Exodus Pt 9

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Get Out The Graph Paper, Pencils, 

Sewing Kit and 

Tool Chest

Does anyone remember a song by Desmond Dekker and The Aces from the late sixties called "The Israelites"? There is a radio station at 95.1 FM that calls itself The Wow Factor and they mostly play songs from the 60's and 70's, and the other day "The Israelites" popped up on the car radio as my beloved and I were toddling around town. Catchy tune with a syncopated reggae beat. Hadn't heard it in decades and I just thought it was interesting since I've been spending a whole lot of time lately with the Original Israelites, or the OI's as I like to call them. Outside of the repeated refrain of "The Israelites!" I couldn't understand the lyrics very well, probably due to a combination of hearing loss I prefer to deny exists when my wife suggests perhaps I should visit an audiologist and invest in a set of hearing aids, and Desmond Dekker's Jamaican accent but I think I'll just blame it on poor audio engineering. I did use about thirty seconds of my five minutes of research time to find out that, according to Wikipedia anyway, the title/refrain of the song comes from the identification Rastafarians have with the Twelve Tribes of Israel and the troubles both groups have seen. Interesting. I may have to look into that, just not now. We need to move forward with the second book in the Old Testament.

    I have been giving a fair amount of thought to just how to present the remaining chapters here in Exodus. As I said in the installment titled "A Short Note of Despair", we are shifting from story and character mode into Heavy Duty Instructional Mode and honestly I think a whole lot of momentum is lost; we no longer have the page turning "what happens next?" and "what an fascinating if peculiar new character this is" qualities to keep us interested, even with all of the tangents thrown into the mix. And so after trying a couple of more detailed approaches, I think we'll be turning the dial on the Reader's Digest Condensed Knob up to eleven in an effort to share the essentials, give you at least a bit of the flavor, but not put you to sleep like an Ambien with a Chardonnay chaser. If the lack of detail frustrates, I apologize, but remember, you can always crack the cover on your own copy and dive in yourself. I think you'll see what I'm talking about.

    Chapters 25 through 31 are pretty much all about the box God wants Moses to store the tablets with the Rules for Living in, the surroundings in which this box is to be kept, what the Keepers of the Box (Priests) should wear while doing their priestly duties, and what those duties are.

    Chapter 25 begins with God telling Moses to gather up all of the nice construction and ornamentation materials they talked their Egyptian neighbors out of right before they left. If any of the Israelites had been hoping to keep this treasure for themselves, they are in for a rude awakening. God wants to use it to make a bunch of stuff, and he's got the plans all drawn up, ready to go.

    The items God wants for this projects are:

• Acacia wood
• Gold
• Silver
• Bronze
• Blue, purple, and crimson yarn
• Fine linen (no seconds)
• Goats' hair
• Tanned ram skins
• Fine leather (see linen note)
• Lamp oil (good quality)
• spices
• various gemstones

The items to be made from these materials are:

• An ark (wooden box, not a big boat) in which to store the tablets
• Something called a "mercy seat" to be placed on top of the ark. It's got cherubim on it, their wings shadowing the seat at both ends.
• A table
• A lampstand
• A tabernacle
• A curtain
• An altar suitable for burnt offerings
• Hangings
• Vestments for the priests (Aaron and his sons)

The ark, mercy seat, and table, as well as the framework for the tabernacle and the altar are all to be made out of acacia wood. Measurements in cubits are given for each of these items, as well as details--lots of details--like loops and poles on the sides to facilitate moving them and gold overlay to make 'em shine and where the cherubim go.

    Accessories like bowls and flagons and plates and dishes, as well as the lampstand itself are to made out of gold. The yarn and linens are to be used for curtains (cherubim theme) and should be joined together and attached to the acacia wood framework to form the outside of the tabernacle. Other curtains will be inside the tabernacle and will surround the ark. The frames are to rest on silver bases.

    Twisted linen, bronze bases, and hooks of silver are the materials called for to make the court, which I'm guessing is the area just outside the tabernacle proper. Lots of pillars are mentioned. The gate to the court has its own design, involving yarn, twisted linen and silver banded pillars. Pegs and any other miscellaneous utensils for the tabernacle are to be made out of bronze.

    All in all it seems that Moses and his team have quite the construction project in their future. The other thing that struck me was the fact that this all seems to be happening relatively early in the forty years of desert wandering, although at this point I'm not really sure where in the timeline of things this is happening, and I'm left to wonder both about where they are going to do all of this work and how they are going to carry it around with them until they arrive at the Land of Milk and Honey. It's true that the ark and table and whatnot are supposed to have rings on the side and poles that go through the rings and I assume that is so they can be transported, but gee whiz, I'm thinking they're going to be hard pressed to find volunteers for forty years of ark dury. 

    Chapter 28 is all about the "Vestments for the Priesthood", which as we've discussed, means Aaron and his sons. Seems a low priest to parishioner ratio when you look back at the six hundred thousand not including women and children figure tossed out there earlier, but let's not worry about that right now. What's important here is that Aaron and Sons are properly attired, which in this case means a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban, and a sash. Oh, and linen undies. The undies are very important. God makes it clear that failure to wear the designated underwear will result in death and a blot on ones Permanent Record.

    In Chapter 29 we learn all about The Ordination of the Priests, and let me tell you, it makes a fraternity initiation seem like a walk in the park. Of course there are critters to be sliced up, in this case a bull and two rams and they must be "without blemish." Blood figures prominently in the process here, including a generous amount that is to be dabbed on the priests' ears and flung against the sides of the altar. Aaron and Sons get to have quality time with ram fat and entrails and internal organs before they get the Weber Grill out and send a pleasing odor of roasting ram innards up to God. Baskets and bread and oil flung hither and yon and you've got a real, manly good time spelled out here. There is more about daily offerings which are designed to reduce the bull population as well as a similar sort of herd reduction of any lambs they may have in the menagerie.

    A mandatory half shekel offering, and a bronze basin in which the priests are required (upon pain of death, of course) to wash their hands and feet are the featured items in Chapter 30, along with recipes for making high quality anointing oil and an exclusive sort of incense. Surprisingly, there is no death penalty associated with the misuse of either for personal adornment, only banishment, although I suppose that could be a death sentence of a slow variety, considering nobody in that crowd seems to know where they're going and safety in numbers is what is protecting them.

    Just as Moses is beginning to wonder how he is going to get all this work done, in Chapter 31 God tells him to delegate. There are two fellows in the group who are nicely qualified for these projects: Bezalel and Oholiab. God assures Moses that "they shall do just as I have commanded you." So that must have taken a real weight off his shoulders.

    The chapter continues with yet another reminder to Keep the Sabbath. The Death Incentive is mentioned. Twice. Working on the sabbath will kill you. This seems to be something that the vast majority of employers have conveniently disregarded of late.

    We wrap up Chapter 31 and today's little Bible Looksee with verse 18:

When God finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

    I've never been partial to those screens where you're supposed to sign your name with your fingertip, they skip and often refuse to even recognize your finger is even there, but God being God, he can fingertip it on stone, which is pretty cool. I do have a question here: There was a lot of material covered in the chapters we've been looking at in the last few installments, not just The Ten Commandments. Do the tablets have everything? Instructions on how to make a nice ark? How to sew an ephod? The proper flinging of bull blood?

    Just wondering.

*Strawberry Fields in Central Park

P.S. You may have noticed that I often go back and make a few corrections or amendments to these installments. I hope that doesn't bother you, but I am a constant tinkerer when it comes to words.