Hardened Hearted Divorce and The Parable of Me, Myself and I.

I swear to God, no, I mean I am inspired by God when I read His Word, it freaks me out a little bit when He sends me what I (and others) call Godsends. Not really freak me out but connects in a very special way. In the New Testament I basically read two pages a day from my Bible or in this case two chapters in Matthew. In each segment I probably (and may very well year-after-year) could write ten stories about my life and my reaction to the written Word.

I have been divorced for ten years and the impact of that divorce, spiritually, mentally, emotionally and even physically has been on my mind off-and-of, in passing and sometimes with staying power over those ten years. Never once did I think about it in terms of the hardening of my heart as written in the Word:

“Because Moses, by reason of the hardness of your heart, permitted you to put away your wives; but it was not so from the beginning…”

By reason of the hardness of my heart is the reason that I divorced my wife of 25 years. It was a selfish, senseless and egotistical of me to do so. It was a childish thing to do so and quite frankly even at the age of 47 I was still thinking and reacting as a child and not the right type of child that gets you into heaven but the self-centered child that is all me, me,me. I felt abandoned and lacking trust I did not have the honesty or skills to work through that difficult time. I can entertain you with a whole bunch of rationalizations, justifications and denial but they are all a fabrication of the truth which is I did not thoroughly know, accept or love myself or God or any other human being. Sometimes it is hard to look in the mirror and see what is really there.

Interesting that the first mention of the Ten Commandments in the New Testament in Matthew lists only five, incorrectly includes the Golden Rule as one, and leaves out five! I know the Bible can never be “incorrect” so it must be my interpretation or a function of time or place or both and a matter on application? Check out the notes below for full disclosure of my error.

The parable of the laborers in the vineyard hit home with me in a more impactful manner than ever before.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard… denarius a day… the third hour… go you also into the vineyard and I will give you whatever is just… the sixth and the ninth hour… the eleventh hour… evening had come.. pay them their wages, beginning from the last even to the first… each received a denarius… they thought they would receive more… these last have worked a single hour (twelve hour work days?)… Friend, I do thee no injustice; didst thou not agree with me for a denarius?… Take what is thine and go… Have I not a right to do what I choose?… Or art thou envious because I am generous?… Even so the last shall be first, and the first shall be last; for many are called, but few are chosen…”

Or art thou envious because I am generous?

Or am I jealous because others have more than me?

Am I comparing my insides to their outsides? What about my outside to their insides? Aren’t our insides, out thoughts, fears, resentments, lies and selfish ego all basically the same but only different in the way they get us into trouble (sin)?

And for some reason I ended reading that passage the way it started and concluded with “for the kingdom of heaven is like…”—this!

Why do we compare? Or judge? Or compare ourselves to perfection? Oh that not so silent at times inner critical voice. Or see the world, others, ourselves and even God in this all-or-nothing manner of thinking?

Silly little sinful human beings are we.

My God is compassionate, accepting and loving of me!

I in turn am compassionate, accepting and loving of myself.

And through this awareness, this state of mind, this state of being, I am compassionate, accepting, and loving of every other human being and all of humanity in general terms.

Except when I am not.

Like the day I decided to get divorced.

Or the moment I choose to compulsively binge eat or feed my sugar addiction.

At those times, I abandon myself, my God and the world.

Silly little sinful human being am I.

Day 20: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Hardened Hearted Divorce and The Parable of Me, Myself & I.

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Matthew Chapters 19-20.

Bible Notes:

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Saint Matthew, also known as Levi, was a Galilean by birth.

Tax Collector at Capharnaum

Christ called him to become a disciple, and later an Apostle

After the Holy Ghost came down on the Apostles on Pentecost, Matthew preached the Gospel in Judea.

He wrote his Gospel to prove to his readers that Christ was the Messiah foretold by God in the Old Testament

 

Matthew Chapter 19: Christ travels to Judea; The question of divorce; Continence preferred to marriage; Jesus blesses the children; The rich young man speaks to Jesus; The danger of riches; A hundredfold reward promised.

Jesus departed from Galilee and came to the district of Judea beyond the Jordan.

Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for any cause? Pharisees testing Jesus.

“For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Therefore now they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”

Asunder—into separate parts; in or into pieces; apart or widely separated.

Why then did Moses command to give a written notice of dismissal and to put her away?

“Because Moses, by reason of the hardness of your heart, permitted you to put away your wives; but it was not so from the beginning. And I say to you, that whoever puts away his wife, except for immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a woman who has been put away commits adultery.”

If the case of a man with his wife is so, it is not expedient to marry.

“Not all can accept this teaching; but those to whom it has been given… Let him accept it who can.”

Eunuchs—a castrated man, especially one formerly employed by rulers in the Middle East and Asia as a harem guard or palace official.

That he may lay his hands on them…

“Let the little children be, and do not hinder then from coming to me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

“Good Master, what good work shall I do to have eternal life?”

“One there is who is good, and he is God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Which (commandments)?

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness.

Honor thy father and mother.

Thou shalt love thy neighbors as thyself (Golden Rule???)

Missing: You shall have no other gods before me.

Missing: You shall not make for yourself a graven image…

Missing: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain…

Missing: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Missing: You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife…

Ten Commandments, also called Decalogue (Greek: deka logoi [“10 words”]), list of religious precepts that, according to various passages in Exodus and Deuteronomy, were divinely revealed to Moses on Mt. Sinai and were engraved on two tablets of stone. The Commandments are recorded virtually identically in Ex. 20: 2–17 and Deut. 5: 6–21. The rendering in Exodus (Revised Standard Version) appears as follows:

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
6. You shall not kill.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

“If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Who then can be saved?

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

“Behold, we have left all and followed thee; what then shall we have?

“Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory… And everyone… for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting. But many who are first now will be last, and many who are last now will be first.”

Matthew Chapter 20: Parable of the laborers in the vineyard; The third prediction of the passion: The mother of James and John; Humility according to Christ’s example; The blind man at Jericho.

For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard… denarius a day… the third hour… go you also into the vineyard and I will give you whatever is just… the sixth and the ninth hour… the eleventh hour… evening had come.. pay them their wages, beginning from the last even to the first… each received a denarius… they thought they would receive more… these last have worked a single hour (twelve hour work days?)… Friend, I do thee no injustice; didst thou not agree with me for a denarius?… Take what is thine and go… Have I not a right to do what I choose?… Or art thou envious because I am generous?… Even so the last shall be first, and the first shall be last; for many are called, but few are chosen… For the kingdom of heaven is like

Gentiles—a person who is not Jewish, especially a Christian; (among Mormons) a person who is not a Mormon; a heathen or pagan.

”What does thou want?”

Command that these my two sons (James and John) may sit, one at thy right hand and one at thy left hand, in thy kingdom.

“You do not know what you are asking for. Can you drink of the cup of which I am about to drink?”

We can.

“Of my cup you shall indeed drink… that is not mine to give you, but it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”

It is also a placement next to God in Heaven, in the traditional place of honor, mentioned in the New Testament as the place of Christ at Mark 16:19, Luke 22:69, Matthew 22:44 and 26:64, Acts 2:34 and 7:55, 1 Peter 3:22 and elsewhere. These uses reflect use of the phrase in the Old Testament, for example in Psalms 63:8 and 110:1. In the Bible, to be at the right side “is to be identified as being in the special place of honor”. In Jesus’ The Sheep and the Goats, the sheep and goats are separated with the sheep on the right hand of God and the goats on the left hand.

We are not told anything about who might be at the left hand.

“Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; even as the Son of Man has not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Lord, son of David, have mercy on us!

“What will you have me do for you?”

Lord, that our eyes be open.

And Jesus moved with compassion for them, touched their eyes; and at once they received their sight, and followed him.

The Exodus from Our Sins; Our Coming to Christ..

And so God chooses Moses to lead His people. The babe that was left in a basket on the river so that Pharao’s daughter would find him and raise him as one of her own. But Moses, a Hebrew, sees how the Egyptians abused his native man and killed an Egyptian in revenge. He flees for his safety north to the land of Madian, marries and has two sons. Then God calls him through the burning bush to return to Egypt, with the help of his brother Aaron, to convince Pharao to let the Israelites leave Egypt and God’s promise that they would be freed from bondage.

But neither the Israelites nor Pharao would listen to Moses and Aaron who God appointed as his spokesperson.

And Moses told all this to the children of Israel; but they did not hearken to him, for anguish of spirit, and most painful work.

And Pharao was hardened, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord had commanded.

Pharaos, kings, presidents, owners, managers, supervisors, and me—all human beings have egos, self-will and free will to keep our hearts hardened and our paths in life separate from God.

And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I have appointed thee the God of Pharao: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Very interesting that God appointed one human being over another in His kingdom. I did not know or realize this.

I also did not know or realize that Aaron, not Moses, actually motioned and turned the rod into a serpent and the water into blood.

And Pharao called the wise men and the magicians: and they also by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets did in like manner. Interesting that magic could match some of God’s physical abilities way back when.

But no magician can change our human hearts like God. Yes, entertain, distract, fill our minds with thoughts but not change our heart, change our life, change our divine destiny like Jesus can.

God knows we will not listen to Him at times in our lives, sometime with minor consequences, sometimes with tragic consequences.

So God becomes progressively louder in our lives…

Frogs, frogs, frogs and our promises, promises, promises to change…

And Pharao seeing that rest was given, hardened his own heart, and did not hear them, as the Lord had commanded.

“Rest was given. The frogs to remain only in rivers. We got short term relief and we renege on our promises to change. Oh, it is not that bad.

Then there was the plague of sciniphs—gnats and flies. Sciniphs is an interesting word in that it is not in the modern dictionary. Seems we have forgotten, over many centuries, what was very real back then.

The magicians could not bring forth sciniphs in like manor and told Pharao that “this is the finger of God.”

Did Pharao believe? Nope.

Pharao to Moses—“I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness: but go no further: pray for me.”

God relieved Egypt of the flies but Pharao’s heart was still hardened, so that neither this time would he let the people go. Is this a children’s bedtime fairytale that ends badly?

And then there were murrain for all the animals of the Egyptians but not the Israelites.

Boils and blains; then hail and only in the land of Gessen, where the children of Israel were, the hail fell not.

When the hail ceased, Pharao increased his sin. How many times do we do this? Get away with something so we do more of it. Especially with addictions or hurts, hang-ups and habits—they are progressive and the question is to what extent will they progress and how can we stop them? Death is certain, sometimes quicker than need be, sometimes slower than desired when we find that spiritual solution to life.

Pharao remains obdurate—unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding; stubbornly resistant to moral influence; persistently impenitent: an obdurate sinner.

And finally, at the end of this day’s reading in the Old Testament. the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart and he would not let them go. And Pharao said to Moses” Get thee from me, and beware thou see not my face any more: in what day soever thou shalt come in my sight, thou shalt die. Moses answered: So shall it be as thou hast spoke, I will not see thy face any more.

Am I just a hopeless obdurate sinner trying to do good works in hopes that Jesus will come into my heart and change me?

Day 21: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; The Exodus from Our Sins;  Our Coming to Christ…

Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Exodus Chapters 6-10

Bible Notes:

This Book of Exodus is so called from the Greek word exodus, which means going out.

It recounts the persecution of the Jews in Egypt, the call of Moses, the ten plagues, the Jewish departure from Egypt, and the giving of the Mosaic Law on Mount Sinai.

The Book of Exodus closes with the consecration of the Tabernacle.

 

Exodus Chapter 6: God promises deliverance to the Israelites; God appoints Moses and Aaron; Genealogy of Moses and Aaron; Moses predicts that Pharao will not hear him.

And Moses told all this to the children of Israel; but they did not hearken to him, for anguish of spirit, and most painful work.

Aaron the Levite is thy brother (C4).

Genealogy of Moses and Aaron—their houses; the sons of; are the kindreds; the families of; the names of; the years of; the heads of the Levitical families…

Kindred—a person’s relatives collectively; kinfolk; kin; a group of persons related to another; family, tribe, or clan; relationship by birth or descent, or sometimes by marriage; kinship; natural relationship; affinity.

And Amran took to wife Jochabed his aunt by the father’s side: and she bore him Aaron and Moses.

Moses marries Sephora (one of seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Madian) and she bore him two sons Gersam and Elizer (C2).

Exodus Chapter 7: Moses and Aaron appear before Pharao; Rods become serpents; The waters of Egypt turn into blood.

And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I have appointed thee the God of Pharao: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

Moses 80 years old; Aaron 83 when they spoke to Pharao.

And Aaron took the rod before Pharao, and his servants, and it was turned into a serpent.

And Pharao called the wise men and the magicians: and they also by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets did in like manner.

Aaron’s rod devoured their rods.

And Pharao’s heart was hardened, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord had commanded.

The Lord God of Hebrews sent me to thee, saying: Let my people go to sacrifice to me in the desert: and hitherto thou wouldst not hear.

The Lord also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, take thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand… turned into blood, fishes die; waters corrupted; and Egyptians shall be afflicted.

And the magicians of the Egyptians with their enchantments did in like manner’

Pharao’s heart was hardened; neither did he hear them; neither did he set his heart to it this time also.

And seven days were fully ended, after that the Lord struck the river.

Exodus Chapter 8: Frogs cover Egypt; The frogs die; Plague of sciniphs; Plague of flies.

And the magicians also by their enchantments did in like manner…

Pharao: Pray ye to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

And the Lord did according to the word of Moses.

And the frogs shall depart from thee.

And (frogs) shall remain only in rivers

And the land was corrupted

And Pharao seeing that rest was given, hardened his own heart, and did not hear them, as the Lord had commanded.

Lord to Moses to Aaron stretch forth thy rod, and strike the dust of the earth: that there may be sciniphs in all the land of Egypt.

Sciniphs—gnats and flies (interesting word that is not in the Bible)]

The magicians could not bring forth sciniphs in like manor and told Pharao that “this is the finger of God.”

Pharao to Moses—“I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness: but go no further: pray for me.”

God relieved Egypt of the flies but Pharao’s heart was still hardened, so that neither this time would he let the people go. Is this a children’s bedtime fairytale that ends badly?

Exodus Chapter 9: Murrain among the animals; Plague of boils and blains; Plague of hail; The hail ceases.

Murrain—Veterinary Pathology. Any of various diseases of cattle, as anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease, and Texas fever; Obsolete. a plague or pestilence.

Boils with swelling blains.

Boil—a painful, circumscribed inflammation of the skin or a hair follicle, having a dead, suppurating inner core: usually caused by a staphylococcal infection.

Blain—an inflammatory swelling or sore.

Hail. Lightning running on the ground.

Only in the land of Gessen, where the children of Israel were, the hail fell not.

Pharao to Moses: I have sinned this time also; the Lord is just: I and my people are wicked.

That thou mayst know that the earth is the Lord’s.

When the hail ceased, Pharao increased his sin.

Exodus Chapter 10: Threat of a plague of locusts; Pharao offers to let the men go; Plague of locusts; The Lord takes away the locusts; Plague of darkness; Pharao says the Israelites may go without their flocks and herds; Pharao remains obdurate.

Go in to Pharao; for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants: that I may work these my signs in him.

And you may know that I am the Lord.

Pharao’s servants to Pharao” How long shall we endure this scandal? Dost thou not see that Egypt is undone?

For it is the solemnity of the Lord our God

Solemnity—the state or character of being solemn; earnestness; gravity; impressiveness: the solemnity of a state funeral; Often, solemnities. a solemn observance, ceremonial proceeding, or special formality: the solemnities of Easter; Law. a formality that renders an act or document valid.

But go ye men only

Locusts

And may there be darkness upon the land of Egypt, so thick that it may be felt.

Go without their flocks and herds.

Thou shalt give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord our God.

For they are necessary for the servants of the Lord our God.

Pharao remains obdurate.

Obdurate—unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding; stubbornly resistant to moral influence; persistently impenitent: an obdurate sinner.

And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart and he would not let them go. And Pharao said to Moses” Get thee from me, and beware thou see not my face any more: in what day soever thou shalt come in my sight, thou shalt die. Moses answered: So shall it be as thou hast spoke, I will not see thy face any more.

Jesus Always Finds Us at the Crossroads of our Lives…

Hence forward forever…

Matthew’s Chapter 21 begins the telling of Holy Week with Jesus nearing Jerusalem and two disciples being sent into the city to fetch a donkey for Jesus to ride on Palm Sunday.

“Tell the daughter of Sion: Behold, thy king comes to thee, meek and seated upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

“This is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

But then postpones that discussion and starts to relay teachings and more parables.

Parable of the vine-dressers: then he let it out to the vine-dressers and went abroad. Where did one travel abroad in Jesus’ day?

Abroad—a foreign land or lands: why did I think abroad means across the sea? Across the Sea of Galilee? The reality is that any place outside of one’s native country is abroad!

The householder sent his servants; then another party of servants; and then he sent his son thinking that they will respect his son. No, they killed his son too thinking that this is the heir; come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance.

“The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people yielding its fruits.”

They knew that he was speaking about them (Pharisees). And though they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the people, because they regarded him as a prophet.

One parable they answered correctly! So is it really a parable?

‘Lay hands on him,’ was used in a different connotation here!

The Pharisees, the crowds, they all marveled at His teachings.

“Render, therefore, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God.”

Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, asked about what Moses said about when a man dies and his brother should marry the widow. What if there are seven brothers and they all die?

At the resurrection, therefore, of which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her.

“You err because you know neither the Scriptures not the power of God,” replied Jesus

“For at the resurrection they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but will be as angels of God in heaven.”

“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living!”

Pharisees, the crowds again marveled at His teachings…

Master, which is the great commandment in the Law?

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.

And the second is like it, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

“What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?”

David’s

“How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord saying, as The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand, till I make thy enemies thy footstool.

“If David, therefore, calls him ‘Lord.’ How is he his son?”

And no one could answer him a word; neither did anyone dare from that day forth to ask him anymore questions.

I feel like that sometimes but Jesus always seems to find me when I am at yet another crossroad in my life. I hope the answer is an easy one like in the parable of the vine-dresser!

Day 22: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Jesus Always Finds Us at the Crossroads of our Lives…

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Matthew Chapters 21-22.

Bible Notes:

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Saint Matthew, also known as Levi, was a Galilean by birth.

Tax Collector at Capharnaum

Christ called him to become a disciple, and later an Apostle

After the Holy Ghost came down on the Apostles on Pentecost, Matthew preached the Gospel in Judea.

He wrote his Gospel to prove to his readers that Christ was the Messiah foretold by God in the Old Testament

 

Matthew Chapter 21: Jesus sends two disciples into Jerusalem; Triumphal entry into Jerusalem; Cleansing of the Temple; Anger of Jewish leaders; Jesus curses a fig tree; Power of faith; The authority of Jesus; Parable of the two sons; Parable of the vive-dressers; The vine-dressers kill the master’s son; Application of the parable.

“Tell the daughter of Sion: Behold, thy king comes to thee, meek and seated upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

“This is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

“It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it den of thieves.”

“Yes, have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings thou hast perfected praise’?”

“May no fruit ever come from thee hence forward forever.”

“Amen I say to you, if you have faith and do not waver… And all things whatever you ask for in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”

“By what authority dost thou do these things?”

“I also will ask you one question, and if you answer me this, I in turn will tell you by what authority I do these things. Whence was the baptism of John? From heaven, or from men?”

“We do not know.”

“Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Parable of the two sons: ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he regretted it and went.

‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.”

Which of the two did the father’s will?

For John came to you in the way of justice, and you did not believe him. Whereas you, seeing it, did not even repent afterwards, that you might believe him.

Parable of the vive-dressers: then he let it out to the vine-dressers and went abroad.

Abroad—a foreign land or lands: imports from abroad. Sent his servants; another party of servants; sent his son; They will respect my son; they killed his son too; This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and we shall have his inheritance.

“The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people yielding its fruits.”

They knew that he was speaking about them (Pharisees). And though they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the people, because they regarded him as a prophet.

Matthew Chapter 21: The marriage feast; The king’s anger; One guest is cast out; Tribute to Caesar; The Sadducees question Christ; Christ’s answer; The great commandment; The son of David.

The Kingdom of heaven is like a king who made a marriage feast for his son. Tell those who are invited.

“The marriage feast indeed is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy; go therefore to the crossroads, and invite to the marriage feast whomever you shall find.”

“Friend, how didst thou come in here—without a wedding garment?”

Bing his hands and feet and cast him forth into the darkness outside, where there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth.

“For many are called and few are chosen.”

Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might trap him in his talk.

“Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?”

“Why do you test me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin of the tribute.”

“Whose are this image and the inscription?”

“Render, therefore, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God.”

Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection…

Master, Moses said… seven brothers…

At the resurrection, therefore, of which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her.

“You err because you know neither the Scriptures not the power of God.”

“For at the resurrection they will neither marry nor be given in marriage, but will be as angels of God in heaven.”

“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living!”

Pharisees, the crowds… marveled at His teachings…

Master, which is the great commandment in the Law?

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.

And the second is like it, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

“What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?”

David’s

“How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord saying, as The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand, till I make thy enemies thy footstool.

“If David, therefore, calls him ‘Lord.’ How is he his son?”

And no one could answer him a word; neither did anyone dare from that day forth to ask him anymore questions.

God is always leading me on my journey in life…

After dealing the first nine of ten plagues—blood, frogs, sciniphs, flies, murrain, boils and blain, hail, locusts, darkness—God dealt the final blow—death to all firstborn of the Egyptians. But not the Israelites, who marked their homes with blood on the transom and both posts of the door to their home, who God then “passed over.”

Now Pharao really submitted to the Lord and let the children of Israel go. Going forth out of the land of Egypt speedily, they took dough before it was leavened, and stripped the Egyptians of their vessels of silver and gold. Six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children set forth after being in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years.

And the Lord went before them to show the way by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire: that he might be the guide of their journey at both times.

God is always leading me on my journey in life…

The Egyptians came after the Israelites and perished by God’s Will in the depth of the Red Sea which had parted for the Israelites to escape but closed for their prior captors.

The Israelites, once free from Pharao, cried out in gratitude and praise with what is known as the Canticle of Moses:

Let us sing to the Lord: for he is gloriously magnified.

The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he is become salvation to me: he is my God and I will glorify him: the God of my father, and I will exalt him.

There was even dancing for joy in the Old Testament.

In thy mercy thou hast been a leader to the people which thou hast redeemed: and in thy strength thou hast carried then to thy holy habitation.

So Mary the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand…

If thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and do what is right before him, and obey his commandments, and keep all his precepts, none of the evils I laid upon Egypt, will I bring upon thee: for I am the Lord thy healer.

Amen. Al-le-lu-ia!

Whether it is a bright time in my life or a dark time in my life, God is always leading me on my journey in life…

TROML Baby!

Day 23: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; God is always leading me on my journey in life…

Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Exodus Chapters 11-15

Bible Notes:

This Book of Exodus is so called from the Greek word exodus, which means going out.

It recounts the persecution of the Jews in Egypt, the call of Moses, the ten plagues, the Jewish departure from Egypt, and the giving of the Mosaic Law on Mount Sinai.

The Book of Exodus closes with the consecration of the Tabernacle.

 

Exodus Chapter 11: Threat of death to the firstborn of Egypt

And the Lord said to Moses…

Vessels of silver, and of gold

And every firstborn in the land of Egyptians shall die

Exodus Chapter 12: Preparation for the Passover; Passover to be an annual feast; Sprinkling the doorways; Firstborn of Egyptians slain; The Israelites leave Egypt; Observance of the Passover.

For it is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the Lord

And I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you: and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt.

And this last day shall be for a memorial to you: and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord in your generations with an everlasting observance. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread…

Raiment—clothing; apparel; attire.

Six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children.

And the abode of the children of Israel that they made in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.

Passover—the observable night of the Lord, when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt.

Proselyte—a person who has changed from one opinion, religious belief, sect, or the like, to another; convert.

Exodus Chapter 13: Firstborn to be dedicated to God; Only unleavened bread to be eaten; Dedication of firstborn to God; Reason for dedication of the firstborn; The Israelites leave Egypt with Joseph’s bones; Pillars of cloud and fire.

Sanctify unto me every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of Israel.

Lord shall have brought thee into the land of Chanaanite…

God shall visit you, carry out my bones hence with you.

And the Lord went before them to show the way by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire: that he might be the guide of their journey at both times.

Exodus Chapter 14: Pharao pursues the Israelites; The Israelites complain against Moses; The Lord instructs Moses; A cloud protects Israel; The Israelites pass through the sea; The Egyptians drowned in the sea.

And I shall harden his heart, and he will pursue you: and I shall be glorified in Pharao, and in all his army: and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.

What meant we to do, that we let Israel go from serving us?

For it is much better to serve them, than to die in the wilderness.

Fear not: stand and see the great wonders of the Lord, which he will do this day: for the Egyptians, whom you see now, you shall see no more forever.

But lift up thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and divide it: that the children of Israel may go through the midst of the sea on dry ground.

The Lord took it away by a strong and burning wind blowing all the night, and turned it into dry ground: and the water was divided.

Let us flee from Israel: for the Lord fighteth for them against us.

The waters came upon them.

And the people feared the Lord, and they believed the Lord, and Moses his servant.

Exodus Chapter 15: Canticle of Moses; Moses extols God’s power; God has protected Israel; Mary and all the woman dance; The bitter waters of Mara are made sweet; The camp at Elim.

Canticle– one of the nonmetrical hymns or chants, chiefly from the Bible, used in church services; a song, poem, or hymn especially of praise.

Let us sing to the Lord: for he is gloriously magnified.

The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he is become salvation to me: he is my God and I will glorify him: the God of my father, and I will exalt him.

In thy mercy thou hast been a leader to the people which thou hast redeemed: and in thy strength thou hast carried then to thy holy habitation.

So Mary the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand…

And they went forth into the wilderness of Sur: and they marches three days though the wilderness, and found no water..

If thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and do what is right before him, and obey his commandments, and keep all his precepts, none of the evils I laid upon Egypt, will I bring upon thee: for I am the Lord thy healer.

Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees… and the Coming of The Lord…

WOW, these two chapters of Matthew are more revealing than the Book of Revelations!

In Jesus’ words as told to the Disciples going into Holy Week:

“But all these things are the beginning of sorrows.”

“And because iniquity will abound, the charity of many will grow cold. But whoever perseveres to the end, he shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, for a witness to all nations; and then will come the end.”

“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet…”

“For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”

“… and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with great power and majesty.”

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but the Father only.”

“… until the day when Noe entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and swept them all away; even so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

“Watch therefore, for you do not know at what hour your Lord is to come. Therefore you also must be ready, because at an hour that you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

We do not know the hour of our death or when the Son of Man will come again. I am confused as God said previously that He would never destroy the Earth as He had done with the flood. What then does this end of the world as we know it mean? On a personal basis, the hour of our death hopefully means the return of the Son of Man as we enter heaven. Could this be what Jesus is referring to?

So we don’t know the hour of our demise but Jesus boldly told the Pharisees and Scribes that their day of ruling by the law, not their hearts, was coming to an end.

“But woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men.”

“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees,.. have left undone the weightier matters of the Law, right judgment and mercy and faith.”

“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees,.. outwardly appear just to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees… thus you are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets.”

Woe to me and you too?

Right judgment, mercy and faith!!!

Blessed are me and you!

Day 24: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; “Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees… and the Coming of The Lord…

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Matthew Chapters 23-24.

Bible Notes:

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Saint Matthew, also known as Levi, was a Galilean by birth.

Tax Collector at Capharnaum

Christ called him to become a disciple, and later an Apostle

After the Holy Ghost came down on the Apostles on Pentecost, Matthew preached the Gospel in Judea.

He wrote his Gospel to prove to his readers that Christ was the Messiah foretold by God in the Old Testament

 

Matthew Chapter 23: Hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees; Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees; Their distorted religion; They overstress the nonessential part of religion; Their hypocritical purity; Their persecution of religion; Lamentation over Jerusalem.

“The Scribes and the Pharisees have sat on the chair of Moses. All things, therefore, that they command you, observe and do.”

“But do not you be called ‘Rabbi’; for one is your Master, and you are brothers. And call no one on earth your father; for one is your Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters; for one only is your Master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

“But woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men.”

“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees,.. have left undone the weightier matters of the Law, right judgment and mercy and faith.”

Right judgment, mercy and faith!!!

“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees,.. outwardly appear just to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees… thus you are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets.”

“Behold, your house is left to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall not see me hence-forth until you shall say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Matthew Chapter 24: Christ foretells the Temple’s destruction; The disciples question Christ; Christ warns them not to be led astray; He tells them of trials and hard times to come; The destruction of Jerusalem; The signs of the last day; Darkening of sun and moon; Jerusalem’s impending destruction; The need for watchfulness; Exhortation to vigilance.

“Do you see all these things? Amen I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Sitting on the Mount of Olives

“Take care that no one leads you astray, For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead you astray.”

“But all these things are the beginning of sorrows.”

“And because iniquity will abound, the charity of many will grow cold. But whoever perseveres to the end, he shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, for a witness to all nations; and then will come the end.”

“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet…”

“For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”

“… and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with great power and majesty.”

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but the Father only.”

“… until the day when Noe entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and swept them all away; even so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

“Watch therefore, for you do not know at what hour your Lord is to come. Therefore you also must be ready, because at an hour that you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

With Freedom comes Responsibility but Faith carries us through Difficult Times…

The Israelites were free from the bondage of the Egyptians. Moses led them out into the desert. God led Moses, with Aaron as his spokesperson, to lead the Israelites out into the desert.

Into the desert were there was no food to eat or water to drink.

Our well-intended spiritual plans face reality!

And all of the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

“Why have you brought us into this desert, that you might destroy all the multitude with famine?”

Hush child and I will feed you… and learn something about you at the same time.

“That I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or not. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.”

In the evening the Lord will give you flesh to eat (quails), and in the morning bread to full (manna).

Why didst thou make us go forth out of Egypt, to kill us and our children, and our beasts with thirst?

Thou shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it that the people may drink.

There were difficult people and difficult times, not unlike ourselves, our family, our company, our community, our country and our world.

Temptation… for that they tempted the Lord, saying: Is the Lord amongst us or not?

Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?

And they harkened not to him…. And Moses was angry with them.

“How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my law?”

Tomorrow is the rest of the Sabbath sanctified to the Lord.

They looked towards the wilderness: and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.

And the taste thereof like to flour and honey. And the children of Israel ate manna forty years. And let it be kept unto generations to come hereafter.

Forty years, wow, to be fed from the skies above one day at a time except for the Sabbath.

Then there was war but God was on their side!

And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame.

So they took a stone, and put under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on both sides.

And the Lord said to Moses: Write this for a memorial in a book. The Lord my exaltation.

I wonder if Moses wrote the book or passed along his thoughts, faith and experience to someone who passed it along to someone and so forth and so on until it was included in the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament?

Food, water and war problem solved.

Now, says Dad, let’s get down to basics on how we will run this house, this civilization.

The Ten Commandments.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

1. You shalt not have strange gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image (an idol), or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
6. You shall not kill.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

The Israelites were terrified and struck with fear.

Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that the dread of Him might be in you, and you should not sin.

You shall offer upon it your holocausts and peace offerings.

I will come to thee, and will bless thee.

Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob (Israel), and tell the children of Israel: You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, how I have carried you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to myself. If therefore you will hear my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my peculiar possession above all people: for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation.

And then there was slavery and the brutal “shall be put to death” for what seems less than deeds of corporal punishment today—striking and cursing parents and kidnapping.

If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve thee: in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

He shall render life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, would for wound, stripe for stripe.

The archaic laws under the Old Testament of the Old Covenant of Law and Order First versus the New Testament of the New Covenant based on a heart first, love and compassion doctrine as demonstrated by Jesus for our sake.

With freedom comes responsibility to utilize our faith that not only carries us through difficult times but also germinates and grows us to emerge those difficult times as a renewed person with a vibrant heart.

Day 25: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; With Freedom comes Responsibility but Faith carries us through Difficult Times…

Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Exodus Chapters 16-21

Bible Notes:

This Book of Exodus is so called from the Greek word exodus, which means going out.

It recounts the persecution of the Jews in Egypt, the call of Moses, the ten plagues, the Jewish departure from Egypt, and the giving of the Mosaic Law on Mount Sinai.

The Book of Exodus closes with the consecration of the Tabernacle.

 

Exodus Chapter 16: The desert of Sin; The Israelites complain for lack of food; The Lord promises a rain of bread; The glory of the Lord appears in a cloud; The Lord provides flesh and manna; Gathering the manna; Manna for the Sabbath; A gomor of manna is preserved.

And the set forth from Elim… and came into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai.

And all of the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

Why have you brought us into this desert, that you might destroy all the multitude with famine?

That I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or not.

In the evening the Lord will give you flesh to eat (quails), and in the morning bread to full (manna).

They looked towards the wilderness: and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.

And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.

What is this? This is the bread, which the Lord hath given you to eat.

A gomor for every man. Now a gomor is the tenth part of an ephi.

And they harkened not to him…. And Moses was angry with them.

Tomorrow is the rest of the Sabbath sanctified to the Lord.

How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my law?

And the taste thereof like to flour and honey.

And let it be kept unto generations to come hereafter

And the children of Israel ate manna forty years.

Exodus Chapter 17: The Lord gives water out of a rock; Josue defeats Amalec; Moses builds an altar.

Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?

Why didst thou make us go forth out of Egypt, to kill us and our children, and our beasts with thirst?

Thou shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it that the people may drink.

Temptation… for that they tempted the Lord, saying: Is the Lord amongst us or not?

And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame.

So they took a stone, and put under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on both sides.

And the Lord said to Moses: Write this for a memorial in a book.

The Lord my exaltation.

Exodus Chapter 18: Jethro brings Moses’ family to him; Moses entertains Jethro; Moses accepts Jethro’s advice; Moses appoints rulers to judge the people.

Jethro, Moses father-in-law brings his wife Sephora and two sons Gersam and Eliezar.

And they saluted one another with words of peace

Blessed is the Lord

Now I know that the Lord is great above all gods: because they dealt proudly against them.

Offered holocausts and sacrifices to God.

The people came to me to seek the Judgment of God.

They come to me to judge between them, and to show the precepts of God and his laws.

The business is above thy strength. Thou alone canst not bear it.

Such as fear God, in whom there is truth, and that hate avarice, and appoint them rulers of Thousands… who may judge the people at all times.

And when Moses heard this, he did all things that he (Jethro) had suggested unto him.

Whatsoever was of greater difficulty they referred to him, and they judged the easier cases only.

Exodus Chapter 19: Encampment at Sinai; God’s message to the children of Israel; The answer of the Israelites; God promises to appear before the people; The people are sanctified; The Lord appears on Mount Sinai and speaks to Moses.

Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob (Israel), and tell the children of Israel: You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, how I have carried you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to myself. If therefore you will hear my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my peculiar possession above all people: for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation.

Sanctify

Thou shalt come up, thou (Moses) and Aaron with thee.

Exodus Chapter 20: The Ten Commandments; Fear of the Israelites, Directions concerning the altar.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

1. You shalt not have strange gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a graven image (an idol), or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
6. You shall not kill.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.

Being terrified and struck with fear.

Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that the dread of Him might be in you, and you should not sin.

You shall offer upon it your holocausts and peace offerings.

I will come to thee, and will bless thee.

Exodus Chapter 21: Laws for men servants; Laws for women servants; Punishments for murder and manslaughter; Punishment for striking parents; Punishment for kidnapping; Punishment for cursing parents; Punishment for assault; Protection of women with child; Punishment for injuring servants; Laws pertaining to animals that injure men; Laws pertaining to injury done to animals.

If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve thee: in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

He that striketh a man with a will to kill him, shall be put to death.

Shall be put to death—striking parents, kidnapping, cursing parents.

He shall render life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, would for wound, stripe for stripe.

Stripe—vigorous or bitter conflict, discord, or antagonism: to be at strife; a quarrel, struggle, or clash: armed strife; competition or rivalry: the strife of the marketplace; Archaic. strenuous effort.

I Run but I cannot Hide for I am a Sinner and this is My Prayer…

The irony of the Old and New Testaments.

In Exodus God led Israel out of bondage in Egypt and while on the journey began to instruct them on how to live their new life via the Ten Commandments.

In Matthew, God’s Israel is as settled as can be in Jerusalem and while living out their lives there, He is preparing them for a new journey, the ultimate journey to heaven.

From bondage to freedom and from freedom to eternal life!

Not so easy and not so clear.

“Amen I say to you, as long as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me.”

“For I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; naked and you covered me, sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me.”

This seems to be the complement to The Beatitudes along the lines of better to comfort than be comforted and best to do that comforting while visiting your brother in prison.

Feelings, emotions with definitive action, not just merely thinking about these things.

The challenge seems staggering and endless unless we have presence of mind in the present moment, each moment, and each day at a time.

We can’t do everything for everybody but we can do something, anything for anybody that comes into our presence, our lives.

“For to everyone who has shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who does not have, even that which he seems to have shall be taken away.”

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Don’t be cast forth into the darkness outside.

Let Jesus into our lives and our hearts.

“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and ask for Your Forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and ask You to come into my heart, my life and all my relationships. I trust and will follow You as my Lord and Savior for the rest of my life. May Your will be done with my self, body and being. Amen! Al-le-lu-ia!” Your son, Andy

TROML Baby!

Day 26: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; I Run but I cannot Hide for I am a Sinner and this is My Prayer.

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Matthew Chapter 25.

Bible Notes:

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Saint Matthew, also known as Levi, was a Galilean by birth.

Tax Collector at Capharnaum

Christ called him to become a disciple, and later an Apostle

After the Holy Ghost came down on the Apostles on Pentecost, Matthew preached the Gospel in Judea.

He wrote his Gospel to prove to his readers that Christ was the Messiah foretold by God in the Old Testament

 

Matthew Chapter 25: Parable of the Ten Virgins; The arrival of the bridegroom; Parable of the talents; The servant with five talents; The servant with two talents; The servant with one talent; The last judgment; Those on the right hand; Those on the left.

Then will the kingdom of heaven be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom and the bride.

Five foolish, took no oil.

Five wise took oil in their vessels with their lamp.

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

For it (heaven) is like a man going abroad… and handed over his goods to his servants… and then he went on a journey…

Servant with five talents, gained five more.

Servant with two talents, gained two more.

“Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many, enter into the joy of thy master.”

Servant with one talent buried it, gaining no more.

I should have gotten back my own with interest.

“Wicked and slothful servant thou didst know that I reap where I do not sow, and gather where I have not winnowed.”

“For to everyone who has shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who does not have, even that which he seems to have shall be taken away.

Cast him forth into the darkness outside.

“But when the Son of Man shall come in all his majesty… and he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.”

“For I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; naked and you covered me, sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me.”

Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee?

“Amen I say to you, as long as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me.”

The Ark of the Covenant, Am I inherently Good or Bad or Both?

The Bible can appear confusing at times. God instructing Moses on how to build a tabernacle and the ark to hold the testimony that he will be giving to Moses. For me it was a flashback to Noah and the ark from Genesis. Did Moses build an ark too? I get confused easily and it usually generates a laugh on my part and frustration to others.

There’s Noah’s Ark. the large boat built by Noah in which he saved himself, his family, and a pair of every kind of creature during the Flood.

And then there is the “ark of the covenant,  a chest or box containing the two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, carried by the Israelites in their wanderings in the desert after the Exodus: the most sacred object of the tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem, where it was kept in the holy of holies according to Dictionary.com.

I become clear when I read Scripture and have a conversation with God about the meaning of His Word and the correct application to my life.

“Restore me please oh my God and release me from the excesses of my human nature and natural instincts,”—Andy

Am I inherently good or bad or both?

If you look closely you will realize that the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. It is only us that are changed by Jesus and The Holy Spirit coming into us and the world.

God said “If he cry to me, I will hear him, because I am compassionate.”

My God is accepting, loving and compassionate, forgiving, merciful, grace giving and loving and He was in both the Old and New Testaments. And so was I as a sinner before and after I am enlightened by the Good News.

“Thou shalt not molest a stranger, nor afflict him: for yourselves also were strangers in the land of Egypt,” said God.

Basically the Golden Rule reiterated here.

“Thou shalt not receive the voice of a lie: neither shalt thou join thy hand to bear false witness for a wicked person.”

“Six years thou shalt sow thy ground.., but the seventh year thou shalt let it alone, and suffer it to rest.”

“Six days thou shalt work: the seventh day thou shalt cease.”

Like the ground we need to rest to replenish, to be restored, to be renewed by God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit.

Three times every year you shall celebrate feasts to me: feast of the unleavened bread; feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of thy work; and feast at the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in all thy corn out of the field. Thrice a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God.

Rest, be thankful and celebrate our good fate in life and beyond.

With TROML—I try to celebrate Christmas, Easter & Thanksgiving every day of the year! Why wait for the holiday when if you look you will find the evidence of the spirit of these holy—days, these Hol—i—days, every day of your life! Remember the ‘y’ becomes an ‘I.’

“Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared. I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee. I will fill the number of thy days,” says the Lord.

“By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, till thou be increased, and dost possess the land,” was God’s strategy for finding a homeland for the Israelites.

We can apply the same strategy for exorcising the evil from ourselves and our lives.

“We will do all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken. We will be obedient’” said the descendants of Jacob, as God spoke through Moses to them about the book of the covenant.

They saw the God of Israel. They saw God.

“Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and the law, and the commandments which I have written: that thou mayst teach them. And Moses, entering into the midst of the cloud, went up into the mountain: and he was there forty days, and forty nights.”

And then he built another ark but not like the one Noah built.

Am I inherently good or bad or both?

Day 27: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; The Ark of the Covenant, Am I inherently Good or Bad or Both?

Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Exodus Chapters 22-27

Bible Notes:

This Book of Exodus is so called from the Greek word exodus, which means going out.

It recounts the persecution of the Jews in Egypt, the call of Moses, the ten plagues, the Jewish departure from Egypt, and the giving of the Mosaic Law on Mount Sinai.

The Book of Exodus closes with the consecration of the Tabernacle.

 

Exodus Chapter 22: Punishment for theft; Punishment for damage to crops; Laws of trustees; Seduction, wizardry, bestiality, and idolatry; Protection of strangers, widows and orphans; Laws concerning lending;; Law against blasphemy and cursing; Laws of first fruits and first born; Laws of eating flesh.

He shall restore five oxen for one; to make restitution; he shall restore double; he shall restore the best of whatsoever he had; he shall restore double; he shall restore double; to make restitution; he shall not make restitution; borrow; re shall be obliged to make restitution; he shall not make restitution.

If a man seduce a virgin not yet espoused, and lie with her: he shall endow her, and have her to wife.

Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live.

Whosoever copulateth with a beast shall be put to death.

Thou shalt not molest a stranger, nor afflict him: for yourselves also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

If he cry to me, I will hear him, because I am compassionate.

The eighth day thou shalt give it to me.

Exodus Chapter 23: Laws against slander and false witness; Laws of judging; Laws of mercy; Law against bribery; Law concerning strangers; Law of the year of rest; Law of the Sabbath; Law against idolatry; Three feasts; Laws of sacrifice; Promise of an angel; Boundaries of the new land.

Thou shalt not receive the voice of a lie: neither shalt thou join thy hand to bear false witness for a wicked person.

Six years thou shalt sow thy ground.., but the seventh year thou shalt let it alone, and suffer it to rest…

Six days thou shalt work: the seventh day thou shalt cease.

Three times every year you shall celebrate feasts to me: feast of the unleavened bread; feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of thy work; and feast at the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in all thy corn out of the field. Thrice a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God.

Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared.

I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee.

I will fill the number of thy days.

By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, till thou be increased, and dost possess the land.

Exodus Chapter 24: Moses writes the words of the Lord; Moses and the leaders see God; Aaron and Hur placed in command; Moses spends fort days in the mountain.

And He said to Moses: Come up to the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of Israel, and you shall adore afar off.

We will do all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken. We will be obedient.

The book of the covenant.

They saw the God of Israel. They saw God.

Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and the law, and the commandments which I have written: that thou mayst teach them.

And Moses, entering into the midst of the cloud, went up into the mountain: and he was there forty days, and forty nights.

Exodus Chapter 25: Offerings for making the tabernacle; Description of the ark; The propitiatory; Table for loaves of proposition. The golden candlestick.

That they bring firstfruits to me.

And they shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the midst of them.

Ephod—a richly embroidered, apronlike vestment having two shoulder straps and ornamental attachments for securing the breastplate, worn with a waistband by the high priest. Ex. 28:6, 7, 25 – 28.

Rational—embroidered work.

And thou shalt put in the ark the testimony which I will give thee.

Propitiatory—the mercy seat.

Let one cherub be on one side, and the other on the other.

Look and make it according to the pattern, that was shown thee in the mount.

Exodus Chapter 26: Curtains for the tabernacle; Boards of setim wood for the tabernacle; Bars for the boards of the tabernacle; Veils for the Holy of Holies; Arrangement of furnishings of the tabernacle.

Setim wood

The tabernacle that looketh to the north.

Where did they get the gold and silver? Took from the Egyptians?

And within it thou shalt put the ark of the testimony, and the sanctuary, and the holy of holies shall be divided with it.

And thou shalt set the propitiatory (the mercy seat) upon the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies.

Exodus Chapter 27: The altar; Court of the tabernacle; Oil for the lamp of the tabernacle.

An altar of setim wood.

And a grate of brass in manner of a net…

The purest oil of the olives.

That a lamp may burn always in the tabernacle of the testimony.

That it may give light before the Lord until the morning. It shall be a perpetual observance throughout their successions among the children of Israel.

Agony in the Garden, Again… Eden, Gethsemani but God’s Plan Prevails!

Looks like we are on a one chapter a day pace for Matthew in the New Testament but with only two more chapters of Matthew’s Gospel we are getting towards the end of Jesus’ message to us.

Here we go again! God, our Father, patient, loving and persistent trying to get a point across to us—that life isn’t all about what we want but that we should want to be the part of God’s kingdom he has planned for us.

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden didn’t work out so well—sin was introduced into the world.

Now Jesus and His disciples are in the Garden of Gethsemani and things aren’t working out very well again—our devotion to Jesus is paper thin and quite lacking.

Signs ahead of time, fore-shadowing and fore-illuminating our lives.

But do we see the signs?

Is our life getting darker or brighter from the inside-out?

A focus on education, discipline and perseverance led me to a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.B.A. and a successful career.

Despite much love, many blessings, and sincere attempts by both people, there were earlier signs that my marriage would end in divorce.

There were earlier signs, reading the Scriptures in church, much prayer and turning to God in good and bad times throughout my life that He would lead me down this spiritual path to TROML and Splendid Spiritual Self.

What signs are there currently in your life?

Out of denial, justification, and rationalization into peace, joy and freedom, The Ultimate Love of God, self, and others in life.

“Why do you trouble the woman, Jesus asked? She has done me a good turn. For the poor you have always with you, but you do not always have me. For in putting this ointment on my body, she has done it for my burial. Amen I say to you, wherever in the whole world this gospel is preached, this also that she has done shall be told in memory of her.”

Using the term “my burial,” was a pretty good sign that Jesus was to die and not be the King of the World that his disciples knew.

Where are you on your path to dominate the world, to leave a lasting legacy?

Will it be a lasting legacy of love or a betrayal of God’s plan for you?

“What are you willing to give me for delivering Him to you, the Judas in all of us asked our Lord every day?”

Isn’t it God’s will for us to feel superior to His other lowly children?

Aren’t we blessed and special beyond everyone else?

“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me, Jesus confided to us.”

God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit know our routine before we come up with that good idea to put us first in the world. They have been through it literally a billion other times with the billion people who have lived on this earth before us.

“Is it I Lord?”

Of course it is, you are human just like me.

“The Son of Man indeed goes his way, as it is written of him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It were better for that man if he had not been born.”

And Judas who betrayed him answered and said, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “Thou hast said it.”

“For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is being shed for many unto the forgiveness of sins.”

And after reciting a hymn, Jesus began to be saddened and exceedingly troubled. “My soul is sad, even unto death. Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; yet not as I will, but as thou willest.”

Jesus was human just like us except that he was not a sinner just like every one of us.

He felt deep emotions and did not over-drink, over-eat, or do any one of a million other human addictions to self-medicate Himself away from what God’s plan was for His life.

Three times he asked His Father to change the story, to have it not end the way he knew it had to end.

Jesus was taken away to Caiphas, the high priest and all the disciples left him and fled. Peter denied Him three times even though he promised not to.

We didn’t stand up for our friend and inspiration in life. We provided false witness against Jesus, so that they might put him to death.

But now knowing the facts, we can choose our own ending.

Yes, it is better for that man, who abandons Jesus, if he had not been born.”

But that and our lives, in of themselves, provide us an opportunity to admit our human death while still living on spiritually with Christ.

Don’t deny Jesus a fourth time, come home to the Lord and be at peace, feel joy and be free to live again accepting this sinful world as it is but not yourself as you appear.

Ask Jesus to come into your heart this very moment and your life will change forever and ever. Amen.

 

Day 28: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Agony in the Garden, Again… Eden, Gethsemani but God’s Plan Prevails!

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Matthew Chapter 26.

Bible Notes:

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Saint Matthew, also known as Levi, was a Galilean by birth.

Tax Collector at Capharnaum

Christ called him to become a disciple, and later an Apostle

After the Holy Ghost came down on the Apostles on Pentecost, Matthew preached the Gospel in Judea.

He wrote his Gospel to prove to his readers that Christ was the Messiah foretold by God in the Old Testament

 

Matthew Chapter 26: Passion foretold; The council; The anointing at Bethany; Jesus defends the woman; The betrayal; Preparation; The betrayer; The Holy Eucharist; Peter’s denials predicted; The agony in the garden; The sleeping disciples; Jesus arrested; Peter draws his sword; Jesus speaks; Jesus claims to be the Christ; Jesus charged with blasphemy; Peter’s denial.

“You know that after two days the Passover will be here; and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

In the court of the high priest Caiphas… and they took counsel together how they might seize Jesus by stealth and put him to death.

“Why do you trouble the woman? She has done me a good turn. For the poor you have always with you, but you do not always have me. For in putting this ointment on my body, she has done it for my burial. Amen I say to you, wherever in the whole world this gospel is preached, this also that she has done shall be told in memory of her.”

Using the term “my burial,” was a pretty good sign that Jesus was to die and not be the King of the World that his disciples knew.

“What are you willing to give me for delivering him to you?”

“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

“Is it I Lord?”

“The Son of Man indeed goes his way, as it is written of him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It were better for that man if he had not been born.”

And Judas who betrayed him answered and said, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “Thou hast said it.”

“For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is being shed for many unto the forgiveness of sins.”

And after reciting a hymn…

“Even though all shall be scandalized because of thee, I will never be scandalized.” Jesus said to him, “Amen I say to thee, this very night, before a cock crows, thou wilt deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I should have to die with thee, I will not deny thee!” And all the disciples said the same thing.

And he began to be saddened and exceedingly troubled…

“My soul is sad, even unto death.”

“Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; yet not as I will, but as thou willest.”

“Could you not, then, watch one hour with me? Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Again a second time he went away and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink it, thy will be done.”

And leaving them sleeping (a second time), he went back again, and prayed a third time, saying the same words over.

“Sleep on now and take your rest.”

“Whomever I kiss, that is he; lay hold of him.”

“Friend, for what purpose hast thou come?”

“Put back thy sword into its place; for those who take the sword will perish by the sword.”

“How then are the Scriptures to be fulfilled, that thus it must take place.”

“I sat daily in the temple teaching, and you did not lay hands on me.”

Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Now those who had taken Jesus led him away to Caiphas, the high priest…

Were seeking false witness against Jesus, that they might put him to death.

“This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it after three days.’”

“Thou hast said it. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming upon the clouds of heaven.”

“He has blasphemed, what further need have we of witnesses?”

“Thou also was with Jesus the Galilean.”

“This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

“Surely thou also art one of them, for even thy speech betrays thee.”

And at that moment a cock crowed… and he went out and wept bitterly.

How to Gird Oneself for a Life with Christ

I have to say, that after reading these recent chapters of The book of Exodus, I will look much more closely at the details of a church and the garments worn by the priest.

It seems to me that this is where Christ begins His Church with the children of Israel, on their exodus from Egypt, while sharing His laws of the Old Testament and instilling an attitude of gratefulness.

“And thou shalt consecrate the hands of them all, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of the priesthood unto me, said God to Moses in reference to him and Aaron.

The first signs in the world of nepotism did not happen in business or politics but in religion! Not that there is anything wrong with that!

Another detail I had overlooked in previous readings of the Bible—not all of the entire animal that were sacrificed were burnt on the altar.

“Thou shalt take also al the fat… and shalt offer a burnt offering upon the altar… but the flesh of the calf and the hide and the dung, thou shalt burn abroad, without the camp, because it is for sin.”

Makes sense as fat, like wax would produce a flame like a candle? Not sure since the only burnt offerings I have witnessed is the burning of incense to bless me and others and at times Easter baskets!

“And thou shalt offer the whole ram for a burnt offering upon the altar: it is an oblation to the Lord, a most sweet savor of the victim of the Lord.”

Oops, need to update that—split burnt offering for calves; whole burnt offering on the altar for rams in the Old Testament way of worshipping our God, Savior and Spirit!

“…and shall boil the flesh thereof in the holy place, and Aaron and his sons shall eat it.”

I did not know that some of the ram of consecration was eaten by the priests.

“Where I will speak to thee…” That is what building the altar and sacrificing animals is all about—speaking, having a conversation with God, Old Testament-style. The New Testament, our new covenant with God encourages that a conversation with God take place anywhere, at any time. The only requirement is that our heart is open to Jesus and we do so in a humble, willing, and meaningful manner.

“Neither shall you offer libations,” as this is a sober, clear and present conversation with God. Abstinent, with no current since separating us and God. If only for the moment of connection.

It shall be most holy to the Lord.

Every one of them shall give a price for their souls to the Lord. He that is counted in the number from twenty years and upwards, shall give the price. The rich man shall not add a half a sicle, and the poor man shall diminish nothing.

Sounds like the price was fixed regardless of one’s financial ability not like today’s tithing of 10% of income.

So things were going along nicely in the design phase of the tabernacle. Workers were called by God and filled with the spirit of God, and with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in all manner of the work to be done.

Then all you know what broke loose. With Moses still up on Mount Sinai with God and actually in the process of receiving the two-sided tables of testimony, written with the finger of God.

Then Aaron, who would have thought, makes a molten golden calf, which the children of Israel idolize. God tells Moses he better get back down there for thy people hath sinned. God wanted to destroy them but Moses was able to appease Him from doing so.

Moses came down, heard the voice of singers, everyone was naked and when he saw the golden calf idol he threw the tables out of his hand and broke them. Then he destroyed the golden calf idol.

And he said to Aaron, what has this people done to thee, that thou shouldst bring upon them a most heinous sin?

Aaron’s answer was “let not my lord be offended: for thou knowest this people, that they are prone to evil.”

Yes we are.

Then Moses did one of those “you are either with us or against us,” if any man be on the Lord’s side let him join with me. All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him and they slain by sword that day about three and twenty thousand men.

Think things are barbaric in our world today?

And the concept of ‘guilt’ was introduced.

The Lord therefore struck the people for the guilt on occasion of the calf which Aaron had made.

Forgive and forget? Not!

How to gird Oneself for a Life with Christ? I am not sure but will continue to read the Bible for further clarification.

Day 29: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; How to Gird Oneself for a Life with Christ.

Read and inspired by the Old Testament, The Book of Exodus Chapters 28-32

Bible Notes:

This Book of Exodus is so called from the Greek word exodus, which means going out.

It recounts the persecution of the Jews in Egypt, the call of Moses, the ten plagues, the Jewish departure from Egypt, and the giving of the Mosaic Law on Mount Sinai.

The Book of Exodus closes with the consecration of the Tabernacle.

 

Exodus Chapter 28: Vestments for the priests; The ephod; The rational of judgment; Tunic of the ephod; Plate of the miter; Other priestly vestments.

Take unto thee also Aaron thy brother with his sons, from among the children of Israel, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office.

…for glory and for beauty

And thou shalt speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom…

In which he being consecrated may minister to me…

Consecrate—to make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of a deity: to consecrate a new church building; to make (something) an object of honor or veneration; hallow: a custom consecrated by time; to devote or dedicate to some purpose: a life consecrated to science; to admit or ordain to a sacred office, especially to the episcopate; to change (bread and wine) into the Eucharist.

…that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

The names of the children of Israel according to the order of their birth

A memorial for the children of Israel

For a remembrance

The rational of judgment

The sanctuary, a memorial before the Lord forever.

A golden bell and pomegranate

Wherein thou shalt grave with engraver’s work, Holy to the Lord

And thou shalt consecrate the hands of them all, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of the priesthood unto me.

Exodus Chapter 29: Consecration of priests; Sacrifice of the calf; Sacrifice of two rams; Vesture of Aaron shall descend to his sons; Food for the priests; Daily sacrifice of two lambs; God’s promise to the children of Israel.

Nepotism—patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship, as in business and politics: She was accused of nepotism when she made her nephew an officer of the firm.

Without blemish

Without leaven

Which thou shalt gird with the girdle

Gird—to encircle or bind with a belt or band; to surround; enclose; hem in; to prepare (oneself) for action: He girded himself for the trial ahead; to provide, equip, or invest, as with power or strength.

And by this rite shall be consecrated

And they shall be priests to me by a perpetual ordinance.

The tabernacle of testimony.

Thou shalt take also al the fat… and shalt offer a burnt offering upon the altar… but the flesh of the calf and the hide and the dung, thou shalt burn abroad, without the camp, because it is for sin.

And thou shalt offer the whole ram for a burnt offering upon the altar: it is an oblation to the Lord, a most sweet savor of the victim of the Lord.

Oblation—the offering to God of the elements of bread and wine in the Eucharist; the whole office of the Eucharist; the act of making an offering, especially to a deity; any offering for religious or charitable uses.

Oil of unction

Unction—an act of anointing, especially as a medical treatment or religious rite; an unguent or ointment; salve; something soothing or comforting; an excessive, affected, sometimes cloying earnestness or fervor in manner, especially in speaking; Religion.  a. the oil used in religious rites, as in anointing the sick or dying; b. the shedding of a divine or spiritual influence upon a person; c. the influence shed; d. extreme unction; the manifestation of spiritual or religious inspiration.

A most sweet savor in the sight of the Lord, because it is his oblation.

And it shall fall to thy share.

And shall boil the flesh thereof in the holy place, and Aaron and his sons shall eat it.

That it may be an atoning sacrifice

Atoning—to make amends or reparation, as for an offense or a crime, or for an offender (usually followed by for): to atone for one’s sins; to make up, as for errors or deficiencies (usually followed by for): to atone for one’s failings; Obsolete. to become reconciled; agree.

A stranger shall not eat of them, because they are holy.

Every one that shall touch it shall be holy.

And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will be their God, and they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who have brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might abide among them, I the Lord their God

Exodus Chapter 30: altar of incense; Offering for souls; The brazen laver; The holy oil of unction; Composition of incense.

… before the ark of testimony before the propitiatory wherewith the testimony is covered, where I will speak to thee.

You shall not offer upon it incense of another composition nor oblation, and victim, neither shall you offer libations.

Neither shall you offer libations.

Every one of them shall give a price for their souls to the Lord. He that is counted in the number from twenty years and upwards, shall give the price. The rich man shall not add a half a sicle, and the poor man shall diminish nothing.

Exodus Chapter 31: Workers called to make the tabernacle; Law of the Sabbath repeated; The stone tables of testimony.

I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding, and knowledge in all manner of work.

I have put wisdom in the heart of every skillful man, that they may make all the things which I have commanded.

See that thou keep my Sabbath: because it is a sign between me and you in your generations: that you may know that I am the Lord, who sanctify you.

Six days shall you do work: in the seventh day is the Sabbath, the rest holy to the Lord.

It is an everlasting covenant between me and the children of Israel, and a perpetual sign.

And the Lord, when he had ended these words in mount Sinai, gave to Moses two stone tables of testimony, written with the finger of God.

Exodus Chapter 32: Aaron makes a molten calf; God sees the idolatry of the people; Moses intercedes with God; Moses returns from the mount; Moses breaks the tables and destroys the idol; Many idolaters are slain; Moses prays for the people; The lord tells Moses to lead the people into their new land.

We knew not what has befallen him.

And made of them a molten calf.

Get thee down, thy people hath sinned.

And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against the people.

Written on both sides

But I hear the voice of singers

He saw the calf

He threw the tables out of his hand, and broke them at the foot of the mount.

And he said to Aaron, that thou shouldst bring upon them a most heinous sin?

Let not my lord be offended: for thou knowest this people, that they are prone to evil.

And when Moses saw that the people were naked.

If any man be on the Lord’s side let him join with me.

And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

And there were slain that day about three and twenty thousand men (320,000).

If by any means I may be able to entreat him for your crime

Strike me out of the book which thou hast written.

He that hath sinned against me, him will I strike out of my book.

The Lord therefore struck the people for the guilt on occasion of the calf which Aaron had made.