Exclusionary Entrances

In our current American culture, it has become "hateful" to exclude people, for just about any reason. Here are some controversial examples from over the past few years:

• 2012  Augusta National golf club admits first woman
• 2013  Restriction that prevented U.S. women from serving in direct combat was lifted
• 2015  Boy Scouts of America admit openly gay scoutmasters
• 2016  The Obama transgender bathroom fracas

I could cite many more, but I'm sure you get the drift.  Those who object to any group, club, church or other institution excluding people for any reason, even legitimate reasons, are labeled "haters".

The Bible, on the other hand, is an exclusionary book, as we'll see as we take a look at the Jewish Temple in today's post.
In our Hebrews study, which has, for reasons I can't explain, "meandered" more than any of my previous studies here at the RDM blog, we are now going to delve more deeply into the components of the Jewish Temples/Tabernacles, as promised in the post "Dual Citizenship" from a few days ago.

We will begin with the Temple entrances that, whether the Tabernacle was pitched in the wilderness wanderings or either of the two Temples constructed over the hundreds of years before Jesus was born, faced East.  A good question to explore would be, "Why was that the case?"  A second good question would be, "Who was allowed to enter at each entrance, and why?"

For starters, the Garden of Eden was the first "sanctuary", the place where God met with man (Adam and Eve).  The garden was planted, we are told in Genesis 2:8, in the East of the area known as Eden.  This is the first instance we see of "East" having a prominent role in God meeting with man.
When Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden, they were sent out "East of Eden", therefore signifying that moving away from God is to travel East.  If that sounds like "a stretch", consider that when Lot departed from Abraham he went East to the area that became Sodom.

Then, later under the inspired leadership of Moses and Aaron, the Tent of Meeting (again, where the presence of God descended to meet with man) was pitched so that the entrance faced East.  See Numbers 3:38 (ESV)

Those who were to camp before the tabernacle on the east, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrise, were Moses and Aaron and his sons, guarding the sanctuary itself, to protect the people of Israel.  And, any outsider who came near was to be put to death.

When Babylon conquered Jerusalem and took Hebrew captives off into 70 years of exile, the Hebrews traveled East.  In fact, we read in Ezekiel 10 that the glory of God left the Jerusalem Temple to travel with the exiles East to Babylon.

When the Temple was built in Jerusalem, the entrance likewise faced East, toward the sunrise and the city's Eastern gate.  But, let's leave this point of directionality and focus on the "who" of the Temple entrances. There's another important factoid revealed here in the Numbers passage, which became part of the Temple ritual later.  The Temple priests, like their forebears before them, guarded and governed who was allowed access to various parts of the Temple.  In the case of the Tabernacle, no non-Hebrew peoples were allowed entrance.  In the more elaborate Temples to follow, Gentiles were allowed into only the most outer courts of the huge building.  There was a literal "Court of the Gentiles" for instance, which resembled a large outdoor bazaar.  Gentiles could proceed no further into the Temple than this outer court which, it could be argued, was not truly a part of the Temple at all.

Jews could proceed through the first East-facing entrance, the Beautiful Gate, into the Court of the Women.  Jewish women could proceed no further.  Jewish men could proceed on through the next East-facing entrance, called the Gate of Nicanor, into the Court of Israel.  But, only the male Levitical priests could enter the next area, called the Court of the Priests.  It was this area of the Temple which corresponded to the design of the Tent of Meeting.  (Just click the link.)

http://www.jesuswalk.com/moses/images/tabernacle-flow-of-worship-2293x1251x300.jpg

In the graphic of the Temple's Court of Israel, at the link above, the "Enter" designation on the East side --- the entire area pictured here could only be accessed by Levitical priests.  Hmmmm....quite exclusionary, right?

Personally, I am so glad that my Savior reassured me that, regardless of the Temple, He is "the Door", the only door I need to experience joy, forgiveness, restoration and eternal life, beginning here and now.

9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

John 10:9 (ESV)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

When He came, He perfected salvation so as to render the Temple system unnecessary. I do enjoy studying about it, though, because God did ordain the Temple design as a "type" of Jesus Christ's perfect salvation which was to come.  As Hebrews 8:7 testifies - - -

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

Jesus, the Second Adam, in bringing the perfect "second covenant" does not exclude anyone.  No lock on that Door!  He invites anyone to come to Him and through Him for salvation, because eternal redemption is found in none other.  Praise His holy name!


Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_military

http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/448/what-is-the-significance-of-east-in-the-scriptures

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Temple

http://www.friendsandheroes.tv/Temple_in_Jerusalem.html

#Proclaim17 Convention Update

https://youtu.be/2OUvpYkX858

I truly enjoy conventions....no, not the grammatical kind, although my family members would charge me with that...
I guess it's in my blood.
My dad was the closest thing to a "national union leader" the aggregated postmasters of this country can (by law) know.  Just a country postmaster, he rose to become the president for many years of one of the two postmaster "associations".  To be accurate, one was a "league" and the other an "association".
He was always jetting off to some postmaster convention or another.  The few times I got to tag along  were absolutely thrilling!
Over the years I've enjoyed and benefitted from reading conventions, conventions dedicated to nurturing the gifted child, curriculum conventions, Bible conventions and so forth.

Today was the first time I had ever attended a religious broadcaster's convention.  Why did I come this week?  Certainly not only because I like conventions, but because I imagined that I'd learn a lot about how to leverage my God-given ministry to be more and become more for the kingdom of God.
And, I did.

One of the things I learned was that I have been underutilizing Facebook, which a couple of the presenters referred to as "The Evil Empire", lol!  What they meant by such a moniker is that, although certain algorithms of FB are onerous, it dominates the social media scene.  I'd be foolish to continue to not put into practice what I've learned.  So, loyal readers, expect to see a RDM Facebook page, coming soon!

A second thing I learned today was that I probably need to get a blogspot divorce.  A friend had a while back recommended I do this; but, I was just so comfortable "dancing with the one who brung me"....

Podcasts.  Podcasts ❤️ LOVE Wordpress, an alternative blogging platform.  They are just a natural pairing.  Blogspot, not so much.  Actually, not at all.  So, look for that to be another change for the near future.

A third thing I learned is that in an area where I am very proficient (Twitter), the religious broadcasting world is woefully undereducated.  Fortunately, I had the opportunity to speak with one of the architects of the Digitial Media Day at #Proclaim17 and introduce him to one of the most able Twitter warriors I know.  Hopefully, next year, my friend can participate in #Proclaim18 (or whatever hashtag they will adopt) so that he can share how Twitter can be a powerful piece in a ministry's social media ecosystem.

That's a fourth thing I learned.  I had been breezing along, blissfully content with my little blog and vlog. But, Todd Adkins and Barnabas Piper of Lifeway emphasized the danger of such compartmentalizations and the resulting isolation.  Ministries (even minnow ministries like mine) who successfully harness the power of social media build a web of connectivity and interactivity between their various social media platforms.  What a pardigm shift!

And, I learned so much more....which I'll tell you about in my next post.

Teaser:  I met some famous people!  Can't wait to tell you about them!

Lord Jesus, thank you for this minnow ministry you have given to this resplendent daughter.  You didn't give it because I am worthy, but because You are.  And, I have no desire other than that all the glory should go to You, for the amazingly great things You have done.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Minnow Ministry?

When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown,

because the Lord blessed him.

Genesis 26:12 (NET)

The context of this verse is a foreign, unfamiliar land, filled with a mostly hostile people.  Because of a famine in his homeland, Isaac was told by God to go live in the country of the Philistines for a while.  Not the most comfortable of surroundings.  Still, Isaac obediently went where God sent him. Following that, he planted where God placed him.  And, then God did what only God can do.  In fact, the Philistines were so amazed at God's blessing on Isaac that they eventually threw him out of the country.  He had gotten too successful for his own good, lol!  What a testimony to Isaac's God!

It surely does feel good to be back in my office chair with this familiar Blogger blank screen in front of my eyes and the Bible at my side.  I do apologize for my 10-day hiatus, something I've not done since beginning Resplendent Daughter in mid-2014.

If you recall from the last post, on 2/16, a surprise was promised.  Well, here it is.

This is the new logo for RDM, and I've trademarked the name (a complicated legal procedure).  That seems like some to be a bold, even foolish move.  It is akin to a minnow applying for the position of whale....in the mind of some. And, make no mistake, by "industry standards", this is a "minnow ministry".

Yesterday at church, I heard some men talking about a woman in her mid-eighties who had visited both of the poles (North and South), with her last visit having been recently.  They were incredulous she'd attempt something of that magnitude at her age.  I wisely held my tongue.  But, privately, I thought, "How wonderful! She and I are kindred spirits."  Both of us want to skid into the end of life on two wheels, all disheveled and exhilarated exclaiming, "Wow, what a ride!"

It is a fact that those who never attempt great things for God certainly never receive them.  In the Scripture verse for today Isaac most certainly would never have gathered in a harvest of 100 times what he planted....had he never planted at all.  I don't know where God wants to take this ministry He has given me, but I for sure do not want to stand in the way of anything He wants to do.  Even more than that, I want to be ready in anticipation of Him doing extraordinary things.  Then, if He chooses to bless this minnow ministry "a hundredfold", so be it.  If not, so be it.

Tomorrow, I'm headed out-of-state for a religious broadcaster's conference.  Your prayers over this trip would mean so much!  Please pray for good health, safe travel, for spiritual discernment and for the connections God wants to be made at that event.   Thanks, and I'll see you in the next post!

Off-Grid

Hello Friends!

I will be off-grid for the next 10 days, but will have exciting news to share after returning!
I'd appreciate your prayers in the interim.

Blessings,

Gena

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is special at our house, for a couple of reasons.  First, it is my husband's birthday. And second, it is the day that we adopted our dog, Charlie.  I like to describe Charlie as having been a "Wal-Mart special".

It happened on Valentine's Day afternoon, four years ago.  Younger Son and I had gone to the Wal-Mart shopping center on an errand.  As we pulled into the parking lot he pointed out people milling around an old pick-up truck with a sign on it:  "Free Puppies".  He asked if we could stop and look. Our former dog, Max, had died a few months earlier.  Max had been quite the "handful", and I was not eager to get another dog.  I said, "Maybe on the way out."  After completing our errand, we headed home.  I asked, "Do you want to just stop and look?"  "I guess so," was the reply.

There were several puppies in the kennels, but I was drawn to just one.  As I gathered this Aussie shepherd/blue tick coon hound mix in my arms, I knew I never wanted to let him go.  On the ride home, I've never seen a more terrified dog.  He was drooling from anxiety (a habit he continued for several months).  Hubster was stunned to receive a puppy as a birthday present!  Younger Son had told me at the pick-up truck, "I bear absolutely no responsibility for this!"  Well, Charlie has become a tremendous blessing to all of us.  He is dearly loved.

This family story reminds me of my place in God's family.

4But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"…
Galatians 4:4-6

This is love!  Don't you see how adoption is at the heart of it?  We did not first love God, but He first loved us.  We were "mutts".  We were not His "natural-born" sons/daughters, or His "only-begotten" sons/daughters. We are His through adoption.  Hallelujah!  This is the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who Is The Best Valentine.

But God demonstrated His own love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

There is a rather erotic movie which opened recently.  It is the sequel to an even more sickening movie of similar name which premiered right around Valentine's Day two years ago.  In fact, both of these movies are an insult to true love.

But, God does not merely illustrate or typify love - - - He IS love, in all its beauty, in all its glory. His love poured out on us truly is "the greatest love of all".   You may be facing a lonely Valentine's Day. In fact, the holiday may itself be repugnant because of all the emphasis on romantic love when you are not "there" right now.

Regardless of your present circumstances, on this Valentine's Day, you can reach out and experience God's love.  It is never-ending and always available.  Don't turn away.  Whether you would be reaching out to Him for the first time today for eternal salvation or whether you are already a disciple of Jesus Christ and needing a reminder....He is there for you.

https://youtu.be/Fla6EO07I3E

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dear Father, thank you for the gift of Your Son, Who is Love personified.  Today, I celebrate Your love, which is incomparable.  No one can ever or will ever love me like You do.  To be loved, adopted, cherished, made new by the God of all the Universe is both inconceivable and unfathomable.  I don't pretend to understand what caused you to do what you did for me.  My love for You is paltry in comparison.  Give me a Valentine's heart - - a Christ-like heart. Help me to love more like You do, precious Savior! It is in Your name, Lord Jesus, I pray, amen.

Dual Citizenship

There is "much ado" these days about legal citizenship in my Earth country, the United States of America.  At the beginning of my life, the requirements for entering this country were quite strict. People who were not natural-born citizens of the USA, yet who sought legal citizenship, had to go through a lengthy, difficult process.  It was ingrained in the process that the legal immigrant would assimilate him-or-herself into the culture, laws and moral fabric that distinguished this nation for its first 150 years.  Over the past 75 years, or so, that process has severely eroded, bringing about much civil unrest in this formerly gleaming nation.

Google defines "citizenship" as follows:  "the position or status of being a citizen of a particular country".1  To have dual citizenship, then, means that a person possesses citizenship in two countries. Now, generally speaking, since a person can only be in one place at any given time, the person resides most of the time in one of those two countries, perhaps visiting the other country on occasion. In most cases, the person had one citizenship conferred at birth, but went on later to earn a second citizenship from a different country.

In some cases, the two countries involved have many similarities.  The citizens of each may speak the same language.  The forms of government may be similar.  In other cases, the similarities may be few. Often, people of Earth escape from one country of citizenship to seek asylum/refuge in another.  They do this because of persecution, famine or other adverse living conditions in the "home country".

All living Christians have dual citizenship.  Their first "country" is planet Earth; their second, and more true, citizenship is in a "country" they have yet to visit: Heaven.  Although Christians possess citizenship in Heaven, they walk by faith to embrace it while dwelling physically in a realm that walks by sight.  Heaven is a place the Christian eagerly anticipates, even longs for, because he/she believes what the Bible declares about it.

The other day I was reading a blog by a college classmate of mine who has for decades taught Bible in a Christian school.  He was describing the most precious and wonderful moment of his teaching career.  The lesson was about Heaven and that most splendid moment was the one where, without prompt, his students got so psyched about their heavenly country they began to cheer boisterously. You'll be blessed to read about it later.2 

The writer of Hebrews uses the concept of "sanctuary" to illustrate the Christian's dual citizenship. He does this because God did it first.  Warren Wiersbe did a masterful job of describing these beautiful parallels; so, be advised I will be borrowing heavily from his commentary in my meditations here and in posts to follow on this topic.2

The heavenly sanctuary, aka the throne room of God, and the various meeting places of the Hebrew people are two powerful evidences of the Christian's dual citizenship.  When God gave the "specs" for creating the earthly places of worship, He mimicked his own heavenly sanctuary.  Let's look at some of those specs today, and we'll continue with our investigation of these "buildings" tomorrow, lest I get too long-winded here.

1.  Inferiority vs. Superiority
The old covenant "sanctuaries" were (as has been mentioned in this blog) first a series of fancy, portable tents (Tabernacles), and then later Temple buildings in the city of Jerusalem.  When the Hebrews were nomadic and for a time after they settled into the Promised Land, a Tabernacle was erected by the Levitical priests (or under their direction).  See Exodus 35-40. Years later, King Solomon was approved by God to direct the construction of the first Temple in Jerusalem, according to plans God gave to his father, King David.  That Temple was destroyed when Babylon conquered the Hebrew people around 586 B.C.  Nehemiah, Ezra and their contemporaries began to rebuild that structure around 515 B.C., and it stood until the time of the Herods, when that structure was significantly remodeled, greatly enhancing its splendor.  This grandiose temple stood for less than 100 years, because it was razed when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
Ok, history lesson over.  The point is that these structures were inferior because, although they were copies of God's heavenly sanctuary, they were made by humans (Heb. 8:2, 9:11).  At times, the glory of God filled the earthly structures.  But, He did not make them His permanent residence.  These physical structures were limited by time and space, neither of which limits our limitless God.
Still.....type.  Here is a graphic of the major components of the earthly Tabernacle and Temple:3

The earthly structures were "types", representations of the heavenly. We are told this in Hebrews 8:5 and 9:23-24.  Each of the furnishings in the picture above was specified by God, and imbued with its own special meanings. The heavenly temple is clearly referred to several times in the book of Revelation.  For instance, in Revelation 8:3, we see the golden altar of incense and also God's throne.  In Revelation 11:19, the apostle John refers to God's ark of the covenant within His heavenly temple.  I won't digress and go into more of these Revelation ... er, revelations, at this point.

We'll examine the various components of the sanctuaries in the next post.


Sources:

1    https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=define:+citizenship

2    https://zockollkids.wordpress.com/2017/02/02/probably-my-favorite-memory-in-the-ministry/

3    http://www.jesuswalk.com/moses/images/tabernacle-flow-of-worship-2293x1251x300.jpg

Draw Near

"Restoration of fellowship with God has been the divine purpose and the often-unrecognized longing of humanity since its loss in Eden." 

Gareth Lee Cockerill

God drawing near to us and us drawing near to Him is the heart of the gospel and one of the key themes of the book of Hebrews.

Have you ever pursued someone?  I don't mean in a weird, stalker kind of way, but in a healthy pursuit, such as when a boy courts a girl, or when a girl flirts with a boy?  Have you ever felt the devastation of rejection when the object of your pursuit gives you "the cold shoulder" or stops you dead in your tracks?  Believers in Jesus Christ need never fear God will respond to us that way!

The new system (covenant)  we've been studying radically displaced the old, relegating it to merely a "type" of the covenant that was to come with the advent, ministry and finished work of Jesus Christ.

The Greek translation of the OT (LXX, the Septuagint), differentiated between how Levitical priests could draw near to God and how the people could draw near to Him, in prayer and worship.1  The The Septuagint's word "draw near" for the priests was different than the one for the people, who could only "come before" God in prayer and worship.  Under the new covenant, however, the NT believer's access to God, through Christ, is greater than even that experienced by the Levitical priests! Hebrews 10:22 makes the invitation clear:  "come with a true heart in full assurance of faith" (ESV).  And, what enables us to draw near to God in this way?  The certainty that Jesus Christ is ever-living to intercede for us before God the Father.  Jesus represents His own before the Father.

What are some reasons we "draw near"?

a.  to worship, from a thankful heart (Hebrews 2:3)

b.  to hear from God and deepen the intimacy of our relationship with Him

c.  to receive mercy and timely help in our moments of need (Hebrews 4:15)

    **confession of and cleansing from sin

    **grace to overcome temptation

    **supernatural power to win spiritual battles

    **petitioning for the needs of others

When we hunger for God, long for a closer relationship with Him, we can be assured that our desire is a prayer He will always answer.  We are promised (James 4:8) that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.

But, HOW do we draw near to Him?  The writer of Hebrews assures us we have permission; James tells us how:

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 

(James 4:8 ESV)

Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. 

(James 4:8-10 The Message)

I can't tell you how many times I have approached my God in prayer or worship without a shred of confession, repentance or even declaration of allegiance.  Most of the time, I just plunge into prayers of thankfulness, or petitions for myself or others.  As pendulums are wont to do, it appears we have in our contemporary Christian culture become so enamored with the "I am a friend of God" aspect of intimacy that we have jettisoned the "sinners in the hands of a holy God" aspect.  

Most of us, given an opportunity to interact with someone we greatly respect, choose to honor that person with our courteous words.  We interact with him or her according to our understanding of his or her character.  Does not our perfect, holy and loving God deserve even more?  Let's be sure to remember to Whom we speak, when we "draw near" and call on His name.

And, let's not live lives of double-mindedness, sometimes serving our God and at other times working against His purposes (whether intentionally or not) ... even pursuing sin!  James calls this being "double-minded".  This kind of schizophrenic living never works, never achieves anything of everlasting value. Do you truly want your life to have been spent accomplishing little in light of eternity?  Stop trying to "ride the fence" into the kingdom of God!2

Speaking of eternity (of which this life is just a practice and a prelude), the believer's "drawing near" will ultimately culminate in dwelling in the presence of God forever. (Hebrews 12:22-29 and Psalm 100:5).  In that glorious day we will no longer have to hunger for God's presence or long to be with Him.  We will be able to proclaim with absolute authority, "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere!" (Psalm 84:10)

Sources:

1     Cockerill, Gareth Lee. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2012. Kindle edition, pp. 326, 335. 

2    http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/articles/theology/060807.html