The Need for a Monument, an Altar, Silence, and Obedience -- Deuteronomy 27:1-10

[photo: dkfindout.com -- check them out; no, this monument was not what God wanted]

Having Heard God's Laws Isn't Enough -- Deuteronomy 27:1-10

In this 27th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy Moses is joined by the "elders of Israel" in what they charge the Israelites with. Moses had done his job. The elders were convinced and now it was a team project from here on in.

To begin with (verse 1), the people are told to "Keep all the commandments." Now, that's quite an assignment.  According to tradition, there are only 613 O.T. laws and commandments that needed to be kept. Boy, did Israel ever need someone to save them from this drudgery as well.  (And they got someone who could and did complete that task about 2,000 years or so later in the person of Jesus Christ.) But for now, they thought Egypt was bad, but having to observe 613 commandments -- that's hard. Nevertheless that is the assignment that God through Moses and the elders had placed on the Israelites and by extension for anyone who would call Him Lord at that time.

Secondly in verses 2-3, we see that the people had to set up for themselves large stones, coat them with lime, and write on them "all the words of this law".  That's a lot of words.  And actually verse 8 says this writing needs to be clear, i.e. "very distinctly" written. Secondly, they had to do this "in order that you may enter the land your God gives you . . .  as promised."

Why the lime? David Guzik suggests the following:

"So the words could be easily seen, they were to whitewash them with lime. Anything we can do to make God's word more accessible to others is a good thing, as long as the integrity of God's word is preserved.Any time God's word is presented, it must be presented very plainly. Every preacher and teacher must endeavor to make the Word of God plain."

Verse 4 tells us that these stones would be set up on Mount Ebal. In addition to that, verses 5-6 indicate they had to build there "an altar of stones not using any iron tool on it, using uncut stones, and there make your offerings to the Lord." Can you believe all the details that God was still providing? There is no way that anyone today can argue successfuly that God does not care about the details in our lives. Period. Full stop. We have so much evidence in the Torah to the contrary.

Chuck Smith on God's instructions at this point:

[God desired] "that the place that they make for the worship of God be simple and natural. God did not want them building ornate places of worship. Why? Because when you come into an ornate place of worship your mind is drawn to the ornateness of the place. And you begin to glory in its architecture or in the fine carvings or in the beauty of the place itself. But God wants you when you come to worship Him not to be distracted. To stand in awe of gorgeous architecture or whatever but that your place of worship be just a simple place, that does not attract attention to itself but allows you to give your full attention unto the Lord to worship Him."

Robert Jamieson adds, "The stones were to be in their natural state, as if a chisel would communicate pollution to them. The stony pile was to be so large as to contain all the conditions of the covenant, so elevated as to be visible to the whole congregation of Israel."

Verse 7 says that site is also where they were to make their peace offerings, where they would eat and rejoice before God. That's part of both remembering and worshipping. We tend to forget that in many of our churches. Instead, when restaurants were open (pre-Covid) we remembered the eating part and then headed out to our different restaurants, usually by ourselves as couples or small families, as soon as the benediction is given. 

Now what was the difference between the erection of the stones and the separate altar? Why both? Only Matthew Henry addresses this directly. The first very large (nay, humongous) structure was to be a monument by which they would remember what God did for them and the Laws He gave them. The second structure, the altar, was a means by which they and God would communicate and relate with each other.  They would sacrifice to Him and give Him glory, and He would accept their sacrifices.

Finally in verses 9-10, the Israelites were told to "Be silent and listen!" That's the day they would become a people for the Lord their God. And that was to be followed by obedience to God's commands.

As I read this verse today I thought of what is going on in our world. Many politicians today tell us the same thing "be silent, listen, and obey". They do it with respect to the Great Reset the Global Economic Forum elites want for the world, the lockdowns and restrictions that our leaders want because of the virus, the culture cancels that are taking place because minorities don't like us, the silencing of free speech where it does not meet the agenda of the progressives, and so much more.

Should we just be silent, listen, and obey? I'm sure our answers will differ. Some of my friends say we should.  Others say only if it does not contradict the Word of God. Of course the problem arises in coming to a joint or common understanding of what kind of orders from governments and others contradict the Word of God today.  That can be tricky.  Let me give you an example.

The government says churches cannot hold services because of the virus. Yes, obey your government. What they are saying does not directly contradict the Word of God as I read it. The reason being you can still worship God on-line or alone in your home. Agreed. Now, your pastor, after much prayer with his elder group decides that God wants the church to be open; He wants His people to stand up to this introduction of tyranny as mild as it may seem at this point. There are lots of verses and passages in Scripture that say we are to heed the words of our "shepherds and pastors" as they have been appointed by God and have a grave responsibility in their leadership of us. In fact, the very passage we are studying today supports that to a certain extent. So now what do you do?  Do you show up Sunday morning?

It isn't a problem with a slam-dunk solution. Many would struggle if put in that spot. I have decided I would show up. The pastor and the elders are not telling us to do anything contrary to God's will for us as His people. And I do believe in the safety of numbers.  I've traditionally gone to a big church -- so I believe the chances of throwing two thousand of us in jail all at once are slim.  Even if they issue us tickets and we all refuse to pay them -- prosecuting all 2,000 of us would be difficult.

The only thing going against the pastor and leadership team in this case (from a Scriptural perspective) is that they may be advising us to go against the local government -- and Jesus did say "render unto Caesar the things that are his and unto God the things that are His".  So, where are we?

You can see the problem.  There's no easy solution. But there is a course of action that needs to be taken and that is this: Each and every one of us must do what is right for him or herself as he or she believes God would want them to react or act. That's all I can offer in this case. We need to be right with God individually.  And the Holy Spirit has a way of being able to relate whether we are or not -- if we listen and seek Him.  Perhaps some of our readers have another or a better solution.

Bottom Line For Us -- God wants us to remember. God wants us to worship. God wants us to be silent, listen, and obey. What the outcomes of that remembering, worshipping, being silent, listening, and obeying look like for you dear sister or brother may be different from what it looks like for someone else. But I can unequivocally say two things:  First, if we are really listening and obeying what each of us is called to do will be in God's will for us.  Secondly, as long as we are consistent with Scriptures, we need answer to no other authority. Getting to that point with humility and in total dependence on God is the hard part. 

Note to reader: If you like the way we are studying scripture, why not subscribe to our posts by providing us just with your email? You can do that to the right of this column in the "Subscribe to" section.  You can also search our earlier studies in the "Blog Archive" section below that.  Finally, please encourage others to study along with us by sharing this link with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless.  Ken G.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

What Do Obeying God, Building a Model Airplane, and Assembling IKEA Furniture Have In Common?

Obedience to God? It Has To Be His Way, In His Specified Order, and On His Exact Timing

Exodus 40:17-33:

¹⁷ Now in the first month ^[a]of the second year, on the first day of the month, the ^[b]tabernacle was erected. 

¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle and ^[c]laid its ^[d]sockets, and set up its boards, and ^[e]inserted its bars and erected its pillars. 

¹⁹ He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent ^[f]on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

²⁰ Then he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and ^[g]attached the poles to the ark, and put the ^[h]mercy seat ^[i]on top of the ark. 

²¹ He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up a veil for the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²² Then he put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. 

²³ He set the arrangement of bread in order on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

²⁴ Then he placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. 

²⁵ He lighted the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁶ Then he placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the veil; 

²⁷ and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

²⁸ Then he set up the ^[j]veil for the doorway of the tabernacle. 

²⁹ He set the altar of burnt offering before the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

³⁰ He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. 

³¹ From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 

³² When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

³³ He erected the court all around the ^[k]tabernacle and the altar, and ^[l]hung up the veil for the gateway of the court. Thus Moses finished the work.

Thoughts on the Passage

In verses 17 to 29 of this passage, we see Moses overseeing the actual assembly of the Tabernacle and all its furnishings.  Then we come to the last piece, the wash basin or lave in verse 30.  He placed it in its rightful spot and poured water into it “for washing”.

Whenever Moses, Aaron, or Aaron’s sons entered the Tent of Meeting or when they approached the altar, they had to wash their hands and feet just as God had commanded Moses. Guzik says this phrase (as God had commanded) is repeated over and over again in Exodus. Obedience is central to doing the will of God and to serving Him effectively. Every command from God requires obedience, not just those we feel like complying with.  He quotes Morgan, who writes,

“It reminds us that Divine Work must always be done according to the Divine pattern, and most strictly in the Divine way. The truth is so self-evident, that it would seem needless to stress it. Yet a perpetual temptation to the mind of man is to endeavor to improve upon a Divine plan.” 

That is often our problem in the church. We try to improve on God’s way of doing things. We think we know better as to what today’s society needs. [We believe we have an in on what teenagers need to stay in the church. And we’ve often been wrong. For example, teenagers today are not telling us we have to have a certain type of music or speak the way they speak. No, instead they tell us they want each of us to be genuine and stop being hypocrites.]

The passage also indicates that priests could not properly perform their duties without this ritual cleansing which indicates that God wants service from pure hands and feet. And though Moses was not properly a priest, Psalm 99:6 tells us that God numbered him among His priests, and Matthew Henry says “the Jewish writers call him ‘the priest of the priests’ [for] what he did he did by special warrant and direction from God, rather as a prophet, or law-giver than as a priest. He set the wheels a-going, and then left the work in the hands of the appointed ministry.” Maybe some elders on church boards need to take a lesson from Moses – he gave the instructions God gave him to well-selected individuals like Bezalel and then let them do their job, and afterward, he inspected it. He had confidence in those that were selected, and he did not get in the way of the actual work.

And then we come to the last verse of this passage or section of Chapter 40 – verse 33. Here we are told that after Moses raised up the court all around the Tabernacle and the altar, and after he hung up the screen of the court gate, we read, “So Moses finished the work.”

What a great feeling that must have been knowing that he had finished the work that God gave him to do. And little did he know at the time, that this Tabernacle he had built to God’s specifications would have such incredible symbolic meaning in the future when describing the work of our High Priest, Jesus Christ. Guzik writes,

“Hebrews 9:23-24 tells us that at some point in time (after the cross), Jesus entered the heavenly reality represented on earth by the Tabernacle, and appeared in the presence of God to offer a perfect atonement for our sins. Therefore, every time before this event, when the High Priest made atonement in the earthly tabernacle, it was “play acting” – and looking forward to – the perfect atonement the Son of God would offer.”

Matthew Henry says we should note that while the Israelites were hoping they were awfully close to the Promised Land, they did not say, (my words) “hey, let’s wait to set this thing up when we get there, since we’re so close and we don’t want to take a chance of anything breaking now”. No, they wanted to obey God in every instruction. So, set it up now they did. The lesson for us being, obey God today, worship Him today – don’t wait for what we think is a perfect time, a perfect setting.

Henry also notes that not only did Moses follow all the instructions, he followed them in the precise order that God wanted him to. We often try to get ahead of God’s pattern for us by doing some of the easier or more exciting things first, leaving the hard things for later. If so, we fail to grasp the fact that the Master Designer had a reason for the order that He gave us. I am reminded of building model airplanes as a child. Many times, I did things out of the order prescribed, only to find out why that wasn’t a good idea later on. But the glue was dry.  It also happens when putting together “assembly required” furniture (like that one buys from IKEA). Don’t follow the instructions and be prepared to undo all you have done to start again. That’s the way it is with God’s pattern for your life – obey each step, obey them in order, and them at the right time.

In verse 29 we read that the altar of the burnt-offering was set up and then there’s a reference to actual offerings (the burnt offering and the meal offering) taking place right there and then at the time the altar was set up. The commentators are not in agreement as to when that actually took place with some thinking it was done some time afterward. Henry thinks “he immediately began the ceremony of [the offering’s] consecration, though it was not completed for seven days.”

The argument that it did occur right away is supported by what we read in the next two verses regarding the laver. In verse 31, we are told that Moses and Aaron and the priests washed their hands and feet and that immediately follows the placed of the laver or wash basin in verse 30. So there appears to be a precedent there for do things immediately once the furnishings required were in place. However, linguistically as I read it, it can go either way.

If Henry is right, then this is an indication that when God gives us talents, we are to use them right away, but as prescribed by God.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

What is the Significance of the Tabernacle's Altar of Burnt Offerings For Us Today?

The Altar of Burnt Offerings

Exodus 38:1-7:

This is a description of the Altar of Burnt Offerings that was made to the specifications God had given earlier in Exodus 27:1-8.

Thoughts on the Passage

At this point, Bezalel had finished the gold work of the Tabernacle. It is interesting that God had instructed that the most beautiful and ornate parts of the Tabernacle were to be, for the most part, hidden from the sight of the ordinary Israelite. To me, that’s an indication that the real “gems” of our worship of, and relationship with, God are very personal – they are to be hidden deep in our hearts. They are to bring us joy and peace and hope. But those experiences are not meant to be flaunted about, egging others to match them in order to be like us or to achieve a certain level of devotion and piety. They are between God and us alone.

Matthew Henry says in this passage we see Bezalel now turning his attention to the preparation of the court of the Tabernacle. This part lay open to the view of all. And in this court, there were two things – the altar of burnt offerings which is described in this passage and then the bronze Laver which held water for the priests which is described in the passage that follows.

We comment, with Henry’s help, on the altar of burnt offerings and its significance. And it gets a little tricky here.  We have to pay close attention and join the dots:

·      First, we note all the sacrifices that were to be made were made on this altar.

·      Second, we note that this altar because it was divinely designed and commissioned by God Himself, was itself sanctified.

·      Third, it was sanctified for the purpose of receiving the sacrifices of the Israelites through the priests.

·      Fourth, the sanctified altar thus made the sacrifices burnt on it, sanctified offerings or gifts, as long as they were offered in faith.

The parallel for us today is clear: “Christ,” says Henry, “was Himself the altar to His own sacrifice of atonement, and so He is to all our sacrifices of acknowledgment. We must have an eye to Him in offering them, as God has in accepting them.”

No man stands between our “peace” or relationship with God except Jesus Christ and He alone. So, as we make our offerings of service and time and prayer, as we seek forgiveness for the sins we committed today or yesterday, we must focus on Jesus Christ Who alone is able to facilitate their acceptance by God. And God, knowing we have made those offerings can only accept them, not be focusing on who we are, but on focusing on Whom we have chosen to present them through – for God can only accept them through His Son, Jesus Christ, Who alone is worthy to do so.

What a beautiful revelation that is. What a picture that paints for us as we study the altar of burnt sacrifices in the court of the Tabernacle.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.