Weekly passages: Exodus 38:21-40:38; 1 Kings 7:51-8:21; Hebrews 1:1-14.

This week's passages tell of two very special events in Israel's history: the finishing of the Tabernacle in the desert (under Moses' leadership) and the completion of the Temple in Jerusalem (under Solomon's).

Both passages give detailed accounts of the materials, procedures and skilled work that went into the building of God's holy sanctuary. Enormous effort was put into carrying out the Lord's instructions to the letter, making sure that everything was in exact accordance with his divine specification. A sense of community also shines through; each building project was the result of the labour, talents, skills and co-operation of a multitude of people - some named and some anonymous, but each with a specific role to play - from contributing precious metals to weaving linen, from crafting the priestly garments to fashioning the altar and its sacred furnishings.

At the very end of both of these accounts, something remarkable happens. As the humans stand back to admire their handiwork, so the Lord of Glory descends and fills His new dwelling-place with the thick cloud of His holy Presence. In Exodus, the majesty and splendour of the Lord was such that even Moses could not draw near. Similarly, in 1 Kings we are told that the priests were unable to carry out their priestly duties because of the strength of the Lord's glory.

Suddenly, the buildings fashioned by human hands became sacred: a tent became the Tabernacle, a building became the Temple.

We Are God's Temple

Everyone who believes in Christ as Lord and Saviour is given the incredible privilege of becoming a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16) – and you can be sure that God puts a great deal of effort into building and crafting each one of us, exactly according to His divine specifications. Ephesians 2:10 says that the new lives we are given in Christ are examples of God's own handiwork (other translations use the term 'workmanship').

Just as the Israelites contributed materials and skills to the building of God's earthly house, however, so we also get to be involved in this temple-building project. Scripture encourages us to adorn our lives with all goodness and holiness and, as God's dwelling-place, to not defile ourselves with sin (e.g. 2 Cor 6:16). Peter says "make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love" (2 Pet 1:5-7), that we might "participate in the divine nature" and be productive in our walks with Christ.

But importantly, these Old Testament accounts tell us that all our efforts to invest in our own holiness remain nothing if they are not filled with the presence and power of the Lord. We may clothe ourselves with compassion and furnish our day-to-day lives with good deeds that are crafted lovingly, skilfully, cost-fully and obediently – but in and of themselves, they do not make us holy. They have no power. For no tent, no matter how beautifully decorated, is holy without the presence of God.

Humility Vital

Does that mean that good deeds and right living are not worth pursuing? Does God not care about our meagre attempts to please Him? Absolutely not! He does care, and we should pursue these things to the very letter of Scripture - out of obedience to and love for the One who commands us.

But we should never lose sight of the fact that without the presence of God, without His enabling and life-giving Holy Spirit, all of our efforts are ultimately just outward expressions. They cannot be an inward reality without Divine intervention. Unless the Lord fills our 'jars of clay' with His treasure, we remain empty vessels (2 Cor 4:7); the noise we make is merely that of "a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Cor 13:1).

This should keep us very humble, knowing that day by day we must walk in complete dependence on the Lord if our faith is to bear any fruit whatsoever. Conversely, if we pursue holiness without remaining constantly aware of our need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we risk sliding into arrogant 'religious' performance.

Christ Our Cornerstone

Consequently, you are...members of [God's] household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Eph 2:19-22)

It is the Lord's desire to craft us lovingly into beautiful temples of His Holy Spirit – fit dwelling-places for the Lord Himself, with Christ as the Chief Cornerstone. This upward calling also has an outward effect: as we are filled to overflowing with the glory and splendour of the Lord, so those around us are given the opportunity to encounter Him, fear Him and trust Him as they spend time with us.

While the Israelites stood back to admire their 'finished' handiwork, God knew that it was incomplete until He Himself came down and filled it. When He did, the combination of His majesty and splendour with their devoted obedience – within the framework of their human weakness and imperfection - made for astounding results. Let us never, ever forget our need of Him. If our earthly 'tents' (as Paul terms our bodies) are to become sacred Tabernacles to the Lord, if we are to help build the Kingdom of God in any measure, the all-surpassing power we need comes from Him, not from us!

Author: Frances Rabbitts

Weekly passages: Exodus 35:1-38:20; 1 Kings 7:40-7:50; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11; 1 Corinthians 3:11-18

This week's readings concern the building of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, to the exact pattern given to Moses by God. Nowhere else in the entire Bible are there such precise instructions given for building a physical object.

After all these years the details passed on to us are clear enough for us to build our own scale model if we wanted to. Because the details are so clear we must assume that God had a purpose in this.

The Design and its Purpose

God caused Moses and the skilled artisans to prepare a place where God would dwell among his people. The exact way in which God was to be approached was also clearly specified.

We do not know exactly what Moses saw when God showed him the pattern on the mountain, but it resulted in the physical reality of the Tabernacle, according to God's exact specifications (Ex 36:1).

As you read the passages, why not pause and consider prayerfully the symbolism of each aspect of the Tabernacle and its ministry, including:

• The way in from the world through the courts to the inner sanctuary and the presence of God
• The two altars, one for sacrifice and one for priestly intercessory ministry
• The raw materials used for construction - from basic wood, cloth and animal skins to bronze, silver and gold
• The colours of the materials
• The dimensions of each part
• The rituals for approaching God: from sacrifice, through washing, to faith to enter the Holiest Place
• The prescribed order of the Priesthood
• The manner of gathering the materials for the construction
• The preparation of skilled workers
• The exercise of free-will in giving and working
• The certainty that God had for completion of the ministry

Who would not have been impressed by the way the work was done and the ministry defined? Would we ourselves not have wanted to experience what the Israelites experienced?

God Journeying with His People

The Tabernacle became central to the community of Israel, as a pilgrim people journeying through the wilderness. It was portable and could be positioned in each new stopping-place so that the presence of God was always with his people.

Over the years of Israel's history, through all its peaks and its troughs, the history of this wilderness journey with God has been implanted into Jewish communal memory, not least because of the precise way that God instructed Moses. Restoration to a Jew means restoration of what was experienced in the wilderness – a pilgrim people living in faith with God at the centre.

A Symbol of Things to Come

Why not study carefully all the details concerning the Tabernacle and its construction that are laid out in Exodus - then, holding your finger in Exodus, also read the Book of Hebrews. In Hebrews 9 it is stated clearly that the wilderness experience, including the Tabernacle, were symbolic of the ministry of Jesus the Messiah among his people (see verse 9).

Surely this is why the details were so precise – they spoke clearly of Jesus. God has given us a visual symbol so that we might be better prepared to understand who Jesus is, his earthly ministry, our place in that ministry and his long-awaited return.

God has shown us an exact picture, perfectly ordered so that we might use this as a foundation on which to build, to approach him through the sacrifice of Jesus and so that we might also share in the priestly ministry. Was this one of the reasons why Moses recognised Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, seeing beyond the physical pattern to its fulfilment in the Son of God (Matt 17:3)?

Jesus is now the cornerstone (in metaphorical terms) of the fulfilment of the pattern of the Tabernacle and Temple. His people are joined to him in covenant community and ministry. The principles for building God's dwelling-place, made clear in Exodus, are now to be transferred to the spiritual ministry of the Temple made without hands (1 Pet 2:1-12), of which we are a part through faith.

Author: Clifford Denton

Clifford Denton strips difficult topics back to their biblical basics in a new teaching series.

What the Bible Says About...

1. ...the God of Creation

2. ...the Judgment of God

3. ...Suffering

4. ...Family

5. ...Education

Weekly Passages: Exodus 27:20-30:10; Ezekiel 43:10-27; Hebrews 13:10-17

In Exodus 28, in the midst of instructions for building the tabernacle and bringing sacrifices, God sets out his specification for the outfits that his priests should wear and the preparation they should undergo to discharge their ministry. The surprising level of detail in these chapters shows that God cares very deeply about how his servants are clothed.

For Glory and Beauty

The outfit designed for Aaron to wear in his office of High Priest comprised an ephod, breastplate, robe, turban, tunic and sash – all outlined by God with meticulous attention to detail (and each worthy of a Bible study in their own right!). To use today's language, this was a 'bespoke' outfit, created not for fashion but for symbolic beauty, not for weather-proof functionality but for priestly glory. Aaron's wardrobe set him apart as 'Holy to the Lord' (Ex 28:36).

Many Hands

Interestingly, God chose to include many people in the process of creating these priestly garments. Whilst God designed the clothes, he hand-picked skilled craftsmen to bring his designs to life. God singled out Bezalel and Oholiab from among the children of Israel, filling them with wisdom by the Holy Spirit to accomplish this special task (see Ex 31, 35:4-36:7).

Not only this, but the rich materials required for the garments (including wool, linen, gold and precious stones) were all contributed voluntarily by God's people. In a striking foreshadowing of the New Covenant, the Israelites were not required to give out of duty but were encouraged to give freewill offerings, as prompted by the Holy Spirit. This was a faith venture - dependent on everyone "who was willing and whose heart moved them" (Ex 35:21). In the end, so much was given that the craftsmen had far more than they needed.

What Are You Wearing?

Whilst we are not required to wear Levitical garments, God has never stopped caring about the raiment of his people – his "royal priesthood" (1 Pet 2:9). We are encouraged to clothe ourselves with Christ (Rom 13:14), to "put off" the old self and to "put on" the new (Eph 4:22-24; Col 3:10). We are exhorted to wear "the full armour of God" (Eph 6) and to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Col 3:12-14). In Revelation, the outward appearance of these "righteous acts of the saints" are white robes of "fine linen, bright and clean" (19:8, 3:18).

God knows in fine detail the apparel required by our new roles as priests of his kingdom – for it is the apparel acquired for us by his Son, Christ Jesus, our eternal Great High Priest (Hebrews 10:1-22). No other clothing is clean enough. Those who try to enter the sanctuary of God without it, like guests turning up at a wedding without their wedding clothes, will be refused entry (Mtt 22:11-13).

God's Work, God's Strength

Thankfully, it is God himself who clothes us with "garments of salvation and...a robe of righteousness" (Isa 61:10). It is only through trusting in Christ's sacrifice, once for all, that we receive this imperishable heavenly outfit.

And while salvation wins us eternal robes of righteousness, life then becomes a process of allowing God to strip off our filthy, sin-stained rags and re-clothe us in this new regalia. This can only be achieved through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, by whom we are "clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).

Co-Labourers in the Kingdom

How utterly powerless we are on our own to walk this narrow path – how completely dependent we are on God! But if God cares about the lilies of the field enough to clothe them with more splendour than Solomon, how much more will he take care over our spiritual raiment?

As part of this lesson in humility, we must also understand that God often chooses to work through others to re-clothe us, through the power of the Holy Spirit. For each person who responds to the call to enter the Kingdom of Christ, God hand-picks Bezalels and Oholiabs – teachers, pastors, friends, family - and gives them skills and wisdom with which they can help re-robe the child of God. Meanwhile, the Lord prompts countless others at just the right time and in the right place to sow generously out of their own resources into this Kingdom venture.

For those who gave into the creation of the priestly garments, whether their contribution was little or large, the common factor uniting them all was their willingness to respond to God's call. Is God nudging you to invest in someone else today? Or is he prompting you to give freely and generously out of whatever you have in your hands? Let's yield ourselves willingly to his purposes.

Author: Frances Rabbitts

Weekly Passages: Exodus 25:1-27:19; 1 Kings 5:12-6:13; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15; Hebrews 9.

This week's Torah portion is called Terumah meaning contribution, gift or freewill offering. It refers to designating something for a higher purpose, or lifting a part of a quantity from a larger quantity.¹ The passage is called Terumah because it describes the costly and precious items God's people need to provide for building the Lord's Tabernacle or Mishkan in Hebrew, which comes from a root meaning to dwell - a root from which the word shekinah is also derived, which denotes the presence of God among his people.

There are 13 types of costly material required for the Tabernacle: gold, silver and copper; blue, purple and red-dyed wool; flax, goat hair, animal skins, wood, olive oil, spices and gems.² The Tabernacle was to be portable because Israel's God travelled with them. He is not a static idol. He moves with his people; he is carried in our hearts (if you are curious about the Tabernacle's assembly, you might enjoy this animation).

Dwelling with His People

The instructions are incredibly detailed but the purpose of all of it is so that God may dwell among his people: "Then let them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them" (Ex 25:8).

In Hassidic (mystical) Jewish tradition, it has been noted that God says "Build a sanctuary for me and I will dwell among them" (plural) rather than "in it" (singular). Some suggest that the reading should be 'within' rather than 'among' them.³

The late Dr Dwight Pryor (www.jcstudies.com) often made the point that Christians think we are making our way up to God's dwelling, but the Bible is all about God coming down and dwelling among us. In the beginning, God walked and talked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. After the Fall he is searching for ways to dwell once more with his people. First through the Tabernacle, then the Temple, then in Jesus, now by the Holy Spirit, until the end of this age when "'God's dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death" or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" (Rev 21:3-4).

The Mercy Seat

The beginning of this journey of God dwelling with his people is in Exodus 25:

There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites. (Ex 25:22)

Between the cherubim whose wing tips touched on the Ark's cover, God would be present. This place was also called the Mercy Seat. Like everything else in the Tabernacle, it would be sprinkled with the blood of animal sacrifices:

In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Heb 9:21-22)

Paul describes Messiah as a "sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood - to be received by faith" (Rom 3:25). The word for atonement in this verse is hilasterion which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew kapporet meaning mercy seat. Kapporet is derived from the verb meaning to cover and from which the word kippur (as in Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement) is derived. So atonement means that our sins are covered. Just as the wings of the cherubim arched and touched over the mercy seat providing a cover for the place beneath, so God in Messiah reaches out to humanity, to touch our hearts: "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge" (Ps 95:4).

The rabbinic commentator Rashi said that the instructions about the Tabernacle were given to Moses on Yom Kippur itself when the Israelites were forgiven for the sin of the Golden Calf. The same material, gold, that had been used for evil would now be used for the highest good, to build the Ark. Rashi said this despite the fact that chronologically the sin of the golden calf comes after the instructions about the Tabernacle in Exodus.⁴ God knew in advance that a mercy seat would be required, that even as he gave these instructions to Moses his people were engaged in the vilest sin.

Intimacy Through Obedience

The Haftarah reading from 1 Kings 5:12-6:13⁵ describes the building of the Temple by Solomon. Again the purpose of the Temple was for God to dwell among his people: "The word of the Lord came to Solomon: 'As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfil through you the promise I gave to David your father. And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.'" (1 Kings 6:11-13).

This promise has a condition attached: "if you follow my decrees...my commands and obey them". The way to know the indwelling presence of God is through obedience to his Word. When Jesus was asked that very Hebraic question, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?", he answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." Paul said that the majority of the Jewish people, "who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works." (Rom 9:31-32). They were seeking to do rather than to believe.

By Faith, Through Grace

Israel's relationship with God was never one of works but always of faith through grace. God's people never deserved to have him live among them or dwell within them, but Torah obedience brought holiness so that he could dwell among them. Salvation was never earned: God saved his people from Egypt and then made his covenant with them through Moses. Obedience to the Torah was a response to God's grace in rescuing his people. Similarly, the new covenant is mediated through God's grace. There is nothing we can do or bring to God to win his favour. We must simply believe in the one he has sent, the Messiah. Then we obey his Word in response to his goodness.

God does not need a building place to dwell in: he longs to dwell in our hearts. The Tabernacle and the Temple were not needed by God, but by his people as a reminder of God's kingship over them. They were places of lavish beauty and awe-inspiring dimensions to provoke longing for the divine presence. It was here that heaven would kiss earth: "Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other." (Ps 85:10). As Heschel put it, "There is a lifting of the veil at the horizon of the known, opening a vision of what is eternal in time."⁶

In Messiah, God tabernacles with his people by his Spirit. Gentiles have been invited to join with God's people Israel and "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." (Eph 2:19-22) We are God's Temple, the place where his shekinah or divine presence dwells.

What is in the Way?

So why do we not all hear God's voice clearly?

Is it because many of us are not moved to respond to God's goodness by obeying and giving in return? The Torah portion opens with: "The Lord said to Moses, 'Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give" (Ex 25:1-2). The Tabernacle was built by those who were generous and open-hearted towards God.

Generosity is a defining characteristic of the Lord and when we are generous, in gratitude for his mercy, we become more like him. This is why Paul exhorted the Corinthians: "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously" (2 Cor 9:6), because it would lead to a "harvest of your righteousness" (v10).

The kingdom is built through the gifts of God's people – Tabernacle, Temple, Church. We cannot withhold our time, money and talents from the Lord and expect to hear from him. What is distracting us from giving and working for his kingdom with all our hearts? What drives us away from intimacy with the divine? What prevents us from saying wholeheartedly: "One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple" (Ps 27:4).

Author: Helen Belton

References

1 Heave offering / Terumah, Wikipedia.

2 Terumah in a Nutshell, www.chabad.org.

3 Rabbi Hyim Shafner, A Sanctuary Within. My Jewish Learning. Also Rabbi Alana Suskin, "That I May Dwell Among Them...". My Jewish Learning.

4 Zornberg, A G, 2001. The Particulars of Rapture. New York, pp318-319.

5 Note that the Jewish divisions of the Hebrew text differ at various points from those used by Christians. The Haftarah portion accompanying Terumah in Jewish Bibles is 1 Kings 5:26-6:13 whereas in Christian Bibles it is 1 Kings 5:12-6:13.

6 Heschel, A J, 1955. God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism. New York, p138.

Weekly Passages: Exodus 21:1-24:16; Jeremiah 34:8-34:22; 33:25-26; Matthew 5:38-42; 17:1-11.

Jesus taught that the entire Torah hangs on two laws, to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matt 22:37-40). These two laws are found in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, so this was not new teaching Jesus was giving.

However, it may have been an additional revelation to those listening to Jesus that all of God's teaching emanates from just two main principles. Simply put, the heart of Torah is the love of God, which he wants us to receive and to live by.

Unity in the Law

Last week we read the Ten Commandments. This week we read a wider range of laws and it takes some prayerful meditation to determine how the entire Torah holds together as a unity of love to God and our neighbour.

Judaism traditionally holds that there are 613 individual commandments. Though this is not necessarily a perfect count, it is certainly a good estimate. Does that mean that if we remembered hundreds of individual laws and earnestly obeyed them that we would be fulfilling the command to love God and our neighbour? Not necessarily.

Good though it might sound, this could easily become an act of the flesh – something we struggle and strive (and ultimately fail) to achieve in our own strength, without dependence on God. The spiritual gift of love is not so limited in its scope. If we receive it from God first, then we will find that Torah observance follows as a natural outcome.

The Heart Behind the Commands

Meditate on the laws in our Torah portion this week and see if you experience a response of understanding in your spirit that confirms Jesus' teaching. It is this spiritual response which naturally results in God's moral and ethical principles being lived out - including the precise laws that Moses codified, but also expanding into an infinite number of applications, stemming from the heart principles that the laws represent. The Sermon on the Mount should be understood in this way.

How important is this? Take Exodus 21:22-25 (for example). On face value this concerns the penalty for harming an unborn child in the circumstance of two men fighting. But that is too limiting. The heart principle here is God's love for children yet unborn and his exhortation that we too must be careful with the unborn child. If God's heart were understood through Torah principles, how would we ever have allowed the abortion of children in our nation?

As we read this week's Torah portion, let us ask God to show us the heart issues behind the specific laws - especially when they are relevant for today.

Author: Clifford Denton

"This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God." (2 Cor 9:12)

Friday 12 February 2016

Dear Praying Friend,

Help us spread the word about Prophecy Today UK!

As we plan a day of thanksgiving on Saturday 9 April to celebrate the first birthday of the new on-line version of Prophecy Today, we are rejoicing in all the Lord has done so far - and praising him for all he is going to do in the future. We firmly believe that the Lord knows the end from the beginning, and that all the discordant-seeming affairs of the nations are entirely unsurprising to the Sovereign God who created all things.

Prophecy Today seeks to inform the church's witness in these testing times by offering a balanced biblical understanding of current affairs, and a prophetic insight into how the Lord is working his purposes out in this generation.

We really want to thank you for your partnership in this ministry - the careful, prayerful and watchful contributions of our writers (all unpaid) are encouraged and sustained by your partnership with us in the Gospel; every word is underpinned by your faithful prayers. We thank God for the privilege of labouring together with you to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray the Lord will use Prophecy Today to encourage and strengthen his church to speak clearly into the nation and these times.

The number of hits on the Prophecy Today website continues to grow month by month. Over 1,000 people now receive our regular weekly e-mail updates. But we know there are still many churches who are not even aware this ministry exists.

So we're writing to ask for your help.

If you haven't already done so, could you draw Prophecy Today to the attention of your local church? Not only to strengthen its ministry, but to include us in its prayers, and perhaps in its tithing: Prophecy Today is a faith ministry, and our operating costs are borne entirely by the Lord's generosity through his people.

Unlike a print magazine, it costs around £2,000 a month to maintain the service - irrespective of how many people use it. So the maths is fairly simple: the greater the number of active supporters, the greater the chance of Prophecy Today being able to continue developing. We stepped out in faith on day one, and our existing partners already give generously. But we now need to bring additional donations into the storehouse if we are to sustain the service for the longer term.

If partnering with us in this way is something you feel able to do, do visit our Support page.

Meanwhile, we continue to give thanks to God for the ways in which he is using this internet-based ministry to bring new blessings – from the pastors who print out our e-mail updates to encourage the prayers of house-bound parishioners, to the Messianic believers in Israel, tapping into the teaching resources on the site. Please continue with us in praying in the Lord's provision for Prophecy Today UK in the months ahead.

With love in the Lord Jesus Christ,

Chris Pateman

Associate Director
Prophecy Today UK

(On behalf of the Editorial Board)

Weekly Passages: Exodus 18:1-20:26; Isaiah 6:1–7:6; 9:5-7; Matthew 5:8-20.

What emotion does the thought of meeting with God bring to our hearts? Fear? Terror? Intrigue? Longing? Or 'How?' (at the impossibility of it)? This week's Torah portion reflects on this meeting, but turns the thought of its impossibility on its head. For God desires to meet with you!

Meetings on Mount Sinai

He met Moses at a bush that seemed to be on fire but was not consumed, and commissioned him to bring the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and into the desert, specifically to meet with him (Ex 19:17). Later, God instructed Moses to build a Tabernacle in the desert according to a specific pattern, which he called the Tent of Meeting (ohel meod, Lev 9:23). It was where he would dwell among them. It is interesting that God called his people into the desert to meet with him.

God called his people into the desert to meet with him.

Moses himself had spent 40 years in the desert in Midian before God called him to lead the Children of Israel to the land he had searched out for them - the most beautiful of all lands (Ezek 20:6). Now at Mount Sinai, God chooses to meet with his people. He calls to them through Moses to show them his glory and power, and he establishes his awesome holy nature before them.

Chosen and Called

He then presents them with the requirements for a chosen people to be in covenant relationship with him - the Ten Words (Commandments) - and encourages them to obey his voice and keep his covenant, so they could be a peculiar treasure to him, above all other peoples, living under his protection and blessings. In this, he chooses Israel as a husband chooses his bride, with the joys and responsibilities that this brings.

On Mount Sinai, God affirms that he has chosen Israel as a husband chooses his bride – with all the joys and responsibilities that this brings.

Their calling is to be a kingdom of priests (who serve God) and a holy nation (to be separate from other nations), to carry the word and the knowledge of God to all the earth and especially to reflect God's Name and character to the nations around them. This is the calling of Gentiles too - those who have met the God of Israel through his Son Jesus.

Ultimately Israel will (through Messiah) be a light to all nations (Isa 49:6), because it is God's redemptive plan for all mankind, instituted through the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel). God is faithful to his covenant - he doesn't have a Plan B. All who will respond, Jew and Gentile, God promises to bring to his holy mountain, and "make them joyful in My House of prayer...for My House shall be called a House of prayer for all peoples" (Isa 56:6-7).

Prayer indicates the essential and intimate nature of this relationship - the product of this desert meeting. Paul encourages us to rejoice, pray and thank God continually (1 Thess 5:16-18).

Prayer indicates the purpose and nature of this desert meeting - relationship.

Intimacy Born in the Desert Place

The holy nature of this intimacy is born out of a desert experience. Like God who is holy and separated from worldly values, Israel was (and is still) called to be "separated from all people that are on the face of the earth" (Ex 33:16). So God calls them into the desert for this, to learn two lessons:

1. They find out who they were: vulnerable, complaining, wanting to go back to the comforts of Egypt, thirsty, hungry, dependent on God's provision. For us, too, the world distracts us from our dependency on and longing for God – our experience of his provision.
2. They encounter God's faithfulness. He leads them into the desert to free them from the false gods of this world's false security. For us too, deserts are places and times of transition in our spiritual journey – to meet with God, and learn to trust him. The world offers many alternatives, but does not make us thirsty for him (Ps 42:1, 63:1).

Other Biblical Examples

Both John the Baptist and Jesus (our model) went to desert places to meet with God, and Jesus took his disciples to solitary places to meet with his Father (Mark 6:31, 46). We need the silence, solitude and holiness of a desert place where we can hear the still small voice of God above the clamour of the world. Prayer and fasting, abstinence from entertainment, and laying down our works to find vulnerability and dependence, are responses to the invitation to meet with him.

We need the silence, solitude and holiness of a desert place where we can hear the still small voice of God above the clamour of the world.

Isaiah found this in his normal priestly work in the quiet of the Temple, in his awesome encounter with the God of Israel, and he quickly recognised his need for cleansing in the presence of the One who is Holy, Holy, Holy (Isa 6:3). Mankind too is unclean, and needs iniquity (avon, perversity, moral evil) taken away and sin (missing the mark that God sets) purged (Isa 6:7).

A New and Living Way

Through Jesus' sacrifice upon the cross, he has opened the way for you and me to meet with God. For Jesus, this was a desert place where we cannot go - being made sin for us, he was forsaken by his Father (Matt 27:46). His crucified body became the means by which the veil separating Israel (and Gentiles too) from God was torn open. We now have boldness to enter into the presence of God by the blood of Jesus - a new and living way (Heb 10:10, 19).

Through this encounter with the Living God, and by engaging with his teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt 5:5-20), we may choose a lifestyle that brings blessing – humility, meekness, righteousness, mercy, peace-making, purity of heart - that will enable us to stay in his presence and fulfil our calling to be witnesses to him, to the ends of the earth.

The desert is a doorway to much blessing and wonder, because it leads us into the arms of the God who loves us, and gave his Son to die for us, that we might live – in him.

Author: Greg Stevenson

Weekly readings: Exodus 13:17-17:16; Judges 4:4-5:31; John 6:15-71

Fresh from release from Egyptian captivity, the Israelites make their way into the desert, led by Moses and guided by the Lord's presence. Soon they are confronted with new threats to their existence: annihilation by the pursuing Egyptian army, death by thirst, death by starvation.

The story is well-known: as each problem provokes the people to panic, so God responds with patient care and miraculous provision - the Red Sea is parted and the Egyptian army completely destroyed; bitter water is made sweet; manna and quail are provided daily for food; water is caused to spring from desert rock.

Provision of Bread

Despite all these miracles, Israel's 40-year desert wanderings are marked by a persistent, community-wide refusal to trust in the Lord and his promise of provision. The scriptures record this as a time when God tests the Children of Israel – and sadly, they in turn respond by testing him (Ex 15:25; 17:2; Deut 6:16).

When manna is provided each morning, along with the instruction that each person should gather only what they need for that day, some obey without question. Others insist on hedging their bets and gathering enough for the following day - only to find that it rotted overnight (Ex 16:20). Then, despite this ongoing miracle of daily 'bread from heaven', it is not long before the Israelites begin to complain because they doubt God's willingness to provide water (Ex 17:1-7).

The Bread of Life

In John 6, we again witness varied responses to God's divine provision – in this case his provision of Jesus as the Bread of Life, the fulfilment of the prophetic foreshadow of the manna. In this passage Jesus makes a speech that – for those without understanding of its spiritual significance – seems to make very little sense (and was even thought offensive). In the face of this "hard teaching" (John 6:60), how do people respond?

As with God in the Exodus desert, some turn against Jesus and grumble. Many of his 'disciples' leave him from that day on. Only Peter has the courage to declare faith in Jesus – not understanding of his words, necessarily, but faith that he is the Holy One of God, the giver of life.

Who Does the Testing?

In both of these passages, God tests his people, requiring them to take steps of faith and trust which lead them beyond their own strength and understanding. His desire is for them to learn the deeper lesson that "man does not live by bread alone, but...by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord" (Deut 8:3, 16).

Ultimately, when God tests us with difficult circumstances, he is not testing our endurance, strength or intellect, our ability to understand difficult teaching or even our capacity to discern spiritual truth – he is testing our willingness to put our faith in Jesus.

Our response to the matter in hand reveals our heart towards God himself: will we trust him? Will we follow him joyfully and willingly - or doubtingly, trying at every turn to wrest control from his hands? An old hymn states: "we never can prove the delights of His love, until all on the altar we lay; for the favour He shows, for the joy He bestows, are for them who will trust and obey."¹

If our response is as those who tried to collect two days' worth of manna – to test the Lord by making a show of obedience whilst trying to retain control – then we love ourselves more than we love God. Bonhoeffer remarked that "Where our treasure is, there is our trust, our security, our consolation and our God. Hoarding is idolatry."²

Willingness to Trust

In the journey of faith, God does not require us to be especially skilled or talented, intelligent or experienced. He does not even require us to have the strength needed to obey his call – just the willingness. As Deborah put it in Judges 4-5, when some Israeli tribes turned out to fight the Canaanites and some hung back, God is simply looking for "willing volunteers" (5:9).

Do we think our God has changed since Bible times? No, he is the same yesterday, today and forever. Psalm 95 exhorts: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did...in the desert where your fathers tested and tried me" (7-9). Instead, we are to "bow down in worship...kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care" (95:6-7). It is the heart of God to provide and care for your every need – will you trust him today?

Author: Frances Rabbitts

As UK Christians remember the Holocaust this week (27 January marking the day in 1945 when Auschwitz was liberated), they have been reminded that it was spawned by godlessness and the rejection of faith.

Amalek Cruelty

Steven Jaffe,¹ a member of the UK's Jewish Board of Deputies, was addressing a largely Christian audience at a church in Sheffield, Yorkshire. He said the exodus from Egypt was immediately followed by the battle with Amalek, who had no reason to attack Israel. There was no territorial dispute or history of conflict, for example. And they attacked the sick and the elderly – those who were most vulnerable (Deut 25:17-18).

"The conflict with Amalek is not over", he said. Amalek denied God and his power in the same way the Nazis did, and the latter mirrored their lack of mercy. Jaffe recalled that Britain's former Chief Rabbi, Lord Sachs, was once asked where God was during the Holocaust, to which he is said to have replied: "Where was man?"

Growing Godlessness

My worry is that the growing influence of rank atheism in Britain and Europe will have a bearing on the future of anti-Semitism. The poisonous view that God does not exist naturally leads to godless behaviour and thought, even among those previously tutored in godly ways. The result is that even some who claim to have faith, and who perhaps stand in pulpits, start believing the lie that is proclaimed so often through almost every strand of media.

My worry is that the growing influence of rank atheism in Britain and Europe will have a bearing on the future of anti-Semitism.

It is indeed frustrating that, as fast as we spread word about the horrors of the Holocaust, vowing that it should never be repeated, the vile infestation of anti-Semitism creeps into every crack and crevice of our broken society, as the walls of our Judeo-Christian civilisation come crashing down around us.

Loathing of Israel

In polite Britain, hatred of Jews is generally not expressed openly, but often takes the form of a loathing of Israel, so that the very mention of the Jewish state is enough to raise the hackles not only of the politically-aware man in the street, but of the semi-biblically aware man in the pew.

As Jaffe told the Bush Fire Church, such loathing cannot be explained in rational terms. But he was spot on, I believe, in linking the phenomenon with a society that has thrown God out of the window. Pledges of never letting it happen again are not enough, in my opinion; without a recovery of faith in the God of Israel, there can be no guarantee that another holocaust won't take place.

In recent months, Iran has been boasting of how its nuclear deal last year "has provided an historic opportunity to...face threats posed by the Zionist entity"². It is well to recall that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, collaborated with Hitler, setting the stage for today's jihad against Israel.³ And yet, bizarrely, former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and current Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas have both publicly denied that the Holocaust ever took place.⁴

In polite Britain, hatred of Jews is generally not expressed openly, but often takes the form of a loathing of Israel.

Holocaust memorial, Berlin. See Photo Credits.

Light in the Darkness

Against such a dark background, however, there is plenty of encouragement. The Sheffield gathering heard much about the heroic acts of so-called 'righteous Gentiles' like Sir Nicholas Winton, who rescued 669 Jewish children from Czechoslovakia in 1938. Generations of people – almost 7,000 of some of the world's greatest doctors, lawyers, teachers and inventors – owe their lives to the act of one man's efforts to help Jewish children escape the Nazis.

Last year in Leeds the Shalom Declaration was launched, with hundreds signing a commitment to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, fight anti-Semitism and promote solidarity with Israel. Steven Jaffe himself said that this is sending out a clear message of Christian support for Britain's Jewish community. "There isn't a corner of the British Isles that the Shalom Declaration has not been signed", he said.

On the faith front, we were told that "there are more Jews learning the Torah today in Israel that at any time in our history", preparing them well for the great event we are perhaps soon to witness when Jesus reveals himself on a grand scale to his brothers in the flesh.

Forgiveness Vital

Though many Jews quite understandably have a problem with this, especially with the Holocaust in mind, we are reminded that the key is forgiveness. When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he had already long since forgiven them for acting treacherously against him.

Pledges of never letting it happen again are not enough: without a recovery of faith in the God of Israel, there can be no guarantee that another holocaust won't take place.

British television viewers were recently treated to a remarkable Channel 4 documentary, The Girl Who Forgave the Nazis,⁵ recounting the story of how Hungarian Jew Eva Kor, now 81, a former inmate of Auschwitz, has publicly forgiven 94-year-old Oskar Groenig, the death camp's former accountant, who was recently sentenced to four years in jail for his part in the Nazi's evil scheme.

Eva and her twin sister Miriam were experimented on by the infamous Dr Josef Mengele, but survived the camp. Eva said: "It's time to forgive, but not forget...I believe that forgiveness is such a powerful thing...and I want everybody to help me sow these seeds of peace throughout the world."

This takes amazing courage. But it is worth remembering that Jesus, our Messiah, made the first move when he prayed as he died in agony on a cross in Jerusalem: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases..." (Ps 103:2-3)

"Seek the Lord while he may be found...for he will freely pardon." (Isa 55:6-7)

Charles Gardner is author of Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com.

References

1 Jaffe works with the British Board of Deputies as a Communal Engagement with Israel Consultant. See Board of Deputies website. Jaffe has previously reported elsewhere on Christian support for Israel.

2 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Beirut, 12 August 2015. See Times of Israel coverage here, written by Newman/AFP.

3 Soakell, D. Christian Friends of Israel's Watching Over Zion newsletter, 21 January.

4 Ibid.

5 Originally broadcast on Channel 4, Saturday 23 January, 8pm. Still available on 4oD.