Pentecost 2022: Heb 12---A Tale of Two Mountains

 In a Pentecost sermon at Church of the Messiah on June 4, 2022, Kyle Kettering began by reminding the congregation about the wonderful parallels between Pentecost at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19 and Pentecost at Mt. Zion in Acts 2.  He noted that Torah and Spirit, the gifts of Pentecost, are the tools by which the plan of God reaches its full strength.  Both tools equip God's people to reach the whole world.  

Kyle observed that Church of the Messiah is itself a microcosm of the nations, with many nationalities represented.

One motif common to the experiences at Sinai and Zion is that of shaking or trembling.  At Sinai the children of Israel trembled at the signs they saw and heard (Ex 19:16-19).  The coming of the Holy Spirit results in shaking (Acts 4:31).  

One passage that discusses the shaking motif is Hebrews 12, where the trembling at Mt Sinai is mentioned in v 21.  Hebrews 12 also refers to Haggai 2:6-8 and a final "shaking" of the world, after which only what is unshakeable will remain.  Hebrews 12 exhorts Christians to rejoice in the unshakeable kingdom that they have received.  Like David, we have an unshakeable position under God's protection (Ps 16:8).

Seder 67: Exodus 29---Ordination of the Aaronic Priests

The children of Israel were called to be "a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation" (Exod 19:6).  From among the Israelites God chose the family of Aaron for a special priesthood at the tabernacle and temple. 

Moses would briefly serve as God's proxy to install Aaron and his sons into this priesthood.  God laid out the details of the ordination procedure to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exod 29), and these details were carried out after the construction of the tabernacle (Lev 8).  

The elaborate ordination would last for a week (v 35), during which time something important would be created---a new priesthood.  Aaron would be anointed with oil (v. 6), making him an "anointed one", a messiah. 

Several sacrifices were included in the process.  There was a sin offering that would symbolically remove sin from Aaron and his sons and take it outside of the camp of Israel (vv 10-14).  The instructions for this offering specify that the "long lobe of the liver" and the kidneys of the bull be burned on the bronze altar (v 13).  Some commentators (e.g., Nahum Sarna) have observed that in the Ancient Near East, livers were often used for divination.  One effect of the instructions in v. 13 is that this practice would not be adopted in Israel. 

There would also be a burnt offering of a ram (vv 15-18) that would symbolize the total dedication to God that would be required of the priests.

Blood from a second ram would be applied to the right ears, right thumbs, and right big toes of Aaron and his sons (vv 20-21).  The priests would listen to the people, act for their good, and walk among them.  They were to be dedicated to God in every aspect of their lives.  

Questions are raised by the last sentence in verse 37:  "Whatever touches the altar shall become holy."  Here the meaning probably is not that profane things become holy by coming in contact with the altar.  Haggai 2:10-14 indicates that impurity spreads through contact, but that holiness does not.  Instead, the meaning may be that the only things that should come in contact with the altar are those that are already holy.  

Chapter 29 ends by repeating the purpose of the tabernacle and its service, emphasizing God's desire to dwell among his people.  Exodus 25:8 and Exodus 29:45-56 form a pair of bookends setting off chapters 25 through 29.  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on August 7, 2021, Rob Wilson reflected on what it means to be consecrated to serve God in a sinful world, as Aaron was and as we are today.  I John 2:20-27 discusses the anointing with the Holy Spirit that Christians receive.  

Seder 37: Psalm 126---Prayer for Continued Restoration

 After 70 years of exile in Babylon, a group of Jews returned to the land of Israel, as had been prophesied (e.g., in Jer 29:10-14).  Psalm 126 begins by expressing the joy felt by those returning exiles (vv 1-3).

Life was not easy, though, for those who returned to the ruins of Jerusalem.  They started the project of rebuilding the Temple, but the work soon stalled.  Day-to-day life was difficult.  And so they turned to God seeking further restoration (v 4).  

We know some of the ways in which God answered those prayers.  He sent prophets Haggai and Zechariah to encourage the people to work on rebuilding the Temple.  Haggai affirms God's faithfulness in Haggai 2:4-5:

"Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD.  Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest.  Be strong all you people of the land, declares the LORD.  Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt.  My Spirit remains in the your midst.  Fear not."

Psalm 126 ends with a note of confidence that God will be with those who step out in faith to follow him.  

"Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!  He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him" (vv 5-6).

The midrash on Ps 126 identifies Jacob as an example of verse 6.  Jacob left home for Haran with little more than the clothes on his back, and returned with substantial wealth and a large family.  We can also think of Joseph, who was taken to Egypt as a slave and emerged from imprisonment 13 years later as one of the highest officials in Egypt.