Fireworks!

Today is Independence Day in my country, the United States of America.  My favorite thing to do on this day is enjoy fireworks displays.  It is so exciting to sit there as darkness falls, waiting for that first burst of gorgeous light.  Why is it we enjoy fireworks so?  We even refer to the kindling between a man and a woman as "fireworks".  Why?  I have some ideas about that.

In today's Genesis post (#9), we are going to explore the first created thing mentioned in the Genesis account:  Light.  Here's Genesis 1:3 - -

And God said, "Let there be light."  And, there was light.

From Genesis 1:2, recall that there was darkness, emptiness and waters, with the Spirit of God moving over all of that.  As God came onto the scene, He created light.  This light emanated from Him.  It was a visible manifestation of the Triune God's very nature.  It was not light from any physical heavenly body.  Those lights - - the sun, the stars, planets, etc., were created later.  This light sprang forth from God Himself.  What fireworks those must have been!

The Hebrew word translated "light" is  ’ō·wr , which means a physically observed type of light, in nearly all it's Old Testament appearances.  In the Greek New Testament, the word most often translated "light" is  φῶς, and the meaning is almost always spiritual, as opposed to physical.

When God created light as His first creation, I believe this created thing embodied both those attributes.

You know, when some people enter the room, they bring a certain presence with them.  Have you ever felt that?  It can be either a transcendent, luminous, glorious presence; or, it can be more of a malevolent sort.  When God came on scene in Genesis 1:1, He expressed Himself onto the formless void by creating light, because He IS Light.

The apostle John loved to emphasize this attribute of the Godhead and also of the Christian walk.  See 1 John 1:5 - -

God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

And, John recorded Jesus' own words in John 9:5 - -

"I am the Light of the World." 

Therefore, it is inescapable that when God began His creative process those thousands of years ago, He first birthed into His creation His essence: Light. 

When you love someone, you bring light into his or her life. "Fireworks!" That's what God did for us.
If you will recall, there was a spectacular light show the night Jesus was born.  The witnesses were the shepherds, watching their flocks in the field.  Do you think it was an accident Jesus was born in the "dead of night", and that as He was born, light burst forth onto the scene?  The German composer, Johann Rist, penned this truth so beautifully!

Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
and usher in the morning; 

O shepherds, shrink not with affright,
but hear the angel’s warning. 

This child, now weak in infancy,
our confidence and joy shall be, 

the power of Satan breaking,
our peace eternal making.

So, where God is, there cannot help but be light. 

But wait a minute - - -
If you will recall one of my recent posts from Proverbs, Solomon claimed that Wisdom (or Truth) was the first created thing.  Consider these verses from Proverbs 8 - -

22“The LORD possessed^b me at the beginning of his work,^c
the first of his acts of old.
23Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
24When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
25Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth,
26before he had made the earth with its fields,
or the first of the dust of the world.
27When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28when he made firm the skies above,
when he established^d the fountains of the deep,
29when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
30then I was beside him, like a master workman,
and I was daily his^e delight,
rejoicing before him always,
31rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the children of man.

Wisdom is another attribute of our Triune God, the Godhead so called.  Although God's speaking forth Wisdom is not explicitly mentioned in Genesis 1, there is no indiction from Solomon that Proverbs 8 could be taken as allegorical or merely "poetic".  As you have no doubt discovered, the Bible is not necessarily laid out in a linear, progressive fashion verse after verse, which is why it is so complex.  The whole of God's Word altogether paints the most complete picture.  Even so, I don't fully understand where Wisdom fits into the Genesis Creation Story; but, that's ok.  We don't have to fully understand every detail of God's work - - can't, actually.  Moving on.... ;)

Truth and Light.  In His initial creation of the heavens and the earth, God gave us a picture of how He would redeem the world, by sending His Son as the Light of the World.  The apostle Paul recognized this and declared the following in 2 Corinthians 4:6 - -

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Isn't that beautiful and glorious?! 

As God's divine light invaded the dark nothingness on Day One of creation, so His divine light is the only remedy for the sinner's dark, lost, empty soul.  The soul without Jesus Christ dwells in spiritual deadness and darkness, hopeless chained in sin, unable to effect our own redemption.  In the midst of that hopeless state, God's Son bursts forth!  By grace, we can receive light and life, God's own Son, as we believe in Him through faith.

Not only that, His mighty power can transform the filthiest soul into men and women "of whom the world is not worthy" (Hebrews 11:38 and Daniel 12:3).1

So, when you watch fireworks today or this weekend or whenever you see them, remember God's beautiful creation of light, both in Genesis and in your own soul.  And, if you have not yet embraced Jesus as Savior, what better day than today?  May today be your own personal Independence Day, your Eternal Peace Day!2

"The power of Satan breaking
Our peace eternal making." 3

Sources:

1    https://answersingenesis.org/the-word-of-god/let-there-be-light/

2    http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-main-thing.html . (I just realized I wrote this post exactly 4 years ago today . . . Soli Deo Gloria!!)

3    https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-break-forth-o-beauteous-heavenly-light

Where Earth and Heaven Met, deuxieme partie

Well, I have to keep my high school French sharp, you know.... :) "Deuxieme partie" is French for "part two", which begs the question of why there is a big, golden 7 up there.  But, hang on....

You know how folks will ask, "If you were going to be marooned on a desert island all alone for the rest of your life, and you could take 3 things with you, what would they be?"

I think about that question as I contemplate what God Almighty chose to include in the "furnishings" of the Tabernacle (and later the Temple's) "holy place".  There were only three items.  Are there any indications in Scripture to teach us why He chose those items?  Let's investigate!

First of all, all three furnishings were made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold, and the accompanying items (such as tableware and coal pans) were made of pure gold.

1.  The Table of Shewbread (aka Table of the Presence)1
"Shewbread" literally means "bread of the face" or bread set out before the face of God.
As one entered The Holy Place, this table was on the right hand side.  (This is the first mention of the word "table" in the Bible. Table is a symbol of communion and fellowship.  More about that in a moment.) On the table were placed every Sabbath 12 loaves of bread, made from the finest flour and unleavened.  They were arranged in two rows of six, on the table.  Each loaf represented one of the tribes of Israel. How beautiful that, even though only Levitical priests were allowed in the Holy Place, all the people of the 12 tribes were represented there before the Lord, by the 12 loaves... Sprinkled over the loaves was the oil of frankincense, which consecrated the bread unto the Lord, essentially making it a grain offering.  At the end of the week, the "old" bread was consumed by the priests and new bread took its place on the table.  Tradition holds that 8 priests would hold hands standing around the table before consuming the old loaves.  Such a sacred communion.
The Table of Shewbread represents our Savior, Jesus Christ.  It is through Him, and only through Him, we have communion with our Triune God.  Frankincense was given to Him by the 3 Wise Men, you will recall, as a birthday gift.  No accident, that.  He called Himself the Bread of Life in John 6:35, 51-58.  This table was part of God's "old covenant".  The covenant meal Jesus established with His disciples shortly before His death represents His New Covenant.  That meal represents the believer's eating the "body" (bread) and blood (wine) of Christ on a regular basis to remind us of His sacrifice's all-sustaining and eternal nature.
Bible references to explore:  Exodus 25:23-30; Leviticus 24:5-9.

2.  The Golden Lampstand2
There were no dimensions given for this item.  (Who, after all, can measure the light of God?)
The instructions for making it are found in Exodus 25:31-40.  It was to be made entirely of gold (which caused it to weigh 75-100 pounds) and fashioned by the best artisans.  A strong motif in the design was the flower of the almond tree.  In that part of the world, the almond tree was the first to awake from the darkness of Winter, the first tree to respond to the increased light of Spring.  The lampstand had a vertical shaft, at the end of which was a bowl for the oil.  In addition, there were three curved branches, curving upward, to form 6 more bowls.  All seven were in the shape of the almond blossom.
The seven, tiny bowls, were to be kept burning at all times.  The High Priest was responsible for the care of the lampstand, to ensure its wicks of flax were adequate and that the finest olive oil was abundant, so that the eternal flame burned in the Holy Place (Leviticus 24:3).  There were no windows in the Holy Place.  None were needed.

The lampstand represents the Godhead, and points forward to Jesus.  Zechariah 4:1-4 tells us that this oil represents the Holy Spirit of God.  When the Holy Spirit fell on the believers at Pentecost, He represented Himself as "tongues of fire" over the head of each believer there assembled (Acts 2:3-4).  Jesus referred to Him as fire in Matthew 3:11-12.  And, Paul exhorts us to "not quench the Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 5:19).  Jesus often called Himself the Light of the World (John 9:5; 8:12).  And, in Psalm 27:1, God the Father reminds us that He is our Light and our Salvation.  In the Bible 7 is the number which represents completion and perfection.3  Our perfect God, the Three-In-One.

3.   The Altar of Incense4
(Exodus 30:34-38)
It was commanded that this wooden altar, overlaid with gold, be the tallest structure in the room.  It stood about 3 feet tall.  Some of the characteristics of this altar, such as the four horns on the four corners, mimicked the bronze altar just outside the Holy Place. There were coals kept burning on this altar, and they were brought there from the Bronze Altar in a golden coal pan.   As noted in its name, an incense, made of the finest spices and frankincense oil, was burned on this inner altar twice a day. The exact combination of incense is lost to us today.  But, this combo was to be used by no other Israelite for any other purpose.  It was a holy combination, used only for the worship of God on the Altar of Incense.  The High Priest, after he had tended the Golden Lampstand morning and evening, would offer an incense offering on the altar.  In this way, a perpetual sweet smell would pervade the Holy Place. (This fragrance of love and worship expressed the delight of one whose sins had been forgiven!) Additionally, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, after the annual sin offering (Passover Lamb) had been offered, some of its blood would be rubbed on the horns of this incense altar, as the High Priest was proceeding into the Most Holy Place (which we will examine in an upcoming blog).
The golden altar of incense has at its essence worship and praise.  It reminds us of Jesus' current ministry in Heaven, to perpetually intercede on our behalf before God the Father.

Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Psalm 141:2 

In the next post, ... the Most Holy Place!

Sources:

1   http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Table_of_Shewbread.htm
2   http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Golden_Lampstand.htm
3   https://www.gotquestions.org/number-7-seven.html
4   http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Golden_Altar_of_Incense.htm
5   Wiersbe, Warren W., and Warren W. Wiersbe. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete Old Testament in One Volume. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2007. Print.