Bible Devotion

Meditative Reflection
The Approachable God

“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.” (Exod. 25:22)

As God reveals His desire to dwell among His people and instructs Moses to build the tabernacle, the first thing He mentions is the Ark of the Covenant. The fact that everything is wrapped or made in gold, plus the presence of the two cherubim, certainly reflect the holy character of God and the fact that even angelic beings are subservient to Him and worship Him.  This awesomeness is thus to be approached with utter reverence.

However, the naming of the cover as the “atonement cover” and the deposit of the Testimony (i.e. the two tablets of the Ten Commandments) signify not only a special covenantal relationship between God and His people, but the fact that even sinful men can now come into the presence of this awesome, holy God.

Of course, we now know that the “atonement cover” is pointing to the atoning sacrifice by the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whose blood “covers” all our sins and that all God’s commandments are satisfied too by His death on the cross. As a result, we who have believed in Him can come boldly before the throne of God, which is not a throne of judgment, but a throne of grace that “we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

Of course , Moses was the one who received this revelation from God concerning the tabernacle and the ark directly, and he indeed met with God in the tabernacle before the ark and received commands for the Israelites, but I suspect he had no idea that one day, we all can approach the throne of God like him—or, should I say, in a far more intimate way, as now God dwells within the heart of each of His children. If Moses knew that what he was instructed to build symbolized such an eventuality and that atonement is made possible not by the blood of animals, but by the very blood of God Himself one day, he would carry out his project with even greater excitement.

As much as we admire Moses and his special relationship with God, he had to wait until God descended upon the tabernacle to meet with him, often at God’s timing, but ours is in every way far more blessed that his. We can come to His throne of grace anytime we desire. How much should we treasure our communion with God today!

Meditative Reflection
Taking God’s Grace for Granted

“Over lay it (the table) with pure gold…and make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitches and bowls for the pouring of offerings.” (Exod. 25:24, 29)

The use of gold for the Ark and the Table of Presence is an unmistakable symbol for the holiness of the Lord. The base material being acacia wood is a matter of practicality, for if the whole ark or table is made of pure gold it will be too heavy to carry. Both the design of the ark and the design of the table is such that when they are moved there would not be any direct contact with human hands.

While the ark itself is placed inside the Holy of Holies, which is only entered into by the High Priest once a year with the blood of sacrifice, the table is visible to the attending priests. As a result, this table and its bread stand as a visible covenant of God’s presence with His people. And as the bread is being accepted by the Lord (symbolized by the burning of the incense beside the bread), the same bread is being eaten by the priests the week after. This weekly ritual (as long as it is faithfully maintained) stands as a lasting covenant not only of God’s presence, but of His fellowship with His people. As we know, this mutual “eating” of the bread is a symbol of friendship.

All of the above has been fulfilled by our Lord Jesus, as He is the true Bread of Life (Jn. 6:51ff) on whom we are fed for eternal life, and with whom we have daily fellowship. But the Table of Presence continues to remind us of our need for holiness. If the Bread of Presence is considered the most holy of offerings (Lev. 24:9), how much more should we approach the Bread of Life in holiness. No wonder as the Corinthian believers ate the Lord’s Supper “without recognizing the body of the Lord”, many were “weak and sick and asleep” (1 Co. 11:29, 30). Therefore, as we emphasize that we are under grace, we should not overlook that our Lord remains the Holy One who cannot be taken lightly.

Meditative Reflection
The Golden Lampstand

“Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Rev. 2:5)

Allow me to share with you Keil & Delitzsch’s thoughts on the significance of the golden lampstand then and now as follows:

“The signification of the seven-armed candlestick is apparent from its purpose, viz., to carry seven lamps, which were trimmed and filled with oil every morning, and lighted every evening, and were to burn throughout the night (ch. 27:20, 21; 30:7, 8; Lev. 24:3, 4). As the Israelites were to prepare spiritual food in the shew-bread in the presence of Jehovah, and to offer continually the fruit of their labour in the field of the kingdom of God, as a spiritual offering to the Lord; so also were they to present themselves continually to Jehovah in the burning lamps, as the vehicles and media of light, as a nation letting its light shine in the darkness of this world (cf. Matt. 5:14, 16; Lk. 12:35; Phil. 2:15). The oil, through which the lamps burned and shone, was, according to its peculiar virtue in imparting strength to the body and restoring vital power, a representation of the Godlike spirit, the source of all the vital power of man; whilst the oil, as offered by the congregation of Israel, and devoted to sacred purposes according to the command of God, is throughout the Scriptures a symbol of the Spirit of God, by which the congregation of God was tilled [sic] with higher light and life. By the power of this Spirit, Israel, in covenant with the Lord, was to let its light shine, the light of its knowledge of God and spiritual illumination, before all the nations of the earth. In its seven arms the stamp of the covenant relationship was impressed upon the candlestick; and the almond-blossom with which it was ornamented represented the seasonable offering of the flowers and fruits of the Spirit, the almond-tree deriving its name…from the fact that it is the earliest of all the trees in both its blossom and its fruit (cf. Jer. 1:11, 12). The symbolical character of the candlestick is clearly indicated in the Scriptures. The prophet Zechariah (ch. 4) sees a golden candlestick with seven lamps and two olive-trees, one on either side, from which the oil-vessel is supplied; and the angel who is talking with him informs him that the olive-trees are the two sons of oil, that is to say, the representatives of the kingdom and priesthood, the divinely appointed organs through which the Spirit of God was communicated to the covenant nation. And in Rev. 1:20, the seven churches, which represent the new people of God, i.e., the Christian Church, are shown to the holy seer in the form of seven candlesticks standing before the throne of God.”
(Keil & Delitzsch, 435)

Meditative Reflection
Towards a Proper Understanding of the Use of Images

“Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn with cherubim worked in them by a skilled craftsman.” (Exod. 26:1)

As we read the various instructions about the construction of the tabernacle, we might wonder why the God who is so strongly against the making of idols would use images for His sanctuary. I wish to share with you the thoughts of the 7^th century Eastern Church father, John of Damascus on this matter. We may not agree with him on everything concerning the use of images and icons for today, but his points on the tabernacle are well taken:

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Behold I have called by name Beseleel …And I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding, and knowledge in all manner of work. To devise whatsoever may be artificially made of gold, and silver, and brass, of marble and precious stones, and variety of wood.' (Exod. 31:1-5) [18] And again: 'Moses said to all the assembly of the children of Israel…Let everyone that is willing and hath a ready heart, offer them to the Lord, gold, and silver, and brass, violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, goat's hair, and ram's skins died red and violet, colored skins, selim-wood, and oil to maintain lights and to make ointment, and most sweet incense, onyx stones, and precious stones for the adorning of the ephod and the rational…' (Exod. 35:4-10).

"See you here the glorification of matter which you make inglorious. What is more insignificant than goat’s hair or colors? Are not scarlet and purple and hyacinth colors? Now, consider the handiwork of man becoming the likeness of the cherubim. How, then, can you make the law a pretence for giving up what it orders? If you invoke it against images, you should keep the Sabbath, and practice circumcision. It is certain that 'if you observe the law, Christ will not profit you. You who are justified in the law, you [19] are fallen from grace' (Gal. 5:2-4). Israel of old did not see God, but 'we see the Lord’s glory face to face.' (2 Co. 3:18)

"We proclaim Him also by our senses on all sides, and we sanctify the noblest sense, which is that of sight. The image is a memorial, just what words are to a listening ear. What a book is to the literate, that an image is to the illiterate. The image speaks to the sight as words to the ear; it brings us understanding. Hence God ordered the ark to be made of imperishable wood, and to be gilded outside and in, and the tablets to be put in it, and the staff and the golden urn containing the manna, for a remembrance of the past and a type of the future. Who can say these were not images and far-sounding heralds? And they did not hang on the walls of the tabernacle; but in sight of all the people who looked towards them, they were brought forward for the worship and adoration of God, who made use of them. It is evident that they were not worshipped for themselves, but that the people were led through them to remember past signs, and to worship the God of wonders. They were images to serve as recollections, not divine, but leading to divine things by divine power.”

(John of Damascus, On Divine Image, 18-19)

Meditative Reflection
The Unique Worship of Yahweh

“Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.” (Exod. 27:1)

The altar has to be the most-used furniture in the tabernacle without which the people cannot gain access to God. Apart from sacrifices offered on special occasions like the Day of Atonement, the priests would make daily offerings through the use of the altar.

I was once approached by a worship leader in the church who wished to burn incense as part of the worship service. In a Chinese church with most of the members having come out of a traditional ancestral worship (if not Buddhist) background, the burning of incense is inseparable from idol worship, so I gently declined his request, although he cited good reasons for so doing, including the examples seen in Revelation.

This causes me to reflect on the sacrificial rites given by God to the Israelites. It will not be an exaggeration to say that the pagan neighbors of Israel all practiced some forms of animal sacrifices to their gods. Then, how could God’s people demonstrate through their worship that their God—Yahweh, is the Only True God?

The many rigid commands surrounding the manner of offering certainly depict the unique holiness of Yahweh, like the insistence on avoiding the use of yeast. But the design of the altar itself also speaks of the holiness of Yahweh in these ways:

- It is made of acacia wood overlaid in bronze with the express prohibition of using dressed stones (Exod. 20:25), which were common to pagan worship where all kinds of images of creatures were “dressed” on the altars. This is consistent with the Second of the Ten Commandments. The attention of the worshippers is directed away from the instrument—the altar—towards the sacrifices themselves—the shedding of the blood for sin-offerings, or the meaning of the offerings. Ultimately of course, the main focus is the Lord whom we worship.

- If the former command is implicit, the command in Deuteronomy 12 is explicit: so that the Israelites will not “worship the Lord…in their way” (12:4), He commands them to bring their burnt offerings and sacrifices only to the place God has chosen for them—"To that place you must go” (12:5).

All these presumably rigid and strict commands do not only point to the holiness of God, but to the entire intent of worship—unlike pagan worship where the people worship based on what they can get out of it, the worship of Yahweh, apart from being totally God-centered, is one of love and fellowship with God.

Meditative Reflection
A Real Courtyard

“Make a courtyard for the tabernacle...” (Exodus 27:9)

The need to construct a courtyard outside of the tabernacle proper is clearly to separate it and its activities from the world outside and rightfully so. In these days of life in the fast lane, for many Christians, Sunday worship within the sanctuary of God is the only time and place they can gain a moment of quietness and sanity (that is, if they could actually gain stillness within at all).

However, some church services are conducted like a variety show, with the constant loud noises of musical instruments and vocalists, that only serve to numb one’s inner feelings rather than make provision for true quietness for reflection. Worse, some so-called seeker’s services are so action-oriented that one simply does not get a sense of “holiness” that must be associated with the worship of the Almighty God. This, perhaps, explains why more and more Evangelical Christians are returning to churches with high liturgy.

The church must provide a “courtyard” to shield the worshippers from outside activities and distractions. It takes intentional planning of the worship that avoids too much chatting and socializing before the service, with carefully chosen hymns or songs which promote adoration, a biblical message that is Christ-centered and ample time for prayers and meditations. And may I be bold to suggest that, for Evangelical churches, they expand the time of the closing prayer which should be the climax of the whole worship, so that the worshippers might gather their thoughts for the entire service and respond, quietly and fully, to what the Spirit has spoken to them. Otherwise, once they step out of the “courtyard”, however wonderful a worship experience they might have had, whatever God has laid in their heart will dissipate over the brunch table.

Meditative Reflection
Jesus the High Priest

“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Heb. 7:25)

To me, the most striking features of the garments of the high priest are the two onyx stones on his shoulder straps and the twelve stones of his breastpiece that bear the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

This reminds the High Priest of his awesome responsibility before the Lord on behalf of the people in these ways:

- To stand before the Lord with the names on his shoulders, as a “memorial”—that is to remind God of His covenant with all His people.

- To bear in his breast, which is his heart, all the time, the twelve tribes of Israel.

This awesome responsibility is now assumed also by shepherds of the church. We are to put our people on our shoulders—the spiritual well-being, especially their eternal destiny, falls on our shoulders. It is a heavy responsibility. But we are not only to shoulder this responsibility, but to bear the people in our heart—to remember them all the time, especially in prayers. This, too, can be a heavy burden.

But if we think this is entirely our responsibility, then we are in error, because the true High Priest is our Lord Jesus Christ who “always lives to intercede for them.”

I have often come across church leaders and pastors with heavy hearts (and thus long faces) who seem to bear the burden of their people all by themselves. And when I have the privilege of praying with them, they plead with the Lord as if they are the only ones who care. The truth of the matter is: It is He who draws us to come before Him, to join Him in intercession. I am not sure that it is we who share His burden, or it is He who shares ours. I believe the former is true. It is He, the High Priest who bears all our names before the Father. It is He, the High Priest who bears all our names in His heart. To realize this is to experience that His yoke is easy and His burden is light, because He has borne the bulk of all these weights.