The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 26:1-6,
"Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker. All the curtains are to be the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five. Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set. Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit."
"Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker. All the curtains are to be the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five. Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set. Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit."
I'll get to the "how to baptize a convert" part in a few here...
Note the specificity in the first six verses regarding the construction of the tabernacle Moses was to build. These specifications were provided by God himself. The whole twenty-sixth chapter is all about specifications on how to build the tabernacle... exactly how God wanted it done.
Again, note the specificity! Read the entire chapter to get a feel for it! God can be very specific when he desires to do so. Reading our Bibles well helps us understand the nature of God and how he expresses himself. Here is a clear example of just such a thing.
Do I expect God to be specific if it is important to him? He certainly seems to communicate that with the construction of the temple. How about the specificity God provided in the consecration of the priest? Note Exodus 29:4-9, "Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband. Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred emblem to the turban. Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head. Bring his sons and dress them in tunics and fasten caps on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons."
Look at the further direction on the consecration of the priest provided in Exodus 29:19-21, "Take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. Slaughter it, take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet.Then splash blood against the sides of the altar. And take some blood from the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments."
I note in Exodus 29 that God can be very specific when he wants things done in a certain way.
When it comes to baptism, and we find no direction anywhere in the Scriptures on how it is to be done with the specificity that is argued over, why do we argue over it? Why have we seen church splits, new denominations formed, people castigated and reviled over "how it is to be done" when God has not seen fit to be specific? Why is it that the faith of some is questioned over these kinds of issues?
I have heard of people arguing over the lack of validity of a someone's baptism because they grabbed the side of the tank, so they were not completely and entirely immersed - the hand was left out! (I know the church where this took place). Is this appropriate? I have witnessed firsthand the anger, hostility and even rage over the failure of someone not endorsing some particular mode or procedure or even the liturgy used in baptism.
Might it be that we find ourselves running off the rails when we attempt to infuse into our doctrine things the Lord never addressed? Might we find ourselves running off the rails when we argue, fight, split, break fellowship over things the Lord never addressed (not baptism itself, but the ways to do it)? I myself firmly believe the best method of baptism is full immersion, but should I castigate others who do it somewhat differently?
The Lord has no problem being specific when he wants things done in a specific way. For us to become so hostile toward one another over things he has not been specific about does not seem so appropriate. How quick we are to charge the other person of not being fully committed to the things of God when the Scriptures are silent! How quick we are to challenge one another with not being sufficiently true to the Scriptures, when it is not the Scriptures that are being argued over.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Note the specificity in the first six verses regarding the construction of the tabernacle Moses was to build. These specifications were provided by God himself. The whole twenty-sixth chapter is all about specifications on how to build the tabernacle... exactly how God wanted it done.
Again, note the specificity! Read the entire chapter to get a feel for it! God can be very specific when he desires to do so. Reading our Bibles well helps us understand the nature of God and how he expresses himself. Here is a clear example of just such a thing.
So what? Of what importance is this observation? Very important when we find ourselves involved in some kind of disagreement over the things of God. Baptism comes to mind here. Ever listen to a couple of people argue over "how" someone is to be baptized? What do they argue with? Out come the Bible dictionaries and concordances, the definitions of words in the Greek are pointed to, the etymological hairs are split finely, appeals are made to the big boys in church history as well as contemporary "experts", etc.
Just one problem: where do I turn to in my Bible to see where God tells me exactly how to baptize a new convert? Why is there no passage that specifies exactly how we are to do it with the kind of specificity that is argued about, let alone the kind of specificity provided for something like the tabernacle construction?
Do I expect God to be specific if it is important to him? He certainly seems to communicate that with the construction of the temple. How about the specificity God provided in the consecration of the priest? Note Exodus 29:4-9, "Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband. Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred emblem to the turban. Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head. Bring his sons and dress them in tunics and fasten caps on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons."
Look at the further direction on the consecration of the priest provided in Exodus 29:19-21, "Take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. Slaughter it, take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet.Then splash blood against the sides of the altar. And take some blood from the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments."
I note in Exodus 29 that God can be very specific when he wants things done in a certain way.
When it comes to baptism, and we find no direction anywhere in the Scriptures on how it is to be done with the specificity that is argued over, why do we argue over it? Why have we seen church splits, new denominations formed, people castigated and reviled over "how it is to be done" when God has not seen fit to be specific? Why is it that the faith of some is questioned over these kinds of issues?
I have heard of people arguing over the lack of validity of a someone's baptism because they grabbed the side of the tank, so they were not completely and entirely immersed - the hand was left out! (I know the church where this took place). Is this appropriate? I have witnessed firsthand the anger, hostility and even rage over the failure of someone not endorsing some particular mode or procedure or even the liturgy used in baptism.
Might it be that we find ourselves running off the rails when we attempt to infuse into our doctrine things the Lord never addressed? Might we find ourselves running off the rails when we argue, fight, split, break fellowship over things the Lord never addressed (not baptism itself, but the ways to do it)? I myself firmly believe the best method of baptism is full immersion, but should I castigate others who do it somewhat differently?
The Lord has no problem being specific when he wants things done in a specific way. For us to become so hostile toward one another over things he has not been specific about does not seem so appropriate. How quick we are to charge the other person of not being fully committed to the things of God when the Scriptures are silent! How quick we are to challenge one another with not being sufficiently true to the Scriptures, when it is not the Scriptures that are being argued over.
Other issues in the church come to mind as well. Certainly you will disagree with me on some of these... but here are some things I cannot find God being specific in how we are to specifically do them: communion and frequency of the observation, liturgy used in services, how those services are to be structured, music, what instruments, what music style, type of "church government", its structure, its officers, etc. All these things get argued over and many more as well that I am sure you can add.
I simply think it is prudent to note that God can be very specific when he wants things done in a certain way. It may behoove us to note when God is not so specific, maybe we should not be so insistent on how we do those things. Perhaps if we were more focused on participating with God in the building his kingdom we would not find ourselves embroiled in such things.
In the words of Paul, we are to accept one another, "...without quarreling over disputable matters." Romans 14:1.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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