holy

Live Like It

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1 “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4 You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 18:1-5 ESV

God knew that His people would face the ongoing temptation to carry out His ceremonial law while, at the same time, living lives that contradicted the very intentions of those laws. In other words, they would run the risk of living hypocritical lives that reflected an outward appearance of obedience that covered up the true conditions of their hearts. It was the very same of which Jesus accused the Jewish religious leader of His day.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!” – Matthew 23:25 NLT

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.” – Matthew 23:27-28 NLT

Jesus was exposing these men for what they truly were: blatant charlatans who were adept at displaying outward conformity to God’s will but whose actions were nothing more than a carefully-orchestrated performance designed to earn the praise and respect of the people. They were little more than play actors. In fact, the Greek word for hypocrite is ὑποκριτής (hypokritēs), a term used to describe those who performed in the Greek plays that were so popular throughout the Roman world of Jesus’ day. Jesus was comparing the law-abiding religious leaders of His day to actors who used elaborate costumes and masks to fool their audiences into believing they were someone else.

Jesus pulled back the curtain on their little drama and exposed their deceptive masquerade. They were not what they appeared to be. And in the same way, God was warning the people of Israel about the danger of going through the motions by feigning obedience to His law while, at the same time, living in silent disregard to His desire that they live truly holy lives.

Yahweh has spent a great deal of time outlining the exacting details of His ceremonial law. He has provided His chosen people with clear and compelling regulations for conducting their daily lives, covering everything from the food they could eat to the various skin diseases that could render them unholy and unworthy of entering His Tabernacle. The entire sacrificial system was designed to mitigate their failure to keep His law. When they sinned, they had a way of receiving atonement by offering the appropriate sacrifice in the acceptable manner God had prescribed.

But the Israelites had proven themselves to be a stubborn people who were prone to doing things their own way. Their 400-year-long stint in Egypt had made them accustomed to the pagan practices of their captors. Idolatry had become a normal and acceptable part of their lives. The sexual promiscuity of their Egyptian overlords had dulled the moral sensibilities of the Israelites, leaving them open to increasingly more decadent and defiling types of behavior. Sins like adultery had become commonplace, even among God’s people, and no longer carried any social stigma or sense of impropriety. So, God took the time to discuss the need for behavior that reflected their status as God’s chosen and set-apart people.

In a real sense, the Israelites were going from the firepan into the fire. Their divinely-orchestrated escape from captivity had allowed them to leave the decadence of Egypt behind, but a great challenge lie in the future. God knew something of which they were completely oblivious. The land of Canaan, their future home, was a place filled with immoral and idolatrous nations that were going to make the Egyptians look like amateurs. Compared to the more sophisticated Egyptians, the Canaanites would take immorality to a whole new and much lower level. And God knew that His people would be prone to adopt and adapt the pagan practices of their new neighbors. That’s why He commanded Moses to warn the sin-prone Israelites to refrain from mimicking the ways of the world.

“…do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life.” – Leviticus 18:3 NLT

God had chosen the people of Israel to be His “treasured possession among all peoples,” and as such, they were to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6 ESV). Their lives were to stand out from the crowd. Their behavior was to be radically different, dictated by the conditions established by God Himself and articulated in the Mosaic Law. They were not free to live according to their own wills or in keeping with the rest of the world. Their behavioral standards were God-ordained and came with severe consequences if disobeyed. God made it perfectly clear that obedience was mandatory and non-optional.

“You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God.” – Leviticus 18:4 NLT

These were laws; not suggestions, and they came from the very throne of God in heaven, not the minds of mortal men. Yet, God knew that the Israelites would struggle obeying His law and lean toward living like their pagan neighbors. The law would set them apart, but failure to allow the law to transform their daily behavior would render them ineffective in their assignment to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Centuries later, the apostle Paul warned the Jewish Christians living in Rome of this very danger. He knew they were proud of their Jewish heritage and wore it like a badge of honor, but their outward actions did not reflect the kind of character God demanded.

You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God’s law, and you boast about your special relationship with him. You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law. You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a light for people who are lost in darkness. You think you can instruct the ignorant and teach children the ways of God. For you are certain that God’s law gives you complete knowledge and truth.

Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples? You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.” – Romans 2:17-24 NLT

And Paul would go on to downplay their inordinate pride in their Jewish heritage; instead calling them to live in a way that reflects the gospel’s power to transform the human heart and create true life change.

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. – Romans 2:28-29 NLT

For the Jews of Moses’ day, obedience to God’s law came with striking benefits. It wasn’t merely about blind obedience and mindless adherence to a lengthy set of arbitrary rules and regulations. God’s law brought life.

“If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 18:5 NLT

He wanted them to know that His laws were laws for living – bringing peace, joy, contentment, purpose, blessings, and the benefit of an ongoing relationship with Him. God was not a divine policeman enforcing arbitrary and needless rules designed to stifle human flourishing. He wasn’t some curmudgeonly old skinflint in the sky trying to rob mere mortals of all the joys of life. The Lord God was giving His chosen people a unique opportunity to live in perfect communion with Him, enjoying all the benefits of His divine goodness and glory as they lived in this fallen and sin-stained world. But those blessings would require obedience to His law. Rather than live like the Romans and Canaanites, the Israelites were to live like God’s chosen and set-apart people – for all the world to see.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Banished or Burned

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40 “If a man’s hair falls out from his head, he is bald; he is clean. 41 And if a man’s hair falls out from his forehead, he has baldness of the forehead; he is clean. 42 But if there is on the bald head or the bald forehead a reddish-white diseased area, it is a leprous disease breaking out on his bald head or his bald forehead. 43 Then the priest shall examine him, and if the diseased swelling is reddish-white on his bald head or on his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprous disease in the skin of the body, 44 he is a leprous man, he is unclean. The priest must pronounce him unclean; his disease is on his head.

45 “The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’ 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.

47 “When there is a case of leprous disease in a garment, whether a woolen or a linen garment, 48 in warp or woof of linen or wool, or in a skin or in anything made of skin, 49 if the disease is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin or in the warp or the woof or in any article made of skin, it is a case of leprous disease, and it shall be shown to the priest. 50 And the priest shall examine the disease and shut up that which has the disease for seven days. 51 Then he shall examine the disease on the seventh day. If the disease has spread in the garment, in the warp or the woof, or in the skin, whatever be the use of the skin, the disease is a persistent leprous disease; it is unclean. 52 And he shall burn the garment, or the warp or the woof, the wool or the linen, or any article made of skin that is diseased, for it is a persistent leprous disease. It shall be burned in the fire.

53 “And if the priest examines, and if the disease has not spread in the garment, in the warp or the woof or in any article made of skin, 54 then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which is the disease, and he shall shut it up for another seven days. 55 And the priest shall examine the diseased thing after it has been washed. And if the appearance of the diseased area has not changed, though the disease has not spread, it is unclean. You shall burn it in the fire, whether the rot is on the back or on the front.

56 “But if the priest examines, and if the diseased area has faded after it has been washed, he shall tear it out of the garment or the skin or the warp or the woof. 57 Then if it appears again in the garment, in the warp or the woof, or in any article made of skin, it is spreading. You shall burn with fire whatever has the disease. 58 But the garment, or the warp or the woof, or any article made of skin from which the disease departs when you have washed it, shall then be washed a second time, and be clean.”

59 This is the law for a case of leprous disease in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp or the woof, or in any article made of skin, to determine whether it is clean or unclean.” – Leviticus 13:40-59 ESV

The presence of disease is not an indication that the ill person has sinned. But sin is the reason disease is present in the world. All illness is a direct result of the fall. Its very existence is tied to the original sin committed by Adam and Eve in the garden. Their fateful decision to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit doomed all their descendants to lives characterized by sin and cursed by death. The apostle Paul explains the grave implications of what the first couple did in the garden, but he lays all the blame at the feet of Adam – the one to whom God had given His order to stay away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. – Romans 5:12 NLT

For Adam’s sin led to condemnation… – Romans 5:16 NLT

For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. – Romans 5:17 NLT

Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone… – Romans 5:18 NLT

Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. – Romans 5:19 NLT

Adam’s failure to adequately warn his wife about the dangers of the tree made her susceptible to the temptations of the enemy. And Adam’s decision to join his wife in her act of disobedience sealed their fate. Rather than reject the fruit she offered him, he was willingly complicit in her sin. And the rest, they say, is history.

Their sin led to condemnation. God’s holiness demanded action and it resulted in the immediate expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden. And when God cast them out, they were banned from His presence. No longer would they enjoy intimate and unbroken fellowship with their Creator. Their sin made them unclean and unworthy of basking in His glory and benefiting from His goodness. And, in time, the entire creation began to experience the effects of sin’s presence. Atrophy set in. Paul states that “death spread to everyone.”

But Adam and Eve did not die immediately. Instead, death took the form of decay, a slow-moving deterioration of all things. The first couple began to age. In time, disease entered the scene. The entire creation, once declared “very good” by God, was placed under a curse and doomed to the ravages of time and the dilatory effects of sin. Once again, the apostle Paul provides insightful commentary on the implications of sin’s entrance into the world.

Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. – Romans 8:20-22 NLT

Death and decay are everywhere and their effects are unavoidable. Chapter 13 of Leviticus emphasizes just a few of the symptoms of their presence, including a variety of unsightly and uncomfortable skin disorders.

As the Israelites made their way from Sinai to Canaan, they would experience many of these painful pathologies of the skin. It was inevitable and unavoidable. And these lesions, boils, sores, and skin disorders were not new to them. They had plenty of experience with these kinds of ailments, but now, God was informing them that these common conditions were cause for greater concern. Because the Israelites were God’s chosen people, the presence of these skin disorders could them unclean and impure before God. They would not be condemned to death for having a rash or a boil. But the presence of disease would result in their banishment from the community and their inability to enter God’s presence.

God wanted them to understand the seriousness of sin. Its entrance into the world had damaged God’s creation beyond repair. All that God had made was in a constant state of decline that would ultimately result in death. And this decay, disease, and death were antithetical to the will of the life-giving God of the universe. The one who gave life to all that is in the world stands opposed to the very idea of death. Yes, God sovereignly decreed death to be the penalty for man’s sin (Romans 6:23), but His original intent was for His creation to experience life in all its fullness.

…then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. – Genesis 2:7 ESV

He himself gives life and breath to everything… – Acts 17:25 NLT

And His Son came to earth so that He might provide new life to all who were under the curse of death.

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10 ESV

God’s detailed instructions concerning everything from baldness to boils were intended to show the people of Israel the damaging influence of sin on their lives. They were surrounded by the effects of sin’s presence. It infected everything they touched, and it took the form of disease and decay. Hair fell from their heads, leaving them bald. Lesions appeared on their skin, causing discomfort and pain. Rashes and boils could show up without a moment’s notice or any explanation. And even their garments could become infected through contact with these disorders. And everything had to be closely examined and carefully cleansed so that the purity of the community could be maintained.

Any infection deemed unclean required immediate, yet temporary banishment.

“Those who suffer from a serious skin disease must tear their clothing and leave their hair uncombed. They must cover their mouth and call out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as the serious disease lasts, they will be ceremonially unclean. They must live in isolation in their place outside the camp.” – Leviticus 13:45-46 NLT

But the goal was the eventual restoration of the banned individual. Their isolation was intended to protect the wholeness of the community. The disease and its treatment were intended to serve as a metaphor for sin and its influence on God’s people. Disease was not to be taken lightly, and neither was sin.

Even garments that had come into contact with any of these skin disorders were to be considered unclean and in need of purification. The presence of mildew or mold was to be taken seriously and dealt with immediately. All of these things would render the wearer of the garment unpure and unworthy of entering God’s presence. So, cleansing was mandatory. The infected item was to be closely examined and subjected to a stringent purification protocol.

“After examining the affected spot, the priest will put the article in quarantine for seven days. On the seventh day the priest must inspect it again. If the contaminated area has spread, the clothing or fabric or leather is clearly contaminated by a serious mildew and is ceremonially unclean.” – Leviticus 13:50-51 NLT

And if, after the garment was quarantined, the mildew, mold, or contamination remained, the garment was to be burned.

“It must be completely burned up, whether the contaminated spot is on the inside or outside.” – Leviticus 13:55 NLT

But if the spot disappeared, the garment was to be declared clean and restored to its former use. It was ceremonially pure. And that is the entire focus of the chapter. God was letting His people know that impurity would be a constant threat to their relationship with Him. Any form of impurity could render them unclean and unworthy of entering the presence of a holy, sinless God. They were not to offer blemished, diseased, or lame animals for sacrifice. They were not to come before God bearing any kind of skin disease or disorder. Their clothes were to be clean and free from mold and mildew. And all of these requirements were in keeping with God’s command concerning holiness.

“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” – Leviticus 19:2 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Set Apart to Stand Out

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1 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. 3 Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. 4 Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 5 And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 6 And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 7 And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

9 “These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. 10 But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you. 11 You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. 12 Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

13 “And these you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 14 the kite, the falcon of any kind, 15 every raven of any kind, 16 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl, 18 the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture, 19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.

20 “All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. 21 Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground. 22 Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. 23 But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you. – Leviticus 11:1-23 ESV

To make sense of this lengthy and somewhat confusing chapter full of dietary laws and odd food prohibitions, you have to begin at the end. In the closing verses, Moses records God’s explanation for these strange-sounding rules surrounding food consumption.

“I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy…For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” – Leviticus 11:44, 45 ESV

This lengthy list of food restrictions and dietary guidelines was intended to help the Israelites maintain their relationship with God. As His chosen people, they were expected to live according to a different set of standards that would help differentiate them from all the other nations.

“We will discover that the food laws achieved two purposes for Israel. First, the dietary laws were tied to creation, indicating that the taking of created life was the Creator’s province and prerogative. Second, the food laws distinguished Israel from the neighboring nations and made Israel uniquely the Lord’s possession. By resisting the foods of the nations, the Israelites had a built-in safeguard against assimilation and taking up the religious life of pagan cultures.” – Kenneth A. Matthews, Leviticus: Holy God, Holy People

God had given Aaron and his two sons strict orders to preserve the moral well-being of the people of Israel by helping them learn the difference between those things God considered to be holy or sacred and everything else.

“You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.” – Leviticus 10:10-11 ESV

The Israelites had been set apart by God and deemed His treasured possession. As such, they were intended to live distinctively different lives from all the nations around them. And this distinctiveness was to cover every area of their lives, including the food they ate. The Israelites were not free to live according to their own set of standards, eating whatever they wanted, associating with whomever they chose, or adopting the customs of their pagan neighbors. The world was not their playground; instead, it was a classroom in which they were to learn to distinguish between the holy and the common.

For the Israelites, there was to be no sacred/secular split in their own lives. Everything about their lives was to be holy – at all times. Their set-apart status was not reserved for the Sabbath alone but was to be a permanent and pervasive part of their entire lives. God expected holiness 24-7 and 365 days a year. There was no holiday from holiness. At no point were the people of God to let down their guard or take a break from living as His chosen people.

Since the consumption of food is a vital part of human existence, God provided His laws concerning what the Israelites could and couldn’t eat. These non-negotiable dietary rules and restrictions would become increasingly more important the closer the Israelites got to the land of Canaan. In the wilderness of Sinai, the menu options were somewhat limited, but the closer they got to civilization, the opportunities to expand their choice of cuisine would expand greatly. That’s why God laid down the law before they left Sinai.

What is fascinating to consider is that God was moving His focus from His house, the Tabernacle, to the homes of the people of Israel. He had communicated His laws concerning the consumption of sacred meals within the tent of meeting. But now, he was letting the Israelites know that His concern for holy living extended well beyond the walls of the sacred compound. Even in their homes, they were to practice a practical form of holiness that included the very foods they ate.

God began His message on a positive note, outlining His list of animals that were on His pre-approved menu.

“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth.” – Leviticus 11:2 ESV

But rather than providing a detailed accounting of all sanctioned animals, God disclosed a simple litmus test for determining which creatures were free to eat.

“Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat.” – Leviticus 11:3 ESV

Then He followed this information with a few exceptions that might have left the Israelites confused and open to violating His command. Certain creatures that met the criteria were still off-limits for other reasons, and God made sure His people knew the difference. God specifically mentions such creatures as the camel, the rock badger, the hare, and the pig. These animals were to be considered “unclean” and completely off-limits to the Israelites.

“You shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.” – Leviticus 11:8 ESV

Throughout this chapter, God deals with three specific lists of creatures: Those that live on the land, those that inhabit the sky, and those that crawl on the ground. Each is covered by a separate set of laws and standards. The details concerning each reveal the seriousness of God’s call to holiness. He left nothing to the imagination. Whether a creature walked, crawled, or flew in the sky, it was covered by God’s dietary laws. And each of these creatures fell into one of three categories: Clean, unclean, and detestable. And their placement in those categories was the purview of God, not man. The Israelites were not free to create their own menu of culinary delights.

It’s interesting to note that when God placed the first man in the Garden of Eden, He instituted certain dietary restrictions.

“Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” – Genesis 9:3-4 ESV

Then after the flood, God provided Noah and his family with a new set of regulations concerning food.

“Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man.” – Genesis 9:3-5 ESV

Centuries later, God alters the playbook again, providing His chosen people with a distinctively different set of laws designed to regulate their consumption of food. No longer would “every living thing” be available for them to eat. The descendants of Noah and his sons grew up consuming just about anything they could get their hands on, including the blood of animals they slaughtered. For their pagan descendants, their menu includes everything from animals, birds, insects, fish, and reptiles. There were no limitations. But for God’s chosen people, the options were drastically narrowed down so that their lives might reflect their unique relationship with the God of all creation.

There were certain sea creatures and birds that were off-limits to God’s people. Just because God created it didn’t mean that God sanctioned it for consumption.

“You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses.” – Leviticus 11:11 ESV

God provides no explanation or rationale for His restrictions. He simply deems these creatures as detestable, a Hebrew word (šeqeṣ) that conveyed a sense of repulsiveness and inappropriateness. God wanted His people to view these things as abominable and unclean. The very thought of consuming them should be revolting.

When it came to insects, which most modern Westerners find repulsive, God allowed the eating of certain species, such as “the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind” (Leviticus 11:22 ESV). According to the gospel of Matthew, John the Baptist subsisted on a diet of “locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4 ESV). This prophet of God adhered to God’s law, living in the Judean wilderness by consuming only those insects that were considered to be clean and acceptable.

While much has been written about the health benefits of this restrictive diet plan implemented by God, that does not seem to be its primary purpose. God’s decrees are never arbitrary or haphazard. There is always a method to His seeming madness. While there were probably secondary benefits that came from adhering to God’s divine diet plan, the real point was to help the Israelites understand the difference between the holy and the common, the clean and unclean. And this differentiation was not left up to mankind. By setting aside the descendants of Abraham as His treasured possession, God was establishing them as the model for godly living. Their lives were to be regulated by His laws and not their own. Everything about their daily existence was to reflect their one-of-kind relationship with Him – from how they worshiped and where they lived to what they ate and how they related to the world around them.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Treating the Holy as Common

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14 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 15 “If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of the Lord, he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. 16 He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven.

17 “If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity. 18 He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering; he has indeed incurred guilt before the Lord.” – Leviticus 5:14-19 ESV

Verse 14 begins a new section dealing with what has been described as the guilt offering, but what is also referred to as the offering of reparations. The focus remains on sins committed without the individual’s knowledge. While these particular sins could be committed by accident, they were still considered breaches of faith and required the guilty party to make restitution to the Lord.

The Hebrew word used to describe this kind of offering is אָשָׁם (‘āšām), and it can be translated as either “guilt” or “compensation.” What seems to set this offering apart from all the other offerings that have been discussed is the emphasis on the value of the animal to be sacrificed. God stipulated that the guilty party was to bring an unblemished ram that was of great monetary value.

“The offering must be your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value with silver, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel.” – Leviticus 5:15 NLT

The NET Bible translation of verse 15 implies that the sinner could also bring the cash equivalent of the ram’s value in silver and use that as an offering before the Lord.

“…he must bring his penalty for guilt to the Lord, a flawless ram from the flock, convertible into silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, for a guilt offering.” – Leviticus 5:15 NET

It would appear that this offering required a cash commitment on the part of the sinner. There was also a fine to be paid that was one-fifth of the animal’s value.

Once the individual became aware of their sin, they were expected to make reparations. It is unclear what is meant by “the holy things of the Lord” (Leviticus 15:14 ESV). Some speculate that these sins had something to do with the holy objects located within the Tabernacle. According to the NET Bible Study Notes, “The phrase evidently refers to anything dedicated to God by the Israelites, including the tabernacle, its furnishings, the offerings, houses, lands, and tithes.” Perhaps the sin involved someone unknowingly eating meat that had been dedicated to the priests or they could have inadvertently violated proper protocol concerning behavior in and around the Tabernacle. If they failed to treat God’s priests with proper dignity and respect, this could have incurred God’s judgment. Of course, the possible theft or mistreatment of any sacred property would also be a great offense to God.

Whatever the exact sin might have been, the guilty party was expected to compensate God for what they had done. Their real crime was that they had robbed God of glory. They had mistreated His “holy things” and, in doing so, they had diminished God’s value in the eyes of the people. Everything about the Tabernacle was to be considered holy because it all belonged to God. He had set apart the Tabernacle as His earthly dwelling place and the people of Israel were to treat His home with proper honor and respect.

As with all the other offerings, this one was intended to restore the sinner to a right relationship with God. Though he or she was guilty of having transgressed God’s pre-established standards for behavior, they could be made right with Him once again by following His prescribed plan for atonement.

“Through this process the priest will purify you from your unintentional sin, making you right with the Lord, and you will be forgiven.” – Leviticus 15:18 NLT

Restoration was the goal. God knew that His people were going to violate His commands. He was well aware of their inability to live up to His exacting standards of conduct. So, He provided a means by which their inevitable sins could be atoned for and their broken relationship with Him could be healed.

Verse 15 describes these sins as “a breach of faith.” In Hebrew, this phrase is actually māʿal māʿal and should be translated as “trespasses a trespass.” The idea is that the person has violated a known violation outlined by God. In doing so, they crossed over a boundary that God established between the holy and the common. The Tabernacle and all that was associated with it was to be off-limits to the average Israelite. It was to be treated with awe and reverence and to be used only for holy purposes because it has been consecrated to the Lord. These sins seem to involve cases of someone dishonoring that which was holy by treating it as common or ordinary.

God will eventually task Aaron and his sons with the responsibility of teaching the people of Israel the difference between the holy and the common.

“You must distinguish between what is sacred and what is common, between what is ceremonially unclean and what is clean. And you must teach the Israelites all the decrees that the LORD has given them through Moses.” – Leviticus 10:10-11 NLT

Centuries later, God would reiterate His command that the priests teach the people to discern between the holy and the ordinary.

“They will teach my people the difference between what is holy and what is common, what is ceremonially clean and unclean.” – Ezekiel 44:23 NLT

And God will hold the priests personally responsible for their failure to teach the people how to treat the holy things of God with the honor they deserve.

“Your priests have violated my instructions and defiled my holy things. They make no distinction between what is holy and what is not. And they do not teach my people the difference between what is ceremonially clean and unclean. They disregard my Sabbath days so that I am dishonored among them.” – Ezekiel 22:26 NLT

One of the greatest sins an individual can commit is to treat the holy things of God with dishonor. To treat as ordinary that which God has set apart as His own is to disregard His wishes and to disrespect what He has deemed worthy of honor. If a priest were to take one of the holy vessels from the Tabernacle and use it for a common purpose, he would be trespassing a trespass. He would be guilty of treating the holy as ordinary. And any person who unknowingly treated that which was holy as common would stand before God as guilty and deserving of judgment. But restitution and restoration were possible. Forgiveness was available. But, as is always the case, atonement came with a price.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Sufficient for the Task

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30 Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.

1 “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”

2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, 4 so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, 5 and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” 6 So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more. – Exodus 35:30-36:7 ESV

While living in Egypt, the Israelites had been used by Pharaoh as forced labor to construct a wide range of building projects. From the manufacturing of bricks and site excavation to actual construction methods, the Israelites learned a variety of useful skills from their Egyptian overlords. But none of that had adequately prepared them for the task that God had for them to do. This time, the Israelites would be building a structure designed by God and intended to function as His earthly dwelling place. There would be no bricks and mortar, scaffolding, cranes, or heavy stones to move. The materials for building God’s house would be donated by His people and crafted by men who had been divinely commissioned and gifted by God Himself.

Bezalel had been filled with the Spirit of God and equipped with all the skills he would need to oversee the construction of the Tabernacle. He and his assistant, Oholiab, were to manage a special task force of skilled craftsmen whose giftings were divinely ordained and specifically suited for the task at hand. God had not only devised the plans for the Tabernacle but had also sovereignly supplied the talents and skill sets required to bring that plan to fruition. Even those who volunteered to be trained by Bezalel and Oholiab were motivated by the Spirit of God. This building would be unique in every way, from the details concerning its design to the actual fabrication of its building materials and the final assembly of all the parts to form the completed structure. God left nothing to chance. 

And God’s Spirit-empowered workforce had no shortage of building materials to begin their construction project. The Spirit had also inspired the people of Israel to give generously in response to God’s call for donations.

Moses gave them the materials donated by the people of Israel as sacred offerings for the completion of the sanctuary. But the people continued to bring additional gifts each morning. – Exodus 36:3 NLT

The workmen eventually became overwhelmed by the sheer volume of donations that began to pile up. They had more gems, precious metals, fabric, and lumber than they could use. This unexpected problem led them to ask Moses to declare the fund-raising effort officially over.

“The people have given more than enough materials to complete the job the Lord has commanded us to do!” – Exodus 36:5 NLT

God had miraculously supplied everything necessary for the completion of His earthly dwelling place. Yes, the Israelites had donated precious metals, gemstones, fabric, oil, leather, yarn, and a variety of other elements needed to build the Tabernacle, but they had done so under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Their hearts had been moved to give generously and willingly; so much so that they had to be ordered to stop giving. And God had supplied the skill sets required to carry out the design of this one-of-a-kind structure.

Bezalel had been filled with “great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts” (Exodus 35:31 NLT). He was “a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze” and “skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood” (Exodus 35:32-33 NLT). In short, he was a master at every craft. And he and Oholiab had been divinely equipped to train others so that they could carry out the various tasks required to complete the Tabernacle on time and according to God’s detailed plan. 

This entire endeavor had God’s seal of approval and divine enablement. No one could take personal credit for any aspect of the Tabernacle’s construction. Even the gifts donated by the people of Israel had been provided for them by God. During Israel’s exit from Egypt, God orchestrated a massive transfer of wealth from the Egyptians to His chosen people.

The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. – Exodus 12:35-36 ESV

Little did the Israelites know at the time that this financial windfall would be the source of their largess when it came time to build the Tabernacle. They would actually construct God’s house with resources plundered from their former overlords and oppressors. Egyptian cloth, jewels, gold, and silver would be used to create God’s sacred dwelling place among the people of Israel.

Well in advance of the need, God had provided everything the Israelites would need to obey His command. Even the talents and skills required to build the Tabernacle had been bestowed by God long before the need arose. The money, materials, and manpower were sovereignly provided for in advance. The Tabernacle had been fully funded and the talent pool for its construction had been fully filled even before God had shared the plans with Moses on Mount Sinai. Nothing stood in the way of the Israelites obeying God’s command and completing the construction of His house. God had done His part; now it was up to the people to fulfill their God-ordained role.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Plea for God’s Mercy

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1 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” – Exodus 34:1-9 ESV

As Moses stood in the tent of meeting at the outskirts of the camp, God agreed to give Moses a glimpse of His glory. But if Moses wanted to see his request fulfilled, he would first have to replace the tablets of stones he had shattered. The God-inscribed tablets lay in pieces on the valley floor where Moses had thrown them in anger when he discovered the sordid scene taking place among his people. Moses may have broken the tablets, but the law of God remained fully intact and in place. The holiness of God had not diminished and His holy expectations of His chosen people had not been altered by their actions. If anything, God’s righteous laws were more important than ever.

The people of Israel had shown their true colors. Their allegiance to God had been exposed for what it was, weak and vacillating. It had taken no time at all for their faithfulness to Yahweh to wane and their commitment to keeping His laws to disappear like the manna did when the sun came up in the morning. So, God demanded that Moses carve out two more tablets of stone and return to the top of Mount Sinai.

“Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed. Be ready in the morning to climb up Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain.” – Exodus 34:1-2 NLT

And as before, God restricted access to the mountain, warning that no other Israelite was to come anywhere near Sinai. Not even the flocks and herds of Israel were allowed to graze near the base of the mountain. God was going to descend on Mount Sinai, transforming the entire mountain into a sacred place or sanctuary. This warning was intended as a not-so-subtle reminder to the people of Israel that they served a holy and transcendent God who deserved their reverence and whose power should elicit fear and awe. This was the very same God who had promised to dwell among them in the Tabernacle that He had designed and commissioned them to build. At the moment, that sacred structure remained unbuilt but when completed, it too would become a holy place because it contained the glory of God’s presence.

Moses obeyed God’s command and chiseled out two new tablets to replace the ones he had broken. The original set had been hand-carved by God.

The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. – Exodus 32:16 ESV

This time, by having to do the difficult work of crafting the replacement stones, Moses would have skin in the game. Perhaps he would treat God’s laws with greater respect if he had some sweat equity in their creation. But there is something else going on here. When Moses returned to the top of the mountain, he would be carrying stones that he had crafted with his own hands. They would be poor facsimiles of the ones he had broken. There is no way that Moses could craft stone tablets that were equal in quality to those made by the hand of God. Yet, God promised to write His law on the flawed stones made by human hands.

Centuries later, the prophet, Jeremiah would write the following words from God concerning the people of Israel.

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” – Jeremiah 31:33 NLT

God was speaking of a future day when He would restore His rebellious people to a right relationship with Himself. They had broken His commands time and time again and were subject to His judgment for their disobedience. He was going to punish them for their failure to obey, but He also promised to restore them. But notice what God said. He would write His laws on their hearts. And the author of Hebrews picks up on this idea when he writes:

But when God found fault with the people, he said:

“The day is coming, says the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant
    with the people of Israel and Judah.
This covenant will not be like the one
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    and led them out of the land of Egypt.
They did not remain faithful to my covenant,
    so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.
But this is the new covenant I will make
    with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds,
    and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.” – Hebrews 8:8-10 NLT

In a sense, those stone tablets carved by Moses’ hands were meant to symbolize the hardened hearts of the people of Israel. When Moses carved those stones out of the mountainside, they proved to be stubbornly resistant to the blows of his chisel and hammer. But when he carried them up the mountain, they would become the receptacles of God’s divine law. God’s intention all along was the change the hearts of His people. Laws without willing hearts to obey them become nothing more than regulations that condemn.

The apostle Paul spoke of this very issue from a personal perspective. As a former Pharisee, he had done his best to try and obey the law, only to discover that it was impossible. His heart wasn’t in it.

I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. – Romans 7:10-12 NLT

He wrote the believers in Galatia: “If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it” (Galatians 3:21 NLT). But the problem was not with the law; it was with the hearts of those who refused to obey the law.

So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. – Romans 7:14 NLT

It’s interesting to note that, until God had given the Decalogue to Moses, there were no prohibitions against having any other gods than Yahweh. But once God had given the Ten Commandments to Moses and the people had agreed to obey them, the law became binding and irrefutable. They were non-optional. Not only that, they made sin indefensible. No Israelite could say he acted out of ignorance. All those who participated in the worship of the golden calf did so in spite of their understanding of God’s law and their verbal commitment to obey that law. They stood justly condemned.

And yet, God was graciously offering to provide them with another copy of His commands. This time, they would be written on hard, cold stones carved by the hands of Moses. But they would be just as binding and unbendable in their scope.

Before God inscribed His law on the new tablets, He kept His promise and revealed His glory to Moses. And His glorious presence was accompanied by the following speech.

“Yahweh! The Lord!
    The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
    and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
    I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
    I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected—
    even children in the third and fourth generations.” – Exodus 34:6-7 NLT

If you recall, God had earlier told Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose” (Exodus 33:19 NLT). Now, as He revealed His glory to Moses, God expanded on that statement. He describes His own commitment to show compassion and mercy to His people. He declares His unfailing capacity to show love and to forgive. And yet, He affirms His right to judge the wicked and unrepentant. He declares His intention to hold the guilty accountable for their actions. Not only that, He states that future generations will inherit the guilt of their forefathers. But what is going on here? How do we justify this statement with God’s earlier promise of forgiveness? The key lies in the Ten Commandments themselves. In giving the first two laws, God had added the following condition.

“I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.” – Exodus 20:5 NLT

There was one sin that God would not forgive, and that was any rejection of Him as the one true God. He knew that this sin was particularly infectious. God knew that when the parents turned their backs on Him, the children would be prone to follow their example. And this hereditary sin would be passed down from generation to generation, with each subsequent generation bearing the guilt of their forefathers.

What had happened in the valley of Sinai was a serious breach of God’s law, but what made it even more dangerous was its potential for spreading a spirit of rebellion among the people of Israel. If it happened once, it could happen again and if it did, God would hold all those who rejected Him guilty and worthy of condemnation.

This foreboding word from God caused Moses to cry out, “Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession” (Exodus 34:9 NLT). He knew that without God’s presence, the people would be helpless, and without God’s forgiveness, they would be hopeless. So, he begged God to show mercy and extend forgiveness because he understood that the people of Israel were worthy of judgment. According to the law, they stood condemned. Which led Moses to appeal to the Law-giver to extend mercy and grace. It was their only hope.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

An Appeal to God’s Faithfulness

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7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” – Exodus 32:7-13 ESV

God knew something to which Moses was completely oblivious. For 40 days and nights, Moses had been sequestered at the top of Mount Sinai where he had just received God’s plans for the Tabernacle and instructions for commissioning his brother, Aaron, as the high priest. But while Moses had been away, things had taken a decidedly dark turn down in the valley. His brother, under pressure from the people, had decided to play the role of a priest over his very own religion with its very own god.

Moses had just taken down all the details concerning the construction of God’s house, an elaborate sanctuary designed to be Yahweh’s throneroom on earth. This sacred structure was to be His self-designed dwelling place among the people of Israel.

“…let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.” – Exodus 25:8-9 ESV

But along with the plans for the Tabernacle, God had given Moses instructions regarding the investiture of Aaron and his sons as priests.

“…bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.” – Exodus 28:1 ESV

These men had been divinely chosen to serve as mediators between Yahweh and the people of Israel, ministering on their behalf in the Tabernacle. To accentuate the sacred nature of their new role, God ordained the creation of distinctive garments that would set them apart as holy and serve as reminders of their sanctified status as priests.

But, unbeknownst to Moses, Aaron was already serving as a priest by offering sacrifices to the golden calf idol he had commissioned. Not only that, he had declared a holy day on which the people would honor their new god with sacrifices and a raucous celebration that included plenty of feasting and drinking. And, as if this wasn’t bad enough, the people “rose up to play” (Exodus 32:6 ESV). The Hebrew phrase can be translated as “they stood up to laugh, mock, or play.”

They had sat down to eat a meal but followed it with dancing and celebration. And this imagery of a feast is significant because it ties directly to the meal that Moses, Aaron, and the elders of Israel had shared together in the presence of God.

Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence! – Exodus 24:9-11 NLT

That remarkable moment in time was meant to seal the covenant that God had made with the people of Israel. Those leaders had been privileged to break bread with Yahweh Himself and that memorable event was intended to ratify their agreement to obey the commands of God. They served as representatives of the people and their presence before God affirmed what the people had agreed to do.

“All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” – Exodus 24:7 ESV

And yet, those very same men were part of the crowd that was feasting and playing in celebration of their newfound god. They rose up from another covenant meal and worshiped an altogether different god. In doing so, they broke the covenant they had made with Yahweh. They violated the very commands they had pledged to keep. And God was not happy.

“How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” – Exodus 32:8 NLT

Even God appears stunned by how quickly the people turned their backs on Him. But He wasn’t surprised or caught off guard. In His omniscience, God knew that the people of Israel would prove unfaithful and incapable of keeping His commands. His description of them as “a stiff-necked people” (Exodus 32:9 ESV) is not a statement of revelation. It is not as if He just discovered that fact, but He has known all along. From the moment He chose to deliver them from their captivity in Egypt, He knew they would prove to be a stubborn and rebellious people, and they had proven that fact every step of the way from Goshen to Sinai.

These people had a habit of murmuring and complaining. They had a track record of ingratitude and dissatisfaction with God’s way of doing things. And now, they had topped off their not-so-subtle attitude of rebellion by dismissing Yahweh altogether. They dumped their Deliverer and replaced Him with a god of their own making. And describes their actions in highly unflattering terms.

“Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.” – Exodus 32:7 ESV

The Hebrew word, שָׁחַת (šāḥaṯ), carries the idea of decay, spoilage, or ruin. The actions of the people of Israel had made them unacceptable in the eyes of God. They had made themselves impure and morally reprehensible to a holy God. In a word, they defiled themselves, and God held them personally responsible.

This led God to reveal to Moses His plan for dealing with their blatant display of apostasy.

“Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.” – Exodus 32:10 NLT

This statement was intended to let Moses know just how serious this situation was. God was so offended that He was willing to start from scratch, and this would not have been the first time. When the sins of mankind had reached a fever pitch during the days of Noah, God had chosen to begin again by destroying every human being but Noah and his immediate family. But even with a new start, humanity continued to display its propensity for rebellion and godlessness. That led God to choose Abram, a pagan from the land of Ur, through whom He started a brand new nation that eventually became the people of Israel.

But the Israelites had displayed their hand. Even after God had rescued them from their captivity in Egypt and pledged to make His divine presence a permanent part of their community, they turned their backs on Him. So, God informed Moses that He was willing to start all over again. He would reboot the system once again; this time allowing Moses to play the role of Abraham.

Moses had to have been shocked by what God told him. He too must have been angered by this latest news of his people’s rebellion. Moses must have been appalled by Aaron’s role in the whole affair. But rather than embrace God’s plan to start over, Moses intervened. He interceded on behalf of his rebellious people and begged God to reconsider.

“O Lord!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand? Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people!” – Exodus 32:11-12 NLT

Moses appealed to God’s faithfulness and reminded Him of His own reputation. The last thing God would want is for the nations of the world to view His actions in a negative light. For God to destroy the people of Israel now would send the wrong message and portray Him as unfaithful and untrustworthy. Yahweh would come across as just another fickle, revenge-minded deity who viewed human beings as nothing more than pawns in some kind of divine game of chance.

Moses reminded Yahweh of the covenant He had made with the patriarchs of Israel.

“Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’” – Exodus 32:13 NLT

In all of this, Moses was revealing his understanding of God’s nature and his awareness of the bigger picture concerning the people of Israel. They were on their way to the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That was the destination and it was all part of the sovereign strategy that God had put in place centuries earlier. This moment in the wilderness was just a phase in the long-established plan of God and should not be allowed to deter or derail what God had ordained.

Moses was revealing his growing sense of trust in the promises of God. There had been times along the way when he had been ready to give up and go home. The constant complaining of the people had gotten on his nerves and tempted him to throw in the towel. But he was learning to trust in the will of God and to view the ups and downs of life as part of His divine plan. The Egyptians had been no problem for God. The lack of water in the wilderness and the Israelite’s diminishing supply of bread had not thrown a wrench into God’s plan. And as far as Moses could see, their blatant display of rebellion should pose no threat to God’s providential plan either. Yahweh was far too faithful to let this incident prevent His sovereign will from being done.

Moses knew that God was great. He was well aware of God’s holiness and transcendence. He was intimately familiar with God’s power. But he had also grown to understand God’s unwavering faithfulness. With the plans for the Tabernacle in his hands, Moses longed to see it take form in the valley below so that the people might know and experience the joy of God’s presence. So, he went to the mat with God and urged Him to display His faithfulness once again – in a big way.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Live Like Who You Are

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 16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins.

18 “You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

19 “Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.

20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.

21 “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

25 “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. 26 If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

29 “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 30 You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

31 “You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs. – Exodus 22:16-31 ESV

When we view these laws from our modern vantage point, they appear to be rather random, a bit disjointed, and difficult to apply to our current context. Their heavy emphasis on an agrarian economy and their seeming endorsement of slavery makes them sound antiquated and no longer applicable. They come across as nothing more than a list of ancient legal codes from a bygone era.

But these laws are the divine directives passed down from Yahweh to His people and, as such, they provide important insight into His character. These civil laws were meant to direct the daily interactions of His people. He was leaving nothing to chance. The level of detail and specificity found in these laws reveals that God cared deeply about every area of His people’s lives. It was not enough that they refrain from worshiping false gods. Their love for Him must be reflected in their care for one another. It was together that they formed His treasured possession. It was as a community that they would best reflect His character and display His glory among the nations. These rather arbitrary-sounding laws were meant to dictate and determine their interactions with one another. He wanted them to love one another well.

The apostle Paul picks up on this communal context in his first letter to the believers in Corinth. He used the analogy of the human body to drive home the God-ordained interdependency of the members of the body of Christ. Each Christ-follower has been carefully placed within the context of a local church body and it is within that communal atmosphere that the life-transforming power of God is best displayed.

…our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. – 1 Corinthians 12:18-27 NLT

So, in reading these civil codes of conduct, it is important to see the timeless principles they contain. They were meant to guide the Israelites into greater godliness – so that they might better reflect the character of the Lawgiver. He is holy and He expects the people who bear His name to model their lives after His example – not perfectly, but faithfully. The fact that they would fail is built into these laws. These civil codes reveal what was to happen when someone fell short of God’s righteous standard. There were to be consequences. Penalties were to be enforced. Restitution was to be made.  Relationships were to be restored. God was to be honored.

Verse 15 contains rules about borrowing. Then, as if out of nowhere, verse 16 abruptly shifts to rules about premarital sex. But there is actually a vital link between these two verses. The Hebrew word translated as “borrows” is שָׁאַל (šā’al), and it can also be translated as “to ask for.”

In verse 16, the Hebrew word translated as “seduces” is פָּתָה (pāṯâ), and it means “to persuade.” In both cases, words play a critical role. One man “asks for” something he wants to borrow. Another man “persuades” a young woman in order to get what he wants – her hand in marriage. This is not about rape, but about premarital sex. The man loves the young woman and wants to marry her but fails to keep things in their proper and appropriate order.

“…in this case the couple’s intercourse was consensual. It was a seduction in the true sense of the word. The woman was receptive to the man’s advances, for when the Bible says the man ‘seduces’ (Exodus 22:16), it means “he persuades the girl and she consents,’” – Philip Graham Ryken, Exodus: Saved For God’s Glory

This law was intended to deal with the inevitable cases of sexual promiscuity among young people within the community. Driven by their hormones, they would be tempted to forego God’s plan for courtship, marriage, and sex, and rearrange the order to meet their out-of-control passions. When that happened, there were rules to follow. The father of the girl could either refuse or accept the young man’s request to marry her. Either way, the young man was required to pay the bride-price. Through his actions, he had “bought” the young girl and made her his own – now he had to pay the price.

With her virginity taken from her, the young girl was in a precarious position. She would be considered “damaged goods” by other men in the community, making it virtually impossible for her to find a husband. So, if the man who “persuaded” her to have sex with him refused to marry her, he was obligated to set her up financially for the future. If he chose to go through with the marriage, he also had to make a financial commitment to prove his intentions. God expected this young man, who had done the wrong thing, to follow it up by doing the right thing. He was to take responsibility.

The next three verses take another abrupt turn, dealing with witchcraft, bestiality, and idolatry. While they appear to be completely disconnected, these three crimes all demand the death penalty because they all involve false worship. A sorcerous was someone who communicated with the dead in order to cast spells and tell fortunes. They claimed to possess supernatural powers that allowed them to foretell the future and control the fates of others. They were pretending to be like God and leading the people away from His will.

The prohibition against bestiality was a direct indictment of the pagan practices of the other nations that occupied the land of Canaan. Because of their emphasis on false gods, these cultures actually celebrated this form of deviancy by incorporating it into their worship. The Canaanites actually depicted their god, Baal, as having intercourse with a cow. And worshipers were encouraged to emulate the actions of their sacred deity.  So this law was not out of place or unnecessary. It was a direct indictment of the nations that occupied the land God had promised to Israel, and He wanted them to understand that this kind of behavior was completely off-limits and deserving of death.

In fact, God makes it clear that anyone who makes any kind of sacrifice to a false god is worthy of death. He would not tolerate unfaithfulness among His people.

The remaining verses of chapter 22 focus on God’s compassion for the helpless and hopeless within the covenant community. These laws target the treatment of strangers, widows, orphans, and the poor. God would not tolerate the mistreatment of the disenfranchised and disadvantaged. He knew it would be easy to take advantage of the less fortunate because they had no means of defending themselves. So, He placed strict guidelines on all interactions with these individuals. They were to be seen as a protected class and treated with compassion. And failure to do so would result in dire consequences.

“If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.” – Exodus 22:23-24 NLT

Even allowing a neighbor to suffer discomfort by refusing to return his coat would bring down the wrath of God.

“If you do not return it and your neighbor cries out to me for help, then I will hear, for I am merciful.” – Exodus 22:27 NLT

Ultimately, all their actions were to be seen as evidence of their relationship with God. If they mistreated and abused one another, they were demonstrating their lack of regard for God’s law and their disregard for His character. Even their refusal to treat His appointed leaders with respect was nothing less than a refusal to honor Him as God.

God deserved their honor. He had earned it through His gracious redemption of them from slavery in Egypt. He expected them to keep their covenant commitments, including the dedication of their firstborn. At the Passover, He had spared all the firstborns of Israel. Now, he expected them to honor their commitment by dedicating the firstborns to Him.

God had consecrated the people of Israel as His own possession. They belonged to Him and expected them to live in keeping with their new identity. They were to be a holy people, living distinctively different lives from all their pagan neighbors.

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” – Exodus 19:5-6 ESV

Their actions were to match their identity. Their behavior was to reflect their new ownership. They were God’s chosen people and they were to act like it.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Dwelling Place of God

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5 Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick, and the breadth of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the temple. 6 And the side chambers were in three stories, one over another, thirty in each story. There were offsets all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that they should not be supported by the wall of the temple. 7 And it became broader as it wound upward to the side chambers, because the temple was enclosed upward all around the temple. Thus the temple had a broad area upward, and so one went up from the lowest story to the top story through the middle story. 8 I saw also that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed of six long cubits. 9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. The free space between the side chambers of the temple and the 10 other chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side. 11 And the doors of the side chambers opened on the free space, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south. And the breadth of the free space was five cubits all around.

12 The building that was facing the separate yard on the west side was seventy cubits broad, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.

13 Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; and the yard and the building with its walls, a hundred cubits long; 14 also the breadth of the east front of the temple and the yard, a hundred cubits.

15 Then he measured the length of the building facing the yard that was at the back and its galleries on either side, a hundred cubits.

The inside of the nave and the vestibules of the court, 16 the thresholds and the narrow windows and the galleries all around the three of them, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, from the floor up to the windows (now the windows were covered), 17 to the space above the door, even to the inner room, and on the outside. And on all the walls all around, inside and outside, was a measured pattern. 18 It was carved of cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Every cherub had two faces: 19 a human face toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around. 20 From the floor to above the door, cherubim and palm trees were carved; similarly the wall of the nave.

21 The doorposts of the nave were squared, and in front of the Holy Place was something resembling 22 an altar of wood, three cubits high, two cubits long, and two cubits broad. Its corners, its base, and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table that is before the Lord.” 23 The nave and the Holy Place had each a double door. 24 The double doors had two leaves apiece, two swinging leaves for each door. 25 And on the doors of the nave were carved cherubim and palm trees, such as were carved on the walls. And there was a canopy[j] of wood in front of the vestibule outside. 26 And there were narrow windows and palm trees on either side, on the sidewalls of the vestibule, the side chambers of the temple, and the canopies. – Ezekiel 41:5-26 ESV

The level of detail in Ezekiel’s vision is staggering. His guided tour of the Millennial Temple was conducted by “man whose face shone like bronze” (Ezekiel 40:3 NLT), who held “a linen measuring cord and a measuring rod” (Ezekiel 40:3 NLT) in his hand. Each time they entered a new area of the temple complex, “the man” provided detailed measurements to indicate the exact dimensions involved. The temple itself, which was the focal point of the entire compound, was an elaborate, multi-storied structure surrounded by three rows of antechambers. There were 90 of these small rooms stacked three stories high along three different sides of the temple. There is no information given regarding their purpose but they would have formed the outer wall of the temple itself. It seems that with each successive story, the rooms became slightly larger in size. 

To the west of the temple was another free-standing building that was roughly 116 feet deep and 150 feet wide. There is no indication as to the nature or purpose of this structure. But from all the details provided, it is clear that this future temple complex is far larger and more complex than any of the previous iterations of the temple. And its dimensions dwarf the original tabernacle used by the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings.

In verses 16-26, Ezekiel records the dimensions and decorative embellishments of the temple’s interior. The walls are paneled in wood and “decorated with carved cherubim and palm trees” (Ezekiel 41:25 NLT).  These images are meant to convey a powerful message regarding the temple’s occupant.

“In these figures aspirations of life and prosperity (palm) and security (cherubim) coalesce. In Israelite thought, the divine resident of this house was the source of both. – Daniel I. Block, The Book of Ezekiel

God is the giver of all life and the sole source of man’s prosperity and protection. God had already told Ezekiel that the day would come when He would restore His people to their land and take up residence among them once again.

“I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” – Ezekiel 37:26-27 ESV

God’s house will be of immense proportions and feature beautifully ornate architectural embellishments designed to reflect His divine glory and greatness. Everything about the temple and its surrounding grounds will be striking and attention-getting. This beautiful building will be a showcase of God Almighty and serve as a permanent reminder of His presence and power.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Holiness Is Non-Optional

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1 “And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. 2 A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. 3 And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. 4 And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel.

5 “Thus says the Lord God: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6 And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes.” – Ezekiel 5:1-6 ESV

Can Ezekiel’s assignment get any stranger? He has already been commanded to spend the next 430 days lying in the street next to a miniature model of the city of Jerusalem. Each of those days, he has to act out the siege of Jerusalem while subsisting on a diet of nothing but bread and water. As the months go by, his body will begin to waste away from lack of food, and he will endure the ridicule and rejection of the very people for whom his message was intended.

But God was not done. He added another bizarre twist to this parable-in-a-play, commanding Ezekiel to remove his hair and beard using a sword. God’s choice of a sharp sword as Ezekiel’s shaving instrument was intentional and designed to illustrate the military nature of the siege. The residents of Jerusalem would be armed for battle because their city was under attack by the Babylonians. But the long duration of the siege and the resulting famine inside the city walls would leave its inhabitants hungry and demoralized. And the imagery of Ezekiel’s shaved head and beard was intended to reflect the severe state of mourning that will take place within the walls of Jerusalem.

The Mosaic Law prohibited God’s people from practicing the mourning rituals of the pagan nations around them.

“Since you are the people of the Lord your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead. You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.” – Deuteronomy 14:1-2 NLT

The Torah interpreted these verses to be a prohibition on tonsuring, the pulling out or cutting of hair to express sorrow. This was a common practice among the pagan nations living in the land of Canaan. But God commanded His chosen people to abstain from such practices.

Yet, God commanded His prophet, Ezekiel, to shave his head and beard in order to demonstrate the severity of the siege and the humiliation the people would suffer for their rebellion against him. What made this command even more difficult for Ezekiel to obey was that it violated God’s laws concerning the priesthood of Israel.

“The priests must not shave their heads or trim their beards or cut their bodies. They must be set apart as holy to their God and must never bring shame on the name of God. They must be holy, for they are the ones who present the special gifts to the Lord, gifts of food for their God.” – Leviticus 21:5-6 NLT

The people who witnessed this shocking display of self-degradation by Ezekiel would have understood its significance. By shaving his head and beard, this young priest would have willingly violated God’s law, rendering himself defiled and unholy. But what they might not have understood was that his action was a demonstration of their own spiritual state before God. They were defiled and unholy as well. Because of their stubborn refusal to repent, they were no longer considered holy or set apart as God’s chosen people.

And God had another bizarre element to add to Ezekiel’s performance. He was to take the hair and weigh it on a scale, dividing it into three equal parts.

“Place a third of it at the center of your map of Jerusalem. After acting out the siege, burn it there. Scatter another third across your map and chop it with a sword. Scatter the last third to the wind, for I will scatter my people with the sword.” – Ezekiel 5:2 NLT

It is important to remember that every phase of God’s instructions to Ezekiel was to be acted out in public. He was required to carry out God’s commands so that his fellow exiles could witness it with their own eyes. This message was for them.

So, God commanded that upon completion of his 430-day demonstration, Ezekiel was to burn one-third of the hair in the center of the model he had built. This was intended to represent all those who would be slaughtered within the city when the Babylonians broke through the walls.

Then God commanded Ezekiel to take another third of the hair and use his sword to chop it up outside the walls of his miniature model of Jerusalem. This action was intended to represent the wholesale massacre of all those who attempted to flee the city. And Ezekiel was commanded to take the final third of the hair and scatter it to the wind, illustrating all those who would end up “blown” by God’s will to the four corners of the earth. Some would escape and relocate to foreign lands, while a large number of the people would end up as captives in Babylon just like Ezekiel and his fellow exiles.

The book of 2 Chronicles records the devastating details surrounding the eventual siege and destruction of Jerusalem.

So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the Lord’s Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials. Then his army burned the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value. The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. – 2 Chronicles 36:17-20 NLT

Everything that God commanded Ezekiel to act out would eventually become a painful reality for those still living within the walls of Jerusalem. God was using His young prophet to provide an eerily accurate portrayal of the fall of Jerusalem. He wanted the Jews living as exiles in Babylon to understand that His anger was not yet assuaged. There were some among them in Babylon who were suggesting that their days of suffering were almost over and they would soon be returning home. Others had become comfortable in their new surroundings in Babylon and had long ago given up hope or interest in returning to their homeland.

Even back in Jerusalem, there were those who were propagating the idea that the Babylonian siege would be shortlived and unsuccessful. The civil and religious leaders were trying to convince the people that God was going to rescue them from their predicament. But God had given His prophet, Jeremiah, a dramatically different message to deliver to the people.

“From the least to the greatest,
    their lives are ruled by greed.
From prophets to priests,
    they are all frauds.
They offer superficial treatments
    for my people’s mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
    when there is no peace.” – Jeremiah 6:13-14 NLT

Rather than confess their sins and return to the Lord in humility, these people were declaring themselves to be innocent and worthy of God’s rescue. Even Jeremiah would attempt to inform God about the deceptive rhetoric of the other self-appointed prophets of Judah.

Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, their prophets are telling them, ‘All is well—no war or famine will come. The Lord will surely send you peace.’” – Ezekiel 14:13 NLT

He was fighting a one-man battle against disinformation and false news. But Jeremiah wasn’t telling God anything He didn’t already know. In fact, God assured Jeremiah that these false prophets would pay dearly for their lies.

Then the Lord said, “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will punish these lying prophets, for they have spoken in my name even though I never sent them. They say that no war or famine will come, but they themselves will die by war and famine!” – Ezekiel 14:14-15 NLT

Meanwhile, back in Babylon, Ezekiel was putting on a show for the exiles, attempting to drive home the severity of God’s anger with His people. Their very presence in Babylon was proof that God was serious about sin and was more than willing to punish it severely. And He was far from done. Their fellow Jews back in Jerusalem were continuing to live in disobedience to God’s will and refusing to answer His call to repentance, and their actions had not escaped the eyes of the Almighty.

“…she has rebelled against my regulations and decrees and has been even more wicked than the surrounding nations. She has refused to obey the regulations and decrees I gave her to follow.” – Ezekiel 5:6 NLT

Ezekiel’s lengthy dramatic performance was meant to remind the unrepentant Jews in Babylon that God expects obedience from His chosen people, no matter where they live. And their failure to live holy lives and reflect the glory of God would eventually have devastating consequences.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.