Just a carrying-on point from last week - we have to remember that the Bible doesn't actually say anywhere what the standards of the children of Israel were (the Eagle, Ox, Lion, Man thing). Sometimes we can find allusions to the relation between Reuben and Man, Dan and Eagle, Judah and Lion, Ephraim and Ox, for example in Gen 49v9:
Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Yeah so those verses (what Jacob said to Judah before his death) could allude to Judah having a lion as his 'standard', but nothing is stated anywhere...But it's a pretty cool would-be-nice =) [Apparently Josephus, a historian from Jesus' time, referred to the whole Judah-lion, Reuben-man etc thing, but even was about 1000 years after (I think) so that's not proving anything]. If you're wanting the chapter where it talks about the formation and the standards, it's Numbers 2.
We looked at who went where when the camp moved off too. The Ark moved first, and then the tribes, with Levites carrying bits of the tabernacle, went too, something like this:
Judah
Issachar
Zebulun
GERSHONITES (with tabernacle)
Reuben
Simeon
Gad
KOHATHITES (with Holy things from tabernacle)
Ephraim
Manasseh
Benjamin
Dan
Asher
Napthali
Some of that may be wrong, but I'm in a hurry cause Kirsty wants the blog before the end of the week.. so can you please correct me in the comments? =) merci =)
Layout of the Camp
The priests and Levites probably stayed either in the middle of the camp, or at the corners (between the tribes, if they had kinda equal parts along the sides (so each side was split into 6, and the tribes had 3 of them, and the Levites had little boxes in the corners.) We thought the in the middle (between the Tabernacle and people) was a little more likely, because Levi means 'Join' - so they were kind of joining the people and God's worship together?
And a little flashback to the whole tribes thing - Joseph had two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who got a tribe each - this was because Jacob had chosen Joseph to be his firstborn, and firstborns got a DOUBLE PORTION (*click!*)
The tabernacle walls were above man height, so with not being able to see in, and the Levites being between the people and Tabernacle, the people were really quite separated from the Tabernacle. This is a nice little type for us - we can't SEE what's going on in heaven with Jesus and God, but that doesn't mean it's not there and it's not happening. The people weren't allowed to enter the Tabernacle, so their worship was in their everyday lives - following the Law in everything they do (it covered all the everyday stuff like food and washing too). So our worship isn't just a Sunday thing, it isn't saved for when we go to the meeting, it's to be a central part of our lives, just like the Tabernacle was in the MIDDLE of the camp. The priest would meet the congregation at the door to take the sacrifices to be burnt and do the judging etc. Jesus IS the door (He actually says 'I am the door') so we don't need a priest to come and meet us anymore - He is every role in one, and through Him WE can access the Most Holy (which before ONLY the High Priest could enter once a year.. that's pretty special!)
The Tabernacle wasn't a particularly grand structure, it wasn't showy - from the outside it was a bunch of skins, nothing special to look at. Our worship doesn't have to be grand and spectacular either, but it does have to always be with us, wherever we travel.
So why are we looking at the Tabernacle? Is it just a nice wee brain walk or is it meaningful to us? WELL. Heb 9:19-23 helps us on that
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. 21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. 22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 23 ¶ It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
This is all about everything that went on under the Law (the sacrifices etc) which includes the Tabernacle (which was where everything went on and also was a big part of the Law). The tabernacle is a 'pattern of things in the heavens'(23) - the tabernacle gives us an idea of the order of things in heaven, God's dwelling.
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Thursday, 26 March 2009
Tabernacle: Illustration for NOW: Part 1 (22/03/09)
whoops...forgot to do the blog again...
ok,..well, firstly. the tabernacle was a mobile place of worship set up during the 40 years wandering in the wilderness.
It began with Joseph being sent to Egypt in slavery,.. then Moses comes along and all the Israelites get out of Egypt after a lot of hassle, the plagues etc... and then pretty much as soon as the children of Israel are free out of Egypt, they look back moaning and grumbling about what they had there, such as food. (and the cucumbers, as Debbie said one week) 12 spies are sent into the land for 40 days, and only 2 come back with good reports, and the people continue grumbling. Numbers 14:34 'According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.' Plus, anyone 20 years old and over would never get to the promised land, they would die in the wilderness. Eventually, Joshua takes over.
Israel is roughly the size of Wales, so Sinai where they wandered is not much bigger. They had 40 years to wander round somewhere that is just bigger than Wales... that's a long time to wander. The camp was around 2 million people - that's the population of Dundee, Edinburgh & Glasgow put together so people in cities and places obviously heard about them before they arrived anywhere (like Jericho), that's a pretty big number of people all going round together! The people who were over 20 at the start of the wandering, who would never get to the land, they would spend time teaching their kids how to be better than they had been (we looked at this in the past few weeks, in the Biblical Traditions in Storytelling studies). The tabernacle for them was a look forward, a hope.
When you go to the tabernacle, you go to the front door and the priest on your behalf slaughters the animal and puts it on the altar. the altar had a ramp up to it instead of steps - traditionally, priests couldn't show any of themselves - and if there was steps, you would see their ankles as they climbed, so a ramp was used instead so they could keep walking with their robes to the ground.
Outside was the altar and the washbasin, inside was the table of shewbread, the altar of incense and the golden lampstand. Then there was a big curtain seperating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (which if you look at the dimensions, was a perfect cube like Ezekiel's vision of the temple.. maybe we'll look at that this sunday?). Inside the Most Holy Place was the ark of the covenant which was covered in gold and had cherubim on the top, or the mercy seat.
The temple is a big version of the tabernacle. When Jesus was crucified, the curtain in the temple tore from TOP to bottom - man could not have done this! If people were on the ground grabbing the curtain, it would've torn from bottom to top. Jesus had opene the way to the Holy Place for us, it was impossible to get to before.
The tabernacle was surrounded by all the people - there were 3 tribes to the north, 3 tribes to the east and so on. The 12 tribes were the 12 sons of Jacob - except Levi, because they were the priests. That makes it 11. Instead of Joseph (that makes 10), there was the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, his sons (that makes 12) which relates to the double portion. Now, on each of these sides, north east south and west, there was a lead tribe, Dan, Ephraim, Reuben and Judah. The symbols on the flags for each lead tribe were the Ox, Eagle, Lion and Man.
The cherubum in Ezekiel 1 has these 4 heads, and the formation of the heads is in the same position as the lead tribe symbols around the tabernacle! how cool is that!
------- Eagle --------
---- Ox ---- Lion ----
------- Man --------
(so for the tabernacle layout, imagine it in the central box of the 4 words, and thats how it looked on the cherubim in Ezek 1)
An ox stands for labourer, worker, servant.
The eagle is spiritual - it flies very high in the sky but still sees its prey with its brilliant eyes
The lion is typically the King, it has power and strength.
and Man, that's human nature.
Philippians 2:4-9
'Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.'
Jesus was farsighted (Eagle), was in the form of God but did not count equality, took form of a servant - so (Ox) and (Man) will become King soon (Lion).
The picture in the the tabernacle was centuries before Ezekiel!
Tabernacle -- garden of Eden! Holy Place, gates with cherubim guarding, most holy place set apart.
**Homework** Look at Philippians 2:4-11 and write out in some form you understand. Highlight the bits related to the 4 heads. Hope I've not done too much of that already... just write it out in your own words, your understanding.
ok,..well, firstly. the tabernacle was a mobile place of worship set up during the 40 years wandering in the wilderness.
It began with Joseph being sent to Egypt in slavery,.. then Moses comes along and all the Israelites get out of Egypt after a lot of hassle, the plagues etc... and then pretty much as soon as the children of Israel are free out of Egypt, they look back moaning and grumbling about what they had there, such as food. (and the cucumbers, as Debbie said one week) 12 spies are sent into the land for 40 days, and only 2 come back with good reports, and the people continue grumbling. Numbers 14:34 'According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.' Plus, anyone 20 years old and over would never get to the promised land, they would die in the wilderness. Eventually, Joshua takes over.
Israel is roughly the size of Wales, so Sinai where they wandered is not much bigger. They had 40 years to wander round somewhere that is just bigger than Wales... that's a long time to wander. The camp was around 2 million people - that's the population of Dundee, Edinburgh & Glasgow put together so people in cities and places obviously heard about them before they arrived anywhere (like Jericho), that's a pretty big number of people all going round together! The people who were over 20 at the start of the wandering, who would never get to the land, they would spend time teaching their kids how to be better than they had been (we looked at this in the past few weeks, in the Biblical Traditions in Storytelling studies). The tabernacle for them was a look forward, a hope.
When you go to the tabernacle, you go to the front door and the priest on your behalf slaughters the animal and puts it on the altar. the altar had a ramp up to it instead of steps - traditionally, priests couldn't show any of themselves - and if there was steps, you would see their ankles as they climbed, so a ramp was used instead so they could keep walking with their robes to the ground.
Outside was the altar and the washbasin, inside was the table of shewbread, the altar of incense and the golden lampstand. Then there was a big curtain seperating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (which if you look at the dimensions, was a perfect cube like Ezekiel's vision of the temple.. maybe we'll look at that this sunday?). Inside the Most Holy Place was the ark of the covenant which was covered in gold and had cherubim on the top, or the mercy seat.
The temple is a big version of the tabernacle. When Jesus was crucified, the curtain in the temple tore from TOP to bottom - man could not have done this! If people were on the ground grabbing the curtain, it would've torn from bottom to top. Jesus had opene the way to the Holy Place for us, it was impossible to get to before.
The tabernacle was surrounded by all the people - there were 3 tribes to the north, 3 tribes to the east and so on. The 12 tribes were the 12 sons of Jacob - except Levi, because they were the priests. That makes it 11. Instead of Joseph (that makes 10), there was the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, his sons (that makes 12) which relates to the double portion. Now, on each of these sides, north east south and west, there was a lead tribe, Dan, Ephraim, Reuben and Judah. The symbols on the flags for each lead tribe were the Ox, Eagle, Lion and Man.
The cherubum in Ezekiel 1 has these 4 heads, and the formation of the heads is in the same position as the lead tribe symbols around the tabernacle! how cool is that!
------- Eagle --------
---- Ox ---- Lion ----
------- Man --------
(so for the tabernacle layout, imagine it in the central box of the 4 words, and thats how it looked on the cherubim in Ezek 1)
An ox stands for labourer, worker, servant.
The eagle is spiritual - it flies very high in the sky but still sees its prey with its brilliant eyes
The lion is typically the King, it has power and strength.
and Man, that's human nature.
Philippians 2:4-9
'Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.'
Jesus was farsighted (Eagle), was in the form of God but did not count equality, took form of a servant - so (Ox) and (Man) will become King soon (Lion).
The picture in the the tabernacle was centuries before Ezekiel!
Tabernacle -- garden of Eden! Holy Place, gates with cherubim guarding, most holy place set apart.
**Homework** Look at Philippians 2:4-11 and write out in some form you understand. Highlight the bits related to the 4 heads. Hope I've not done too much of that already... just write it out in your own words, your understanding.
oh -and here's something jon just sent me...
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Biblical Tradition Of Storytelling - Parables
Why did Jesus tell parables? In Matthew 13 Jesus was also asked why he told parables Matthew 13 v 10 -17: ‘10. Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11. And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. 15. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them. 16. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.’
So there is a division here: people that will hear and will know , and a group that will not listen and will not know. There is not a middle group though, its just separated into the two groups.
Matthew 13 v 34 + 35: ‘34. All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.’ This is quoting from the Psalms. Psalm 78 v 2 ‘I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark savings from of old’
Jesus spoke to everybody and those who were there, he wanted a response from them though and wanted them to think about the Word rather than just hearing it, which is why he spoke in parables. When Jesus spoke parables people would respond and think about it. Jesus also spoke from the past as well. Isaiah 6 v 9 + 10 ‘9. and he said ‘Go, and say to this people: keep on hearing but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears were heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.’
Psalm 78 v 1-8 ‘1. Give ear, O my people to my teaching; incline your eyes to the words of my mouth! 2. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark savings from of old, 3. Things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. 4. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. 5. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, 6. that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell the children, 7. So that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep his commandments; 8. and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.’ The word ‘parable’ is a different type of parable from the way we know it to be. A parable is a form of storytelling with a lesson and a meaning, a passing on of what has happened before. v8. ‘. and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.’ The rest of Psalm 78 talks about what God did and the children making the wrong actions, it’s a great lesson. v7. ‘So that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep his commandments;’ Its told the message is timeless, it will keep its relevance. If we don’t think about it it’s a story, if we do then a parable becomes a lesson, it has a message.
There are several layers to a parable – like an onion has several layers and you have to unpeel them. There is still more to uncover and to understand, another aspect of the message. We have to give our time and thought to think about what each parable means.
One parable is Matthew 22 v 2 – 14 – the wedding feast. ‘2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” An unfair story. Why is this parable unfair? The guests were provided with clothes to wear, but one man chose not to wear them, and he was thrown out, he didn’t care and wasn't prepared to accept what the invitation was. It teaches us not to be stubborn and not to repeat the mistakes. The purpose was to teach us about the kingdom – v2 ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son’ being at the feast is like being in the kingdom. The King is God and the marriage and feast for the King’s son is Jesus. v7 ‘The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.’ What could this refer to? – Israel and the covenant? The response of the Jews? It might be telling us when God sent the Babylons and the Romans against them, God uses these people to bring what is necessary. v9 ‘Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ Speaking of the Gentiles – Galations 3 – everybody ahs the chance to. We’re given freewill – The opportunity to listen, and to read these parables and learn about them, and learn from them as well. Each parable is a story and telling us a meaning and giving us a lesson to learn.
Sorry Kenneth its not quite 5000 words, but 1378 is close enough.
So there is a division here: people that will hear and will know , and a group that will not listen and will not know. There is not a middle group though, its just separated into the two groups.
Matthew 13 v 34 + 35: ‘34. All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.’ This is quoting from the Psalms. Psalm 78 v 2 ‘I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark savings from of old’
Jesus spoke to everybody and those who were there, he wanted a response from them though and wanted them to think about the Word rather than just hearing it, which is why he spoke in parables. When Jesus spoke parables people would respond and think about it. Jesus also spoke from the past as well. Isaiah 6 v 9 + 10 ‘9. and he said ‘Go, and say to this people: keep on hearing but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears were heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.’
Psalm 78 v 1-8 ‘1. Give ear, O my people to my teaching; incline your eyes to the words of my mouth! 2. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark savings from of old, 3. Things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. 4. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. 5. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, 6. that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell the children, 7. So that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep his commandments; 8. and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.’ The word ‘parable’ is a different type of parable from the way we know it to be. A parable is a form of storytelling with a lesson and a meaning, a passing on of what has happened before. v8. ‘. and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.’ The rest of Psalm 78 talks about what God did and the children making the wrong actions, it’s a great lesson. v7. ‘So that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep his commandments;’ Its told the message is timeless, it will keep its relevance. If we don’t think about it it’s a story, if we do then a parable becomes a lesson, it has a message.
There are several layers to a parable – like an onion has several layers and you have to unpeel them. There is still more to uncover and to understand, another aspect of the message. We have to give our time and thought to think about what each parable means.
One parable is Matthew 22 v 2 – 14 – the wedding feast. ‘2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” An unfair story. Why is this parable unfair? The guests were provided with clothes to wear, but one man chose not to wear them, and he was thrown out, he didn’t care and wasn't prepared to accept what the invitation was. It teaches us not to be stubborn and not to repeat the mistakes. The purpose was to teach us about the kingdom – v2 ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son’ being at the feast is like being in the kingdom. The King is God and the marriage and feast for the King’s son is Jesus. v7 ‘The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.’ What could this refer to? – Israel and the covenant? The response of the Jews? It might be telling us when God sent the Babylons and the Romans against them, God uses these people to bring what is necessary. v9 ‘Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ Speaking of the Gentiles – Galations 3 – everybody ahs the chance to. We’re given freewill – The opportunity to listen, and to read these parables and learn about them, and learn from them as well. Each parable is a story and telling us a meaning and giving us a lesson to learn.
Sorry Kenneth its not quite 5000 words, but 1378 is close enough.
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Biblical Tradition of Storytelling - Psalms
This week we looked at the 3 basic types of storytelling in the Psalms.
We read Psalm 105, which tells us of the Israelites coming out of Egypt.
This is the first type of storytelling. It's a record of what's happened in a form to keep on moving forward.
We then read Psalm 72, which is a Psalm of David. The chapter's about David's experiences and him handing over his kingship to his son, Solomon. We discussed the first verse of the chapter to determine who the "king" and the "son"were. The first thought was that the king was david, and the son was Solomon, and it was talking of David passing on his kingship to his son. The other thought was that the king was God, and the son Jesus. A prophecy of how Jesus will perform God's purpose.
So the second type of storytelling are the Psalms of David, which talk of David's life, pointing forward to Jesus.
Our final reading was Psalm 83, which is a Psalm of Asaph. This Psalm falls into the category of the third type of storytelling in the Psalms. The Psalmist is telling a story of what is to happen in the future. It's pointing forward to what's happening now, with the wars between the arab nations and Israel.
Hamework
Find more Psalms that are of the 3 types's of storytelling.
1. A record of what's happened in a form to keep on moving forward.
2. Psalms of David, pointing forward to Jesus.
3. Psalms that point forward to the future/present day.
We read Psalm 105, which tells us of the Israelites coming out of Egypt.
This is the first type of storytelling. It's a record of what's happened in a form to keep on moving forward.
We then read Psalm 72, which is a Psalm of David. The chapter's about David's experiences and him handing over his kingship to his son, Solomon. We discussed the first verse of the chapter to determine who the "king" and the "son"were. The first thought was that the king was david, and the son was Solomon, and it was talking of David passing on his kingship to his son. The other thought was that the king was God, and the son Jesus. A prophecy of how Jesus will perform God's purpose.
So the second type of storytelling are the Psalms of David, which talk of David's life, pointing forward to Jesus.
Our final reading was Psalm 83, which is a Psalm of Asaph. This Psalm falls into the category of the third type of storytelling in the Psalms. The Psalmist is telling a story of what is to happen in the future. It's pointing forward to what's happening now, with the wars between the arab nations and Israel.
Hamework
Find more Psalms that are of the 3 types's of storytelling.
1. A record of what's happened in a form to keep on moving forward.
2. Psalms of David, pointing forward to Jesus.
3. Psalms that point forward to the future/present day.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Biblical Tradition of Storytelling - Festivals (Feb 22nd)
In the Bible there are traditions in storytelling.
Animators, illustrators - they're storytellers. Stories are diverting yourself away from reality - when's it ok and when's it not? There was a reason God gave us the ability to tell stories and to want to hear stories.
1 Cor 10 is Paul recounting a story of something that actually happened - when the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea.
Buddaism is an idealogy. Buddha thought of a bunch of ideas and people nowadays LIVE from these ideas, whereas we live by what scripture says.
1 Cor 10 goes on to explain that ideally we should be learning from other peoples' mistakes so that we don't have to make them . The wilderness journey in Exodus had a whole bunch of mistakes. (1 Cor 10:6 'now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did')
Now. The stories in Scripture are true --except the parables. Jesus used stories based on real things, grounded in reality for people to learn. He used things they could relate to, just as in one of the letters in the Bible the writer says something about "remember your ancestor Abraham" so that the people can relate to it more and understand better. Found it - it doesn't say "remember your ancestor Abraham", it's the note i have. its for galatians 3:28,29 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.' Paul is talking to the Jews here so he's trying to convince them by bringing up their forefather Abraham.
Deut 4, 6, Exodus 10. In Exodus 10 it talks about the day for a year. When the children of Israel had just left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, they started grumbling because they'd left all that behind and were now wandering in the middle of nowhere, so they sent spies into the land for 40 days - and were punished that they would spend 40 years wandering. (Numbers 14:34). Also anyone over 20 would die - they would wander and wander but never get the land. If you were wandering for 40 years, you aren't going to spend the whole time moping- you'd teach your children how to better than you had.
In Hebrews 11 it tells us how Abraham was to come out of Ur of the Chaldees (which was the most civilised place of that time). Hebrews 11:10 'he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God'. Abraham left all he had and wandered, not knowing where he was going. Deut 4:9 - remember things they've experienced in their life. They were to take these experiences and make them live in the hearts of their children (also in Deut 6:7).
We talked about how much fun it was when you were a little kid, to sleep in a tent in the back garden overnight instead of staying in the house. They did something similar in Leviticus 23, they enacted the wilderness journey, they dwelt in booths for 7 days - how much fun for the children! Lev 23:42,43 'You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All natice Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.'
homework - look at Hosea 4:6 and write how it relates to what we looked at
Animators, illustrators - they're storytellers. Stories are diverting yourself away from reality - when's it ok and when's it not? There was a reason God gave us the ability to tell stories and to want to hear stories.
1 Cor 10 is Paul recounting a story of something that actually happened - when the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea.
Buddaism is an idealogy. Buddha thought of a bunch of ideas and people nowadays LIVE from these ideas, whereas we live by what scripture says.
1 Cor 10 goes on to explain that ideally we should be learning from other peoples' mistakes so that we don't have to make them . The wilderness journey in Exodus had a whole bunch of mistakes. (1 Cor 10:6 'now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did')
Now. The stories in Scripture are true --except the parables. Jesus used stories based on real things, grounded in reality for people to learn. He used things they could relate to, just as in one of the letters in the Bible the writer says something about "remember your ancestor Abraham" so that the people can relate to it more and understand better. Found it - it doesn't say "remember your ancestor Abraham", it's the note i have. its for galatians 3:28,29 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.' Paul is talking to the Jews here so he's trying to convince them by bringing up their forefather Abraham.
Deut 4, 6, Exodus 10. In Exodus 10 it talks about the day for a year. When the children of Israel had just left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, they started grumbling because they'd left all that behind and were now wandering in the middle of nowhere, so they sent spies into the land for 40 days - and were punished that they would spend 40 years wandering. (Numbers 14:34). Also anyone over 20 would die - they would wander and wander but never get the land. If you were wandering for 40 years, you aren't going to spend the whole time moping- you'd teach your children how to better than you had.
In Hebrews 11 it tells us how Abraham was to come out of Ur of the Chaldees (which was the most civilised place of that time). Hebrews 11:10 'he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God'. Abraham left all he had and wandered, not knowing where he was going. Deut 4:9 - remember things they've experienced in their life. They were to take these experiences and make them live in the hearts of their children (also in Deut 6:7).
We talked about how much fun it was when you were a little kid, to sleep in a tent in the back garden overnight instead of staying in the house. They did something similar in Leviticus 23, they enacted the wilderness journey, they dwelt in booths for 7 days - how much fun for the children! Lev 23:42,43 'You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All natice Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.'
homework - look at Hosea 4:6 and write how it relates to what we looked at
Thursday, 12 February 2009
The Name of God - El
This is the third and last in our Name of God lessons (which were very good and helpful =D )
El:
- basically means 'God'
- was used of the idols of other nations as well ('gods'), not just our God
- but it can also have meanings of 'strength,' 'mighty' and 'Almighty'
- translated as 'God', 'goodly', 'idol', 'mighty one' and others
Elohim
- it comes from 'El'
- a kind of simplified version of the meaning would be 'mighty ones' but it is so often used with a singular verb that it doesn't give the impression that it is many gods, or god as many (eg the Trinity..)
To solve this problem, we looked at another word, 'chaiyah' (spelling?), that has a plural that is often really meaning singular. i guess 'sheep' is an english word that is kind of the same - it can be singular or plural.
We concluded that this probably meant that 'Elohim', rather than being 'mighty ones', means 'might' - again if we looked at 'chaiyah' we could get that kind of association between what the singular means and what the plural means => 'Chaiyah' means 'living one', often 'beast.' The plural ('chaiyim') can sometimes be translated 'lives', but more often 'life.' That helps us to understand how 'elohim' is used in the Bible. Confusing, I know!
So, from this, we reckoned that translating elohim as 'Almighty' is probably a very good way.
El is a word that, in Bible, is often used with other words to give lots of different sides to God's character and being. Dad thought about a kind of football prism shape with something inside - if you look in the different 'windows' you get lots of different views of God's character.
Some examples of these different views of El were:
- The One God (El Echad)
- The Faithful God (El Hanne'eman)
- The God of Truth (El Emet)
- The Righteous God (El Tsaddik)
- The All-Sufficient God (El Shaddai)
- The Most High God (El Elyon)
- The Everlasting God (El Olam)
- The God who Sees Me (El Roi)
- The God of Jeshurun (El Yeshurun)
- The Mighty God (El Gibbor)
- The God of Knowledge (El De'ot)
- The Great God (El Haggadol)
- The God of Glory (El Hakkavod)
- The Holy God (El Hakkadosh)
- The God of the Heavens (El Hashamayim)
- The God of My Life (El Chaiyai)
- The Gracious God (El-Channun)
- The God of Israel (El Yisrael)
- The God of Patience and Consolation (El Erekh Apayim avi ha-tanchumim)
- The God of Compassion (El Rachum)
- All Merciful God (El malei Rachamim)
- The God of my Salvation (El Yeshuati)
- The God of our Salvation (El Yeshuatenu)
- The Jealous God (El-Kanno)
- God with us (Immanuel)
- The Awesome God (El Hannora)
- and apparently this isn't all - the list goes on =)
We each chose one of these to take a look at (these are from a site called 'Hebrew for Christians'), one that we wanted to find out a bit more about.
Kirsty chose the The God of Jeshurun because I don't think any of us understood it. The site tells us that Jeshurun means the 'righteous people'. The references for it were Deut 32:15 and 33:5,26. The first one we found quite understand, but its about how even the upright can be swerved by prosperance (is that a word?) - 'Jeshurun grew fat and kicked'. Being too wordly through dependence on riches can lead you to do what the righteous did then - 'he forsook God who made him, adn scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation.' Our lesson is never to presume that because we believe in God we're ok, and fine where we are, thankyou very much. The second reference took us to the phrase God of Jeshurun, in v26 - 'There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to help you, and in His excellency on the clouds'. That's amazing - God is both loftyand all powerful AND cares for the righteous, those who have faith, US, although He doesn't have to - he is literally way above our station! It tell us that he is helping the righteous, His arms are wrapped protectively round them -v27 'And underneath are the everlasting arms'. Look at Is44:2
Jamie wanted to look at The Everlasting God. We looked at Isa26:4, which gives us a double description of God - LORD (Yahweh) and everlasting. We can learn from our previous lessons that this telling us that God's glory is everlasting - and will always be =). Next was Ps90:1-3. v1 starts us off with our 'Elohim', once more using his 'might' to protect us. v2 has everlasting god - his protection for us is everlasting =) Our next verse was Gen 21:33 - where Abraham plants a tree and 'there called on the nme of the LORD, the Everlasting God' - again it couples Yahweh (and our picture of God being manifest in a multitude of people) with God's everlastingness - gives us a picture of the Kingdom. Ps 93:2 gives us much the same picture.
I wanted to consider The God of My Life in Ps 42:8. And again Yahweh is used with El - almost as if to classify which El they're talking about - the God of Israel, whose glory will be manifest in a multitude of people. God is of our life, and we can make it that way by using our time to singing praises to Him. In v9 we once more have the Rock idea - that God is a our solid foundation =).
We also considered The One God. This is Mal2:10. It talks about 'we all have one Father' and how 'one God created us' and goes on to rebuke Israel for 'dealing treacherously with one another by profaning the convenant of the fathers.' This emphasizes how God is single, loyal and faithful to His chosen nation, (of which we can become a part). And how ONE God created us (like El Shaddai - the mighty creator).
There's a huge amount of lessons we got from looking at El - if I have missed any please comment or if I've just got it wrong =) Please comment anyways =)
Sunday, 1 February 2009
The Name of God - Yahweh
This week we looked at one of the names of God in Hebrew, which is Yahweh. It means “He Who Shall Be” (i am who i am).
In the readings, Jews read the word “Lord” as “Adonai” out of respect for the name of God and the commandment not to take the word of God in vain.
We read the word as "LORD" in all caps.
We started by looking at Exodus 3, where God has just commanded Moses to go to Egypt and to bring his people Israel out of captivity. Moses then asks God what his name is.
13. But, said Moses to God, "when I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" 14. God replied, "I am who I am." Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you." 15. God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. "This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations
Here God uses the 1st person (I) form, but it gives us the basis for understanding that his character and purpose is bound up in His name. The Hebrew for ‘I am who I am’ is ‘Ehyer asher Ehyeh’ - Yahweh is the 3rd person (he) form and its use in Exodus 34 helps us understand its meaning.
We looked at Exodus 33, in which we discussed God's glory. Moses pleads for God to forgive the people, and asks to see his glory. He wanted to see who God really was, but he asks for too much.
17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”
19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock.
22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
Look at Ch 34 where God proclaims his Glory and uses the expression “the LORD, the LORD God – which in the Hebrew is “Yahweh, Yahweh Elohim”. This can be translated along the lines of ‘He will be who He will be in a multitude of mighty ones’ and gives us the understanding that God’s name, character and glory will be fully shown when there is a multitude who live by His name displaying His character in their lives.
God's glory will be seen in full when the kingdom comes.
In the readings, Jews read the word “Lord” as “Adonai” out of respect for the name of God and the commandment not to take the word of God in vain.
We read the word as "LORD" in all caps.
We started by looking at Exodus 3, where God has just commanded Moses to go to Egypt and to bring his people Israel out of captivity. Moses then asks God what his name is.
13. But, said Moses to God, "when I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" 14. God replied, "I am who I am." Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you." 15. God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. "This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations
Here God uses the 1st person (I) form, but it gives us the basis for understanding that his character and purpose is bound up in His name. The Hebrew for ‘I am who I am’ is ‘Ehyer asher Ehyeh’ - Yahweh is the 3rd person (he) form and its use in Exodus 34 helps us understand its meaning.
We looked at Exodus 33, in which we discussed God's glory. Moses pleads for God to forgive the people, and asks to see his glory. He wanted to see who God really was, but he asks for too much.
17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”
19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock.
22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
Look at Ch 34 where God proclaims his Glory and uses the expression “the LORD, the LORD God – which in the Hebrew is “Yahweh, Yahweh Elohim”. This can be translated along the lines of ‘He will be who He will be in a multitude of mighty ones’ and gives us the understanding that God’s name, character and glory will be fully shown when there is a multitude who live by His name displaying His character in their lives.
God's glory will be seen in full when the kingdom comes.
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