MOSES DESIRES TO FOLLOW GOD AND GOD ALONE (Exodus 33)
Exodus 33:7
Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting…
Moses put his tent far away because the sins of the people had desecrated the camp. This reinforces the idea that there are consequences for sins, that such sins prevent us from being in the full presence of God.
Exodus 33:7
… everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.
This shows that God discriminates between those who sin against Him and those who earnestly seek him. God will not condemn the whole group of people for the acts of a few.
To be a "friend" of God
Exodus 33:11
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.
James 2:23
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "A braham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.
John 15:15
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
God shares His plans only with those who are in a relationship with Him.
Exodus 33:13
Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.
God told Moses that He would send an angel to guide Moses and his people to the promised land. However, here, Moses is basically saying, “I know you, God, but I don't know this angel. Therefore, please let it be You who leads us into the promised land.”
Moses' plea with God shows the tremendous amount of love he had for the Lord. He is basically saying, “I don't care about Canaan or milk and honey. I care about my relationship with you, God. That's what I signed up for, because you will be there with me. If you take that away, then I will not move an inch without you.”
And in response to Moses’ plea, God reassured Moses that He will lead the people into the promised land, as Moses as pleaded.
Exodus 33:20
But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”
To see God in our fallen bodies would result in death.
GOD RENEWS HIS COVENANT WITH HIS PEOPLE (Exodus 34)
Despite the graveness of the sins they had committed, God still reached out and forgave the Israelites
Exodus 33:6-7
The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.
Upon hearing from the Lord, Moses immediately worshipped the Lord and prayed once again for grace and mercy for his people. God promised that He would make a covenant with His people, performing marvels that had not been done in all the earth, or in any nation. God repeated the laws in detail to remind them of the covenant they had previously formed, to remind them that God’s standards had never changed, that He is never-changing, to remind them of the faithfulness they need to maintain.
Knowing that they have been forgiven, the Israelites could move forward knowing their broken relationship between them and God was restored.
Our God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Isaiah 30:1-2; Joel 2:18)
As humans, we are vehemently against infidelity. We cannot stand it when our spouse or significant other commits adultery and romantically loves another. Why then do we have difficulties understanding God’s jealousy? God is the one and ONLY true God. He does not want us to divide our love among false gods. His jealousy is not the simple jealousy we feel when we sense our love is shared; His jealousy is that of a great father’s, who protects our love from false worship. He wants to make sure that our love is spent toward only what is real, only what is authentic, and not be divided among false idols who are nothing but a figment of imagination.
Let God’s glory be reflected in our walk
Having met with God, Moses’ face remained radiant, because God’s glory was reflected upon his face (Cf. Exodus 34:33-35; 2 Corinthians 3:7-18).
Similarly, our walk should reflect the glory of God. Let us shine with Christ’s light as we walk in this world!
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Exodus 32-33:1-6
MOSES BREAKS THE TABLETS OF COMMANDMENTS… LITERALLY (Exodus 32)
Israel falls back into idol worship (Exodus 32:1-6)
The Israelites didn’t think Moses was coming back and fell immediately back into Egyptian idolatry.
During this ordeal, the people violated at least the first 3 commandments:
1. They bowed to another God – breaking the 1st commandment.
2. They made an engraved image – breaking the 2nd commandment.
3. They used the Lord's name in vain – breaking the 3rd commandment.
Aaron's fall here is people-pleasing. Instead of rebuking them for their lack of faith, he caved in to the people’s requests and gave them what they wanted. We must never have a great fear of pleasing man than pleasing God!
We must not be people-pleasers. It may not be popular to do the right thing, but we are not put in this world to please people. We are put in this world to be a LIGHT to the people. We are here to show them how God’s people live. Are we serious about our walk with God, our eternal life with God? Or, are we really just interested in fulfilling the lust of our flesh with worldly comforts? Figure that out, and our choice to either be people-pleasers or God-pleasers will become very clear.
Satan never gives up. As long as Jesus has not yet return to claim His kingdom, Satan will try his hardest to take as many souls as he can. We thus need to be on our guard and always have on the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20). When we feel that we are being tempted, we should pray for the protection and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, because we alone cannot successfully defeat Satan.
1 John 4:4
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
With the Holy Spirit, we can have the confidence to know that we are well protected!
Live not as a hypocrite!
Exodus 32:6
Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings.
The burnt offering is an offering that is completely consumed, representing our complete dedication to God. The peace offering represents fellowship with God.
Here, the people offered God these dedications yet their lives failed to line up with their offering!
We need to realize what we are doing when we worship. Are we just superstitious and want to believe in something, or are we serious about getting to know the almighty God who is very real? If we have come to know God, then approach Him the way He has taught us, not making up or copying paganistic rituals and think we’re honoring Him when we’re really just in great disobedience!
Who would want to follow a God that could be made by human hands?!
Exodus 32:1
Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.
This shows that the Israelites have lost their relationship with God and needed to create something that would allow them to feel that connection again. Many of us fall into this trap as well. For example, when we feel like we need to sit somewhere in the church because that was where we have previously met with God, or we feel that when we are at the Wailing Wall, that is where God can hear us best, etc. We are closest to God when our HEART is one with Him. God’s presence is not limited to location – and if we want to feel His presence, we just have to open our hearts up to Him!
Sometimes, faith is just waiting for God to work, not only just making things happen.
The Israelites had no idea how long Moses would be gone and did not want to wait long. Moses was gone for a mere 40 days… It sure didn’t take them long before they fell right back into idolatry!
When God is patient in doing things, we must not become impatient to stand in way of God's timing.
The golden calf was a symbol worshiped in Egypt for power and fertility
The worst kind of idolatry is self-worship, where we take the gifts God has blessed us with, and instead of thanking Him and use those gifts to give Him the glory, we think our success is ours alone and that we are amazing because we alone are superior.
Moses intercedes for his people (Exodus 32:7-14)
Exodus 32:7
And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.”
At this point in time, God did not claim the Israelites as His people because of their disobedience.
Upon learning that God was aggravated, Moses immediately began interceding for his people, showing the great love he had developed for them.
1st reason (Exodus 32:11): God had already put into so much work for these people.
2nd reason (Exodus 32:12): Others would misunderstand God's judgment on Israel, that God didn't save Israel from Egypt because Egypt was sinful but because Israelites were a people that needed to be destroyed, so God took them out into the wilderness to do so.
3rd reason (Exodus 32:13): God made a one-sided covenant with the people. That is, the fulfillment of this covenant was dependent on God and God alone, not at all requiring the obedience of the people. (Aren’t we glad our salvation is not dependent on our perfection but God’s and God’s alone?)
God relented (Exodus 32:14)
Some would use this example as how prayer "changed" the mind of God. However, I think a more well-rounded perspective is to view this in the context of 1 John 5:14-15.
1 John 5:14-15
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Moses' prayer was in line with God's wishes, and hence his intercession for his people was granted.
Forty years earlier, Moses didn't have the heart to lead his people. But now, the above intercession is evidence of how God has cultivated Moses' heart as a shepherd for his people – Moses’ heart was now completely in line with God's call on Moses! This is how amazing God is when we are faithful in Him and allow Him to work through us! We may think we can’t; we may think the challenge is too great and that we simply are not qualified for the job. But, once we realize that we are not doing it based our own merits but based on God’s power, we will be able to relinquish control, allow God to be the driver of our lives, and see the amazing places He takes us!
Moses breaks the Tablets (Exodus 32:15-20)
Exodus 32:19-20
So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.
Imagine Moses' emotions here. This people had a great history behind them with a great future ahead of them. He leaves for 40 days and comes back to this? When he sees that many of the commandments had already been broken, breaking the tablets was a mere symbolism of what has already happened in their hearts. The commandments were not engraved on their hearts. What value is there then for the commandments carved on stones? Moses then had the people drink the water containing the destroyed idol, allowing them to bear the consequences of their sin.
Couple of lessons:
1. Moses is exposing the people to the folly of worshipping a false idol, where a mere man can come and reduce it to powder. How powerful can a god be if he can't protect itself from one man? How can such a god protect 2-3 million people? Again, we need to be fully aware of what we are worshiping. Are we worshiping God, the true Creator of the Universe, or do we just want to worship a figment of our imagination? What is the point of worshiping something that is not real? Why give such an idol our time, energy, and money for nothing, for no hope?
2. We must take immediate and drastic measures to drive out sin in our life. Very few of us commit murders. It is such a major sin, we know not to go near it – very much like how we know not to approach a burning building. However, the sins often ignored are the sins that “don’t seem so bad.” We therefore allow them to linger in our lives, not realizing how little by little, it eats away at our walk with God – very much like how frogs will be boiled alive if we put them first in cold water and then slowly increase the heat until the water is boiling. There is a saying, “Give a mouse a cookie, and it will ask for a glass of milk.” Satan is just like that mouse. We need to make sure we give him not one tiny, tiny hold to tug on our lives. If we do, it may start out as small, but he surely will increase it to enormous proportions. This is why Paul warned us to never give Satan a foothold (Ephesians 4:27)!
Aaron tolerates sin, while Moses eradicates sin (Exodus 32:21-29)
Aaron, in Moses’ absence, was supposed to be the leader of this people, to shepherd them in the ways of God. Instead, Aaron led the people straight into sin. Instead of coming clean when rebuked by Moses (Exodus 32:25), Aaron, like Adam, put a bunch of reasons between him and the sin he had committed (Exodus 32:22-24).
Exodus 32:24
… and this calf came out.
First, Aaron blamed the people, then the gold, then the furnace, then the calf! Not once did he take the responsibility for his own actions. Instead, like Adam, Aaron portrayed himself as an innocent bystander.
When we are confronted with our sin, we are to never lie or find excuses. Moses' intercession for Aaron was the only reason God didn’t strike Aaron dead on the spot – Just as how we are spiritually alive because Jesus continuously intercedes for us in front of the Father.
The sin Aaron had committed was already bad enough. If he had just taken responsibility, repent, and seek God’s guidance, the broken relationship between him and God could have been rapidly amended. It can be hard to acknowledge our sins and repent because of pride or shame or whatever. However, when we fail to take responsibility and lie and blame-shifts instead, we now have character issues that drag us farther into sin and prevent restoring our fellowship with God. But if we would just be honest about it and just spill it out to God, then the sin would not get bigger, and instead, the healing process could begin, restoring our relationship with God.
The worst excuses for us to use to justify our sins would be for us to tell ourselves, “Oh, it can’t be that bad. There are so many people who are worse than me. This is such a small sin compared to other much more serious sins.”
We are not God. Who are we to say what is “not that bad,” or how much we are better than others. God’s commandments are very clear. He tells us no idolatry. He doesn’t say, “Oh, money can buy you a lot of stuff, so yeah, go ahead, worship money. It’s okay. Compared to murder, worshiping is definitely way better off than murder.” No. God said no idolatry, no murder. That means either sin is wrong. Again, we need to be very vigilant about our walk with God. Satan loves to have a foothold on us and looks for every opportunity he can to grab on to our lives. “It’s not that bad,” is a very dangerous thought. This is how people lose their entire life-savings at a casino. And this is how we can lose our heavenly reward by allowing sin to continue to manifest in our lives.
Upon seeing the Israelites out of control, Moses took remedial actions
1. He broke the Tablets, symbolizing the Israelites had broken God’s commandments in their hearts.
2. He rebuked Aaron.
3. He rebuked the people.
4. He took actions to eradicate sin.
Exodus 32:27
Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.”
Even upon Moses' return, the people have not stopped worshipping the false god, still committing sexual immorality amidst their lewd dancing and partying. This was an open rebellion against God and His commands.
These people were set aside not so that God could give them the Ten Commandments but so that He could bring the Savior into the world through them.
Here, we see that the people only cared about satisfying the flesh, not at all concerned about abiding in the will of God. This is the kind of mentality – the sin, the leaven – that would spread through all people if not stopped.
Sin is to be eradicated, holding God above man. Sin cannot be tolerated. Sin is the foothold Satan has on our lives. If we do not eradicate it, it will grow, pulling us further and further away from God.
Moses intercedes for his people, again (Exodus 32:30-33:6)
Exodus 32:32
Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.
Both Moses and Paul (e.g., Romans 9:1-3) exhibited great love for their people. They readily give up everything they have, sacrifice themselves completely, to ensure their people could be saved. They would readily die for the salvation of their people. Unfortunately, their blood is not good enough to wash away the sins of all people. As great as these men of God were, they were still sinners, and their blood could atone only for their own sins.
Jesus’ blood, however, could atone for the sins of the world (Matthew 1:21; Romans 3:23-26; Galatians 4:4-5; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 9:15). Because Jesus was of no sin, His blood was pure in perfect righteousness, therefore able to wash us all of our sins.
Moses leads his people out of Sinai (Exodus 33)
Exodus 33:3
… for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
Because of their great disobedience, God described the Israelites as stiff-necked people (Exodus 33:3). The righteousness of God would consume the sins of the people, hence God, showing grace, would not grant his presence. God cannot bless a rebellious people with the fullness of His people without having such a people be burned up in judgment.
Fortunately, upon learning of God’s rebuke, the people immediately repented (Exodus 33:6).
When we become aware that we no longer enjoy unbroken fellowship with the Lord, we should…
1. Recognize we are wrong (confess).
2. Apologize (repent).
3. Fix the wrong (eradicate sin – It’s not enough to just say, “I’m sorry.” If we are truly sorry, then take action to fix the problem. Otherwise, the apology is just empty words!)
Israel falls back into idol worship (Exodus 32:1-6)
The Israelites didn’t think Moses was coming back and fell immediately back into Egyptian idolatry.
During this ordeal, the people violated at least the first 3 commandments:
1. They bowed to another God – breaking the 1st commandment.
2. They made an engraved image – breaking the 2nd commandment.
3. They used the Lord's name in vain – breaking the 3rd commandment.
Aaron's fall here is people-pleasing. Instead of rebuking them for their lack of faith, he caved in to the people’s requests and gave them what they wanted. We must never have a great fear of pleasing man than pleasing God!
We must not be people-pleasers. It may not be popular to do the right thing, but we are not put in this world to please people. We are put in this world to be a LIGHT to the people. We are here to show them how God’s people live. Are we serious about our walk with God, our eternal life with God? Or, are we really just interested in fulfilling the lust of our flesh with worldly comforts? Figure that out, and our choice to either be people-pleasers or God-pleasers will become very clear.
Satan never gives up. As long as Jesus has not yet return to claim His kingdom, Satan will try his hardest to take as many souls as he can. We thus need to be on our guard and always have on the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20). When we feel that we are being tempted, we should pray for the protection and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, because we alone cannot successfully defeat Satan.
1 John 4:4
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
With the Holy Spirit, we can have the confidence to know that we are well protected!
Live not as a hypocrite!
Exodus 32:6
Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings.
The burnt offering is an offering that is completely consumed, representing our complete dedication to God. The peace offering represents fellowship with God.
Here, the people offered God these dedications yet their lives failed to line up with their offering!
We need to realize what we are doing when we worship. Are we just superstitious and want to believe in something, or are we serious about getting to know the almighty God who is very real? If we have come to know God, then approach Him the way He has taught us, not making up or copying paganistic rituals and think we’re honoring Him when we’re really just in great disobedience!
Who would want to follow a God that could be made by human hands?!
Exodus 32:1
Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.
This shows that the Israelites have lost their relationship with God and needed to create something that would allow them to feel that connection again. Many of us fall into this trap as well. For example, when we feel like we need to sit somewhere in the church because that was where we have previously met with God, or we feel that when we are at the Wailing Wall, that is where God can hear us best, etc. We are closest to God when our HEART is one with Him. God’s presence is not limited to location – and if we want to feel His presence, we just have to open our hearts up to Him!
Sometimes, faith is just waiting for God to work, not only just making things happen.
The Israelites had no idea how long Moses would be gone and did not want to wait long. Moses was gone for a mere 40 days… It sure didn’t take them long before they fell right back into idolatry!
When God is patient in doing things, we must not become impatient to stand in way of God's timing.
The golden calf was a symbol worshiped in Egypt for power and fertility
The worst kind of idolatry is self-worship, where we take the gifts God has blessed us with, and instead of thanking Him and use those gifts to give Him the glory, we think our success is ours alone and that we are amazing because we alone are superior.
Moses intercedes for his people (Exodus 32:7-14)
Exodus 32:7
And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.”
At this point in time, God did not claim the Israelites as His people because of their disobedience.
Upon learning that God was aggravated, Moses immediately began interceding for his people, showing the great love he had developed for them.
1st reason (Exodus 32:11): God had already put into so much work for these people.
2nd reason (Exodus 32:12): Others would misunderstand God's judgment on Israel, that God didn't save Israel from Egypt because Egypt was sinful but because Israelites were a people that needed to be destroyed, so God took them out into the wilderness to do so.
3rd reason (Exodus 32:13): God made a one-sided covenant with the people. That is, the fulfillment of this covenant was dependent on God and God alone, not at all requiring the obedience of the people. (Aren’t we glad our salvation is not dependent on our perfection but God’s and God’s alone?)
God relented (Exodus 32:14)
Some would use this example as how prayer "changed" the mind of God. However, I think a more well-rounded perspective is to view this in the context of 1 John 5:14-15.
1 John 5:14-15
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Moses' prayer was in line with God's wishes, and hence his intercession for his people was granted.
Forty years earlier, Moses didn't have the heart to lead his people. But now, the above intercession is evidence of how God has cultivated Moses' heart as a shepherd for his people – Moses’ heart was now completely in line with God's call on Moses! This is how amazing God is when we are faithful in Him and allow Him to work through us! We may think we can’t; we may think the challenge is too great and that we simply are not qualified for the job. But, once we realize that we are not doing it based our own merits but based on God’s power, we will be able to relinquish control, allow God to be the driver of our lives, and see the amazing places He takes us!
Moses breaks the Tablets (Exodus 32:15-20)
Exodus 32:19-20
So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.
Imagine Moses' emotions here. This people had a great history behind them with a great future ahead of them. He leaves for 40 days and comes back to this? When he sees that many of the commandments had already been broken, breaking the tablets was a mere symbolism of what has already happened in their hearts. The commandments were not engraved on their hearts. What value is there then for the commandments carved on stones? Moses then had the people drink the water containing the destroyed idol, allowing them to bear the consequences of their sin.
Couple of lessons:
1. Moses is exposing the people to the folly of worshipping a false idol, where a mere man can come and reduce it to powder. How powerful can a god be if he can't protect itself from one man? How can such a god protect 2-3 million people? Again, we need to be fully aware of what we are worshiping. Are we worshiping God, the true Creator of the Universe, or do we just want to worship a figment of our imagination? What is the point of worshiping something that is not real? Why give such an idol our time, energy, and money for nothing, for no hope?
2. We must take immediate and drastic measures to drive out sin in our life. Very few of us commit murders. It is such a major sin, we know not to go near it – very much like how we know not to approach a burning building. However, the sins often ignored are the sins that “don’t seem so bad.” We therefore allow them to linger in our lives, not realizing how little by little, it eats away at our walk with God – very much like how frogs will be boiled alive if we put them first in cold water and then slowly increase the heat until the water is boiling. There is a saying, “Give a mouse a cookie, and it will ask for a glass of milk.” Satan is just like that mouse. We need to make sure we give him not one tiny, tiny hold to tug on our lives. If we do, it may start out as small, but he surely will increase it to enormous proportions. This is why Paul warned us to never give Satan a foothold (Ephesians 4:27)!
Aaron tolerates sin, while Moses eradicates sin (Exodus 32:21-29)
Aaron, in Moses’ absence, was supposed to be the leader of this people, to shepherd them in the ways of God. Instead, Aaron led the people straight into sin. Instead of coming clean when rebuked by Moses (Exodus 32:25), Aaron, like Adam, put a bunch of reasons between him and the sin he had committed (Exodus 32:22-24).
Exodus 32:24
… and this calf came out.
First, Aaron blamed the people, then the gold, then the furnace, then the calf! Not once did he take the responsibility for his own actions. Instead, like Adam, Aaron portrayed himself as an innocent bystander.
When we are confronted with our sin, we are to never lie or find excuses. Moses' intercession for Aaron was the only reason God didn’t strike Aaron dead on the spot – Just as how we are spiritually alive because Jesus continuously intercedes for us in front of the Father.
The sin Aaron had committed was already bad enough. If he had just taken responsibility, repent, and seek God’s guidance, the broken relationship between him and God could have been rapidly amended. It can be hard to acknowledge our sins and repent because of pride or shame or whatever. However, when we fail to take responsibility and lie and blame-shifts instead, we now have character issues that drag us farther into sin and prevent restoring our fellowship with God. But if we would just be honest about it and just spill it out to God, then the sin would not get bigger, and instead, the healing process could begin, restoring our relationship with God.
The worst excuses for us to use to justify our sins would be for us to tell ourselves, “Oh, it can’t be that bad. There are so many people who are worse than me. This is such a small sin compared to other much more serious sins.”
We are not God. Who are we to say what is “not that bad,” or how much we are better than others. God’s commandments are very clear. He tells us no idolatry. He doesn’t say, “Oh, money can buy you a lot of stuff, so yeah, go ahead, worship money. It’s okay. Compared to murder, worshiping is definitely way better off than murder.” No. God said no idolatry, no murder. That means either sin is wrong. Again, we need to be very vigilant about our walk with God. Satan loves to have a foothold on us and looks for every opportunity he can to grab on to our lives. “It’s not that bad,” is a very dangerous thought. This is how people lose their entire life-savings at a casino. And this is how we can lose our heavenly reward by allowing sin to continue to manifest in our lives.
Upon seeing the Israelites out of control, Moses took remedial actions
1. He broke the Tablets, symbolizing the Israelites had broken God’s commandments in their hearts.
2. He rebuked Aaron.
3. He rebuked the people.
4. He took actions to eradicate sin.
Exodus 32:27
Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.”
Even upon Moses' return, the people have not stopped worshipping the false god, still committing sexual immorality amidst their lewd dancing and partying. This was an open rebellion against God and His commands.
These people were set aside not so that God could give them the Ten Commandments but so that He could bring the Savior into the world through them.
Here, we see that the people only cared about satisfying the flesh, not at all concerned about abiding in the will of God. This is the kind of mentality – the sin, the leaven – that would spread through all people if not stopped.
Sin is to be eradicated, holding God above man. Sin cannot be tolerated. Sin is the foothold Satan has on our lives. If we do not eradicate it, it will grow, pulling us further and further away from God.
Moses intercedes for his people, again (Exodus 32:30-33:6)
Exodus 32:32
Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.
Both Moses and Paul (e.g., Romans 9:1-3) exhibited great love for their people. They readily give up everything they have, sacrifice themselves completely, to ensure their people could be saved. They would readily die for the salvation of their people. Unfortunately, their blood is not good enough to wash away the sins of all people. As great as these men of God were, they were still sinners, and their blood could atone only for their own sins.
Jesus’ blood, however, could atone for the sins of the world (Matthew 1:21; Romans 3:23-26; Galatians 4:4-5; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 9:15). Because Jesus was of no sin, His blood was pure in perfect righteousness, therefore able to wash us all of our sins.
Moses leads his people out of Sinai (Exodus 33)
Exodus 33:3
… for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
Because of their great disobedience, God described the Israelites as stiff-necked people (Exodus 33:3). The righteousness of God would consume the sins of the people, hence God, showing grace, would not grant his presence. God cannot bless a rebellious people with the fullness of His people without having such a people be burned up in judgment.
Fortunately, upon learning of God’s rebuke, the people immediately repented (Exodus 33:6).
When we become aware that we no longer enjoy unbroken fellowship with the Lord, we should…
1. Recognize we are wrong (confess).
2. Apologize (repent).
3. Fix the wrong (eradicate sin – It’s not enough to just say, “I’m sorry.” If we are truly sorry, then take action to fix the problem. Otherwise, the apology is just empty words!)
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Genesis 1:20-23
Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler of Koinonia Institute
DAY 5 (Genesis 1:20-23)
Genesis 1:20-23
Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
THE 5TH DAY SHEDS LIGHT ON THE FOLLOWING TOPICS
1. The Fallacy of Evolution
2. Evidence of Design
3. Fish and Fowl
4. Biodiversity
THE FALLACY OF EVOLUTION
Analogy: a watch and a wrist
A watch, no matter how complex, is a simple open loop system. A human wrist, on the other hand, is a complex, closed-loop system that adapts to ambient conditions, fights off microbe invaders, and is self-repairing!
Bishop William Paley, 1818
"The watch, with its gears, springs, and other mechanisms could never arise by the actions of random chance alone."
David Hume (from Thomas H. Huxley’s Commentary, 1894)
“Living systems only have the appearance of machines. Unless it can be proven that living systems are indeed machines at the molecular level, then Paley’s watchmaker argument is irrelevant.”
Modern microbiology has revealed that even the simplest organisms are complex machines beyond our imagining. Science has refuted Hume and totally vindicated Paley!
Sir Fred Hoyle, 1981
“The speculation of The Origin of the Species turned out to be wrong. It is ironic that the scientific facts throw Darwin out, but leave Paley …the ultimate winner.”
Examples of Evolutionary Fallacies
1. Self-organization violates the Law of Entropy (2nd Law of Thermodynamics).
2. Complex system assemblies require all subsystems to be functional for system survival.
Could a camera happen by chance? Yet, we have eyes that are vastly more complicated than the camera, and we attribute that to chance?
3. DNA is a digital (or symbolic) language – Digital languages takes LOGIC to understand it!
For example, the word “man” has meaning only because we give it the meaning it has today. It takes logic to give it meaning, and it takes logic to understand its meaning. DNA works the same way. It uses 4 digits (A, T, G, C) to communicate how proteins are to be made. There is no way the rise of such an elegant language is a product of chance.
In sum, digital codes derive their meaning from arbitrary but consistent definitions (semantics). Such codes are dependent upon their context (syntax), and they are evidence design!
Hierarchy of Design
1. Open Loop Systems, e.g., thermometer
2. Closed Loop Systems, e.g., thermostat
3. Adaptive Systems, e.g., computer-controlled thermostat that can adjust temperature according to the time of the day, the season, etc.
4. Self-modifying Systems
5. Intelligent Machines
Each level of design requires additional information to be added.
Hierarchy of Intelligent Machines
1. Self-modifying Systems
2. Self-programming Systems
3. Self-diagnostic Systems
4. Self-repairing Systems
5. Self-reproducing Systems
These are all found in nature, and the most advanced systems have yet to be fully achieved by human design. We have yet to make self-reproducing systems. Despite the advancements we have made, science still has yet to be able to make a system as “simple” as the cell! For us to stubbornly believe living organisms are nothing but the products of chance, we are essentially saying the combined efforts of our geniuses are far inferior to random chance!
EVIDENCE OF DESIGN
Molecules and Amino Acids
Individual atoms bond together to form molecules, such as oxygen and carbon. Molecules of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen bond together in unique ways to form different amino acids, such as Tyrosine, Glutamine, and Valine.
Pre-Biotic Soup Myth
In 1953, Stanley Miller produced some simple amino acids under carefully controlled conditions:
1. Primitive atmosphere of water, ammonia, and methane.
2. Source of energy: UV, lightning, etc.
Supporters of evolution use this to “prove” that evolution happens. What people fail to grasp was that Miller conducted his experiment WITHOUT any oxygen! Why is this important? Because without it, his experimental settings FAILED to replicate conditions that truly reflected primitive atmosphere (which itself is a theory that cannot be proven – since none of us were alive back then, no one can confirm or refute exactly how it really was). The presence of oxygen destroys organic compounds without a protecting cell wall.
Furthermore…
1. Oxidation destroys the basic chemical building blocks of life.
2. Even with us assuming the primitive atmosphere was completely devoid of oxygen, without the ozone layer, UV radiation from the sun would destroy organic compounds anyway.
Forty years of subsequent attempts still have failed to provide any empirical validation of this Oarin-Haldane-Miller hypothesis. In fact, supporters of evolution nowadays don’t even mention it anymore, as it has pretty much been dismissed by most scientists.
The Cell Revealed
There are 1x10^13 cells in the human body. The cell wall protects the internal chemical processes (amino acids, proteins, etc.) from UV, oxidating agents, water, etc. Self-reproduction is the most fundamental characteristic of all living organisms. In living systems the building blocks of DNA and RNA exist exclusively in the right-handed form (dextrorotary). Amino acids in virtually all proteins in living systems occur only in the left-handed form (levorotary).
If these molecules truly occurred by “accident,” there should be equal amounts of left-handed and right-handed molecules. However, as stated above, that is not the case. All the DNA molecules are right-handed, and amino acids are all left-handed! Just this fact alone suggests that there is someone (or at least recognize an ordered force) dictating the building of these molecules!
The “simple?” cell is really not as simple as people think. It is far more complex than anything humans have ever designed and built! It is unequalled in any factory on earth!
The Code of Life: DNA
Francis Crick
“An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had to have been satisfied to get it going.”
Michael Denton, 1986
“Although the tiniest bacterial cells are incredibly small, each is in effect a veritable micro-miniaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up of 100,000,000,000 atoms, far more complicated than any machine built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world.”
Digital Information Flow
DNA --> RNA --> Protein
There are exceptions, which is not the point here. Even with considering the exceptions, the point here is that proteins are made from digital codes dictated by nucleic acids.
Protein Manufacturing
The proteins that make up the many mechanisms within the living cell are manufactured in four steps:
1. An enzyme docks to the chromosome and slides along the gene, transcribing the sequence on one strand of DNA into a single strand of RNA.
2. Any introns (the non-coding parts of the transcript) are snipped out, and the rest is spliced together to make a piece of “messenger RNA.”
3. The RNA message then moves out of the nucleus to the main part of the cell, where molecular machines translate it into chains of amino acids, which become the proteins required.
4. Each protein chain twists and folds into its intricate and unique three-dimensional shape to carry out its function.
Let’s not even consider the complexity of protein manufacturing within a cell. Just consider how the DNA is able to store all that information and appropriately dictate the right time to make the right proteins. And then consider the fact that the DNA is a self-replicating molecule, a self-replicating code. Every step is a major evolutionary hurdle – with all of our brain power, we humans can’t even begin to create anything as sophisticated, yet we readily claim chance has a better, well, chance?
But of course, why let the fun stop there. Let’s ask the chicken-or-the-egg question: Which came first? The protein or the DNA? You can’t make any protein without the DNA, and you can’t make the DNA without the protein. This isn’t just two simple processes interacting with each other but rather several complex systems relying on each one to be functional to exist. In other words, there is no way proteins came first to create DNA or vice versa. Both complex systems needed to be in place, organized, on Day 1!
FISH AND FOWL
Genesis 1:20-23
So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Dolphin Sonar
Dolphins almost constantly emit either clicking sounds or whistles. The clicks are short pulses of about 300 sounds per second, emitted from a mechanism located just below the blowhole. These clicks are used for the echolocation of objects and are resonated forward by the so-called oily melon, which is located above the forehead and acts as an acoustic lens. Echoes received at the area of the rear of the lower jaw are transmitted by a fat organ in the lower jaw to the middle ear.
This echolocation system, similar to that of a bat, enables the dolphin to navigate among its companions and larger objects and to detect fish, squid, and even small shrimp. The whistles are single-toned squeals that come from deeper in the larynx. They are used to communicate alarm and perhaps other emotional states. The bottle-nosed dolphin can detect sounds at frequencies more than seven times what a human can hear.
The dolphin’s sonar system involves sophisticated equations reconciling the velocities of sound through different media: sea water, skin, acoustic lens, etc. They are dependent upon sonar echoes to find food; thus, dolphins are dependent upon a fully functional system that is useless until fully functional.
The acoustic engineering of just this sonar system is astonishingly complex! The system must be able to account for how sound waves travel in different media: water, sand, melon.
Question: How did dolphins survive BEFORE they had this system in place? They can’t – They’d starve to death! And here’s the thing about dead animals: They do not evolve!
Bombardier Beetle (Brachinus fumans)
From Dr. Wermann Schildknecht, a German chemist:
“The beetle makes his “explosive” by mixing together two very dangerous chemicals (hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide). In addition, this clever little beetle adds another type of chemical known as an inhibitor. The inhibitor prevents the chemicals from blowing up and enables the beetle to store the chemicals indefinitely.
“The beetle can rotate the end of its abdomen 270 degrees in any direction, which allows for an impressive ‘firing range.’ In effect, the beetle can spray in whatever direction the predator comes from, a decided advantage.
“A mixture of these two chemicals in the presence of the two enzymes in a confined space is explosive. The beetle, on his way to becoming a bombardier beetle, would have to be smart enough to carefully store the chemicals in a storage chamber apart from the enzymes but in the presence of an inhibitor to prevent them from reacting prematurely with one another.
“He also would have to be smart enough to know which enzymes he needs to catalyze the chemical reactions involved, and he would have to be smart enough to secrete them into the combustion chamber. The combustion chamber itself must be very special, able to resist the corrosive effect of the hot, irritating chemicals and strong enough to contain the high pressure without rupturing. The combustion chamber must also be equipped with a highly efficient valve, and the appropriate muscles must exist to manipulate the combustion tube and point it in the right direction.
“Of course, all of this incredibly complex apparatus would be totally useless without a precisely designed and perfectly functional communication system to squirt the charge of chemicals into the combustion tube, secrete the enzymes into the combustion tube, activate the valve at the appropriate moment, and send the correct signals to all of the muscles involved, in order to point the combustion tube in the right direction.
“Evolutionists would have us believe that all of the hundreds, and most likely thousands, of genes required to direct the construction and operation of all of this arose through a series of copying errors. Furthermore, these complex genetic changes had to occur in just the right order, so that at every stage of development the beetle was not only able to survive but also was actually superior to the preceding stage. Creation scientists reject this notion as more than scientifically untenable; it is simply preposterous, a fairy tale!
“In twin storage chambers, he stores an aqueous solution of two chemicals: l0% hydroquinone (a reducing agent used in photographic developing fluids) and 23% hydrogen peroxide (a powerful oxidizing agent). Remarkably, these chemical agents do not react, the solution remaining as crystal clear as pure water due to the inhibitor, which prevents the chemicals from reacting. If these chemicals are mixed in the laboratory, the solution soon becomes discolored, as the hydrogen peroxide oxidizes the hydroquinones to quinones (in the bombardier beetle a mixture of hydroquinone and methylhydroquinone is used).
“When the bombardier beetle is ready to fire his defensive spray, he squirts a charge of the chemical solution into each of the combustion tubes. There an enzyme, catalase, catalyzes the extremely rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water, and another enzyme, peroxidase, catalyzes the oxidation of the hydroquinones to quinonesnoxious, irritating chemicals. The chemical reaction generates sufficient heat to raise the temperature of the mixture to 212ºF, and the excess oxygen produced provides the high pressure, and valves in the ends of the combustion tubes are opened at the appropriate time.
“Scientists have discovered that a bombardier beetle could fire its defenses 20 times in a row before emptying its chemical supply.”
Questions: How can evolution account for the existence of this beetle? If he makes a mistake during evolution and mixes his chambers as chance would have it, he blows himself up! And here’s the thing about dead bugs: They do not evolve!
Birds are designed for flight
Birds that fly have lightweight skeletons in which many of the major bones are hollow. A unique feature of birds is the furculum, or wishbone, which is comparable to the collarbones of humans, although in birds the left and right portions are fused together. The furculum absorbs the shock of wing motion and acts as a spring to help birds breathe while they fly.
Several anatomical adaptations help to reduce weight and concentrate it near the center of gravity. For example, modern birds are toothless, which helps reduce the weight of their beaks, and food grinding is carried out in the muscular gizzard, a part of the stomach located near the body’s core. The egg-laying habit of birds enables young to develop outside the body of the female, significantly lightening her load. For further weight reduction, the reproductive organs of birds atrophy, or become greatly reduced in size, outside of the breeding season.
Their physiology is optimized for flight
Examples:
1. Fast metabolism: high body temp (104F -108F); lungs open at each end
2. 450 breaths/min (vs. 30/min); larger hearts for altitude
3. 400-1000 beats/min (vs 160/min)
4. Feathers for aerodynamics and body
5. Feet and beaks are specially designed for different lifestyles of different types of birds
Example: The Woodpecker
• Has a strong beak for all the pecking that he does
• Has a special shock-absorbing cartilage between his beak and head – and when he pecks, he automatically closes his eyes, because otherwise they would pop out!
• Has resilient tail feathers to form a tripod with his feet to better cling to trees;
• Has 2+2 toes (vs. 3+1) for better gripping on the tree;
• Has an unusually long tongue with barbs and special glue (that sticks to the larva but not to the tongue itself): it exits the skull between the eyes and enters the beak through one of the nostrils
Migration is still a mystery
Despite our technological advances, we still cannot explain how birds can go 25,000 miles from birth to where they need to go.
Example: The Golden Plover
These birds fly from Alaska to Hawaii – with no rest stops! They weigh about 130 grams and put on about 70 grams to fuel their trip. This is an 88-hour trip, and a quick calculation will show that 70 grams can fuel only 70 hours of this trip, suggesting these birds would plummet into the ocean long before they make it to Hawaii! Yet, each year, these birds make the flight. How? By flying in formation, the ones that are not in the lead can save fuel, and they trade off lead throughout the trip! These birds draft – and by drafting, they reach Hawaii with 6.8 grams of margin! How would evolution even begin to explain this? If they don’t draft, they plummet into the ocean. If they don’t draft in perfect formation, they plummet into the ocean. They had once shot to get it right, and this was just by chance?
Like these birds, we can’t make survive in this world alone either! We all need each other. We all need to exercise our gifts to make the body of the church work!
BIODIVERSITY
Biologists stress that each species is needed by the rest.
The Sympathetic Miracles of Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a process involving two interdependent stages: the Light-Dependent Reaction (in two phases) and the Light-Independent Reaction.
Light contains many wavelengths. Certain red and blue wavelengths of light are the most effective in photosynthesis because they have exactly the right amount of energy to energize chlorophyll electrons and boost them out of their orbits to a higher energy level. Other accessory pigments enhance the light-absorption capacity of the leaf by capturing a broader spectrum of blue and red wavelengths, along with yellow and orange wavelengths. None of the photosynthetic pigments absorb green light; as a result, green wavelengths are reflected, which is why plants appear green.
A chloroplast traps light energy and converts it into chemical energy contained in two types of molecules:
1. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)
2. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
These are both used in the subsequent Light-Independent Reaction.
The Light-Independent Reaction takes the two chemicals produced in the Light-Dependent Reaction, along with CO2, to form glucose (sugar): the NADPH provides the hydrogen atoms that help form glucose, and the ATP provides the energy for this and other reactions used to synthesize glucose in the stroma.
There is a broader system design that is evident in the elegance of the total picture. Plants produce both the free oxygen as well as a surplus of sugar to provide food for the animals. Animals burn this energy, producing the CO2 needed by the plants.
The animals are essential for the plants, just as the plants are essential for the animals. Engineers who excel in designing complex systems will tell you that any two systems that operate in this way need each other and could not have possibly been developed by accident. They were designed, and they were designed to need each other!
Last jabbing question for the evolutionists: If evolution occurs and is a force of nature, why be concerned or mortified about animals/plants/insects/etc. going extinct? Evolution would dictate that this is simply the norm!
Study Questions
1) What is the fallacy of “prebiotic soup” as the source of life?
2) What is “molecular chirality” and how does it refute randomness as a source of design?
3) How does a digital code refute randomness as a source of design?
4) List the major problems with “evolution” (biogenesis) as an explanation of our origin.
5) Discuss personal examples in which careful coordination is required among members of a design group. How does this impact the potential role of randomness as a process?
6) How does the complexity of even the “simplest” living cell refute the notion of it having occurred by random unaided processes?
7) How does the process of photosynthesis refute the theory of evolution?
8) How does your views regarding evolution impact your reading of the Bible?
9) Analyze a complex creature in terms of its design problems and the likelihood of it having occurred by unaided random chance.
DAY 5 (Genesis 1:20-23)
Genesis 1:20-23
Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
THE 5TH DAY SHEDS LIGHT ON THE FOLLOWING TOPICS
1. The Fallacy of Evolution
2. Evidence of Design
3. Fish and Fowl
4. Biodiversity
THE FALLACY OF EVOLUTION
Analogy: a watch and a wrist
A watch, no matter how complex, is a simple open loop system. A human wrist, on the other hand, is a complex, closed-loop system that adapts to ambient conditions, fights off microbe invaders, and is self-repairing!
Bishop William Paley, 1818
"The watch, with its gears, springs, and other mechanisms could never arise by the actions of random chance alone."
David Hume (from Thomas H. Huxley’s Commentary, 1894)
“Living systems only have the appearance of machines. Unless it can be proven that living systems are indeed machines at the molecular level, then Paley’s watchmaker argument is irrelevant.”
Modern microbiology has revealed that even the simplest organisms are complex machines beyond our imagining. Science has refuted Hume and totally vindicated Paley!
Sir Fred Hoyle, 1981
“The speculation of The Origin of the Species turned out to be wrong. It is ironic that the scientific facts throw Darwin out, but leave Paley …the ultimate winner.”
Examples of Evolutionary Fallacies
1. Self-organization violates the Law of Entropy (2nd Law of Thermodynamics).
2. Complex system assemblies require all subsystems to be functional for system survival.
Could a camera happen by chance? Yet, we have eyes that are vastly more complicated than the camera, and we attribute that to chance?
3. DNA is a digital (or symbolic) language – Digital languages takes LOGIC to understand it!
For example, the word “man” has meaning only because we give it the meaning it has today. It takes logic to give it meaning, and it takes logic to understand its meaning. DNA works the same way. It uses 4 digits (A, T, G, C) to communicate how proteins are to be made. There is no way the rise of such an elegant language is a product of chance.
In sum, digital codes derive their meaning from arbitrary but consistent definitions (semantics). Such codes are dependent upon their context (syntax), and they are evidence design!
Hierarchy of Design
1. Open Loop Systems, e.g., thermometer
2. Closed Loop Systems, e.g., thermostat
3. Adaptive Systems, e.g., computer-controlled thermostat that can adjust temperature according to the time of the day, the season, etc.
4. Self-modifying Systems
5. Intelligent Machines
Each level of design requires additional information to be added.
Hierarchy of Intelligent Machines
1. Self-modifying Systems
2. Self-programming Systems
3. Self-diagnostic Systems
4. Self-repairing Systems
5. Self-reproducing Systems
These are all found in nature, and the most advanced systems have yet to be fully achieved by human design. We have yet to make self-reproducing systems. Despite the advancements we have made, science still has yet to be able to make a system as “simple” as the cell! For us to stubbornly believe living organisms are nothing but the products of chance, we are essentially saying the combined efforts of our geniuses are far inferior to random chance!
EVIDENCE OF DESIGN
Molecules and Amino Acids
Individual atoms bond together to form molecules, such as oxygen and carbon. Molecules of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen bond together in unique ways to form different amino acids, such as Tyrosine, Glutamine, and Valine.
Pre-Biotic Soup Myth
In 1953, Stanley Miller produced some simple amino acids under carefully controlled conditions:
1. Primitive atmosphere of water, ammonia, and methane.
2. Source of energy: UV, lightning, etc.
Supporters of evolution use this to “prove” that evolution happens. What people fail to grasp was that Miller conducted his experiment WITHOUT any oxygen! Why is this important? Because without it, his experimental settings FAILED to replicate conditions that truly reflected primitive atmosphere (which itself is a theory that cannot be proven – since none of us were alive back then, no one can confirm or refute exactly how it really was). The presence of oxygen destroys organic compounds without a protecting cell wall.
Furthermore…
1. Oxidation destroys the basic chemical building blocks of life.
2. Even with us assuming the primitive atmosphere was completely devoid of oxygen, without the ozone layer, UV radiation from the sun would destroy organic compounds anyway.
Forty years of subsequent attempts still have failed to provide any empirical validation of this Oarin-Haldane-Miller hypothesis. In fact, supporters of evolution nowadays don’t even mention it anymore, as it has pretty much been dismissed by most scientists.
The Cell Revealed
There are 1x10^13 cells in the human body. The cell wall protects the internal chemical processes (amino acids, proteins, etc.) from UV, oxidating agents, water, etc. Self-reproduction is the most fundamental characteristic of all living organisms. In living systems the building blocks of DNA and RNA exist exclusively in the right-handed form (dextrorotary). Amino acids in virtually all proteins in living systems occur only in the left-handed form (levorotary).
If these molecules truly occurred by “accident,” there should be equal amounts of left-handed and right-handed molecules. However, as stated above, that is not the case. All the DNA molecules are right-handed, and amino acids are all left-handed! Just this fact alone suggests that there is someone (or at least recognize an ordered force) dictating the building of these molecules!
The “simple?” cell is really not as simple as people think. It is far more complex than anything humans have ever designed and built! It is unequalled in any factory on earth!
The Code of Life: DNA
Francis Crick
“An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had to have been satisfied to get it going.”
Michael Denton, 1986
“Although the tiniest bacterial cells are incredibly small, each is in effect a veritable micro-miniaturized factory containing thousands of exquisitely designed pieces of intricate molecular machinery, made up of 100,000,000,000 atoms, far more complicated than any machine built by man and absolutely without parallel in the non-living world.”
Digital Information Flow
DNA --> RNA --> Protein
There are exceptions, which is not the point here. Even with considering the exceptions, the point here is that proteins are made from digital codes dictated by nucleic acids.
Protein Manufacturing
The proteins that make up the many mechanisms within the living cell are manufactured in four steps:
1. An enzyme docks to the chromosome and slides along the gene, transcribing the sequence on one strand of DNA into a single strand of RNA.
2. Any introns (the non-coding parts of the transcript) are snipped out, and the rest is spliced together to make a piece of “messenger RNA.”
3. The RNA message then moves out of the nucleus to the main part of the cell, where molecular machines translate it into chains of amino acids, which become the proteins required.
4. Each protein chain twists and folds into its intricate and unique three-dimensional shape to carry out its function.
Let’s not even consider the complexity of protein manufacturing within a cell. Just consider how the DNA is able to store all that information and appropriately dictate the right time to make the right proteins. And then consider the fact that the DNA is a self-replicating molecule, a self-replicating code. Every step is a major evolutionary hurdle – with all of our brain power, we humans can’t even begin to create anything as sophisticated, yet we readily claim chance has a better, well, chance?
But of course, why let the fun stop there. Let’s ask the chicken-or-the-egg question: Which came first? The protein or the DNA? You can’t make any protein without the DNA, and you can’t make the DNA without the protein. This isn’t just two simple processes interacting with each other but rather several complex systems relying on each one to be functional to exist. In other words, there is no way proteins came first to create DNA or vice versa. Both complex systems needed to be in place, organized, on Day 1!
FISH AND FOWL
Genesis 1:20-23
So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Dolphin Sonar
Dolphins almost constantly emit either clicking sounds or whistles. The clicks are short pulses of about 300 sounds per second, emitted from a mechanism located just below the blowhole. These clicks are used for the echolocation of objects and are resonated forward by the so-called oily melon, which is located above the forehead and acts as an acoustic lens. Echoes received at the area of the rear of the lower jaw are transmitted by a fat organ in the lower jaw to the middle ear.
This echolocation system, similar to that of a bat, enables the dolphin to navigate among its companions and larger objects and to detect fish, squid, and even small shrimp. The whistles are single-toned squeals that come from deeper in the larynx. They are used to communicate alarm and perhaps other emotional states. The bottle-nosed dolphin can detect sounds at frequencies more than seven times what a human can hear.
The dolphin’s sonar system involves sophisticated equations reconciling the velocities of sound through different media: sea water, skin, acoustic lens, etc. They are dependent upon sonar echoes to find food; thus, dolphins are dependent upon a fully functional system that is useless until fully functional.
The acoustic engineering of just this sonar system is astonishingly complex! The system must be able to account for how sound waves travel in different media: water, sand, melon.
Question: How did dolphins survive BEFORE they had this system in place? They can’t – They’d starve to death! And here’s the thing about dead animals: They do not evolve!
Bombardier Beetle (Brachinus fumans)
From Dr. Wermann Schildknecht, a German chemist:
“The beetle makes his “explosive” by mixing together two very dangerous chemicals (hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide). In addition, this clever little beetle adds another type of chemical known as an inhibitor. The inhibitor prevents the chemicals from blowing up and enables the beetle to store the chemicals indefinitely.
“The beetle can rotate the end of its abdomen 270 degrees in any direction, which allows for an impressive ‘firing range.’ In effect, the beetle can spray in whatever direction the predator comes from, a decided advantage.
“A mixture of these two chemicals in the presence of the two enzymes in a confined space is explosive. The beetle, on his way to becoming a bombardier beetle, would have to be smart enough to carefully store the chemicals in a storage chamber apart from the enzymes but in the presence of an inhibitor to prevent them from reacting prematurely with one another.
“He also would have to be smart enough to know which enzymes he needs to catalyze the chemical reactions involved, and he would have to be smart enough to secrete them into the combustion chamber. The combustion chamber itself must be very special, able to resist the corrosive effect of the hot, irritating chemicals and strong enough to contain the high pressure without rupturing. The combustion chamber must also be equipped with a highly efficient valve, and the appropriate muscles must exist to manipulate the combustion tube and point it in the right direction.
“Of course, all of this incredibly complex apparatus would be totally useless without a precisely designed and perfectly functional communication system to squirt the charge of chemicals into the combustion tube, secrete the enzymes into the combustion tube, activate the valve at the appropriate moment, and send the correct signals to all of the muscles involved, in order to point the combustion tube in the right direction.
“Evolutionists would have us believe that all of the hundreds, and most likely thousands, of genes required to direct the construction and operation of all of this arose through a series of copying errors. Furthermore, these complex genetic changes had to occur in just the right order, so that at every stage of development the beetle was not only able to survive but also was actually superior to the preceding stage. Creation scientists reject this notion as more than scientifically untenable; it is simply preposterous, a fairy tale!
“In twin storage chambers, he stores an aqueous solution of two chemicals: l0% hydroquinone (a reducing agent used in photographic developing fluids) and 23% hydrogen peroxide (a powerful oxidizing agent). Remarkably, these chemical agents do not react, the solution remaining as crystal clear as pure water due to the inhibitor, which prevents the chemicals from reacting. If these chemicals are mixed in the laboratory, the solution soon becomes discolored, as the hydrogen peroxide oxidizes the hydroquinones to quinones (in the bombardier beetle a mixture of hydroquinone and methylhydroquinone is used).
“When the bombardier beetle is ready to fire his defensive spray, he squirts a charge of the chemical solution into each of the combustion tubes. There an enzyme, catalase, catalyzes the extremely rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water, and another enzyme, peroxidase, catalyzes the oxidation of the hydroquinones to quinonesnoxious, irritating chemicals. The chemical reaction generates sufficient heat to raise the temperature of the mixture to 212ºF, and the excess oxygen produced provides the high pressure, and valves in the ends of the combustion tubes are opened at the appropriate time.
“Scientists have discovered that a bombardier beetle could fire its defenses 20 times in a row before emptying its chemical supply.”
Questions: How can evolution account for the existence of this beetle? If he makes a mistake during evolution and mixes his chambers as chance would have it, he blows himself up! And here’s the thing about dead bugs: They do not evolve!
Birds are designed for flight
Birds that fly have lightweight skeletons in which many of the major bones are hollow. A unique feature of birds is the furculum, or wishbone, which is comparable to the collarbones of humans, although in birds the left and right portions are fused together. The furculum absorbs the shock of wing motion and acts as a spring to help birds breathe while they fly.
Several anatomical adaptations help to reduce weight and concentrate it near the center of gravity. For example, modern birds are toothless, which helps reduce the weight of their beaks, and food grinding is carried out in the muscular gizzard, a part of the stomach located near the body’s core. The egg-laying habit of birds enables young to develop outside the body of the female, significantly lightening her load. For further weight reduction, the reproductive organs of birds atrophy, or become greatly reduced in size, outside of the breeding season.
Their physiology is optimized for flight
Examples:
1. Fast metabolism: high body temp (104F -108F); lungs open at each end
2. 450 breaths/min (vs. 30/min); larger hearts for altitude
3. 400-1000 beats/min (vs 160/min)
4. Feathers for aerodynamics and body
5. Feet and beaks are specially designed for different lifestyles of different types of birds
Example: The Woodpecker
• Has a strong beak for all the pecking that he does
• Has a special shock-absorbing cartilage between his beak and head – and when he pecks, he automatically closes his eyes, because otherwise they would pop out!
• Has resilient tail feathers to form a tripod with his feet to better cling to trees;
• Has 2+2 toes (vs. 3+1) for better gripping on the tree;
• Has an unusually long tongue with barbs and special glue (that sticks to the larva but not to the tongue itself): it exits the skull between the eyes and enters the beak through one of the nostrils
Migration is still a mystery
Despite our technological advances, we still cannot explain how birds can go 25,000 miles from birth to where they need to go.
Example: The Golden Plover
These birds fly from Alaska to Hawaii – with no rest stops! They weigh about 130 grams and put on about 70 grams to fuel their trip. This is an 88-hour trip, and a quick calculation will show that 70 grams can fuel only 70 hours of this trip, suggesting these birds would plummet into the ocean long before they make it to Hawaii! Yet, each year, these birds make the flight. How? By flying in formation, the ones that are not in the lead can save fuel, and they trade off lead throughout the trip! These birds draft – and by drafting, they reach Hawaii with 6.8 grams of margin! How would evolution even begin to explain this? If they don’t draft, they plummet into the ocean. If they don’t draft in perfect formation, they plummet into the ocean. They had once shot to get it right, and this was just by chance?
Like these birds, we can’t make survive in this world alone either! We all need each other. We all need to exercise our gifts to make the body of the church work!
BIODIVERSITY
Biologists stress that each species is needed by the rest.
The Sympathetic Miracles of Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a process involving two interdependent stages: the Light-Dependent Reaction (in two phases) and the Light-Independent Reaction.
Light contains many wavelengths. Certain red and blue wavelengths of light are the most effective in photosynthesis because they have exactly the right amount of energy to energize chlorophyll electrons and boost them out of their orbits to a higher energy level. Other accessory pigments enhance the light-absorption capacity of the leaf by capturing a broader spectrum of blue and red wavelengths, along with yellow and orange wavelengths. None of the photosynthetic pigments absorb green light; as a result, green wavelengths are reflected, which is why plants appear green.
A chloroplast traps light energy and converts it into chemical energy contained in two types of molecules:
1. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)
2. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
These are both used in the subsequent Light-Independent Reaction.
The Light-Independent Reaction takes the two chemicals produced in the Light-Dependent Reaction, along with CO2, to form glucose (sugar): the NADPH provides the hydrogen atoms that help form glucose, and the ATP provides the energy for this and other reactions used to synthesize glucose in the stroma.
There is a broader system design that is evident in the elegance of the total picture. Plants produce both the free oxygen as well as a surplus of sugar to provide food for the animals. Animals burn this energy, producing the CO2 needed by the plants.
The animals are essential for the plants, just as the plants are essential for the animals. Engineers who excel in designing complex systems will tell you that any two systems that operate in this way need each other and could not have possibly been developed by accident. They were designed, and they were designed to need each other!
Last jabbing question for the evolutionists: If evolution occurs and is a force of nature, why be concerned or mortified about animals/plants/insects/etc. going extinct? Evolution would dictate that this is simply the norm!
Study Questions
1) What is the fallacy of “prebiotic soup” as the source of life?
2) What is “molecular chirality” and how does it refute randomness as a source of design?
3) How does a digital code refute randomness as a source of design?
4) List the major problems with “evolution” (biogenesis) as an explanation of our origin.
5) Discuss personal examples in which careful coordination is required among members of a design group. How does this impact the potential role of randomness as a process?
6) How does the complexity of even the “simplest” living cell refute the notion of it having occurred by random unaided processes?
7) How does the process of photosynthesis refute the theory of evolution?
8) How does your views regarding evolution impact your reading of the Bible?
9) Analyze a complex creature in terms of its design problems and the likelihood of it having occurred by unaided random chance.
Exodus 25-31
Exodus 24:3
So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.”
THE TABERNACLE SPEAKS OF JESUS (Exodus 25-27)
The Tabernacle (and later, the Temple), as Hebrews, Ezekiel, and Revelation tell us, are all picture of what Heaven is like. Hence, the decorations within it, with Angels around, are all a picture of Heaven.
In sum, the Tabernacle points us to Jesus
John 1:14
The Word was made flesh and tabernacle among us.
As we enter into the Holy Place…
There is only one door, who is Jesus – “I AM the Door”
Within the Holy Place…
The golden lampstand is Jesus – “I AM the Light of the World”.
The table of showbread is Jesus – “I AM the Bread of Life”.
The altar of incense is Jesus, who is continuously interceding for us.
Within the Holy of Holies…
The Mercy Seat is Jesus, as the propitiation for our sins.
The Ark of the Covenant is Jesus, as our sin bearer.
Exodus 26:7
You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair, to be a tent over the tabernacle.
Exodus 26:14
You shall also make a covering of ram skins dyed red for the tent, and a covering of badger skins above that.
The Tabernacle had 3 coverings:
1st covering: goat’s hair
This is an insulating layer used to modulate temperature. Goat’s hair is a picture of atonement. During Yom Kippur, two goats were used to atonement of sin each year. One was sacrificed, and the other one was a scapegoat that carried the sins of the nation and was led into the wilderness so that it could not find its way back – symbolizing that we do not want sins to come back to us. Similarly, Jesus separates us from sin.
2nd covering: ram skins
There was no measurement for the ram skins because there is no limit to the forgiveness of God has for us. Ram is a picture of Jesus' sacrifice.
3rd covering: badger skins
Badger skins are waterproof and provide refuge for priests through storms. Similarly, Jesus protects us from the storms of our lives.
The Tabernacle from the outside this looks plain and uninteresting – all we would see it the goat’s hair! The only way to discover the beauty of the Tabernacle is from the INSIDE. Similarly, the only way we can see the beauty of Christ Jesus is once we are IN Christ Jesus.
The Pharisees could not see beyond the humanity of Jesus. They could not understand how God could be so... Ordinary. They could not see beyond the badger skin! They could not look beyond Jesus' humanity to see His deity. And we can never come to see His inside until we are IN Him!!
Those who give willing will also receive God’s blessing freely
Exodus 25:2
From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.
Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
God wants us to love and follow Him with our heart, mind, and soul. It is not at all about the giving of materialistic things – it is, as it is always with God, about our HEART, about dedicating our lives to the Lord!
Our God dwells with us (Cf. Matthew 1:23; John 1:14; Ephesians 2:19-22; and Revelation 21:1-3)
Exodus 25:8
And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
Our God wants to dwell AMONG us. This is very different from pagan gods who are territorial (very much like demons, huh). God is ALWAYS with His people and never "loses" His power depending on the location.
Jesus is our Mercy Seat
The Mercy Seat is secured on top of the Ark of the Covenant.
Exodus 25:10
And they shall make an ark of acacia wood.
Acacia wood is very hard and strong wood that grows in the super hot and dry desert and is resistant to bugs and disease. This wood represents the incorruptibility of Jesus.
The wood is then covered in gold.
The wood speaks of Jesus’ humanity; the gold, His deity. Only a union between humanity and deity could salvation be provided. The humanity allowed Jesus to die for us. The deity allowed Jesus’ death to be the death of a PERFECT substitute.
The Ark of Covenant represents the Lord Himself, making it the most precious furnishing in the Tabernacle. It's the only furnishing in the Holy of Holies.
Exodus 25:11
… make on it a molding of gold all around
The Mercy Seat covers the Law (since the Ten Commandments are placed in the Ark, which is then covered by the Mercy Seat).
The design of the Ark was to keep the Mercy Seat firmly between us and the demands of the Law of Moses.
The molding on the Ark allows the Mercy Seat to remain firmly on the Ark. There would be no accidental slipping off of the Mercy Seat. The only way the Mercy Seat would come off is if someone takes it off on purpose. This is literally AND symbolically important.
Literally: The Levite priests were responsible for transporting the Ark, following God’s exact instructions. As we learned from Uzzah (2 Samuel 6:1-7; 1 Chronicles 13:9-12), if those instructions were not followed, the wrath of God follows. Hence, if the Mercy Seat were prone to slipping off during transport, every time someone slips, he would come under the Law and be judged. However, since God ensured the construction of the Ark would allow the Mercy Seat to remain firmly on the Ark, it would protect those from the Law in case they slipped.
Symbolically: Who doesn’t slip? We all make mistakes here and there, no matter how big or small. And when we slip, who protects us from God’s Wrath? God’s Mercy! When we slip, the wrath for God does not come forth upon us because His mercy firmly remains.
Exodus 25:16
And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you.
“Testimony” = The Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments gives us insight into the perfect righteousness of God. It vividly shows us what it takes to live in perfect righteousness. Read through it, and we will quickly realize that no man can go through life without breaking at least one if not all of it (all man except Jesus!). The Ten Commandments thus exposes us to our sins, making us fully aware of God's righteousness and how we are unable to live up to it without outside help.
As mentioned to above, these passages make it clear how the Ark was to be transported. The Ark was never to be touched. Coming back to the example of when King David had ordered the Ark to be transported on a cart (via Philistine method), rather than following God’s instructions on how the Ark was to be transported. When the cart hit a dip, Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark to prevent it from tipping over. Even though Uzzah’s intention was good, he was still struck dead upon touching the Ark. This immediately halted all celebrations and reminded the people to go back to the basics. Was this really necessary? YES. Sin is likened to leaven because it spreads and causes everything to rise. If not stopped, it gets everywhere and becomes difficult to be rid of. The transport of the Ark was a huge celebration. Everyone was enjoying the process. David was probably the most joyful because of his great love for God. However, he transported the Ark the way he wanted to – and completely disobeyed the commands of God. We must understand that in order for us to abide in God’s will, we must FOLLOW God, not become so enamored with our own selfish ideals that we start doing things our way, thinking God would surely be okay with it.
Just as the Ark was to be transported by priests, the presence of God today is to be transported by us – followers of Christ. We are a kingdom of priests and are responsible for transporting God’s presence to the rest of the world! Hence, having the Ark be carried by only priests in the Old Covenant was a picture of what was to come through Jesus! Everywhere we go, the presence of God only goes out into this world as we transport it through our lives. God’s presence certainly should not to be transported on "carts"!
Exodus 25:17
You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold…
Mercy Seat in Greek is the same word translated as "propitiation". It is a picture of Jesus. The seat separates sin of man from the Law, just as Jesus is a mediator between us and the requirement of the perfect Law. Because of our faith in Him, we have mercy between us and God's righteous judgment. Jesus, the Mercy Seat, is our mediator between God's mercy and the righteous demands of the Law.
When the children of Israel lifted up the Mercy Seat, God struck more than 500,000 men dead. No one can face the righteous demands of the Law without death, unless Jesus covers us! No one wants to face the righteous judgment of the Law without Jesus acting as our mediator, shielding us from the judgment that we deserve!
Furnishings within the Tabernacle all point to the life and work of Jesus
Exodus 26:19
You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty board.
Silver is a sign of redemption. The whole foundation of the tabernacle is built of silver. The foundation of our life is built upon redemption!
Exodus 25:30
And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always.
“Showbread” speaks to the fellowship with God (Cf. John 6:35, 48). The priests would eat the showbread while they carried out the ceremonies in the Tabernacle, to be in communion with God. Jesus is our showbread, nourishing our souls, always in communion with us.
Exodus 25:31
You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold…
The lampstand is the ONLY light source in the Holy Place, allowing the priests to see what they’re doing. We are priests with Christ. Christ is our ONLY light of this world (cf. John 8:12; Revelation 21:23), allowing us to see the Truth.
Exodus 26:31
You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen.
Exodus 26:33
The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.
Veil: Placed between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
Blue: Color of Heaven, speaking of Jesus' origin, His deity.
Purple: Represents royalty, speaking of His Kingship.
Scarlet: Represents blood, speaking of His sacrifice and suffering on the Cross, shedding His blood for our sins.
The veil is a curtain that separates the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. This illustrates the holiness of God. God is so holy that ONLY the High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, ONLY one time a year on the Day of Atonement, and ONLY after the High Priest had made sacrifices for not just the sins of the people but for his own sins as well. If any one of these requirements were not met to God’s standards, the High Priest would be struck dead as he entered the Holy of Holies – not because God wants to punish him but because God’s holiness immediately strikes sin dead. The veil thus separates us from the wrath of God, just as Jesus separates us from the wrath of God (cf. Mark 15:38; Hebrews 10:20.
All the above are beautiful pictures and types of Jesus. As Christians, instead of a tabernacle that is a type or a shadow of Christ, we have Christ Himself!
There is only one way to Heaven
Exodus 26:36
You shall make a screen for the door of the tabernacle…
There is only one way to the Holy Place. Even though there is only one door to Heaven, a narrow passage at that, God has made it clear that the pathway is open to ALL. If there are multiple ways to Heaven, why did Jesus have to die for our sins? For those who are offended, you clearly have not yet comprehended the gravity of our sin problem. Once we fully understand how big of a problem sin is, we would be thankful that there is at least one door, for we are undeserving!
The Altar of Burnt Offering (Exodus 27:1-8)
The bronze altar is the first thing we see when we enter into the Tabernacle. This is where burnt offerings are offered to atone for our sins. This speaks of how we need to have our sins be addressed BEFORE we can approach God, how cleansing of our sins is the FIRST thing we need to do when we approach God (cf. Leviticus 4:18; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
Everything shall be made according to how God has shown to Moses on the mountain (Exodus 25:9, 40; 26:30; 27:8).
The Tabernacle is a “copy” of heaven. Through the Tabernacle, we learn about God’s perfection, righteousness, and mercy. The only way for us to completely comprehend this as a picture of heaven is if we make it exactly the way God tells us to make it.
THE PRIESTHOOD POINTS TO JESUS (Exodus 28-29)
Exodus 28:1
Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest…
Aaron and other high priests were to minister to God. That is, we do what we do for God, not for ourselves or to fulfill our own personal goals!
Through establishing the priesthood, God is showing the people that He always chooses a specific mediator through whom He would form a relationship with the people. Through the High Priest, sins of the nation were forgiven through daily and yearly sacrificial ceremonies dictated by God. All these ceremonies were also used to show that blood of an innocent animal was needed to atone for sin. However, without the blood of an innocent and PERFECT man, the blood of innocent animals was enough only to cover our sins, never to completely wash it away. This was why the High Priests must go through these sacrificial ceremonies once a year. However, with the coming of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, the blood of this one and only perfect man, our sins were washed away completely and eternally. Jesus is our mediator between God and us; He is our eternal High Priest!
(Cf. Titus 3:5, Hebrews 9:14 Galatians 3:27 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Titus 3:6 Romans 3:25 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:5-6)
Exodus 28:2
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
High priest gets garments that allow him to completely stand out.
The garments all speak of Jesus. Therefore, as we read about it, think about these three things:
1. How it applied to Aaron
2. How it is fulfilled in Jesus
3. How it applies to us, as Jesus continues to live through us
Exodus 28:34
… a golden bell and a pomegranate…
The bell rings when the High Priest moves within the Holy of Holies, allowing those outside hear his work. The bell thus bears testimony. Similarly, we should be preaching to the people about God, allowing our testimony to be heard.
The pomegranate speaks of bearing fruit. We should be fruitful in our walk with God.
Exodus 28:36
… HOLINESS TO THE LORD
We are to be holy because we represent God to the world.
Exodus 28:40
… you shall make sashes for them…
The High Priest was to keep his clothing tidy, representing the ability to serve without distraction.
Exodus 29:1
Take one young bull and two rams without blemish…
Exodus 29:2
… and unleavened bread…
These all represent Jesus' sinless.
Exodus 29:4
… you shall wash them with water.
This represents water baptism.
Exodus 29:7
And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him.
This represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Exodus 29:10
Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull.
Aaron and his sons, the High Priests, were to publicly acknowledge that they were sinners, too; that they were sinners ministering to sinners. Before they could deal with other people's sins, they must deal with their own sins. They, too, needed the Savior, Jesus Christ!
Exodus 29:11
Then you shall kill the bull before the LORD…
This is a picture of substitution and transference to an innocent sacrifice. As they put their hands on the bull and killed it, they would know that innocent blood was spilled to redeem them.
This picture was repeated year after year for at least 1500 years so that the people would be clear that we are forgiven because of substitution and transference, so that when Jesus comes, people would recognize Jesus for who He was. The people, God’s people, would have no excuse for not recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. However, the pride of the Pharisees blinded them to this.
Exodus 29:14
You shall burn with fire outside the camp.
Because Jesus was crucified outside the city walls.
Exodus 29:18
It is a burnt offering to the LORD.
A burnt offering is a sacrifice of consecration. It is completely consumed, representing a COMPLETE dedication of one’s life to the LORD.
The burnt offering is offered AFTER the sin offering. We cannot dedicate ourselves to God until we seek forgiveness of our sins. Once we have salvation, the Holy Spirit can then work in our heart, giving us the desire to dedicate ourselves to the LORD.
We are first forgiven. And then, we are to seek consecration. It isn't enough to be just forgiven!
Exodus 29:20
… ear… hand… foot… blood…
Ear: Dedication to hearing the Word of God
Hand: Dedication to do God's work
Foot: Dedication to walk only in God's Way and God's Path
Blood: All of our life is completely bought and redeemed by blood
Exodus 29:21
Sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garment…
No matter how magnificent the garments were, no matter how spectacular the tabernacle was built, they are all nothing without the blood of Jesus.
Today, people focus a lot on the building, on the dress code, on ceremonies, etc., in regards to how a church should be run. But. What of all these if these details lacked the blood of Jesus, of the Holy Spirit?
Exodus 29:24, 26
… wave offering…
The wave offering is an acknowledgement that everything we have come from God. It is a subset of peace offerings.
A peace offering, speaks of relationship. Levites did not have land to farm. However, to ensure that they received provision, a part of the peace offering was given to the Levites. This was a picture of the relationship between God and His people.
Notice again the order of the offerings: Sin offering, then burnt offering, then peace offering. This teaches us the order that we should approach God. First, deal with our sins, then dedicate our lives to the Lord, then be in godly fellowship
Jesus forgave our sins, allowing us to dedicate our lives to God. And once we are in God, we are in relationship with God.
APPROACH GOD WITH THE RIGHT KIND OF HEART (Exodus 30-31)
The Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1-10) symbolizes the collection of our prayers (cf. Revelation 5:8; 8:3). It is another picture of Jesus: His intercession, His continual prayer for each one of us.
The incense is to be burned every morning (Exodus 30:7), illustrating that we should be in constant communication with God through prayer.
The priests were to wash their hands and feet in the bronze laver (Exodus 30:17-21) every time they entered into the Tabernacle. Similarly, we should be cleansed with the Holy Spirit daily, we should die in our sins daily so that we may live in God. Why? Because even though our spirit is reborn in Christ, we still reside in our corruptible flesh. We thus fight against sins of the flesh everyday, and to do this well, we must consciously choose to die in our sins to live in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:31) (cf. Ephesians 5:26; 1 John 1:7-9).
Exodus 30:10
And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement.
The horns represent the POWER of prayer.
Exodus 30:11
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number…”
When taken as God has intended, a census is fine. However, David took a census of his men, and they died of a plague. Why? Because David was using that info to determine the strength of his army. We are strong because of our awesome God, never because of our numbers! When we are called by God to do something, we are strong because we are called, not because of how much materialistic power we might have!
Exodus 30:15
The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.
Rich or poor, everyone pays the same price. Why? This is a picture of our salvation. We were each bought with the same price. There is no favoritism.
Wrongful use of the anointing oil or incense have dire consequences
Those who misuse the anointing oil or incense were to be cut off from his people (Exodus 30:33, 38).
Why would God set such severe consequences?
1. To teach that God is HOLY. Everything related to God must therefore be holy.
2. To teach that sin is a serious problem. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
3. To teach that God’s righteousness is perfect. All sin in His presence would be burned up in His fire of judgment.
God gives each one of us unique talents to abide in His will
Just as God filled the artisans with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship to build the Tabernacle, so too does God fill us with such talents for us to carry out our calling. We can’t all be builders. Some of us need to preach, others need to support the preachers, etc. Regardless of what we do, as long as we are following God’s calling for us, we can trust that He has given us the ability to do it. The best example is Moses. He didn’t think he could do what God had called him to do, but once he put his complete trust in God, he was able to accomplish amazing things. And so, the key isn’t doing what we want to do, but to first learn what God’s calling on each one of us is through prayer. Once we learn what God wants us to do, then walk forward with courage, knowing that we will have the resources to accomplish our goals.
So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.”
THE TABERNACLE SPEAKS OF JESUS (Exodus 25-27)
The Tabernacle (and later, the Temple), as Hebrews, Ezekiel, and Revelation tell us, are all picture of what Heaven is like. Hence, the decorations within it, with Angels around, are all a picture of Heaven.
In sum, the Tabernacle points us to Jesus
John 1:14
The Word was made flesh and tabernacle among us.
As we enter into the Holy Place…
There is only one door, who is Jesus – “I AM the Door”
Within the Holy Place…
The golden lampstand is Jesus – “I AM the Light of the World”.
The table of showbread is Jesus – “I AM the Bread of Life”.
The altar of incense is Jesus, who is continuously interceding for us.
Within the Holy of Holies…
The Mercy Seat is Jesus, as the propitiation for our sins.
The Ark of the Covenant is Jesus, as our sin bearer.
Exodus 26:7
You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair, to be a tent over the tabernacle.
Exodus 26:14
You shall also make a covering of ram skins dyed red for the tent, and a covering of badger skins above that.
The Tabernacle had 3 coverings:
1st covering: goat’s hair
This is an insulating layer used to modulate temperature. Goat’s hair is a picture of atonement. During Yom Kippur, two goats were used to atonement of sin each year. One was sacrificed, and the other one was a scapegoat that carried the sins of the nation and was led into the wilderness so that it could not find its way back – symbolizing that we do not want sins to come back to us. Similarly, Jesus separates us from sin.
2nd covering: ram skins
There was no measurement for the ram skins because there is no limit to the forgiveness of God has for us. Ram is a picture of Jesus' sacrifice.
3rd covering: badger skins
Badger skins are waterproof and provide refuge for priests through storms. Similarly, Jesus protects us from the storms of our lives.
The Tabernacle from the outside this looks plain and uninteresting – all we would see it the goat’s hair! The only way to discover the beauty of the Tabernacle is from the INSIDE. Similarly, the only way we can see the beauty of Christ Jesus is once we are IN Christ Jesus.
The Pharisees could not see beyond the humanity of Jesus. They could not understand how God could be so... Ordinary. They could not see beyond the badger skin! They could not look beyond Jesus' humanity to see His deity. And we can never come to see His inside until we are IN Him!!
Those who give willing will also receive God’s blessing freely
Exodus 25:2
From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.
Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
God wants us to love and follow Him with our heart, mind, and soul. It is not at all about the giving of materialistic things – it is, as it is always with God, about our HEART, about dedicating our lives to the Lord!
Our God dwells with us (Cf. Matthew 1:23; John 1:14; Ephesians 2:19-22; and Revelation 21:1-3)
Exodus 25:8
And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
Our God wants to dwell AMONG us. This is very different from pagan gods who are territorial (very much like demons, huh). God is ALWAYS with His people and never "loses" His power depending on the location.
Jesus is our Mercy Seat
The Mercy Seat is secured on top of the Ark of the Covenant.
Exodus 25:10
And they shall make an ark of acacia wood.
Acacia wood is very hard and strong wood that grows in the super hot and dry desert and is resistant to bugs and disease. This wood represents the incorruptibility of Jesus.
The wood is then covered in gold.
The wood speaks of Jesus’ humanity; the gold, His deity. Only a union between humanity and deity could salvation be provided. The humanity allowed Jesus to die for us. The deity allowed Jesus’ death to be the death of a PERFECT substitute.
The Ark of Covenant represents the Lord Himself, making it the most precious furnishing in the Tabernacle. It's the only furnishing in the Holy of Holies.
Exodus 25:11
… make on it a molding of gold all around
The Mercy Seat covers the Law (since the Ten Commandments are placed in the Ark, which is then covered by the Mercy Seat).
The design of the Ark was to keep the Mercy Seat firmly between us and the demands of the Law of Moses.
The molding on the Ark allows the Mercy Seat to remain firmly on the Ark. There would be no accidental slipping off of the Mercy Seat. The only way the Mercy Seat would come off is if someone takes it off on purpose. This is literally AND symbolically important.
Literally: The Levite priests were responsible for transporting the Ark, following God’s exact instructions. As we learned from Uzzah (2 Samuel 6:1-7; 1 Chronicles 13:9-12), if those instructions were not followed, the wrath of God follows. Hence, if the Mercy Seat were prone to slipping off during transport, every time someone slips, he would come under the Law and be judged. However, since God ensured the construction of the Ark would allow the Mercy Seat to remain firmly on the Ark, it would protect those from the Law in case they slipped.
Symbolically: Who doesn’t slip? We all make mistakes here and there, no matter how big or small. And when we slip, who protects us from God’s Wrath? God’s Mercy! When we slip, the wrath for God does not come forth upon us because His mercy firmly remains.
Exodus 25:16
And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you.
“Testimony” = The Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments gives us insight into the perfect righteousness of God. It vividly shows us what it takes to live in perfect righteousness. Read through it, and we will quickly realize that no man can go through life without breaking at least one if not all of it (all man except Jesus!). The Ten Commandments thus exposes us to our sins, making us fully aware of God's righteousness and how we are unable to live up to it without outside help.
As mentioned to above, these passages make it clear how the Ark was to be transported. The Ark was never to be touched. Coming back to the example of when King David had ordered the Ark to be transported on a cart (via Philistine method), rather than following God’s instructions on how the Ark was to be transported. When the cart hit a dip, Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark to prevent it from tipping over. Even though Uzzah’s intention was good, he was still struck dead upon touching the Ark. This immediately halted all celebrations and reminded the people to go back to the basics. Was this really necessary? YES. Sin is likened to leaven because it spreads and causes everything to rise. If not stopped, it gets everywhere and becomes difficult to be rid of. The transport of the Ark was a huge celebration. Everyone was enjoying the process. David was probably the most joyful because of his great love for God. However, he transported the Ark the way he wanted to – and completely disobeyed the commands of God. We must understand that in order for us to abide in God’s will, we must FOLLOW God, not become so enamored with our own selfish ideals that we start doing things our way, thinking God would surely be okay with it.
Just as the Ark was to be transported by priests, the presence of God today is to be transported by us – followers of Christ. We are a kingdom of priests and are responsible for transporting God’s presence to the rest of the world! Hence, having the Ark be carried by only priests in the Old Covenant was a picture of what was to come through Jesus! Everywhere we go, the presence of God only goes out into this world as we transport it through our lives. God’s presence certainly should not to be transported on "carts"!
Exodus 25:17
You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold…
Mercy Seat in Greek is the same word translated as "propitiation". It is a picture of Jesus. The seat separates sin of man from the Law, just as Jesus is a mediator between us and the requirement of the perfect Law. Because of our faith in Him, we have mercy between us and God's righteous judgment. Jesus, the Mercy Seat, is our mediator between God's mercy and the righteous demands of the Law.
When the children of Israel lifted up the Mercy Seat, God struck more than 500,000 men dead. No one can face the righteous demands of the Law without death, unless Jesus covers us! No one wants to face the righteous judgment of the Law without Jesus acting as our mediator, shielding us from the judgment that we deserve!
Furnishings within the Tabernacle all point to the life and work of Jesus
Exodus 26:19
You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty board.
Silver is a sign of redemption. The whole foundation of the tabernacle is built of silver. The foundation of our life is built upon redemption!
Exodus 25:30
And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always.
“Showbread” speaks to the fellowship with God (Cf. John 6:35, 48). The priests would eat the showbread while they carried out the ceremonies in the Tabernacle, to be in communion with God. Jesus is our showbread, nourishing our souls, always in communion with us.
Exodus 25:31
You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold…
The lampstand is the ONLY light source in the Holy Place, allowing the priests to see what they’re doing. We are priests with Christ. Christ is our ONLY light of this world (cf. John 8:12; Revelation 21:23), allowing us to see the Truth.
Exodus 26:31
You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen.
Exodus 26:33
The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.
Veil: Placed between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
Blue: Color of Heaven, speaking of Jesus' origin, His deity.
Purple: Represents royalty, speaking of His Kingship.
Scarlet: Represents blood, speaking of His sacrifice and suffering on the Cross, shedding His blood for our sins.
The veil is a curtain that separates the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. This illustrates the holiness of God. God is so holy that ONLY the High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, ONLY one time a year on the Day of Atonement, and ONLY after the High Priest had made sacrifices for not just the sins of the people but for his own sins as well. If any one of these requirements were not met to God’s standards, the High Priest would be struck dead as he entered the Holy of Holies – not because God wants to punish him but because God’s holiness immediately strikes sin dead. The veil thus separates us from the wrath of God, just as Jesus separates us from the wrath of God (cf. Mark 15:38; Hebrews 10:20.
All the above are beautiful pictures and types of Jesus. As Christians, instead of a tabernacle that is a type or a shadow of Christ, we have Christ Himself!
There is only one way to Heaven
Exodus 26:36
You shall make a screen for the door of the tabernacle…
There is only one way to the Holy Place. Even though there is only one door to Heaven, a narrow passage at that, God has made it clear that the pathway is open to ALL. If there are multiple ways to Heaven, why did Jesus have to die for our sins? For those who are offended, you clearly have not yet comprehended the gravity of our sin problem. Once we fully understand how big of a problem sin is, we would be thankful that there is at least one door, for we are undeserving!
The Altar of Burnt Offering (Exodus 27:1-8)
The bronze altar is the first thing we see when we enter into the Tabernacle. This is where burnt offerings are offered to atone for our sins. This speaks of how we need to have our sins be addressed BEFORE we can approach God, how cleansing of our sins is the FIRST thing we need to do when we approach God (cf. Leviticus 4:18; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
Everything shall be made according to how God has shown to Moses on the mountain (Exodus 25:9, 40; 26:30; 27:8).
The Tabernacle is a “copy” of heaven. Through the Tabernacle, we learn about God’s perfection, righteousness, and mercy. The only way for us to completely comprehend this as a picture of heaven is if we make it exactly the way God tells us to make it.
THE PRIESTHOOD POINTS TO JESUS (Exodus 28-29)
Exodus 28:1
Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest…
Aaron and other high priests were to minister to God. That is, we do what we do for God, not for ourselves or to fulfill our own personal goals!
Through establishing the priesthood, God is showing the people that He always chooses a specific mediator through whom He would form a relationship with the people. Through the High Priest, sins of the nation were forgiven through daily and yearly sacrificial ceremonies dictated by God. All these ceremonies were also used to show that blood of an innocent animal was needed to atone for sin. However, without the blood of an innocent and PERFECT man, the blood of innocent animals was enough only to cover our sins, never to completely wash it away. This was why the High Priests must go through these sacrificial ceremonies once a year. However, with the coming of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, the blood of this one and only perfect man, our sins were washed away completely and eternally. Jesus is our mediator between God and us; He is our eternal High Priest!
(Cf. Titus 3:5, Hebrews 9:14 Galatians 3:27 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Titus 3:6 Romans 3:25 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:5-6)
Exodus 28:2
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.
High priest gets garments that allow him to completely stand out.
The garments all speak of Jesus. Therefore, as we read about it, think about these three things:
1. How it applied to Aaron
2. How it is fulfilled in Jesus
3. How it applies to us, as Jesus continues to live through us
Exodus 28:34
… a golden bell and a pomegranate…
The bell rings when the High Priest moves within the Holy of Holies, allowing those outside hear his work. The bell thus bears testimony. Similarly, we should be preaching to the people about God, allowing our testimony to be heard.
The pomegranate speaks of bearing fruit. We should be fruitful in our walk with God.
Exodus 28:36
… HOLINESS TO THE LORD
We are to be holy because we represent God to the world.
Exodus 28:40
… you shall make sashes for them…
The High Priest was to keep his clothing tidy, representing the ability to serve without distraction.
Exodus 29:1
Take one young bull and two rams without blemish…
Exodus 29:2
… and unleavened bread…
These all represent Jesus' sinless.
Exodus 29:4
… you shall wash them with water.
This represents water baptism.
Exodus 29:7
And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him.
This represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Exodus 29:10
Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull.
Aaron and his sons, the High Priests, were to publicly acknowledge that they were sinners, too; that they were sinners ministering to sinners. Before they could deal with other people's sins, they must deal with their own sins. They, too, needed the Savior, Jesus Christ!
Exodus 29:11
Then you shall kill the bull before the LORD…
This is a picture of substitution and transference to an innocent sacrifice. As they put their hands on the bull and killed it, they would know that innocent blood was spilled to redeem them.
This picture was repeated year after year for at least 1500 years so that the people would be clear that we are forgiven because of substitution and transference, so that when Jesus comes, people would recognize Jesus for who He was. The people, God’s people, would have no excuse for not recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. However, the pride of the Pharisees blinded them to this.
Exodus 29:14
You shall burn with fire outside the camp.
Because Jesus was crucified outside the city walls.
Exodus 29:18
It is a burnt offering to the LORD.
A burnt offering is a sacrifice of consecration. It is completely consumed, representing a COMPLETE dedication of one’s life to the LORD.
The burnt offering is offered AFTER the sin offering. We cannot dedicate ourselves to God until we seek forgiveness of our sins. Once we have salvation, the Holy Spirit can then work in our heart, giving us the desire to dedicate ourselves to the LORD.
We are first forgiven. And then, we are to seek consecration. It isn't enough to be just forgiven!
Exodus 29:20
… ear… hand… foot… blood…
Ear: Dedication to hearing the Word of God
Hand: Dedication to do God's work
Foot: Dedication to walk only in God's Way and God's Path
Blood: All of our life is completely bought and redeemed by blood
Exodus 29:21
Sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garment…
No matter how magnificent the garments were, no matter how spectacular the tabernacle was built, they are all nothing without the blood of Jesus.
Today, people focus a lot on the building, on the dress code, on ceremonies, etc., in regards to how a church should be run. But. What of all these if these details lacked the blood of Jesus, of the Holy Spirit?
Exodus 29:24, 26
… wave offering…
The wave offering is an acknowledgement that everything we have come from God. It is a subset of peace offerings.
A peace offering, speaks of relationship. Levites did not have land to farm. However, to ensure that they received provision, a part of the peace offering was given to the Levites. This was a picture of the relationship between God and His people.
Notice again the order of the offerings: Sin offering, then burnt offering, then peace offering. This teaches us the order that we should approach God. First, deal with our sins, then dedicate our lives to the Lord, then be in godly fellowship
Jesus forgave our sins, allowing us to dedicate our lives to God. And once we are in God, we are in relationship with God.
APPROACH GOD WITH THE RIGHT KIND OF HEART (Exodus 30-31)
The Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1-10) symbolizes the collection of our prayers (cf. Revelation 5:8; 8:3). It is another picture of Jesus: His intercession, His continual prayer for each one of us.
The incense is to be burned every morning (Exodus 30:7), illustrating that we should be in constant communication with God through prayer.
The priests were to wash their hands and feet in the bronze laver (Exodus 30:17-21) every time they entered into the Tabernacle. Similarly, we should be cleansed with the Holy Spirit daily, we should die in our sins daily so that we may live in God. Why? Because even though our spirit is reborn in Christ, we still reside in our corruptible flesh. We thus fight against sins of the flesh everyday, and to do this well, we must consciously choose to die in our sins to live in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:31) (cf. Ephesians 5:26; 1 John 1:7-9).
Exodus 30:10
And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement.
The horns represent the POWER of prayer.
Exodus 30:11
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number…”
When taken as God has intended, a census is fine. However, David took a census of his men, and they died of a plague. Why? Because David was using that info to determine the strength of his army. We are strong because of our awesome God, never because of our numbers! When we are called by God to do something, we are strong because we are called, not because of how much materialistic power we might have!
Exodus 30:15
The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.
Rich or poor, everyone pays the same price. Why? This is a picture of our salvation. We were each bought with the same price. There is no favoritism.
Wrongful use of the anointing oil or incense have dire consequences
Those who misuse the anointing oil or incense were to be cut off from his people (Exodus 30:33, 38).
Why would God set such severe consequences?
1. To teach that God is HOLY. Everything related to God must therefore be holy.
2. To teach that sin is a serious problem. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
3. To teach that God’s righteousness is perfect. All sin in His presence would be burned up in His fire of judgment.
God gives each one of us unique talents to abide in His will
Just as God filled the artisans with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship to build the Tabernacle, so too does God fill us with such talents for us to carry out our calling. We can’t all be builders. Some of us need to preach, others need to support the preachers, etc. Regardless of what we do, as long as we are following God’s calling for us, we can trust that He has given us the ability to do it. The best example is Moses. He didn’t think he could do what God had called him to do, but once he put his complete trust in God, he was able to accomplish amazing things. And so, the key isn’t doing what we want to do, but to first learn what God’s calling on each one of us is through prayer. Once we learn what God wants us to do, then walk forward with courage, knowing that we will have the resources to accomplish our goals.
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