Care of the Tabernacle Lamps
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Command the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually. Outside the veil of the Testimony, in the tabernacle of meeting, Aaron shall be in charge of it from evening until morning before the Lord continually; it shall be a statute forever in your generations. He shall be in charge of the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the Lord continually.
The Bread of the Tabernacle
“And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an offering made by fire to the Lord. Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.”
The Penalty for Blasphemy
Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. And the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the Lord might be shown to them.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
“Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.
‘Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal.
‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him— fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God.’ ”
Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.”
This chapter is kind of a catch-all, unless we remember that in the beginning, there were no chapters, only the writings of Moses that were not chopped up into little pieces. Let’s take the issues one by one.
Temple Housekeeping: God orders that the high priest make sure that pure oil from pressed olives be burned in the golden lamp in the tabernacle of meeting continually. Why pure oil? Anybody who has ever used an oil or kerosene lamp or anybody who has used a charcoal iron can tell you that impure fuel spits sparks and ash all over the place. There’s nothing reverent about a lamp spitting ash; only a lamp with a clear flame will do. Sadly, later, when Samuel is a child living in the temple, the lamps are allowed to go out at night, an indication of the spiritual state of the Israelites and Levi, the high priest.
The priests are to put out 12 cakes of bread sprinkled with frankincense each Sabbath. This bread will remain for one week and then be changed, at which time the priests and their sons may eat it. This is the bread that David and his men will also eat as they are fleeing from King Saul. (1 Samuel 21:5-6)
Penalties for blasphemy: “Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death.” WOW! Sounds really harsh. But God wants His Name to be respected and no lesser penalty would really work. Eventually, the man in question is stoned to death.
Penalties for disfigurement and murder:
‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him— fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God.’ ”
These edicts also sound harsh, unless we realize that the standard for that era was the blood feud and that men would otherwise seek revenge out of proportion to the original injury. The injuries here are deliberately inflicted, not accidental, and there will be judges who determine the intent of the one who has inflicted the injury. In addition, strangers are actually protected, since they might otherwise be slaughtered for inflicting a minor injury accidentally.
APPLICATION: Repeatedly, God orders His people to offer pure oil, pure flour, pure animals, and gold that can withstand fire. While the Israelites might preen themselves on being special, God has actually chosen them to show forth His glory, taking a people who were no people and forging a nation. In the process, God knows full well the nature of these people and how swiftly they will compromise if given the slightest opportunity. But this chapter raises embarrassing questions for us.
How pure are our offerings to the Lord? Are we giving God our best or leftovers? How much respect do we demonstrate for God’s Name? These days “Oh My God!” is not only a catch phrase, but has also become one of the most frequently used text abbreviations, as “OMG!” While we might not take God’s Name seriously, what does God think? And how likely are we to compromise and fold under the slightest pressure? These days, we are hard put to find examples of righteousness in government, in business, in academics, or in sports. At a time when standards are falling, virtuous role models are in short supply.
God’s standards have not changed; He is immortal and unchangeable, pure and holy. This is not the first era in which rulers have proven corrupt; corrupt leaders have been around since the dawn of time. Our choice is simple: God’s way or something less? An old hymn says, “Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide, In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side; Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight, And the choice goes by forever, ‘twixt that darkness and that light.” (James Russell Lowell) The conflict is real and the choices lie before us. Choose wisely and well!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we live in an age of moral confusion; yet, Your Word remains our standard. Help us to choose Your righteousness and to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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