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Paul Wants to Be Like Moses

Filed in:

One Untimely Born (Paul)

As I read along in Numbers, I keep seeing things that Paul has latched on to.

Par example…

Paul says (1 Cor 14.5-9, 24):

“Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

⁶Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? ⁷If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? ⁸And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? ⁹So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said?…24 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?”

The punch line to this whole thing is at the bottom, but let’s focus on the bugle thing first.  Look at Numbers 10.1-3, 9:

¹The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Make two silver trumpets. Of hammered work you shall make them, and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for breaking camp. ³And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting. …⁹And when you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.“

The bugle gets two things to happen which Paul uses in 1 Cor 14:

1. Gets the congregation to assemble
2. Gets the congregation to be ready for battle by breaking camp while making a memorial directed at God.

Having established the passage connection, notice another huge one, which we see when God gives “the Spirit which is on Moses” out to the 70 elders, and two have not shown up at the elder assembly.  They were caused to prophecy even in the camp, and Joshua wants to help by saying, “My lord Moses, stop them!”  What is Moses’ reply?

²⁹But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (Num 10.29)

Remember that?

Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. (1 Cor 14.5).

Paul’s heart is Moses’ ministry desire too.

Paul Takes Advice from the Wilderness

Filed in:

One Untimely Born (Paul)

Jethro sees that Moses has too much work for one person, and he suggests a division of labor  (Exodus 18).  God hears Moses’ complaint that the people are too burdensome and gives Moses similar advice to arrive at 70 elders.  This eases what Moses calls “nursing the people.”  And Paul says the apostles have done just this very thing excellently: “We,” he says, “took care of you” like “a nursing mother to her own children.”

Paul is not alone; and Paul is properly burdened – not so much that he despairs of life, and not so little that he doesn’t take pains for the people.

The passages to compare are below:

The Night Shift by Leitharts

Fantastic Sermon on the Sabbath

Filed in:
The Son of Man (Jesus)

I know, I know… that’s not a great sounding sermon….the Sabbath!?

Tim Gallant, an Elder at Christ Covenant Church in Grand Prairie, Alberta preached this message:

February 15, 2009 “Lord of the Sabbath” (Mark 2.23-28; Tim Gallant. 5.44 MB.)

Tim makes several very important points in this sermon which are not usually attended to when people deal with this passage:

Father Abraham +

Filed in:

Deeper Magic from Before the Dawn of Time (Sacraments)

I am wondering about what appear to me to be priestly qualities to Abraham.  I haven’t read anyone saying this, so I am looking for corroboration.

1. Conduit of blessing: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12.3)
2. Makes altars:
   1. “Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, ”To your offspring I will give this land.  So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” (Genesis 12.7)
   2. From there he moved to the hill country on the east ofBethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.” (Genesis 12.8)
   3. 13.4; 13.18
3. Serves meat to Yhwh at his tabernacle in a Sabbath setting:
   1. “⁴Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, ⁵while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on— since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”" (vv.4-5 from Genesis 18.1-8 – note Resting and Refreshing was what God did on the Sabbath, according to Ex 31.17)
4. Intercedes before Yhwh for Sodom in front of his tabernacle (Gen 18.22-33).
5. Offers Burnt Offerings, and a pretty SIGNIFICANT one at that (Genesis 22).

My suspicion is that Adam and Noah deserve priest studies too.

Thoughts?

Baptism as a Purity Ring

Filed in:

To the Pure All Things are Pure (Fidelity)

I like to repost my comments here that I posted on other blogs.   Here’s a recent comment I put up on Doug Wilson’s Blog and Mablog.  [Of course, I am just an average Joe commenter; this does not imply approval by said blog] [Click to see the original post upon which I am commenting]

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In a recent conversation another Christian mentioned to me the idea of purity rings, and that some were very expensive ($399). I replied that we all as Christians had been given a free and more valuable purity ring – our baptism. It is a symbol of covenant.

We are covenanted with God and the external wedding ring is baptism (internally it’s the Spirit – the arabon).

Our marriages as humans, picture our marriage with God, the marriage we pledged in our baptisms to uphold. We must uphold our human marriages, because in our baptism we said we would be faithful to God. We must display what we have – faithful life in community.

Anyway, I am pleased to see baptism as a grounds for calling ALL Christians to holiness. Paul, of course does the exact same thing in Romans 6.

I mean, since we must be faithful to God, we must display the same kind of faithfulness in Marriage, and therefore, baptism requires faithfulness in BOTH relationships.