Read Exodus 25
This section of Exodus always throws me into an inner turmoil that leaves me exhausted. Perhaps that is the reason why it has taken me more than a week to write this blog entry, the struggle to reconcile this micromanaging deity from the God who walked with Adam and Eve, and Abraham. The mixed images flooding my imagination of a grandiose Creator who dictates not just the exact measurements of the Ark and the Sanctuary but the specifics of the underwear that the priests, beginning with Aaron and his sons, are in stark contrast from the loving Father who sent his own son to live and minister to the poorest and disenfranchised.
And then it hit me...
As heroic as Moses was, he was just a man and needed a way to keep the Israelites unified and moving forward in an orderly way. He had the 10 Laws which God had proscribed to him on the Mountaintop, but he needed something to unify the people. Something to keep order. Thus we see in these chapters of Exodus the origins of organized religion, the seeds planted of the Mosaic Laws, that Jesus himself eventually challenged, which led to his betrayal and execution, through the Machiavellian manipulations of the scholars and lawyers.
The Law, as embodied in the Ten Commandments, was from the very heart of God. The codified laws were inspired by God but derived from the mind of a man and his inner circle. One thing that this cynical 21st Century Bronx boy sees is a cadre of men who seek to control their people by imposing such a complex, massive Code of Law. A clique of leaders who exert dominance by claiming to be the mouthpiece of God. A small group who claim to speak for all.
Sounds a bit to me like the false prophets of the modern age, who dominate the news channels and all media outlets, trying to tell us what to think, what to believe, what to do, how to live our lives. By falling lockstep into place behind these "leaders" we will be saved.
Has anyone ever been saved by the Law itself, by following the letter but ignoring the spirit of the Law? If so, why the need for God's son to come down and serve as the sacrifice for each of us? What sort of God cares more about how many types of brocade and gold chains adorn our robes than our souls? I understand and appreciate that God loves me and knows even the deepest secrets of my heart, but does He really care about whether I wear boxers or briefs? Does He want to tell me which?
This section of Exodus always throws me into an inner turmoil that leaves me exhausted. Perhaps that is the reason why it has taken me more than a week to write this blog entry, the struggle to reconcile this micromanaging deity from the God who walked with Adam and Eve, and Abraham. The mixed images flooding my imagination of a grandiose Creator who dictates not just the exact measurements of the Ark and the Sanctuary but the specifics of the underwear that the priests, beginning with Aaron and his sons, are in stark contrast from the loving Father who sent his own son to live and minister to the poorest and disenfranchised.And then it hit me...
As heroic as Moses was, he was just a man and needed a way to keep the Israelites unified and moving forward in an orderly way. He had the 10 Laws which God had proscribed to him on the Mountaintop, but he needed something to unify the people. Something to keep order. Thus we see in these chapters of Exodus the origins of organized religion, the seeds planted of the Mosaic Laws, that Jesus himself eventually challenged, which led to his betrayal and execution, through the Machiavellian manipulations of the scholars and lawyers.
The Law, as embodied in the Ten Commandments, was from the very heart of God. The codified laws were inspired by God but derived from the mind of a man and his inner circle. One thing that this cynical 21st Century Bronx boy sees is a cadre of men who seek to control their people by imposing such a complex, massive Code of Law. A clique of leaders who exert dominance by claiming to be the mouthpiece of God. A small group who claim to speak for all.Sounds a bit to me like the false prophets of the modern age, who dominate the news channels and all media outlets, trying to tell us what to think, what to believe, what to do, how to live our lives. By falling lockstep into place behind these "leaders" we will be saved.
Has anyone ever been saved by the Law itself, by following the letter but ignoring the spirit of the Law? If so, why the need for God's son to come down and serve as the sacrifice for each of us? What sort of God cares more about how many types of brocade and gold chains adorn our robes than our souls? I understand and appreciate that God loves me and knows even the deepest secrets of my heart, but does He really care about whether I wear boxers or briefs? Does He want to tell me which?
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