Burn the Tabernacle!

February 8, 2009

Today's Reading: Exodus 27, 28 and Matthew 28

Yesterday, I talked about the Ark of the Covenant, and I dared to question why we even needed to have an Ark of the Covenant. Okay, I didn’t really dare. If I was that daring, I probably would have been more edgy. Can you even call this devotional edgy?

Anyway, I suggested that the Ark of the Covenant was made because we, as human beings, needed some sort of physical representation of God’s presence. Obviously, we couldn’t picture things that were invisible at the time. They probably didn’t see their air as oxygen and nitrogen, like we see now. They saw any empty space as just the presence of nothingness.

So today, let’s talk about the other furniture in the Tabernacle. Let’s look at that altar of burnt offering. Well, since Jesus died and rose for our sins, we don’t really need a burnt altar. As for the oil, I still see that in churches to anoint stuff.

As for the other priestly garments, I suppose that has survived by the ritual of dressing up at church.

As for all the other things in the Tabernacle, they aren’t really around anymore, are they? Why? Because the stuff Jesus did negates a lot of it. I believe it was explained in depth in Hebrews.

So in short, let’s burn the Tabernacle! Yeah, those Romans had the right idea. Okay, so they probably burned it down to keep the Jewish people down, but hey, none of it was really needed anymore now that Christ had completed the work. Okay, I’m clearly getting into some sacrilegious territory here.

I mean, why not take the Tabernacle furniture and sell it on eBay? All right, there is something wrong with saying that.

Still, I think this goes to show you that we have to follow whatever revelation that we are stuck in until a greater one comes along. Until then, we are not stuck, but exactly where God wants us to be.

Unless, of course, we can grow out of them. Every once in a while, I shiver at the notion that we used to have people pay indulgences to see that their loved ones will spend less time in purgatory. Martin Luther may have changed that, but I believe that he also spent some time persecuting Anabaptists.

Ah, reform, there is nothing like it. Of course, every reform movement thinks it is the end-all. Even Jesus didn’t think that. After he was resurrected he just said: “the party is just getting started”.