a summary of mankind’s religious history, from Romans, emphasizing the descent from idolatry to perversion.

Romans 1: 19 ¶  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,

neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through

the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31  Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Notice in verse 5 that Aaron is mingling this pagan worship with the worship of Jehovah God, the LORD. This is something that I discussed before as absolutely forbidden.

You can imagine God’s wrath as He is about to psychologically prepare Moses for what Moses is about to see. By God expressing a rage and alleged intentions to destroy the Hebrew people He affords Moses the opportunity to plead for mercy as we will see.

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 14:25-35 comments: whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple

Luke 14:25 ¶  And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28  For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29  Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30  Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31  Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32  Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. 33  So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. 34  Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35  It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

A word should be said about the word hate here. In a different context, when Jesus commissioned the twelve apostles as reported in Matthew 10 it is recorded;

Matthew 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

By comparing passages that express the same or similar sentiment we can determine the meaning of passages that are difficult for us. Clearly, to hate, in this context, is to hold one in lower regard than one would reasonably expect rather than to hold in contempt, to despise, to abhor, and reject as in other contexts. You cannot properly interpret the Bible without cross-referencing. Any version that destroys the cross-referencing traits of the Bible should be dismissed outright. If we believe that the Bible was given by inspiration as it says it was, that the Holy Spirit had a hand in translations and copies, then we must understand that the ultimate author was God Himself and in order to understand a word or phrase we need to look within the text itself.

Verse 27 has led to a lot of guilt feelings on the part of Christians who do not live in countries where they are persecuted horribly. It has even prompted some Christians to make themselves as obnoxious as possible to try to get a taste of what they perceive is persecution so they can feel justified. However, remember, first that Jesus is talking to the people He deals with every day in the flesh and those who would follow Him in His hour of suffering. Tradition tells us that every single Apostle, save John, died a martyr’s death and it wasn’t for lack of trying that John was not martyred.

The cross was a type of execution that was very painful and the process of death was often prolonged as the sufferer tried to breathe and had to experience the agony of having hands and feet nailed to the wood.

Many of the people that would have heard this saying about taking up one’s cross daily left following Christ when things got tough. The disciple had to be willing to give up all that he had, all earthly connections, to follow Christ as we can see by verse 26 and Matthew 10:28-30. The end result of that discipleship could be imprisonment, torture, and death as we can see by Luke 12:11; Acts 7:59; Acts 12:2.  The hope and treasures of the heart of a disciple, as a result, had to be focused on heaven, not earth as we can see in Matthew 6:19-20.

Even if you are not persecuted, though many are in many parts of the world today and are called to see this verse in their lives, you do have the burden of bearing your own Cross of suffering and pain in this life and bearing it in faith with a testimony before others who have not trusted Christ or are weak in their faith. We have this burden of being fenced in with bones and sinews, our souls trapped in the body of this death, every day dying and yet alive as we can see in Job 10:11 & Galatians 2:20. If we are not willing to suffer these things, although we will whether we do it in faith or not, then we should count the cost before we profess faith in our Saviour and declare ourselves redeemed of the Lord as this passage then reveals. Like salt, we can be completely useless, in our case, in the disciples of this time’s case, if we or they are unwilling to follow our Saviour to death. The disciples here are warned that this way is not going to be painless for them while they are in the flesh.

Suffering in this life is real and inevitable, whether you do it in faith, trusting your Creator, or do it in anger and bitterness and denial, and unbelief. For the Christian this life is the only Hell they will ever know. For the rejector of Christ the suffering you experience here is only the beginning of woes.

The early Christians and many now throughout the world are faced with a choice, to renounce Christ or face the loss of everything they hold dear. To confess Christ or to renounce Him. Chapter 12 had a reference to this.

Luke 12:8  Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: 9  But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.

And so Paul and John will write;

2Timothy 2:12  If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

13  If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

Revelation 3:7 ¶  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8  I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

Preachers are fond of using these verses to indict you for not handing out a tract at a certain time or going door-knocking and those may be valid ways of projecting the text onto the relatively painless, when it comes to persecution for Americans (at least the persecution that comes from humans and not the spirit world), but the context is life-and-death persecution enacted at times by the Romans and later the Roman and Protestant churches and other religions. The secular state and Islam are the greatest physical persecutors today.

This context, the literal meaning of verses, like this has to do with the persecution they faced.

Jesus warned His disciples to expect it.

Matthew 20:20 ¶  Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. 21  And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. 22  But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. 23  And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

Don’t whine when you are forbidden to hang up a verse from your office cubicle condemning homosexuality. Save your whining for when someone is standing over you with a sword and threatening to cut off your head if you don’t renounce Christ as a Christian in the Sudan might experience today. The question is, are you prepared to die guiltless of any violence for your faith and to trust Christ for your resurrection? It is a question many Christians faced throughout history. The comfortable Christian culture of America, the self-congratulating way we practically fall over patting ourselves on the back for “choosing” to be on the right team, is an echo-chamber where you eventually only hear what affirms you and justifies you. I suspect in the face of the kind of persecution a Christian in Vietnam might experience or a Christian in Iran might have to endure most of us would be running for the hills and swearing allegiance to anything but Christ to keep evil from being done to us.

Exodus 31:12-18 comments: sabbaths and two tablets of stone

Exodus 31:12 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 13  Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. 14  Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15  Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16  Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17  It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. 18  And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Before I comment on sabbaths I wanted to say something about the use of the word verily. It means, “truly,” or, “certainly,” or, “truthfully.” The apostle, John, reports that Jesus used it twice for emphasis quite often. Examples of the 25 verses in John’s gospel that state this use of verily are;

John 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 10:7  Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

For the Hebrew the seventh day was set apart as holy to God. This symbolizes the seventh day of creation when God rested.

Genesis 2:1 ¶  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

It was a day of rest made for man.

Mark 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

People are always remembering their rights under the U.S. Constitution. What Christians forget is that having one day off a week to rest is the right of God’s people afforded to them by God.

The observance of the Sabbath under pain of death was a sign of Hebrew identity. Circumcision was a personal sign for men that they had a covenant with God. But, the observance of the Sabbath was something the entire community; man and woman, child and beast, could participate in. Our hunger for material possessions and our false post-World War 2 middle class values created by business advertising and propaganda prevent us from taking advantage of our God-given right to a day of rest.

Now, what about exceptions? Apply common-sense and God’s character of mercy to the rule.

Luke 14:1 ¶  And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2  And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3  And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4  And they held their peace. And he took him, and

healed him, and let him go; 5  And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? 6  And they could not answer him again to these things.

Notice here that the Pharisees and Jesus were having a meal on the Sabbath which someone had to prepare and serve, to serve at least if they prepared it the day before. There was no refrigerator or microwave. Notice also that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, which upset the religious elite, all the while pointing out that they would have no hesitation in rescuing a valuable farm animal from a pit on the Sabbath day.

So, keeping that in mind what do you make of the command to do no work? Clearly, there was room for common-sense and mercy in God’s command. But, it was not to be a day of commerce, a day just like any other day of the week. Labor ceased on that day which was clearly a mercy to the hireling or the servant and the beast.

Nehemiah 13:15 ¶  In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. 16  There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17  Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? 18  Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. 19  And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. 20  So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without

Jerusalem once or twice. 21  Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. 22  And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day.

Later in Exodus the command will be given by Moses that not a fire was to be lit in their dwellings on the Sabbath day. We can imagine how literally this command was not followed. In their wanderings God even commanded a person collecting sticks be executed for violating the Sabbath.

Numbers 15:32  And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 33  And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 34  And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. 35  And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. 36  And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.

The command was fairly straightforward, perhaps one of the oldest labor laws known to man.

Deuteronomy 5:13  Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 14  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

So, why, you ask yourself, was God so strict with the Hebrews in the wilderness but Jesus, who was and is God in the flesh, not as strict with his Pharisee host on the Sabbath? What is the Holy Spirit trying to tell us? Jesus told a man to pick up his former bed and carry it on the Sabbath day in John 5:8 which greatly disturbed the Jews.

By the time that Jesus walked the earth in human flesh in the first century the Jews had developed hundreds of laws regarding work but, as revealed by the verses about Jesus being invited to a meal on the Sabbath, exceptions were made.

Many Christian faith traditions tried to call Sunday the Christian Sabbath all the while making it not a day of rest but a day of obligation. The truth is that early Christians, as history provides evidence, worshipped before dawn on Sunday and then went to work. Sunday was not a day off from work for three hundred years after Christ. If it were truly the Christian Sabbath then from sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday you would do nothing, not even light a candle in your home.

Moving on, the Ten Commandments were written with the finger of God.

Deuteronomy 9:10  And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

Notice how it was apparent when God’s hand was directly on something that happened?

Exodus 8:19  Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

Psalm 8:3  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

Daniel 5:5  In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the

candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6  Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another… 23  But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: 24  Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.

Luke 11:18  If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. 19  And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20  But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 14:15-24 comments: go out into the highways and hedges

Luke 14:15 ¶  And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16  Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: 17  And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18  And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19  And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20  And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21  So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. 22  And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 23  And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24  For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Here, Christ again admonishes the people whom God created out of the Gentiles in Ur of the Chaldees of old. They’ve made many excuses and those who have will have their invitation to have a meal at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb rescinded.

Revelation 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Matthew gives a more complete rendition of this lesson when Jesus is teaching in the temple indicting the nation of Israel for their historical disobedience and violence against God’s prophets. Matthew introduces a figure who some say is the Antichrist, the Beast of Revelation himself, although this may simply be a representation of the tares, the phonies, in the church. The Gentiles again will play a part in spreading the gospel of the kingdom as the nation of Israel refuses to stop making excuses and follow their Messiah.

Matthew 22:1 ¶  And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, 2  The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3  And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4  Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. 5  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6  And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. 7  But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8  Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9  Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10  So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Exodus 31:1-11 comments; spirit, Spirit, talent, and acquiring skill and knowledge

Exodus 31:1 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2  See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 3  And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4  To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 5  And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. 6  And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; 7  The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, 8  And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense, 9  And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot, 10  And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office, 11  And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.

In Old English there was no distinction between uppercase and lowercase. By Middle English whether to capitalize the first letter was inconsistent, I have read. By the time of the KJV, called Early Modern English, capitalization of proper names and nouns had become more standard. See Shakespeare’s use of capitalization. So, at the time of this translation uppercase and lowercase had begun to mean something. Notice here that the word spirit starts with a lowercase ‘s’. In a prophecy of Christ in Isaiah it is written;

Isaiah 11:1 ¶  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3  And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

The Holy Spirit, uppercase ‘S’, refers to the agency through which God works in creation and in the hearts and minds of His people.

Genesis 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Ephesians 4:30  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

The Spirit of God can be referred to as an it.

Romans 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God…26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

And can also be called the Spirit of Christ, as God is one being containing three parts as I have previously shown. See the following for the three parts of God mentioned in passages; Matthew 28:19; 2Corinthians 13:14; 1John 5:7.

Romans 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

This is in contrast to the Holy Ghost, which is a reference to the third part of God, referred to, always, as he.

John 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

But, spirit with the lowercase ‘s’ is a reference to a trait, a quality, a skill, an emotion, the foundation of an ability, or the spirit of man, the part of man that God uses to know our thoughts and the function of our bodies.

Proverbs 20:27  The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

These men have been given talents and skills to serve the Lord’s purpose and notice in verse 6 that God puts wisdom in those people whose hearts are able to receive it. We must remember, as said before, that wisdom and knowledge come from God. For instance, a scientist is prepared by training to receive knowledge and he or she discovers something useful as a result. The understanding came from God to a mind that was able to bear it. This is an important point to consider.

Ezra 7:10  For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

The way to receive knowledge and wisdom and understanding is first to prepare the heart and mind. Then, it is given. Someone who wants to be a mechanic just doesn’t pray to God for the knowledge. God would say to him, “Study the trade and then I will give you understanding. Learn how to do it and I will give you wisdom.” It is a fact of life that if you want to do something of value you need to prepare yourself for it. I don’t remember reading about any brain surgeons or rocket scientists who said they woke up one day and just knew how to do their jobs to the best of their ability without education or training.

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 14:7-14 comments: true humility

Luke 14:7 ¶  And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8  When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9  And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10  But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11  For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 12  Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. 13  But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14  And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

A similar sentiment to verses 7 through 11 is expressed in Proverbs.

Proverbs 25:6 ¶  Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: 7  For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Humility, rather than seeking preeminence, is appreciated by God. Peter wrote;

1Peter 5:5 ¶  Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7  Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

James expressed a similar sentiment when talking about exalting a social class as so many working-class conservatives in America do in their worship of the very wealthy.

James 2:1 ¶  My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2  For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3  And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4  Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6  But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7  Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

A very important principle is expressed in verse 14. In the ancient Greek and Roman world charity was a political act. You gave to someone who could do you some good. You sponsored something, gave to a temple, had something built in your name, or distributed bread to the poor, but whatever you did you expected a return on your investment; some preference, some prayer, some acknowledgment of your importance, or support politically.

In fact, in Graeco-Roman culture the poor were never singled out as the object of charity. Philanthropy had to do with your own family or to help someone who deserved to be helped. Almsgiving and Greek or Roman moralists never preached that people with money should help people without unless, as I said, there was some benefit involved or some great value in the recipient. An important thing that Jesus will teach later is that your neighbor includes any stranger, even of a different ethnic group or religion than yourself, that you come across in desperate need.

The highest level of Christian giving is to give to someone who cannot possibly benefit you and may not even know you were their benefactor. You will expect acknowledgment in heaven, not here on earth.

Matthew 6:1 ¶  Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2  Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4  That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

In addition, verses 12 and 13 set up a prophetic passage on a specific feast in the next verses.

Exodus 30:17-38 comments: the laver of brass,

Exodus 30:17 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 18  Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. 19  For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: 20  When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD: 21  So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

Exodus 30:22 ¶  Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23  Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, 24  And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: 25  And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. 26  And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, 27  And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, 28  And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. 29  And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. 30  And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office. 31  And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. 32  Upon man’s flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. 33  Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people. 34  And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: 35  And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: 36  And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy. 37  And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD. 38  Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

 

There are many good commentaries on the tabernacle and on the ceremony and ritual surrounding the worship that God prescribed for the Hebrews. I see no need to simply repeat the work of others. In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA and other places there are even displays of this tabernacle for teaching purposes.

Each ceremony and each command can be preached on with comparisons to Christ. Preaching expounds on the text, makes parallels, reveals types and symbols. The washing shows God’s abhorrence of sin, the perfume not being used for common purposes showing the difference His people must keep between sacred and profane things, etc. These are all important subjects for preaching. But, my purpose here is to move through the text and provide you with things that will help you open up the Bible everywhere you read.

With that in mind, there is a term in verse 33 that needs to be examined as it is also used in other applications. The term is cut off. To be cut off does not mean exiled or kicked out of the community as that was not an option. To be cut off from one’ people means something more permanent.

Genesis 9:11  And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

Zechariah 13:8  And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

2Kings 9:8  For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel: