Call on the Name of the Lord -- Jared Anderson

Here are the lyrics to the song.

Call on the name of the Lord
Call on the name of the Lord
Call on the name of the Lord
And be saved and be saved

Come to the water and be purified
Though your sin be a scarlet
He will wash it white as snow

Call on the name of the Lord
Call on the name of the Lord
Call on the name of the Lord
And be saved and be saved

All those who seek Him surely find
All those who know Him
Drink from the well of everlasting life

Call on the name of the Lord
Call on the name of the Lord
Call on the name of the Lord
And be saved and be saved

Yes, everything this song speaks about it true.  Call on the Lord and he will save you.  You will be purified and will have eternal life.

Romans 10:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

 John 6:47 “I assure you: Anyone who believes has eternal life.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

To me, this is one of those feel good, all inclusive songs, that say anyone can come to Christ and it will be easy.  Just say his name and you are saved. What this song fails to mention is (as was written in a previous post)

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, having this inscription: The Lord knows those who are His, and Everyone who names the name of the Lord must turn away from unrighteousness.

Yes, calling on the name of the Lord will save you, but you must also do the will of God and turn away from unrighteousness and sin.  I know that no person will ever completely turn away from sin in this life, but it is what we are striving to do in our sanctification.  No, your works will not save you.  If you are saved, then you will want to do the good works, which are the will of God.

The song  fails to mention that we must be in the Father's will and turn from those scarlet sins and remain white as snow, as best we can.  It is not easy to be a Christian.  Simply saying, "Lord, Lord" and doing nothing to further the kingdom of our Lord is not going to get you into heaven.  You must give up sin.  You must endure persecution. (Granted I have never felt true persecution like our sister and brothers in other countries, but if it were to happen here, we would have to endure).

Overall, while this song is not unbiblical, it does seems to portray an easy Christianity where all you have to do is "call on the name of the Lord" to be able to experience the richness and joy of being a child of God.  To me, the song is shallow and does not go deep into scripture.  For someone who, as Hebrew says, still needs milk, this song would work well, but if you are now eating solid food, you need songs which have a bit of meat to them.

Call on the Name of the Lord

In our service one day, we heard a story from a group of people who had witnessed, what they called, a spiritual moment.  I was not there.  I did not experience it, but something was not quite right with the story.  In the story, a man came into a church service and attempted to strangle a woman.  The pastor, who was a woman, came to stop the man.  She told the congregation to "call on the name of Jesus" while she was trying to defuse the situation.  According to the group, what happened was the congregation literally repeated "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus" over and over.  Eventually the man stopped choking the woman and left.  The group felt that just by saying Jesus over and over was the reason the man eventually left and the woman was out of harms way.  

I have a hard time accepting this.  Just saying Jesus over and over has very little value or meaning.  Now, if it were a situation where someone was so scared or distraught that all they could utter was Jesus, then I know that their prayer will be interceded for and be heard, but it seems, from the way the story was told, that no one, but perhaps the woman being hurt, was in such an emotional state where they could not actually pray. 

Here is an illustration on how it would seem if you only said Jesus over and over. 

Person:  Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!
Jesus:  Yes, I am here.
Person:  Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!
Jesus:  I'm here.
Person:  Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!
Jesus:  Yes?

How should we expect an answer to our prayers if all we say is Jesus.  Yes, the Lord knows our thoughts and our prayers even before we say them, but it is through our prayers that the Lord chooses to work.  Simply saying Jesus is not a prayer.  It is just a name.  The name, Jesus, was a very common name in ancient Israel.  It was not a name unique to Christ.  Just saying Jesus could mean you are talking to almost anyone.

The group brought out this verse to back up their story:

Philippians 2:10 at the name of Jesus every knee will bow.

While I agree this is true, I do feel that it was taken out of context, they did not even use the whole verse.  For one thing, the man did not 'bow' or humble himself in front of this congregation.  He just left, probably still hot and mad.  The full section of this scripture is:

Philippians 2:5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,
6 who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
as something to be used for His own advantage.
7 Instead He emptied Himself
by assuming the form of a slave,
taking on the likeness of men.
And when He had come as a man
in His external form,
8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death—
even to death on a cross.
9 For this reason God highly exalted Him
and gave Him the name
that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow—
of those who are in heaven and on earth
and under the earth—
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

We know that not every knee has bowed to Christ, but they will.  When he returns.  This section of scripture is showing us how we should be humble and obedient like Christ.  It was for this reason that God exalted Christ so that every knee would bow and every tongue confess in Him.  All this for the Father's glory. 

Notice, that Jesus was given a name that is above every name.  His name is holy and special.  Not just the name Jesus, but who Jesus is.  Like I said earlier, Jesus was a common name in His time, so many people had that name, but none of the others were the Christ.  In Israel, many times, the name of a person reflected who he was or what he did.  So, by making Jesus Christ's name unique and above other names, speaks about his character and actions, not about what his actual name was.

Another disappointing thing about this particular service was the closing song.  We sang "Call on the name of the Lord."  Not the whole song, just the chorus.  Just "call on the name of the Lord and be saved."

Yes, the Bible does say this:

Romans 10:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

However, the Bible also says:

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, having this inscription: The Lord knows those who are His, and Everyone who names the name of the Lord must turn away from unrighteousness.

Yes, calling on the name of the Lord will save you, but you must also do the will of God and turn away from unrighteousness and sin.  I know that no person will ever completely turn away from sin in this life, but it is what we are striving to do in our sanctification.  No, your works will not save you.  If you are saved, then you will want to do the good works, which are the will of God. 

Exodus 29 -- Consecration

Exodus 29:1 “This is what you are to do for them to consecrate them to serve Me as priests. Take a young bull and two unblemished rams, 2 with unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil. Make them out of fine wheat flour, 3 put them in a basket, and bring them in the basket, along with the bull and two rams. 4 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 5 Then take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, the robe for the ephod, the ephod itself, and the breastpiece; fasten the ephod on him with its woven waistband. 6 Put the turban on his head and place the holy diadem on the turban. 7 Take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. 8 You must also bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 9 Tie the sashes on Aaron and his sons and fasten headbands on them. The priesthood is to be theirs by a permanent statute. This is the way you will ordain Aaron and his sons.

I am assuming that Moses is performing the washing and dressing since it was to him the command was given.  They are to be physically cleaned to remove anything impure from their bodies.  Like we, when we are saved are washed by baptism and by the blood of Christ.

Exodus 29:10 “You are to bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the bull’s head. 11 Slaughter the bull before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 Take some of the bull’s blood and apply it to the horns of the altar with your finger; then pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 13 Take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But burn up the bull’s flesh, its hide, and its dung outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

The bull is to be a sin offering to the Lord.  The bests parts of the bull are to be burned on the alter while the rest is to be removed and burned outside the camp as something unclean. 

Exodus 29:15 “Take one ram, and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on the ram’s head. 16 You are to slaughter the ram, take its blood, and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar. 17 Cut the ram into pieces. Wash its entrails and shanks, and place them with its head and its pieces on the altar. 18 Then burn the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to the Lord.

This sacrifice is a pleasing aroma to the Lord.  He is pleased when his children obey him and do as he asks.  

Exodus 29:19 “You are to take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons must lay their hands on the ram’s head. 20 Slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on Aaron’s right earlobe, on his sons’ right earlobes, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Sprinkle the remaining blood on all sides of the altar. 21 Take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle them on Aaron and his garments, as well as on his sons and their garments. In this way, he and his garments will become holy, as well as his sons and their garments.

Aaron and his sons were to cover themselves in the blood of the sacrifice.  Perhaps this was a way to show how they purify themselves?  I do not know the significance of the body parts mentioned.  Perhaps someone can enlighten me!  We are to cover ourselves with the blood of Christ.

Revelation 1:4 John:  To the seven churches in Asia.  Grace and peace to you from the One who is, who was, and who is coming; from the seven spirits before His throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen.

We are cleansed from our sin by the blood of Christ.  The sins of the Israelites were cleansed by the blood of animals.  Christ's sacrifice is permanent.  The animals were temporary.

Exodus 29:22 “Take the fat from the ram, the fat tail, the fat covering the entrails, the fatty lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, and the right thigh (since this is a ram for ordination); 23 take one loaf of bread, one cake of bread made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord; 24 and put all of them in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them as a presentation offering before the Lord. 25 Take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before the Lord; it is a fire offering to the Lord.

I wonder if using the right thigh has anything to do with Abraham making his servant make an oath for Isaac's wife by placing his hand "under his thigh?"

One thing I thought about while reading the above was why did the offering have to be burned?   Well, after reading several commentaries, I am still not sure why.  I know that the whole animal was consumed.  Perhaps since the animal was to be used as a sacrifice to atone for our sins, and the punishment for sin is death, and those who do not trust in Christ are thrown into a lake of fire, perhaps the animal is to represent what happens to sinners who do not repent of their sins?  If anyone can provide any answers on this, please let me know!

Exodus 29:26 “Take the breast from the ram of Aaron’s ordination and wave it as a presentation offering before the Lord; it is to be your portion. 27 Consecrate for Aaron and his sons the breast of the presentation offering that is waved and the thigh of the contribution that is lifted up from the ram of ordination. 28 This will belong to Aaron and his sons as a regular portion from the Israelites, for it is a contribution. It will be the Israelites’ contribution from their fellowship sacrifices, their contribution to the Lord.

29 “The holy garments that belong to Aaron are to belong to his sons after him, so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. 30 Any priest who is one of his sons and who succeeds him and enters the tent of meeting to minister in the sanctuary must wear them for seven days.

31 “You are to take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place. 32 Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 33 They must eat those things by which atonement was made at the time of their ordination and consecration. An unauthorized person must not eat them, for these things are holy. 34 If any of the meat of ordination or any of the bread is left until morning, burn up what is left over. It must not be eaten because it is holy.

Only Aaron and his sons can eat the holy sacrifices.  Since the priest did not farm or have work with which to buy food, it was the other Israelites jobs to take care of them.  The Lord even made it where they could be fed through the sacrifices that were offered.  This passage also reminds me of the wanderings in the desert.  The mana was only to be gathered so that each family had what they needed for the one day and not to save any for the morning.  Also, with the passover lamb, none of it was to remain until morning either (Exodus 12:10).

Exodus 29:35 “This is what you are to do for Aaron and his sons based on all I have commanded you. Take seven days to ordain them. 36 Sacrifice a bull as a sin offering each day for atonement. Purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and anoint it in order to consecrate it. 37 For seven days you must make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. The altar will become especially holy; whatever touches the altar will become holy.

38 “This is what you are to offer regularly on the altar every day: two year-old lambs. 39 In the morning offer one lamb, and at twilight offer the other lamb. 40 With the first lamb offer two quarts of fine flour mixed with one quart of oil from crushed olives, and a drink offering of one quart of wine. 41 You are to offer the second lamb at twilight. Offer a grain offering and a drink offering with it, like the one in the morning, as a pleasing aroma, a fire offering to the Lord. 42 This will be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you. 43 I will also meet with the Israelites there, and that place will be consecrated by My glory. 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve Me as priests. 45 I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 And they will know that I am Yahweh their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I might dwell among them. I am Yahweh their God.

Here at the end of the chapter, God says that He will be the one who will consecrate and make holy by His glory.  The actions performed by Moses, Aaron and his sons are not necessary but are to be a sign of how to approach God.  You must prepare yourself for seven days.  You must become a new creation.  Since creation took seven days, so must the preparation to come before God. 

God brought the Israelites out of Egypt so that He may dwell among them in the tabernacle.  He saves us Christians to that he can dwell with us in the new heavens and the new earth at the end of times.

Exodus 28 -- Instructions for Priest

Exodus 28:1 “Have your brother Aaron, with his sons, come to you from the Israelites to serve Me as priest—Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2 Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, for glory and beauty. 3 You are to instruct all the skilled craftsmen, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make Aaron’s garments for consecrating him to serve Me as priest. 4 These are the garments that they must make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a specially woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they may serve Me as priests. 5 They should use gold; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; and fine linen.

We know that the Levites are the priests of the Israelites.  So, Aaron and his family, as well as Moses were Levites.  We know this from the first chapter of Exodus.  The priests were the ones who were allowed to come before God.  They could be in His presence.  The people had to bring their sacrifices to the priests of the temple and correctly perform the sacrifices.  They could not do the sacrifices themselves.  Today, Christ is our priest.  We go through Him to reach God.  We, as ourselves, cannot go before God because we are unholy and are sinners, but through Christ, the perfect, sinless son of God, we can come before God.  Once we are saved, God will look on us and see Christ.

Exodus 28:6 “They are to make the ephod of finely spun linen embroidered with gold, and with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. 7 It must have two shoulder pieces attached to its two edges so that it can be joined together. 8 The artistically woven waistband that is on the ephod must be of one piece, according to the same workmanship of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen. 9 “Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of Israel’s sons: 10 six of their names on the first stone and the remaining six names on the second stone, in the order of their birth. 11 Engrave the two stones with the names of Israel’s sons as a gem cutter engraves a seal. Mount them, surrounded with gold filigree settings. 12 Fasten both stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the Israelites. Aaron will carry their names on his two shoulders before the Lord as a reminder. 13 Fashion gold filigree settings 14 and two chains of pure gold; you will make them of braided cord work, and attach the cord chains to the settings.

The ephod was to be made with embroidery of gold, blue, purple and scarlet yarn.  These colors were often expensive and hard to come by.  People who wore such colors were often rich or powerful.  The priests were to be adorned with fine clothing when they were in the presence of the Lord.  Every piece of the ephod, from the shoulder pieces to the waistband, were to have this excellent craftsmanship. 

Exodus 28:15 “You are to make an embroidered breastpiece for making decisions. Make it with the same workmanship as the ephod; make it of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of finely spun linen. 16 It must be square and folded double, nine inches long and nine inches wide. 17 Place a setting of gemstones on it, four rows of stones:
The first row should be
a row of carnelian, topaz, and emerald;
18 the second row,
a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;
19 the third row,
a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
20 and the fourth row,
a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper.
They should be adorned with gold filigree in their settings. 21 The 12 stones are to correspond to the names of Israel’s sons. Each stone must be engraved like a seal, with one of the names of the 12 tribes.

So each of the 12 tribes were to have their names inscribed into one of the stones.  I would guess that they would have been in birth order since they had been instructed to do the names of the stones in birth order on the previous stones for the shoulder pieces of the ephod.

Exodus 28:22 “You are to make braided chains of pure gold cord work for the breastpiece. 23 Fashion two gold rings for the breastpiece and attach them to its two corners. 24 Then attach the two gold cords to the two gold rings at the corners of the breastpiece. 25 Attach the other ends of the two cords to the two filigree settings, and in this way attach them to the ephod’s shoulder pieces in the front. 26 Make two other gold rings and put them at the two other corners of the breastpiece on the edge that is next to the inner border of the ephod. 27 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the ephod’s two shoulder pieces on its front, close to its seam, and above the ephod’s woven waistband. 28 The craftsmen are to tie the breastpiece from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue yarn, so that the breastpiece is above the ephod’s waistband and does not come loose from the ephod.

Can you imagine how heavy this garment must have been?  All that cloth and emproidery, not to mention the stones and gold settings.  I would imagine the gold was nearly pure, since that would be the highest quality.  Gold is heavy.  Lots of fabric and yarn is heavy.

Exodus 28:29 “Whenever he enters the sanctuary, Aaron is to carry the names of Israel’s sons over his heart on the breastpiece for decisions, as a continual reminder before the Lord. 30 Place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece for decisions, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the Lord. Aaron will continually carry the means of decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord. 31 “You are to make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue yarn. 32 There should be an opening at its top in the center of it. Around the opening, there should be a woven collar with an opening like that of body armor so that it does not tear. 33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn on its lower hem and all around it. Put gold bells between them all the way around, 34 so that gold bells and pomegranates alternate around the lower hem of the robe. 35 The robe must be worn by Aaron whenever he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he enters the sanctuary before the Lord and when he exits, so that he does not die.

I would imagine that the blue would be a deep rich blue color.  Not pale or light.   Why pomegranates?  I know they can be a sign or symbol for fertility, but why on the robes for the priests? 

Exodus 28:36 “You are to make a pure gold medallion and engrave it, like the engraving of a seal:  HOLY TO THE LORD. 37 Fasten it to a cord of blue yarn so it can be placed on the turban; the medallion is to be on the front of the turban. 38 It will be on Aaron’s forehead so that Aaron may bear the guilt connected with the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate as all their holy gifts. It is always to be on his forehead, so that they may find acceptance with the Lord. 39 “You are to weave the tunic from fine linen, make a turban of fine linen, and make an embroidered sash. 40 Make tunics, sashes, and headbands for Aaron’s sons to give them glory and beauty. 41 Put these on your brother Aaron and his sons; then anoint, ordain, and consecrate them, so that they may serve Me as priests. 42 Make them linen undergarments to cover their naked bodies; they must extend from the waist to the thighs. 43 These must be worn by Aaron and his sons whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary area, so that they do not incur guilt and die. This is to be a permanent statute for Aaron and for his future descendants.

Exodus 27 -- Instructions 3

Exodus 27:1 “You are to construct the altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, 7½ feet long, and 7½ feet wide; it must be 4½ feet high. 2 Make horns for it on its four corners; the horns are to be of one piece. Overlay it with bronze. 3 Make its pots for removing ashes, and its shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans; make all its utensils of bronze. 4 Construct a grate for it of bronze mesh, and make four bronze rings on the mesh at its four corners. 5 Set it below, under the altar’s ledge, so that the mesh comes halfway up the altar. 6 Then make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles are to be inserted into the rings so that the poles are on two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 Construct the altar with boards so that it is hollow. They are to make it just as it was shown to you on the mountain.

I noticed something while reading this.  In earlier chapters, the acacia wood is covered in gold, but here it is covered in bronze.  The items and structures located in the center of the temple, where God would keep his presence was adorned with more costly and precious materials, while the things and areas around the inner sanctuary were made of less expensive materials.  God deserves to be surrounded by what is pure and precious.  He is God.  We, as sinners, should not deserve the finer things, thus the less luxurious surroundings for the common areas where man would be.

Exodus 27:9 “You are to make the courtyard for the tabernacle. Make the hangings on the south of the courtyard out of finely spun linen, 150 feet long on that side. 10 There are to be 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands of the posts must be silver. 11 Then make the hangings on the north side 150 feet long. There are to be 20 posts and 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands of the posts must be silver. 12 Make the hangings of the courtyard on the west side 75 feet long, including their 10 posts and 10 bases. 13 Make the hangings of the courtyard on the east side toward the sunrise 75 feet. 14 Make the hangings on one side of the gate 22½ feet, including their three posts and their three bases. 15 And make the hangings on the other side 22½ feet, including their three posts and their three bases. 16 The gate of the courtyard is to have a thirty-foot screen embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. It is to have four posts including their four bases.  17 “All the posts around the courtyard are to be banded with silver and have silver hooks and bronze bases. 18 The length of the courtyard is to be 150 feet, the width 75 feet at each end, and the height 7½ feet, all of it made of finely spun linen. The bases of the posts must be bronze. 19 All the tools of the tabernacle for every use and all its tent pegs as well as all the tent pegs of the courtyard are to be made of bronze

Another thing I noticed was the order in which the parts of the temple were told to be built.  God starts with the inner temple and the items that would be in his presence.  He then moves to the areas for the priest then to the more common areas.

Exodus 27:20 “You are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil from crushed olives for the light, in order to keep the lamp burning continually. 21 In the tent of meeting outside the veil that is in front of the testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamp from evening until morning before the Lord. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites throughout their generations.

The priest were to attend to the lamps from evening until morning.  During the dark of the night, the lamps were to be kept burning.  Just like the lamps of the temple were to be kept lit during the darkness of the night, we, as Christians are to be the light that shines in the darkness of the world.  We are to be pure, like the oil, so we can shine forth the glory of Christ.  We are to live as Christ would.  We are to do what is good and right, especially when everything around us seems evil and bent towards destruction.

Exodus 26 -- Instruction 2

I'm still trying to get back into my daily readings.  I wish I would not get preoccupied with other, less important things.

Exodus 26:1 “You are to construct the tabernacle itself with 10 curtains. You must make them of finely spun linen, and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with a design of cherubim worked into them. 2 The length of each curtain should be 42 feet, and the width of each curtain six feet; all the curtains are to have the same measurements. 3 Five of the curtains should be joined together, and the other five curtains joined together. 4 Make loops of blue yarn on the edge of the last curtain in the first set, and do the same on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set. 5 Make 50 loops on the one curtain and make 50 loops on the edge of the curtain in the second set, so that the loops line up together. 6 Also make 50 gold clasps and join the curtains together with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single unit.

The Lord is being very specific about the furnishings that are to be in the tabernacle.  I do not know the meanings behind most of the things in these chapters, so I have looked at some commentaries.  These curtains were inside the tabernacle and were made of rich and fine linen and have images of cherubim on them.

Exodus 26:7 “You are to make curtains of goat hair for a tent over the tabernacle; make 11 of these curtains. 8 The length of each curtain should be 45 feet and the width of each curtain six feet. All 11 curtains are to have the same measurements. 9 Join five of the curtains by themselves, and the other six curtains by themselves. Then fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent. 10 Make 50 loops on the edge of the one curtain, the outermost in the first set, and make 50 loops on the edge of the corresponding curtain of the second set. 11 Make 50 bronze clasps; put the clasps through the loops and join the tent together so that it is a single unit. 12 As for the flap that is left over from the tent curtains, the leftover half curtain is to hang down over the back of the tabernacle. 13 The half yard on one side and the half yard on the other of what is left over along the length of the tent curtains should be hanging down over the sides of the tabernacle on either side to cover it. 14 Make a covering for the tent from ram skins dyed red and a covering of manatee skins on top of that.

Here these curtains are made of common materials, like goats hair and skin.  I bet a lot of the common tents were made from these.  These seem to be (according to commentaries) surrounding the finer curtains mentioned above.  This tabernacle is here God would dwell with his people.  The inner curtains, surrounded with angels was made fit for the presence of God but having the fine materials and angelic patterns.  In the last chapter we learn that the mercy seat was to have cherubim covering it as well.  The cherubim not only surround God on the mercy seat, but also in the tabernacle itself.  The goats skin curtains were to protect the finer linens of the inside of the tabernacle for the elements so that the finer curtains would not be ruined.

Exodus 26:15 “You are to make upright planks of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 16 The length of each plank is to be 15 feet, and the width of each plank 27 inches. 17 Each plank must be connected together with two tenons. Do the same for all the planks of the tabernacle. 18 Make the planks for the tabernacle as follows: 20 planks for the south side, 19 and make 40 silver bases under the 20 planks, two bases under the first plank for its two tenons, and two bases under the next plank for its two tenons; 20 20 planks for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, 21 along with their 40 silver bases, two bases under the first plank and two bases under each plank; 22 and make six planks for the west side of the tabernacle. 23 Make two additional planks for the two back corners of the tabernacle. 24 They are to be paired at the bottom, and joined together at the top in a single ring. So it should be for both of them; they will serve as the two corners. 25 There are to be eight planks with their silver bases: 16 bases; two bases under the first plank and two bases under each plank.

These planks served to hold up the tabernacle.  They were designed to be strong and carry the weight of the curtains.  The bases were made of silver so the planks would have a good and strong foundation.  

Exodus 26:26 “You are to make five crossbars of acacia wood for the planks on one side of the tabernacle, 27 five crossbars for the planks on the other side of the tabernacle, and five crossbars for the planks of the back side of the tabernacle on the west. 28 The central crossbar is to run through the middle of the planks from one end to the other. 29 Then overlay the planks with gold, and make their rings of gold as the holders for the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold. 30 You are to set up the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you have been shown on the mountain.

Again we see acacia wood covered with gold.  The tree that represents life in so many cultures is covered with one of the most precious and costly metals.

Exodus 26:31 “You are to make a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen with a design of cherubim worked into it. 32 Hang it on four gold-plated posts of acacia wood that have gold hooks and that stand on four silver bases. 33 Hang the veil under the clasps and bring the ark of the testimony there behind the veil, so the veil will make a separation for you between the holy place and the most holy place. 34 Put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. 35 Place the table outside the veil and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle, opposite the table; put the table on the north side. 36 “For the entrance to the tent you are to make a screen embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. 37 Make five posts of acacia wood for the screen and overlay them with gold; their hooks are to be gold, and you are to cast five bronze bases for them.

Here they are to make a veil.  This cloth is similar to the curtains before in color and pattern, but they are much finer.  They are to house the most holy of artifacts.  The Israelites were not to enter this most holy place, except for a very limited and strict time and then it was only one person.  That one priest could come close to God in a way other Israelites could not at that time.  Today, we know that Christ has torn that veil and we can now come to God through Christ.

The above is some of the instructions that Moses was given on the building of the  tabernacle.  Today, we do not need a tabernacle in which to worship.  We, ourselves, serve as the temple of God in which he can dwell.  Our outward appearance is marred with sin and the roughness of the world, but inwardly, since we are followers of Christ, our hearts will reflect beauty of the inner tabernacle in which God dwelt in the past.   I pray that my life and actions will reflect the inner beauty of the tabernacle of God so that I can better serve Him.

Bill Nye and Ken Ham Debate

First off, I really enjoyed watching the debate last night.  I am just going to go over some of my thoughts and response to both men in the debate.  I am not in any way an expert in knowledge of scientific understanding, so I may be wrong in some of my thoughts, though I will endeavor to research and accurately portray the science.

The main disagreement that I have with Bill Nye (despite the whole old Earth argument) is that he seems to believe that a person who believes in the Bible and a literal six day creation cannot be a scientist.  This is just not true, as Ken Ham demonstrated by showing many Creationist who were also scientist.  Ones personal beliefs does not change the constants of the universe, so a creationist and an evolutionist can study science just the same.  They both have the same things to look at and study, and each person can see the same things.  Where they differ is how that data is interpreted.

Ken Ham relied heavily on the "you weren't there so how do you know" argument.  While this is true, neither man was there.  Neither one knows for sure exactly what happened.  Ken Ham believes that the Bible tells the accurate portrayal of the creation while Bill Nye believes that the Big Bang was the beginning. 

One question I wish was explained was how could a tree date to be older than creation exist.  I do not that some species of trees will produce more than one ring per year if there is a period of drought during the normally wet period, but I would still like to see good answer for this question.

Bill Nye also made a foolish comment about reading the Bible.  The Bible is written in different writing forms, historical, apocalyptic, poetic, etc.  You have to read those types of writings differently.  Historical writings are literal.  Apocalyptic are largely metaphorical.  Poetry can be both.  You can't read all types of literature the same way.  You will not read Edgar Allen Poe the same way as you read an autobiography.

I remember Bill Nye making this comment, "Then, as far as Noah being an extraordinary shipwright, I'm extraordinarily skeptical."  He mentions how his family built ships in New England and how it took a lifetime to learn the trade.  Well, the Bible states that Noah was 500 years old when he was told to build the arc.  I'm sure he had plenty of time to learn how to build a ship properly, much more time than Bill Nye's ancestors.  Also with this same story, Bill Nye failed to acknowledge that all species were not put on the ark.  We need to remember that the sea creatures stayed in the sea.  Noah did not need to carry them on the ark.  Also, all the single celled organisms just hitched a ride on the wood, people and animals.  Those would not need extra room either. 

Another thing Bill Nye stated was that there isn't enough time for all the species to have been in 4000 years since the flood.  Well, just look at dog breeds.  How quickly did all the breeds of dogs we have today came into existence?

The main disagreement I have with evolution is that creatures are becoming more complex.  This is just not true.  If anything, they are loosing genetic information.  If you have a dog species where some have long hair and some have short hair and place them in a cold environment.  More than likely, through survival of the fittest, the long haired dog will live to reproduce and the other will not.  The population will loose the genetic ability to have short hair since only the long haired dogs reproduced.  You can only reintroduce the short hair by breeding in another short haired dog.  Likewise, long haired dogs would probably die off if placed in a warm environment while short haired ones would survive.

One thing that Bill Nye showed was a picture of many different skulls that he implied were many different human species, or all the ancestors that lead up to the human race today.  Well, what if they were all the same race of human?  Before the flood, there would have been a much wider variety of humans and facial features and head structures.  Since Noah and his family likely only represented a small portion of the total human genome at that time, it is safe to assume that there were other facial and cranial structures that existed in Noah's day that we will not see today since they all died in the flood.

Bill Nye also said multiple times that how can someone take Ken Ham's word that the Bible is true instead of what is seen and observed.  I think Bill Nye missed it there.  Ken Ham does not disagree with what is seen and observed.  He disagrees with how it go there.  Also, if Bill Nye is going to say that it is unreasonable to accept the Bible as a historical document based on one man's word, then how many other books, that are widely accepted as historical fact, have been taken on the word of men to be true.  The word of those men who were not there to witness the historical events.  All those ancient historical books, including the Bible, have been translated into "American English."

Why not teach creationism in schools?  It is just another "theory" when approached by science, just like evolution is a theory.  It is call the Theory of Evolution, not the Fact or Principle of Evolution.  It is still a theory.  The Bible and Christianity are not taught in schools because people do not want religion taught to their kids, but they are fine when they are taught about Islam and Buddhism and other world religions, but do not dare talk about Christianity. 

These are just some of my thoughts.  I do not have time to delve in more since I have to get going. If you have not listed to the debate, you can do so HERE.