Go Stand

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.”  Exodus 33:7 

Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the Tent of the Testimony. Numbers 17:7 

Reading through the accounts again of the Israelite’s journey through the wilderness, I saw something I hadn’t noticed before. The tent, or tabernacle, that traveled around in the wilderness with the Israelites was called both the Tent of Meeting and the Tent of the Testimony, or Witness. And I realized something as I remembered that Paul said in 1 Corinthians that we are now that Temple or Tent. 

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16 

And that being so, I realized that we are both – a tent in which to meet with the Lord, and a tent of testimony or witness to who he is. What does that mean?  

We are the Tent of Meeting  

We always have a holy place where we can go to meet with God and commune with him – our hearts – seeking Him, turning toward Him, open to His correction and love. 

Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome. Ephesians 3:12 (NLT) 

Because of Jesus’ atoning death on the cross, we can now come into God’s presence as Moses did. 

The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. Exodus 3:11 

Moses spoke to God there in the Tent as a friend, face to face, but had to leave to attend to the needs of the people. But Joshua never left the Tent. I have always thought, how amazing and precious to never leave the Tent of Meeting! But that’s exactly what we can do because of what Jesus did on the cross. We can dwell continually in God’s Presence.ⁱ 

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4 

We are the Tent of the Testimony  

The Tent was also called the Tent of the Testimony because it contained objects that pointed to God’s plan of redemption and reminded the people of all that God had done for them. These objects were witnesses to God’s love and care. Among them were the Ark which “contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant (Hebrews 9:4).”

These objects stood as witness to God’s Word (the commandments), God’s goodness and care for their very lives (the manna or Bread of Life), and the authority of the High Priest (Aaron’s rod that budded). The High Priest was a type of Jesus who would take the blood of the sacrifice – his own blood – into the heavenly Holy Place. 

For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Hebrews 9:24 

This is what we are witnesses to; this is the testimony of our earthly tent: Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), the Bread given for the life of the world (John 6:51), the Word made flesh (John 1:14), the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). This is what Jesus has done for me; this is who he is to me. 

When I think of myself this way, as a Tent of Meeting and Testimony, a lot of Bible verses click into a new focus, and I see why holiness, and perseverance, and trust in God is so important. May God show you who you are in Him and give you grace to stand. 

… at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 

Go (pursue the journey on which you have entered, follow) 

and stand (stand immovable, stand firm, in the presence of others, in the midst, before judges, steadfast of mind, not hesitating, not wavering, stand ready, stand prepared) 

in the temple (in the temple courts, in the sacred place) 

and speak (utter your voice, emit a sound, speak, talk, tell, use words to declare, preach)  

to the people (population, people groups, tribes, nations) 

all (each, every, any, all, the whole, every one, all things, everything of) 

the words (which have been uttered by the Living Voice, things spoken, the Word) 

of this Life (life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by accession of a more perfect body, and to last forever).  

Acts 5:19-20 

… do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? 1 Corinthians 6:19 

Go and stand in the temple … 

ⁱ For more on the Tent of Meeting see https://www.gotquestions.org/tent-of-meeting.html 

Image, free download from Pxfuel

God Sows

seeds  

on the hard path 

birds come and eat 

like Abraham  

driving vultures off  

the sacrifice 

God sows  

even the hard path 

Unum Necessarium

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 

I have written about this verse before (see https://wrestlingwordblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/28/one-thing/ ), but God has been showing me some different facets of this hidden treasure. 

I always looked at this verse as Jesus pointing out something I was supposed to do or not do. Busyness vs. Contemplation. Works vs. Faith. I saw some kind of judgement on Martha and a holding up of Mary as an example. But is that what Jesus is really saying here? 

Service and missions and doing good works are good things, aren’t they? And we are called to these, aren’t we? Prayer and study and meditation on the word are life-giving and good for the building up of the body. But what is fundamentally needed, a necessity, necessary? What can’t I live without? What gives me life and breath and holds me together? If I was paralyzed and couldn’t communicate, if I was in a coma and couldn’t hear or even think. When I die and all that I have done in this life is left behind. What is the “one thing” that is necessary? In Latin it is called the Unum necessarium, and Douglas Taylor wrote of it this way: 

“It was a saying of former ages, Unum necessarium, ‘One thing is needful’, drawn from the Latin rendering of the Lord Jesus’ words to Martha in Luke 10:42, when she had shown herself ‘careful and troubled about many things’. In contrast with her care and agitation, there was actually only one thing truly necessary, and Mary had seen it and chosen it. But what was it, and what is it? Some say that it is ‘the contemplative life’, as opposed to mere activism; some take it to be salvation, some, repentance, some, regeneration, or new life in Christ. Who is right, or is the answer something else altogether?  
                                                                            … 

But what is the one thing needful? What had Mary chosen to do? Surely it was to listen to Christ’s words in a serious and believing way? Surely the implication is that the one thing needful is to receive and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, as he is revealed in Holy Scripture? Those who profess to be Christians disagree on many things. Some are important. Some are not. But one thing is absolutely indispensable, and surely all sincere and genuine Christians can agree on this: Christ himself, as he is revealed in the Scriptures, is the truly indispensable One. We need him absolutely and unconditionally. We hang on him; we depend on him. We are lost without him. He is the Unum Necessarium, the ‘one thing needful’, the Rock of our salvation. If we have him, we have everything. If we do not, we have nothing. Praised be his holy Name forever that he has had mercy on us!^“i   

So, again, God is revealing: it’s not me. I’m not the Wonderful One. It’s not what I do or say or think or write or even how fervently I believe. It is Jesus Christ my Lord. It is Him. It all – everything – always comes back to Him. In my heart, Christ in me, the hope of glory. It is Him, what he has already done on the Cross and which cannot be outdone or added to. Christ Himself. Could that be what Jesus was saying to Martha – and to Mary? Only one thing is needed and that is Me, and Mary has figured it out? It’s Jesus, the One who will be with us and for us and in us to the end and will dance over us with joyful singing on into eternity. 

You know, I always heard Jesus saying, “Martha, Martha,” shaking his head, as a gentle, but disappointed rebuke. However, recently I have learned that in the culture of Bible times, repeating the name was an expression of intimacy and affection. (See Bible.org https://bible.org/illustration/repeating-names) Think of “Abraham, Abraham” (Genesis 22:11), “Moses, Moses” (Exodus 3:4), “Simon, Simon” (Luke 22:31), “Saul, Saul” (Acts 9:4), and many more. 

 Maybe Jesus was not so much rebuking Martha for stressing out in doing her good service, but lovingly pointing her to the Way to do it. To dwell in him, find rest in him, to let him be strong in her and let his love do the loving through her. Pointing her, and me, and all of us, to the Unum Necessarium. 

Lord, I come, I confess 
Bowing here I find my rest 
Without You I fall apart 
You’re the One that guides my heart 

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You 
Every hour I need You 
My one defense, my righteousness 
Oh God, how I need You 

(Songwriters: Christy Nockels / Daniel Carson / Jesse Reeves / Kristian Stanfill / Matt Maher) 

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. Psalm 27:4  

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 

ⁱ Posted 13th June 2011 by Douglas Taylor http://worksworthdeclaring.blogspot.com/2011/06/unum-necessarium.html 

Photo by Jack Bair

Roadkill

Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.” “Where, LORD?” they asked. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” Luke 17:35-37

In Luke chapter 17, verses 20-37, Jesus talks about his second coming. I don’t think the Pharisees or his disciples, who are listening, comprehend that yet. They still think he is going to come with his kingdom then and there and release them from Roman oppression.

I’ve always wondered about this part of Luke, especially Jesus’ enigmatic statement at the end:

“Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” Luke 17:37

The Pharisees ask him “when?” When will the Kingdom of God come? The disciples ask him, “where?” Where is all this going to happen? Jesus doesn’t answer them as they want, because they are focused on the physical world, on time here on earth and things they can see and touch. But Jesus says, “The Kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,” but rather, “the kingdom of God is within you.” The Kingdom is outside of place and time.

The “when” will happen when your heart is right with God. The “where” will be there in your heart. He warns them that if they keep looking to find the kingdom – relief from the Romans, freedom, prosperity – here on earth they will be fooled by false Christs. It’s not going to happen like you think it should or how you would like. “But first he [the Son of Man] must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation” (Luke 17:25).

He tells (Luke 17:26-28) of how in Noah’s day and in Sodom’s day the people were focused on the kingdom of the earth – eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building – right up until the end, and were caught unawares. I think maybe that is the “dead body” Jesus is talking about – the kingdom of this earth. And the people who feed on that death – whose “life” comes from those things only – are the vultures. In contrast Jesus said that he was the Life.

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. John 6:53

Finding your life in the things of this world is like feeding on roadkill at the side of the path to true Life. The ones who are looking down, focused on feasting on the roadkill will be left to it. The ones who are looking up, focused on Him, his Life, his coming, will be taken. But the “where” and the “when” really don’t matter to them because Jesus and his Kingdom are already there in their hearts. Let’s allow him to pry our love and focus off this earth. Let’s look up.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:2-4

When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Luke 21:28

 

 

Image by Larry Lamsa, Road Kill – Dining on Deer https://flic.kr/p/exeqos