Here are some Photos and videos for this month's reading
Exodus describes the building of the Tabernacle in the WIlderness. A few years ago, our friend Dr. Randall Smith built an exact replica of the Tabernacle, and set it up in a desert setting near the Dead Sea just south of Jericho. For many years the Tabernacle in the Wilderness Study Center provided many students a realistic model of the structure, and a quiet place to mediate on how we are to approach God.
Here are a few photos taken by us over the years.
The court yard of the Tabernacle featured a bronze laver, an altar for the sacrifices, a place for the preparation of the animals, and the Tent of Meeting.
The Bronze Laver was a place of cleansing- something required before a meeting with God.
The animals were brought to the Tabernacle (Leviticus 1) and prepared for sacrifice. Sharp knives were required!
The Altar was for burning the sacrifice.
The Olah offering (Burnt Offering) was a completely consumed offering, painting the picture of us giving it all to God.
Inside the Tent of Meeting, was a 7 candle Menorah which represented the "Light of The World" which Jesus used later to describe Himself.
The Table of Shewbread was a place to keep some of the Manna. It was a reminder of God's provision to His people.
The Table of Incense was a reminder of how our prayers go up to God.
The Ark was the place where Atonement took place. Dr. Smith used the designers of the Paris Disneyland to make this copy of the Ark, and the Gold used was over $10,000.00.
How do we understand all this? Here is one suggestion:
An excerpt from Echoes Into Eternity
“As we come
into the Scriptures and try to understand what is going on in the pages, we
have to realize when I open my Bible, I step out of my 21st century world and
go to another culture in another time.
So it is a little more than just reading it and believing it. Mark Twain
is the one who said, “We know a lot of things that just ain’t so.”
“The reality
is this: There is not one word of Scripture written to me personally, but every
word of Scripture was written for me.”
“When God
spoke, He spoke to a specific people at a specific time in a specific place to
benefit me much later- but not to me. He
said it to them in a way that they would understand it. I’ve got to do something more than just read
it and believe it.
It’s like
putting a tea bag into hot water- I’ve got to allow the Scripture to permeate
my “water” and change who I am by the principles involved in it. It is the
principle behind the cultural practice that I am after. What everlasting truth can I draw from this
story that is relevant and applicable to my life today? We believe that there
is a simple and direct manner to understand Scripture.
We call it:
The Principle Approach to Scripture.
Look at a simple example from Leviticus 1:
Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock.
‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. Leviticus 1:1-3
In verse
one, we see God calling out to Moses.
From this I know God often takes the initiative in His fellowship with
mankind. This is an important principle
for me to remember when I am feeling far from God.
In verse
two, God orders the people to bring an offering from their own herd or flock. I can conclude that God wants me to return to
Him some of the things He has freely given me.
This is a good principle of relationship between God and me, and an
important principle of God’s economics.
In verse
three, God says to bring an animal without defect. From this I see God wants my best; He will
not be happy with a half-hearted response from me. If He asks me to give $100 to the
missionaries, He will not be pleased if I give only $50. If I am to paint the
widow’s house, He wants me to use the best paint I can afford.
According to some teachings, I could throw out Leviticus by saying “We are not under the Law!”, but I then would miss many of God’s Truths that apply very well to my life today. If we read the Scriptures, searching for the principles and truths behind the specific cultural practices, then we begin to receive life from the Word of God, not just dusty, out-of-date commandments.”
One thing to realize is that the Bible is a library of 66 books. This library, like many modern libraries, contains different types of literature. The “Type” of literature determines the steps to take to understand and extract the everlasting truths and principles. Let’s face it, we read a court document much different that we would read the lyrics to a love song. It is the same with the Bible.
Read the entire article "The Bible Through First Century Eyes"
Since we are wandering around the desert in Exodus & Leviticus & Numbers, here are some pictures of a recent trip to the Negev Desert.
We also have a video of that trip in a YouTube format at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!!!
These scenes are from a trip to the Negev Desert in southern Israel. The Camel Team included Pat & Kandi Obrien, Carlie & Luke Broadhurst, Moselle, Arielle, Lukas, and Mikaela Bagby, Shai (our guide) as well as Laura & Maik Bagby.
Pastor Doug Small lead a series at Central Church of God in Charlotte where he showed the parallel between Leviticus and Jesus. His teaching and blogs like this make a book that can be hard to read and understand come alive. All of a sudden, the acts of sacrifice, whether for sin, for fellowship, for guilt, etc, provide principals today and are evident in the teachings of the New Testament in how we approach our relationship and personal time with God in prayer.
Thank you for the wonderful pictures and insight that you are providing on these pages! They really help drive home what the Bible really means, both in the past and today!
Posted by: David Wilson | 03/07/2010 at 10:02 AM