Temple Themes

Sometimes when the Israelites fought an enemy, they would take the Ark of the Covenant into battle. After the Philistines killed 4,000 Israelite soldiers, the elders of Israel said, “Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto

Previous posts have dealt with gestures of approach as we progress through the temple in a symbolic journey to enter God’s presence. These were used in ancient times to discern a friend from a foe, and thus, certain gestures could be seen from far away. The main steps of covenant making were followed anciently in

In the story of Ruth, we have some interesting temple imagery relating to covenants. Boaz seems to take an interest in Ruth as she gleans the barley fields. He commands his servants to let her glean in the sheaves and to let some of the barley fall to the ground so she can easily gather

There are several examples and symbols of temple theology in the Book of Judges. I want to write about two occurrences of this.   First, we have the story of Gideon. His name literally means “hewer.” In the Old Testament, there are many references to trees. My last post explains how sacred trees can be

I have quoted from Deuteronomy in recent posts. The Book of Deuteronomy has many great teachings. We know of their validity since some of them were quoted by Jesus, such as the Shema, which was an ancient prayer recited twice daily and written on parchments fastened on the forehead or left arm. These were called

Today’s post will be from Numbers chapter 7 and various chapters from Joshua. It will be centered on covenant making, then I will circle back to Deuteronomy for the next post.   At the dedication of the Tabernacle, each tribe of Israel brought offerings of lambs, rams, bullocks, and goats for the various sacrifices. Each

There were three required annual feasts in ancient Israel when the people gathered to the “place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in” (Deuteronomy 16:6). That sacred place where His name is, and was, is the tabernacle or temple. The three feasts were Feast of Unleavened Bread, beginning the day

I’m still stuck in Leviticus. This post, however, deals with the most holy day of the year on the Jewish calendar—Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement. The fall feasts were of the highest significance of the year, occurring in the seventh month of Tishri. I will deal with two other feasts, Feast of Trumpets (Rosh

The ritual for cleansing lepers was highly symbolic. The leper was brought to the priest. The entire book of Leviticus was the handbook for priests, similar to the bishop’s handbook today. Leviticus 14 reveals how the roles of modern-day bishops and ancient priests were similar. This chapter describes the entire ritual for cleansing lepers.  

There was a specific order for the consecration of priests, and particularly the high priest. I should emphasize that the high priest was of the Aaronic order of the priesthood and not the office of High Priest in the Church today.   The ordinance consisted of washing, anointing, and clothing. Leviticus 8:6 states, “And Moses