Monday, 2/2/2015

“I've heard it said that God is in the details. It's the same with the truth. Leave out the details, the crucial heart, and you can damn someone with the bare bones of it.”  ~ Libba Bray 

EXODUS 29, 30

God gives the process for 

• Consecration of the priests
• Atonement money
• Basin for washing
• Anointing oil
• Incense

The anointing oil and the incense are only to be used here and in this way.  Anyone who uses the same for personal purposes is to be cut off kicked out. 

MATTHEW 22:1-22

1Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.4“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’5“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.8“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.11“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.13“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’14“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

The Pharisees are then enraged and realizing he is continually talking about them try to trap him by asking about taxes...Jesus replies

18But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”21“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”22When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

JOURNAL

Reading through all the requirements of tabernacle, the ark, the consecration of priests, the list and specifics are exhausting.  It seems as if it is a lot of huff and puff over nothing. Yet I do realize that the Israelites are coming out of Egypt and have nothing.  They don't have the written word of God, or traditions or processes for living.  Thinking through it...God is forming a nation out of nothing.  These are slaves, who have never governed themselves.  They need specific processes and methods of worship.  They need laws and regulations and ways to settle arguments and conduct business. This is God's way of creating that...part of that is attention to detail and specifying the importance of reverence for God.

This parable in Matthew has always been very confusing to me...especially the part of the man who does not have the proper attire.  On the surface it seems that he is being singled out just because he doesn't have nice clothes.  However on second look I realize that it's really not at all the reason.  The proper attire is symbolism of being clothed in righteousness...only made available through Christ.  It is not by our efforts but by Christ that we are made righteous.  

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- (Ephesians 2:8)