Category: 843 Acres

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Exodus 37 Listen: (3:14) Read: Luke 19 Listen: (5:29)

Scripture Focus: Exodus 37:8-9

8 He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. 9 The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.

Reflection: Overshadowing as Mercy

By Erin Newton

To overshadow the ark is not to darken the mercy seat.

The cherubim stand facing inward, wings touching. The wings create a hedge along the edge of the ark’s lid. In protective fashion, the “overshadowing” cherubim stand in service to God, holding the space where his glory will dwell.

The cherubim have been in a protective stance before at Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned and were cast from the garden, the cherubim stood to guard the way to the tree of life (Gen 3:24).

But what needs protection on the ark? Are the wings to keep us out or God’s glory in?

Cherubim not only guard and protect, in another passage they spread their wings like a throne for God. He rules the world from atop the cherubim-carried throne (Ps 80:1).

Is the ark the throne of God? Or is it something to be guarded?

I think what you have in this image is both. Numbers 7 reveals how the voice of God would bellow forth from atop the ark instructing Moses. When God chose to dwell with his people, the cherubim overshadowed where his glory dwelled. They were a veil for those who were in his presence. For no one can see God and live (Exod 33:20). The tree of life was also where God had dwelled with his people. Now tainted with sin, it is God’s act of mercy to provide a veil to the tree and a veil around his glory. To eat of the tree of life while under the burden of sin would be a fate worse than death.

The surrounding wingspan of the cherubim also represents the throne of God. As he dwells among Moses and the people, it is on earth as it is in heaven. There is no place that God does not rule.

When we think about the cherubim guarding the tree and overshadowing the ark, it is tempting to focus on how much people were separate from God. But when we see the cherubim as providing a safe space for us to commune with God, the veil is an act of mercy.

Since the death of Christ, the veil has been removed. No longer is there a need for protection from God’s presence. Why? Because of the indwelling of his Spirit. We are one with Christ. We no longer need to fear the presence of God in our lives.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm

Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God and fall down before his footstool; he is the Holy One.
Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.
He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.
O Lord our God, you answered them indeed; you were a God who forgave them, yet punished them for their evil deeds.
Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God and worship him upon his holy hill; for the Lord our God is the Holy One. — Psalm 99.5-9

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: At The Mercy Seat

Instead of a gold-covered lid, Christ’s mercy seat is a blood-soaked hilltop. Instead of hovering between angels’ wings, Jesus hung between two thieves.

Read more: Unveiled

Paul describes believers as those with “unveiled faces”…If Moses’ face glowed, ours should be incandescent.

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Exodus 36 Listen: (4:47) Read: Luke 18 Listen: (5:27)

Scripture Focus: Exodus 36.2-6

2 Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing 5 and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.” 6 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, 7 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

Reflection: When Is It Enough?

By John Tillman

Talking about money is intimidating, so ministers tend to deflect with humor.

Pastors often joke about this passage, saying: “It’s the only time in the history of God’s people when leaders had to tell people to stop giving instead of begging them to start giving.”

Faithful ministers don’t want to be associated with flamboyant huckster prosperity gospelers who abuse people and wealth. We also feel the lingering influence of the early pilgrims and Puritans. They viewed Europe’s ornamented cathedrals as a gateway to idolatry and adopted an austere aesthetic that remains stuck in the American consciousness.

Whenever a church or ministry does something “big,” such as a new building, production, film, or advertising campaign, Americans question the cost. “Shouldn’t they have fed the poor with this money?” (John 12.4-6)

Americans call ministers greedy if their salaries are similar to leaders of similarly-sized organizations. If they show signs of affluence or success, we question their character.

Because of this, ministers fear perceptions of materialism when asking for money. I fall into this trap too. I don’t talk often enough about our ministry’s financial needs.

The reality is that the ministries and ministers that you know live in the same economy you do. Their housing, food, transportation, and energy costs are comparable to yours. Ministries need cash flow, just like you. The church can’t pay its electric bill with handshakes. Websites don’t run on high-fives.

Bezalel stops the people’s giving because he recognizes when he has enough to do the job. The people were asked to give “from what you have” (Exodus 35.5), and “everyone who was willing” contributed. (Exodus 35.21) The people would never have given if they didn’t realize what they had was more than enough. How do you define enough?

I have seen Bezlel-like leaders say “enough” when giving campaign goals were met. I’ve seen projects built without special giving because the church had already given enough. But many ministries have unmet financial needs or work that is paused due to lack of funds.

Generosity and good leadership require the ability to recognize when we have enough. Do we recognize when we have enough? As individuals? As communities? As ministers? As leaders? Or will we just keep consuming, spending, upgrading, endlessly?

God does not require austerity. He promises abundance. Are we living and giving from abundance? Or are we forcing others to operate in austerity because we can’t say, “I have enough”?

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; wash me, and I shall be clean indeed. — Psalm 51.8

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Work, Ministry, and Generosity

Which church are you? Are you receiving ministry funded by others or are you supporting ministry to others in need?

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Links for today’s readings:

Read: Exodus 32 Listen: (5:47) Read: Luke 14 Listen: (4:36)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: Exodus 33 Listen: (3:49) Read: Luke 15 Listen: (4:19)
Read: Exodus 34 Listen: (5:48) Read: Luke 16 Listen: (4:27)

Scripture Focus: Exodus 32.1-6

32 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” 2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,  Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

Image Credit: Moses Indignant at the Golden Calf, painting by William Blake, 1799–1800

Reflection: Golden Calves

By John Tillman

The Golden Calf, Goliath, and the Good Samaritan are biblical stories that are fully integrated into our cultural vernacular.

These phrases embody cultural messages with metaphorical power. Sometimes these messages are not entirely biblically accurate or miss the point of the biblical narratives from which they are appropriated.

In the case of the Golden Calf, the cultural and biblical meanings are similar. Merriam-Webster defines “Golden Calf” as a noun, meaning “an object of materialistic or unworthy worship.” In our culture, this worship is not necessarily religious in nature.

In 1912, political cartoonist Joseph Keppler’s drawing of the Statue of Liberty replaced by a Golden Calf critiqued politicians for pursuing wealth and materialism. It wasn’t the first time Keppler used the image. In 1880, Keppler depicted former president Grant as the Golden Calf with Republicans clamoring for him to seek a third term.

The Golden Calf lesson applies to worship, politics, wealth, power, traditions, leaders, and other areas. Anytime a person or group betrays their principles or bows down to something or someone not worthy of admiration, the Golden Calf image appears and is applicable. (Exodus 32.24) It’s extraordinarily difficult to not think of the Golden Calf when some people or their followers literally build or share images of them as a golden statue…

Golden Calves are useful to the powerful. Centuries after Sinai’s Golden Calf, following Israel’s rebellion against Judah, Jeroboam made Golden Calves to prevent worshipers traveling to Judah. (1 Kings 12.26-28) Jeroboam’s politically-motivated calf idols repeated the cycle of replacing God with “worship.”

The worship was real. The object was false. There are still politically-motivated and religiously-motivated Golden Calves in our world.

Sometimes, like Moses, we must speak out to confront the calf worshippers. We also must examine ourselves to see if we are repeating the sins of Aaron or the people.

Like Aaron, are we caving to the crowd? Are we blessing or tolerating idolatry that enriches or empowers us? Are we lying (just a little) to avoid responsibility?

Like the people, have we given up on God or godliness? Are we impatient with the intangible? Are we replacing the spiritual with the political? Are we willing to worship a comfortable lie? Are we pressuring leaders to give us the god we want in place of the God of the Bible?

Watch out for Golden Calves in every part of your life. When (not if) you find them, grind them to dust.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading

Jesus taught the people, saying: “Now sentence is being passed on this world; now the prince of the world is to be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself.” — John 12.31-32

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Lasting Revivals and Normal Idols

The idols of a culture don’t always dress up in flamboyant costumes. They often hide in normality and ubiquity.

Read more: Slavery to Maturity

There will be false prophets and deceptions. We pressure our leaders to make Golden Idols and they, like Aaron, do so.

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Exodus 31 Listen: (2:32) Read: Luke 13 Listen: (5:02)

Scripture Focus: Exodus 31.1-6, 12-13

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. 6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you:

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, 13 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

Reflection: Work-Sabbath Balance

By John Tillman

The work on the Tabernacle was important.

The Tabernacle was a masterwork of design, architecture, construction, and artistry of all kinds. The chief artisan, Bezalel, is the first person described in the Bible as being “filled with the Spirit of God.” God specially gifted all the skilled workers and artists to create the Tabernacle.

The work was not frivolous decor. It was a foundational statement about God’s holiness. The designs were not simple whimsy. They were weighty with glory. The artistry was not optional beauty. It opened eyes to heavenly realities.

When God is the architect, every hammer strike is holy. Every cut of the chisel shapes theological reality. Every stitch of embroidery binds together heaven and earth. Yet despite the work’s importance, God reminded the people not to forsake the Sabbath.

The importance of work must not overshadow the holiness of rest. The more “important” we think our work is, the more likely we are to forget or forsake the principles of “sabbath.” Are we too lax about observing Sabbath? Are we too lazy about holy rest?

I’m writing this devotional on a Saturday, the traditional day of Sabbath. Later, I have some other work planned. Do you mow your lawn on Saturday or Sunday? Do you catch up on work or take an extra shift on the weekends? Should we all be dragged out and stoned?

Jesus taught that Sabbath is for humans, not God. He did not follow the rigid rules of Sabbath but did model getting away from “work” to rest and pray. Jesus understands the pressure of work encroaching on rest. At least once, Jesus attempted to withdraw with his disciples to rest, but “work” (over 5,000 people) followed him into the wilderness. (Matthew 14.13-21; Luke 9.10-12)

There are two errors to avoid. Don’t fool yourself that your “work” is important enough to forsake rest. Don’t fool yourself that “rest” means doing nothing.

Sabbath is our Tabernacle. It is a special space and time to show and experience God’s glory. Make Sabbath beautiful, not boring. Make Sabbath a blessing in your life, not a guilt-ridden requirement or a stress-inducing limit. When God is the architect of your life, every task, even rest, is holy.

The Sabbath is a good day to save life, a good day to heal, a good day to bless. (Mark 2.27; Luke 6.9) “Clock in” with Jesus for both work and rest. Do good on the Sabbath.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for my hope has been in you. — Psalm 25.20

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Enter While You Can

Many reject repentance which requires losing face, power, or position. This is why leaders (and pastors) caught in scandals often refuse to step down or stay out of power.

Read more: Suffering and Sin

We feel less responsible for problems in the world when we believe only the lazy are poor…