Tzav/Command
Leviticus 6:8-8:36
Jeremiah 7:21-8:3,9:22-23
The torah portion this week lays out some of the ‘mechanics’ of functioning with the required offerings etc. What we don’t want to miss here for starters is, “why do any of this in the first place?”…or maybe, “does it really matter exactly how we do it?” I can’t take too much liberty with the space here, nor the time you have to invest and ponder, but the “why” will answer a lot of questions in their future (the Children of Israel) and ultimately in ours (Jew and Gentile believers in Jesus).
This enormous ‘project and life-style’ was initiated by the Holy One of Israel, when Moses came down from the mountain, after standing on the Sea of Glass and experiencing the realities of the heavenly realm (the Tabernacle made without hands). The Lord in His graciousness and love for His creation, allows Moses, to let’s say, build a ‘replica’ of what he saw and experienced with the Lord on the mountain. Now let’s stop here and realize; this is no small thing: in scope and in promise on God’s part. How do you build something that exists where there is no sin and no time, and reduce it to the elements that are available on a ‘fallen’ planet, full of deterioration and sin? So thus, to this the Lord says, “build it according to the pattern I showed you on the mountain”…as to say: “if you use what is available to you in a prescribed manner, I (the Lord) will recognize it as if it were ‘where I dwell’”. The practical implications of all this for Israel and all of humanity is astounding! You can ‘park’ here for a while and contemplate this, but I better move on.
Now we find ourselves in the haftorah portion in Jeremiah many years after Moses’ time with God on the ‘mountain’. It becomes apparent that time has, shall we say, eroded the understanding and connection to the original plan and purpose of the tabernacle and the sacrifices. Israel finds itself where we are all capable of going: dead religion! We might have some of the mechanics right; though we usually fudge on those too (blemished sacrifice instead of unblemished etc.). It all seems so much less cumbersome and way more efficient to not be so choosy about the sacrifice you bring; at least I know the feeling… As a result, it’s easy to wonder, “Where did God go, I thought He said He would never leave us or forsake us. He sure seems ‘distant’ and angry lately…some loving God!” Could it be me, and not Him? “Those other gods that seem so much easier to please, probably just make Him jealous”, we might say! “We do have quite a rousing time worshiping these gods, though afterwards, it does feel a bit different than it used to when He was so near…” (Jeremiah 7:34) “Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the Bridegroom and the voice of the bride. For the land shall be desolate.” I’m going to ‘cheat’ here and add one extra verse to the beginning and the end of the haftorah reading, just so we can see the wonder of the God we have been joined to through His love;
Jeremiah 9:21-24 For death has come through our windows, Has entered our palaces, To kill off the children—no longer to be outside! And the young men—no longer on the streets! 22 Speak, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even the carcasses of men shall fall as refuse on the open field, Like cuttings after the harvester, And no one shall gather them.’ ” 23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
May we come out of our self-inflicted stupor and be reminded of how glorious this ‘house’ (not church) we have been brought into, really is. by john eisner
Bonus thought: What if; what if, the Lord of All Glory wasn’t just interested in us getting it all ‘right’, but rather these practices and guidelines were meant to reveal Himself to us? What if we in a false idea of Who He is turned these activities and plans into transactions rather than invitations…? Please ponder that!
Leave a Reply