A friend and I have been discussing King David. I'm finding him quite fascinating. Some writers have made observation that he is like the New Testament in Old Testament times. For David and his companions there was no barrier between them and the holy - it just didn't exist. David is a forgleam of the freedom that we experience in the New Covenant!
Shewbread - Bread of Presentation
In Ancient times the shewbread or bread presentation was set before Almighty God in the holy compartment of the tabernacle or temple. (Exodus 25:30; Leviticus 24:5,6) Only the priests could enter the holy, only consecrated priests could eat the showbread. To the contrary in the recorded account in 1 Samuel 21:1-8 David and his men eat the bread of presentation. They broke the law - surely they should be condmened! They weren't. They weren't condemmed by the priesthood then. Jesus didn't condemn them either but rathered used this account of David of eating the shewbread as a favorable example in defense of his own action. (Luke 6:1-5)
The example of the shewbread pales in comparison to the "Tabernacle of David" and what went on there which is absolutely MIND-BLOWING!
Tabernacle of David
Have you heard of the Tabernacle of David? The Tabernacle of Moses is very familiar as is the temple of Solomon but I didn't really know too much about the oft-overlooked "tabernacle of David". In fact I didn't even know it existed. When I was recently told about it from another Christian it bowled me over. It is so FASCINATING and very important I would like to share this information with you.
First why is it important?
Amos prophecies, "On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old;" - Amos 9:11
Then in the early days of the Christian congregation a problem arises over the gentiles coming into the Church and the problem manifested itself over the issue of circumcism. This issue was dealt with in Jerusalem and is recorded in Acts 15. In coming to a decision James under Holy Spirit references this prophecy of Amos - the restoration of the tabernacle of David!
Why? The Tabernacle of David refers to unfettered and completely accesible worship in the presence of God without any barriers, barricades, blockades, doors, or dividing walls!
To understand the Tabernacle of David we first have to go back to the Tabernacle of Moses in how it was arranged. There were three areas.
1.) The Courtyard
The courtyard contained the brazen altar for sacrifices and the lever for the cleansing of the priests. Everyone is Israel was permitted to enter the courtyard. They could worship God freely there.
2.) The Holy Place
Within the courtyad was the Holy Place. This was where we find the altar of incense, the lampstand, and the table of the shewbread. Entrance was restricted to just the priests.
3.) The Most Holy Place
Within the Holy Place was a veiled area called the Most Holy Place. It contained only one item. The ark of the covenant which represented the throne of God and his Holy presence. Entrance was limited to just one person - the High Priest, once a year.
This was how it was down to the days of Eli the High Priest. The traveling Tabernacle of Moses was now stationed in Shiloh. Eli had two good for nothing sons named Hophi and Phineas who served with him as priests in the tabernacle. These were the guys who were having sex relations with women at the gates of the tabernacle and eating the fatty portions of the offerings reserved for God. (1 Samuel 2:22-25)
One day Israel gets into a battle with the neighboring Phillistines. Israel had always had success against the Phillistines but on that day they were defeated and lost 4,000 men! So the people are confused. "Why didn't God fight for us?" they wonder. So they hatch this "brilliant" idea to go get the ark of the covenant and bring it into battle. They reason if God doesn't want to show up for the battle we will just go get him and bring him to it. So Hophni and Phineas violate the Most Holy Place and take the ark of covenant into battle. And surprise, surprise God still doesn't show up. Hophni and Phineas die along with 30,000 Israelites! Worst of all the ark of the covenant is taken by the Philistines! When Eli hears the news about the ark he falls over backward and dies. (1 Samuel 4)
Now the Phillistines take the ark and station it in their chief city of Ashdod, but it brings plagues so they pass it to Gath. The same things happen in Gath so the people of Gath send it to Ekron. Ekron is terrified so they wise up and say, "Enough, let's send it back to Israel". So they load up the ark in cart and drive it back to Israel. (1 Samuel 5)
Israel of course is overjoyed to receive the ark back. It was a dark day when it was stolen and "the glory had departed". The ark is pulled into Besh Shemash and the people are really, really happy. But they do something incredibly stupid. They decide to take off the lid of the ark, the mercy seat, and peek inside. When the mercy seat is removed, the broken law is uncovered by the blood of atonement and they are condemned to death and instantly die. So the people get frightened and call for some people from Kiriath Jearim to come get the ark. (1 Samuel 6)
Interestingly the ark is not brought back to the tabernacle of Moses in Shiloh. Instead it is taken to the house of Abinadab in Kiriath Jearim where it is guarded by his son Eleazar (1 Samuel 7:1) And there it stays during entire the reign of Saul until the days when David reigns as King.
David loves God and wants to bring him back. So he calls upon the people to go get the ark from Kiriath Jearim and bring it back to Israel. A wonderful idea with just one problem -- they load up the ark on a cart. Remember that the cart idea was originally the brain-child of the heathen Philistines. As the ark travels upon this rickety invention of man it hits a bump on a threshing floor (The place where the wheat is seperated from the chaff). The ark wobbles so a man named Uzza reaches out to steady it and is struck dead. So David gets frightened and doesn't bring the ark back to his city but they store it in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. (1 Chronicles 13)
The ark is in the house Obed-Edom, blessing his family for for three months, and during that time David reads up on the Law and figures out that only the God ordained way to transport the ark is carried on staves by sanctified priests. So all the priests assemble and prepare to bring the ark to the City of David. And it is the biggest party in all of Israel. There are musicians and singers and even David himself strips down to a linen shift and dances in the presence of God. (1 Chronicles 15)
They bring the ark back, not to the Tabernacle of Moses which is now in Gibeon, but to the simple canvas tent David has erected upon Mt. Zion. David makes burnt offerings and then stations people to sing songs and play music in the presence of the ark of the covenant daily - there was even a night shift! (1 Chonicles 16:1-6)
At this time there was an anomaly in Israel - there were two tabernacles of God in existance simeultaneously. There was the Tabernacle of David on Mt. Zion and the Tabernacle of Moses in Gibeon. (Some of the Psalms even reference "Tabernacles" in the plural) David and the singers and musicians served on Mt. Zion before the ark in the Tabernacle of David. In Gibeon Zadok and the priests served in the prescibed manner of the Law with the sacrifices in the Tabernacle of Moses. At David's Tabernacle there was only a one time sacrificial offering and then 24/7 sacrifices of the fruit of the lips. At Gibeon there are daily animal sacrifices upon the altar. Mt. Zion is the new wineskin. Gibeon is the old wineskin. One had the presence of God, the wine, unfettered and accesible for all to drink. One didn't have it all. (1 Chronicles 16:37-42)
In the tabernacle of Moses only the High Priest could come before the presence of God in the Most Holy place. In the tabernacle of David it was completely open and accessible to all morning, noon, and night. Can you just picture David nestled up under the shadow of the wings of the cherubim on top of the ark writing, playing, and singing songs? Can you picture the people worshipping freely and uncondemned before God?
David was just a sneak preview of the joy that we realise today! Today we are free to eat the bread of presentation. Today we worship in the very presence of the Lord unrestricted! Through Jesus we have boldness to enter into the holy place, uncondemned! Jesus destroyed the barriers and not just those that existed between Jew and Gentile; but also those between priest and non-priest. The tabernacle of David is restored and what a sweet freedom we have!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
6a2 on YouTube
I've jumped on the YouTube bandwagon. We've been using the new Internet browser on the Wii to watch videos to our TV. I was organizing our personal video tapes and found some videos to upload to YouTube.
These are of me and Rebekah's old band 6a2 from our one and only live performance:
4(give/get)
Cannonball
Mr. Tough Guy
And two from my favorite band Pop Riveter taken in 2004 at the October Ridge fest:
Good Day
Cracklin Rosie
These are of me and Rebekah's old band 6a2 from our one and only live performance:
4(give/get)
Cannonball
Mr. Tough Guy
And two from my favorite band Pop Riveter taken in 2004 at the October Ridge fest:
Good Day
Cracklin Rosie
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Fruitage of the Spirit - Part 1
In 2007 I will be contributing an article for each monthly edition of the Common Truth e-newsletter. The articles will be part of a systematic study of the "Fruitage of the Spirit" found at Galatians 5:22, 23. My original intention was to write a book on the topic as part of a personal study. That is still my goal but having a monthly obligation to the newsletter should keep me on track so that I don't slack off. (God willing)
--
The overall aim of Paul’s shepherding activities throughout the congregations he helped to plant was to build believers into full-grown maturity within the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13) This was true within the Roman province of Galatia. In writing to them he spoke to them as his “little children” and told them, “I am again in childbirth pains until Christ is formed in you.” (Galatians 4:19) Ultimately he wanted them to be able to make the same assertion that he himself made, “It is no longer I that live, but it is Christ who is living in union with me.” (Galatians 2:20)
After leaving the church in Galatia though, those newborn Christians suffered a serious setback in their progress toward fullness in Christ. Certain ones from the church in Judea were infiltrating their congregations and teaching a works-based perversion of the Gospel. This caused the Galatians to turn away from the spirit and start living toward the works of law. After losing their focus on the spirit some were perhaps even falling back into fleshly tendencies. In writing the letter, Paul hoped to bring them back in line with the spirit they began with.
This provides the backdrop for which we obtain our theme scripture.
"the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." - Galatians 5:22, 23
Before we can begin a discussion about bearing fruit though, we must consider what is meant by the term “fruits”. Some may confuse bearing fruits as works such as evangelizing and making converts. Sadly, we don't have to look too deeply at the contemporary Christian landscape to see that even though a person may manifest good works their inner person may be void and lacking of Christ. For example, a dynamic "pastor" may lead a church of thousands; but secretly be involved in sexual sin.
Furthermore, even ungodly men can manifest good works. To illustrate we can consider briefly one aspect of the fruitage of the spirit: Generosity. A greedy business executive may give to charity to increase his worldly status or to alleviate a tax burden. Certainly we wouldn't conclude that such a man was bearing good fruitage in doing so.
So when speaking about the fruits we are not talking about what we consider good works or deeds but instead are looking at a good Christ-like personality. The spirit produces Godly characteristics in a person and as a result they will inherently have good actions. And just as Jesus cautions that from an evil heart all manner of wickedness may spring forth, the converse is true that from one having a pure heart all sorts of good fruitage will be brought forth. (Mark 7:23) Paul cites this principle when he writes to the Galatians, “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) Thus when we look at developing the "fruitage of the spirit" in our lives we are not seeking works but seeking to develop the spirit of Christ within us that will naturally lead to virtuous action.
In his letter to the Galatians Paul lists the fruitage, or the good qualities, that the spirit produces within us. While this listing of the fruitage of Spirit is a wonderful round look at the “mind of Christ” we must keep in mind that it is not meant to be comprehensive and complete.
In speaking about the contrasting works of the flesh he doesn't produce an exhaustive list because they are, in his words, "obvious" or "apparent". In dealing with the works of the flesh at Galatians 5:19-21, Paul quickly enumerates a few and says, "and things like these." Likewise the list of aspects of the fruit of the spirit at Galatians is a general overview of what is manifest in the personality of a spirit lead person.
In his letters to the congregation at Ephesus, Paul provides even a broader summary of the fruit of the spirit saying, it is "found in all that is good and right and true". (Ephesians 5:9) These attributes are the part of the new personality that we take on as Holy Ones of God. (Colossians 3:10-14)
Paul was not the first to use the word picture of fruit when dealing with spiritual life. Jesus often used fruit in his parables and teachings. He emphasized the importance of bearing good fruit by showing that the quality of fruit produced will determine the true man of God and show up those who are false. Furthermore he taught that those who do not bear good fruit are to be judged and destroyed in fire. (Matthew 7:19) As Christian disciples of Jesus bearing good fruit is imperative. But how can we develop good fruit in our lives?
Illustrating aspects of the Christian personality as fruitage shows how these virtues develop in a person - that is organically and not mechanically. They are not prepared as one would an apple pie; rather they are cultivated like an apple tree. To further illustrate, when baking we generally have control over the process from start to finish. The end product is therefore solely determined by our selection of ingredients, our ability to follow a recipe, and our culinary skill.
When gardening we only have partial control over the end result. A skilled farmer can do much to produce a good harvest; however there is a certain element that is left in the hands of God. Paul calls to mind this principle at 1 Corinthians 3:6,7 where he writes, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who give the growth."
By comparing the production of these qualities to a bringing forth a harvest of fruit it clues us in to the optimal way they will develop in us - that is organically grown in tandem with God. While it is possible to try to work on these individual aspects of the Christian life, our best success will be achieved when we allow them to naturally spring forth as the result of germinating the seed of God's Word planted within us, watered by his Spirit. In considering how we can have a bountiful spiritual harvest it comes down to these three symbolic elements: Soil, seed, and water.
Soil
Soil represents us as individuals as we are made from the ground. We were originally created in the image of God and still within our hearts there lies fertile ground that may produce a rich crop of spiritual fruitage.
Jesus illustrates the principle of good soil in his illustration of the seed sower in Matthew 13. In his parable he likens a person who is receptive to the seed of God’s Word as good soil that would produce an abundant crop. Such a person willingly receives God’s Word and cherishes it in their hearts. On the opposite side, poor soil is manifest by those that have no lasting interest in the Word of God, who fall away in times in tribulation or who allow secular interests to encroach upon their spirituality. Therefore, in order to have good soil we need to have a deep love for God's Word; such an everlasting love that overshadows all other things in our lives.
Seed
In Jesus’ illustration the seed is God's Word. When we think about God’s Word we may have the tendency to just think about God’s written word the Bible. But when we speak about God’s Word we are ultimately talking about Jesus Christ who is the revealed Word of God. ( John 1:14) Jesus Christ is the channel by which God speaks to us today. (Hebrews 1:2) And because the “testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” we can understand that the entire inspired written Word is a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 19:10) Jesus then is the seed that will produce “righteous fruit” in our lives. (Philippians 1:11)
The seed may also compare to our individual nature. When we are born as humans, sin implants the fleshly nature, or seed of sin, into our hearts. If we allow such a seed to germinate it will bring forth a corrupt harvest that withers and dies. Fortunately though, we have the opportunity to plant a new seed within us, Jesus, God’s living Word.
When we accept Jesus into our hearts we can begin “sowing with a view to the spirit” and we “will reap everlasting life from the spirit". (Galatians 6:8) At this time we are “born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring Word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23)
Water
Soil and seed have great potential for growth but they need water to cause germination. While a fruit tree requires only the one time planting of a seed, it will require water throughout its maturation and on through that its entire life.
The water that God provides is the Holy Spirit that he rains down upon us bringing us growth. Joel prophetically spoke of a time that God would bring rain in full measure, even a downpour upon his people and that he would “pour out [his] spirit on all kinds of peoples” (Joel 2:23,28) This rain shower started to pour on Christians on Pentecost 33 CE when God poured out his holy spirit upon a group of gathered believers.(Acts 2:17-21)
This was in accord with Jesus’ promise that his Father would send them the Holy Spirit. (John 16:7; Acts 1:4,5) Like rain, the Spirit is poured down into the soil of our hearts and causes the seed of Jesus to grow within us. (Galatians 4:6; Romans 5:5) This water enriches our lives.(Psalm 65:9) The Spirit forms “living water” that flows out of the hearts of believers. (John 7:37,38) And the living water brings forth a rich crop of Christ-like fruitage - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22,23)
--
The overall aim of Paul’s shepherding activities throughout the congregations he helped to plant was to build believers into full-grown maturity within the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13) This was true within the Roman province of Galatia. In writing to them he spoke to them as his “little children” and told them, “I am again in childbirth pains until Christ is formed in you.” (Galatians 4:19) Ultimately he wanted them to be able to make the same assertion that he himself made, “It is no longer I that live, but it is Christ who is living in union with me.” (Galatians 2:20)
After leaving the church in Galatia though, those newborn Christians suffered a serious setback in their progress toward fullness in Christ. Certain ones from the church in Judea were infiltrating their congregations and teaching a works-based perversion of the Gospel. This caused the Galatians to turn away from the spirit and start living toward the works of law. After losing their focus on the spirit some were perhaps even falling back into fleshly tendencies. In writing the letter, Paul hoped to bring them back in line with the spirit they began with.
This provides the backdrop for which we obtain our theme scripture.
"the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." - Galatians 5:22, 23
Before we can begin a discussion about bearing fruit though, we must consider what is meant by the term “fruits”. Some may confuse bearing fruits as works such as evangelizing and making converts. Sadly, we don't have to look too deeply at the contemporary Christian landscape to see that even though a person may manifest good works their inner person may be void and lacking of Christ. For example, a dynamic "pastor" may lead a church of thousands; but secretly be involved in sexual sin.
Furthermore, even ungodly men can manifest good works. To illustrate we can consider briefly one aspect of the fruitage of the spirit: Generosity. A greedy business executive may give to charity to increase his worldly status or to alleviate a tax burden. Certainly we wouldn't conclude that such a man was bearing good fruitage in doing so.
So when speaking about the fruits we are not talking about what we consider good works or deeds but instead are looking at a good Christ-like personality. The spirit produces Godly characteristics in a person and as a result they will inherently have good actions. And just as Jesus cautions that from an evil heart all manner of wickedness may spring forth, the converse is true that from one having a pure heart all sorts of good fruitage will be brought forth. (Mark 7:23) Paul cites this principle when he writes to the Galatians, “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) Thus when we look at developing the "fruitage of the spirit" in our lives we are not seeking works but seeking to develop the spirit of Christ within us that will naturally lead to virtuous action.
In his letter to the Galatians Paul lists the fruitage, or the good qualities, that the spirit produces within us. While this listing of the fruitage of Spirit is a wonderful round look at the “mind of Christ” we must keep in mind that it is not meant to be comprehensive and complete.
In speaking about the contrasting works of the flesh he doesn't produce an exhaustive list because they are, in his words, "obvious" or "apparent". In dealing with the works of the flesh at Galatians 5:19-21, Paul quickly enumerates a few and says, "and things like these." Likewise the list of aspects of the fruit of the spirit at Galatians is a general overview of what is manifest in the personality of a spirit lead person.
In his letters to the congregation at Ephesus, Paul provides even a broader summary of the fruit of the spirit saying, it is "found in all that is good and right and true". (Ephesians 5:9) These attributes are the part of the new personality that we take on as Holy Ones of God. (Colossians 3:10-14)
Paul was not the first to use the word picture of fruit when dealing with spiritual life. Jesus often used fruit in his parables and teachings. He emphasized the importance of bearing good fruit by showing that the quality of fruit produced will determine the true man of God and show up those who are false. Furthermore he taught that those who do not bear good fruit are to be judged and destroyed in fire. (Matthew 7:19) As Christian disciples of Jesus bearing good fruit is imperative. But how can we develop good fruit in our lives?
Illustrating aspects of the Christian personality as fruitage shows how these virtues develop in a person - that is organically and not mechanically. They are not prepared as one would an apple pie; rather they are cultivated like an apple tree. To further illustrate, when baking we generally have control over the process from start to finish. The end product is therefore solely determined by our selection of ingredients, our ability to follow a recipe, and our culinary skill.
When gardening we only have partial control over the end result. A skilled farmer can do much to produce a good harvest; however there is a certain element that is left in the hands of God. Paul calls to mind this principle at 1 Corinthians 3:6,7 where he writes, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who give the growth."
By comparing the production of these qualities to a bringing forth a harvest of fruit it clues us in to the optimal way they will develop in us - that is organically grown in tandem with God. While it is possible to try to work on these individual aspects of the Christian life, our best success will be achieved when we allow them to naturally spring forth as the result of germinating the seed of God's Word planted within us, watered by his Spirit. In considering how we can have a bountiful spiritual harvest it comes down to these three symbolic elements: Soil, seed, and water.
Soil
Soil represents us as individuals as we are made from the ground. We were originally created in the image of God and still within our hearts there lies fertile ground that may produce a rich crop of spiritual fruitage.
Jesus illustrates the principle of good soil in his illustration of the seed sower in Matthew 13. In his parable he likens a person who is receptive to the seed of God’s Word as good soil that would produce an abundant crop. Such a person willingly receives God’s Word and cherishes it in their hearts. On the opposite side, poor soil is manifest by those that have no lasting interest in the Word of God, who fall away in times in tribulation or who allow secular interests to encroach upon their spirituality. Therefore, in order to have good soil we need to have a deep love for God's Word; such an everlasting love that overshadows all other things in our lives.
Seed
In Jesus’ illustration the seed is God's Word. When we think about God’s Word we may have the tendency to just think about God’s written word the Bible. But when we speak about God’s Word we are ultimately talking about Jesus Christ who is the revealed Word of God. ( John 1:14) Jesus Christ is the channel by which God speaks to us today. (Hebrews 1:2) And because the “testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” we can understand that the entire inspired written Word is a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 19:10) Jesus then is the seed that will produce “righteous fruit” in our lives. (Philippians 1:11)
The seed may also compare to our individual nature. When we are born as humans, sin implants the fleshly nature, or seed of sin, into our hearts. If we allow such a seed to germinate it will bring forth a corrupt harvest that withers and dies. Fortunately though, we have the opportunity to plant a new seed within us, Jesus, God’s living Word.
When we accept Jesus into our hearts we can begin “sowing with a view to the spirit” and we “will reap everlasting life from the spirit". (Galatians 6:8) At this time we are “born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring Word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23)
Water
Soil and seed have great potential for growth but they need water to cause germination. While a fruit tree requires only the one time planting of a seed, it will require water throughout its maturation and on through that its entire life.
The water that God provides is the Holy Spirit that he rains down upon us bringing us growth. Joel prophetically spoke of a time that God would bring rain in full measure, even a downpour upon his people and that he would “pour out [his] spirit on all kinds of peoples” (Joel 2:23,28) This rain shower started to pour on Christians on Pentecost 33 CE when God poured out his holy spirit upon a group of gathered believers.(Acts 2:17-21)
This was in accord with Jesus’ promise that his Father would send them the Holy Spirit. (John 16:7; Acts 1:4,5) Like rain, the Spirit is poured down into the soil of our hearts and causes the seed of Jesus to grow within us. (Galatians 4:6; Romans 5:5) This water enriches our lives.(Psalm 65:9) The Spirit forms “living water” that flows out of the hearts of believers. (John 7:37,38) And the living water brings forth a rich crop of Christ-like fruitage - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22,23)
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