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Revelations 14:1
Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had His name and His Father's name written on their foreheads. Moses gives a stern warning to the Children of Israel concerning the alternative spiritual influences they will find in Canaan. Remember, not only this generation of Israelites hadn't seen Pharaoh, the plagues, and the crossing of the Red Sea, but they lived in God's hands of provision and protection. That's all they knew. As home-schoolers, my wife and I taught our kids in a spiritually controlled environment. When they grew older and went into the world by themselves, they were faced with unfamiliar elements and had to make choices as to where they stood about things. It was tough for them and they made some mistake. So we sent the last one part-time to High-School while he was still with us. He could then be faced with some of these unfamiliar issues while at home when we could coach him through some of that. It was the same for the children of Israel. As they would enter the land, not only they would be faced with alternative spiritual forces, but the Father would also withdraw some of His provision and protection. No more manna, protective cloud at night, or column of fire during the day. Also, no more free water from the Rock. It is graduation time; they will now have to depend on their army for protection, on their agricultural skills for survival, and on hard work for water and irrigation. My youngest just graduated and turned eighteen; we are putting him through some of that reality, and he doesn't like it too much. Some Jewish sages speculate that that was really the reason why the first generation of children of Israel in the desert didn't want to go in the Land in the first place. Moses says, You must destroy all the places where the nations you are dispossessing served their gods … Break down their altars …. Exterminate their name from that place But you are not to treat Adonai your God this way (Deuteronomy 12:2-4)." It is from this command that is derived the prohibition to erase God's Name, therefore the 'fence' not to write or pronounce it in a common manner. Whereas we need to treat the place where His name is written, and even books which display the Sacred Name with honor and respect, there is also another place. In his vision on the Isle of Patmos John reports seeing, 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads (Revelations 14:1). As believers, His Name is sealed on our foreheads, and in our hearts, it is therefore incumbent upon us to treat all those with His Name on their foreheads and hearts with utter honor respect lest we deface the place where His Name is written. May we not be found guilty of hypocrisy by showing honor to temporal books and buildings while defacing His Name in our brother or sister's eternal soul! Maybe that is why Yeshua said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39)."
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Hebrews 1:3
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature When Moses was on the Mount, either in reality or in a vision he saw God’s eternal dwelling place. Moses was able to observe every detail of it and then was asked to replicate it on earth for God to be able to dwell among His people: Israel. God asked Moses, Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I ‘show’ you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it (Exodus 25:8-9). This can be a daunting task. How indeed can the corruptible recreate the incorruptible? How can the grander and majesty of the heavenly throne be replicated with mere earthly elements? How could the purity and majesty of God’s dwelling place be represented for mankind to see? A play on the words of the Hebrew text of Exodus 25:9 gives us a clue. The word ‘show’ in Hebrew of the verse is ‘mareh’, but it can also be interpreted as ‘mirror’. Moses was not asked to replicate the very thing, but a mere model for people to see. It is like using a mirror when trying to see something in a concealed location. Also, from a distance a mirror can capture the fullness of a large area. Yes, even though God fills everything (Jeremiah 23:24), through a ‘mirror’ we can catch a glimpse of His greatness. In these ancient days of the Exodus from Egypt God asked His servant Moses to have the people build a replica of His throne room as it appeared to Moses on the Mount. This would be the place from where His light would shine to speak with Moses. Moses who enjoyed direct contact with the Almighty, speaking face to face with God (Exodus 33:11; Deuteronomy 34:10) became for the people of Israel the very representation of the Heavenly Presence in the camp. Today we do not have Moses, a Tabernacle or an Ark, but we have the earthly image of the Father in the Son Yeshua, for He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3); in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:14-15). Yeshua commissioned us with the words, Jesus said to them again, " As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you" (John 20:21). This means that in the daily walk (halacha) of our life, we are to exemplify the mission of our Master. His mission was to show us the father, our mission is to show the Son to the world. It represents indeed a tall order and it is doubtful that we are up to the task, but we can and should still try to do our best trusting that He will do the rest. It is important; the world needs it! We cannot live for ourselves; we have been sent on a mission. |
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