The Tabernacle - God's Worshipping People

On our way through a Bible Overview we take a look at God's Worshipping People. Seems to me the best way to understand the Tabernacle is to build a replica and see how each part clearly points to Jesus. The short version is in Hebrews 9:1-15 but the original blueprints were given to Moses back on Mt Sinai and found in Exodus 25-30.

We start outside the Courtyard reminding ourselves that of the 12 Tribes of Israel only 1 actually got this close to their God! Only the priests from the line of Levi were permitted in the enclosure surrounding the Tabernacle. The message is clear... God is with us, but a Holy God is off-limits to his sinful people. Great care and preparation must be taken in approaching the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob for our God is a consuming fire!

But having realised that we are priests we enter, only to be confronted by blood and fire! The first thing priests would see would be the fire and smoke of the The Altar of Burnt Offering (Exodus 27:1-8; Hebrews 9:11-14; 22 & 10:8-14). "In fact , the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." Heb 9:22 ....... "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so tat we may serve the living God." Heb 9:14

Before we can enter the Tabernacle there is one more thing we must do. The Basin for Washing was to be placed between the altar and the Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle). "Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die." Ex 30:19-20. The message is clear... we are unclean, defiled and unfit to come into the presence of our Holy God. But in Christ "...let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." Heb 1:22
Having offered the sacrifice of blood for thier and their people's sin, having washed `so that they won't die!' the priests enter the Holy Place. What sort of God will they find who hates sin so much and who demands such care in cleanliness? They step inside and find..... the Light is on and Bread is on the Table. Yahweh longs for fellowship with his people! This is the God who `tents' amongst his people (Exodus 26 & John 1:14)


The Lamp lights the darkness (Ex 25:31-40 & John 1:14). This friend longs to welcome guests and break bread with them. Actually the whole sacrificial system was God's invitation to a BYO BBQ! So the lights are on the food is laid out (Ex 25:23-30)! But the True Bread from heaven has come down to feed the hungry (John 6:35) and to open the way to unhindered fellowship with the One True Living God.

Just before the curtain into the Most Holy Place is the Altar of Incense where the High Priest burns fragrant incense evry morning (Exodus 30:1-10). Our Great High Priest lives to intercede for his people (Hebrews 7:25).

Finally the time comes to enter the Most Holy Place. And there before us is the Ark, the great gold promise box containing God's covenant with his people and some reminders of his provision and care..... a jar of manna and Aaron's staff that budded (Exodus 25:10-22). God present amongst his people, enthroned between the cherubim (two angels made of hammered gold in one piece with the cover of the Ark).

All pointing to the fulfilment of every promise of God. Our Great High Priest, who offers the Perfect Sacrifice throws open the way to our Holy God through his death for our sin and his resurrection and ascension to the very presence of the Almighty. "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus...let us draw near to God... let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:19-23).

God's worshipping people are now found with their lives centred on knowing, loving and serving their Priest, King & God..... Jesus!

Picnic

Friday was picnic day! We decided to have our picnic midweek to avoid the crowds on the weekends. So we took Friday off and had the school on Saturday. Getting 15 people anywhere is a nightmare. The boys are sent ahead by auto-rickshaw... somehow, like clowns in a circus, 5 of them manage to fit into one taxi. Then the girls pile into the van. Being a respected older uncle I travel in style in the front seat of the van with one of the girls, Vinoda, sitting on my lap...boney bum meets boney quads! We navigate the "adventure" of Indian traffic.... I watch as one bloke drops his motor bike and slides to within a couple of metres of our van.

Tom was the first to make himself comfortable after we arrive at a local, pay per person admission, park. As is common in India why employ one person when you can give several a job, so one man sells us our tickets then supervises another who collects them just inside the gate.
It is a beautiful park. Grass lawns edged with low hedges, meticulously maintained by a team of male and female gardeners, outnumbered by the team of uniformd security guards. This is a `lovers park' where couples are permitted to meet and chat, something frowned upon elsewhere. I'm not sure if the role of the security guards is to make sure nothing gets out of hand, but Anil catches some of the security guys seeking bribes from a couple whose parents would not be happy to know that they are seeing each other! Both Anil and myself are surprised by the number of girls wearing Burkas (eyes only showing) who are meeting their `friends'.

Decorated paths lead to different sections of the garden. A fragrance garden, a flower garden and a water garden are each quite different to the other. It is so refreshing to be out in fresh air and I'm sure the girls in particular must've enjoyed the freedom to wander and play. They seldom go out beyond the fence at the school. Deepa enjoyed the rose garden. Vinoda, on my right in the photo is a very young 20. Her mum came to the Lord from a Hindu background as she sought God's healng from deafness and the rest of the family followed. Her dad works in Bahrain, not unusual in India to have couples live apart for years. Despite her seeming immaturity Vinoda tops the class in every exam. Usha lost her Dad when young, then a sister hanged herself the day before marriage negotiations. Usha carries those wounds, but has a wonderful servant heart and feeds hungrily in class. Mary is sitting next to PJ in the swing. Her husband attacked her with a machete last year and she barely survived. She stuns me! She has no idea what the future holds for her but out of that deep well of sadness and loss somehow infectious joy bubbbles up. Sasi, or Suzy as we call her, is shy and sensitive but growing in confidence. PJ is a pastor's son who has been quite rebellious but is being challenged by God. He has crystalised his big decision this way... `will my life be about me or about God?'

Fun in the park includes the sorts of swings that have been banned in most aussie parks! It is Childrens' Day in India so lots of schools bring their students for at least part of the day. We have a treasure hunt .... think Amazing Race with clues hidden in the gardens... Cricket (no photos because my hands were full :-) ... shuttle cock... and then finish the day with ice creams (of course!), enjoyed over a game of UNO.
Anil is like a mother hen with her chicks around him. They love him and he loves them dearly. He has a soft spot for each and every one of them. He corrects them, challenges them, brings them to fits of laughter, but mostly he shows them the love of God for them.

Deepa's Birthday

During the afternoon on Sunday the buzz increased as everyone put on their best clothes for Deepa's birthday party. Relatives had come from both Deepa and Sudhakar's side of their family. So as is custom, the birthday began with a prayer meeting! A time of praise to God and hearing from His Word. I spoke on The Image of God. From Gen 1:26-27 we praised God that Deepa & Sudhakar mirror God to us in the way they love each other and enjoy each other. They mirror God to us as their love spills out from their marriage and touches each of us, catching us up into their joy. And the child Deepa carries will mirror God as he/she thinks God's thoughts after Him, growing in understanding of how God's world works. And as he/she feels God's feelings of delight in wonderful sunsets, and awesome mountains; but also shares God's feelings of deep sadness at the pain people cause each other. He/she will look for a hero... someone who will show him/her what it looks like to be a true human being. If a boy he may look to Sachin Tendulkar or Brett Lee! A girl might look to a famous scientist like the ones who have recently sent the first Indian rocket into orbit around the moon! But none of these are perfect people. This child's mummy and daddy will point him/her to Jesus the True Image of God and the True Human Being as seen in Hebrews 1&2. The exact representation of God, who put on flesh so that he might provide purification for our sins.
The sermon over... the party begins!

A cake, with candles that relight themselves after being blown out, and which is then force-fed to the older guests!

A can of snow spray over the guests.

Mountains of chicken byriani and sweets wrapped in silver and sprinkled with crushed pistachio nuts.

A gift from the students of a golden pendant with D printed on it... D for Deepa, D for Didasko.

The guest of honour and her husband serve the food and only eat after all the guests are finished.

I love the simplicity, I love the way God is central to every celebration, I love the warmth, and I loved the chocolate cake!

A Day In The Life Pt2

My chai mug! To think that the day is full of teaching is to miss the genius of Didasko. The class time is never undervalued, but life is more than words (Ecclesiastes 12:12) and Christianity is a life to be lived not a philosophy to be understood. It is in the experience of community that the students learn that to minister basically means to serve. It is in living together as broken people in a broken world that we explore forgiveness and grace and wrestle with putting others before ourselves. Mind you I think westerners struggle with this more than our Indian brothers and sisters. Whereas our first thoughts are about `me' their first thoughts are about `us' - family, elders, friends. It struck me that each night as the boys leave they say say `good night brother'. Not good night Peter, as my friends at home would say. The language reinforces the mindset.... this is about individuals in a family not in isolation.

Sudhakar & Deepa are the house parents. They were students in the last school and have since married and are now expecting. Deepa is due in April '09. She has morning sickness and disappears for periods of time simply to rest. This is their room. Separated by a curtain from the area that the girls sleep in. They are a happy couple, eager servants, and fine examples. Sudhaka has been pastoring his father's church but cleared the time to come to help at this school before going on to serve elsewhere.

There is a white board headed `Ministers' which lists the duties in the school each day.... who will clean which room, prepare which meal, wash-up the plates and bowls, scrub the bathrooms. I was rebuked by one of the girls this morning after I washed up my breakfast bowl. Usha, furthest to the left in this picture, made it very clear that washing bowls was her job and by doing it I had stolen her blessing from her!


Today we managed to hook the girls into the cricket game, although I'm not sure all the boys were very enthusiastic about the idea! Most of the girls' shots seemed to end up on the roof, so eventally we positioned a fielder up there permanently! Equality has a way to go in India, except here it is the women still trying to catch up to the men. In the west it seems men are the common subjects of ridicule. Yes, yes, i hear some of you screaming about glass ceilings etc. When will we learn that for one to win the other doesn't have to lose?

The cricket match ended up a tree! The ball was lost... no not one of the girls, one of the boys! And Ramesh ended up a coconut tree. He also has a good sense for any photo-opportunity! In class he has been struggling with whether or not God has a body. While we quickly say God is spirit therefore has no body, for Indians spirits dont necessarily lack form. And doesn't the Bible speak of God's hands and feet?

Anil brings so much to a school. He has a fatherly love for the students that wins their afffection and respect. He has a pastor's heart that breaks over sin. Earlier this week one student was sent home because he was not managing his anger well. Today it seems another has been taking things that don't belong to him, from the school and from Anil's home. I can sense the heartache in Anil over this young bloke, over the school and also over his nation.

Nearly one week since I arrived. I am physically tired but spiritually refreshed. The last couple of days have been a bit of a struggle and today's test reinforced the need for me to work harder at simplifying ideas. The students did well, but might've done better. This is a brilliant opportunity and who knows what one of these young ones might accomplish in Christ!

By the way, a regular chai cup looks like the one Anil is holding, but half the size!

A Day In The Life

I thought a new student had arrived but alas no! Actually the monkeys have been a real pest this year. Imagine gangs of rabid possums on steroids! However it is not the monkeys but the local mullah who usually gets my attention first in the morning. He seems to have an earlier idea of dawn than me! The students are up at 5:30am sweeping, washing floors, bathing, cooking. They are wonderfully ordinary sounds anticipating the new day. The cold shower is a bit of a shock but refreshing... a greater shock is, being so surrounded by dark skin, to catch sight of this very white follow in the bathroom mirror! This time i am cheating and having muesli for breakfast. Mind you, finding a small bowl and a spoon was a challenge on the first morning. The students gather for a time of PRAISE from 8:30am. There are times when I feel like I am a surfer as my heart rides the wave of Indian worship. 9:00am teaching on BIBLE OVERVIEW begins. Giving the students the framework of God's Love Story of unbroken love from a broken heart. Chai Break at 10:30am then we gather at 11:00am (in an ideal world!!!!) to listen to our LIFE STORIES, how has God's story touched down into our stories and how has God caught us up into His story? Each day one of us simply tells their story. 11:30am DOCTRINE (What Christians Believe), based on a13 week series by Mark Driscoll we are covering the key doctrines... Trinity - God Is, Revelation - God Speaks, Creation - God Makes etc. I am finding myself appreciating systematic theology as a helpful guard against error. Heads are full to overflowing and stomachs are empty... time for lunch at 12:30pm. I notice either an omellette or fried egg, missing on other's plates, supplements the bean curry and rice on mine.

1:30pm ACTION SONGS pump the blood to the brain for the next session. 2:00pm DOCTRINE Pt2.... did you really think we would get all that done in the morning? 3:00pm Chai Break. 3:30pm BIBLE INTERPRETATION (What does it say? What does it mean? How then will we live?). Especially in the afternoon sessions we tend to do more group work and student presentations.

It's a solid day. Anil continually reminds the students that it is all about seeking the heart of God and not about filling our minds with information. I love working in this team, with this crew. Just as back at Woonona, there is a strong sense of partnership and complimentary gifts at work.

Oh... did i mention that cricket begins at 4:30pm?

PS... as i finish this a sound wells from the next room. For the second time today the students are literally on their faces before God in prayer, all together crying out to God. An orchestra of praise, adoration and desperation........................................... who is teaching who?

Heaven on Earth....?

I have been to heaven! A safe place where gates and guards with metal detectors keep bad people away. A place where you are invited to the banquetting table of Novotel and where you can dip into the swimming pool of living water and the spa of eternal health (well you could if the pool wasn't empty because of the cracks it has developed in the few months it has been open!!!) The walls inside are covered with windows. You don't need to pinch yourself.... you can see yourself, `here i am in heaven'! Evangelists sit in the lobby with its vaulted ceiling inviting you to sign up. Join us and experience heaven on earth!

Until you walk outside into the sweltering heat, until you drive through the gates into the chaos of Indian traffic, until you return to the real world. No more pretending that life can exist without pain or grief. In the shadows of opulence a cardboard box houses a family.

India pulls at my heart. Part of me recoils... part of me tries to shut down in self-protection... "imagine actually living like that!!!!"... then I find myself looking out over a small crew of my brothers and sisters and my heart melts again. This feels like home. Here too I am surrounded by the indebted, the distressed and the discontent (1 Samuel 22:2). David's crew, Jesus' crew, my crew, Anil's crew. Blessed are the poor, the upset and the unhappy he said. Not those lost in their tiny worlds but those who grieve that they are busted people living in a busted world.

I've been to heaven but i didn't like it much. Nice place to visit but i wouldn't want to live there. Right now i'm enjoying trying to follow Jesus into the real world. And hope that he will save me from false gospels and false heavens till it's time for the real deal.

Midnight Twice

It's a strange feeling to welcome in a new day twice. The plane seemed to be chasing immortality, if only we could keep running from the sun. But eventually empty fuel tanks, exhausted passengers and time zones catch up with you.

Left about 4:00pm Fri... arrived Kuala Lumpur at midnight Oz time, 9:00pm local time. I watched a Jackie Chan movie `Forbidden Kingdom' (forgettable) and the new`Get Smart' movie (better than i expected, lots of chuckles!!!) In KL it took me three trips on the internal airport monorail to find my gate to Hyderabad, which ended up being almost opposite where i arrived! But i got to see the airport and it filled the 90mins before we took off again. Somehow we managed to fly for about 4 hours, arrived in HYD about 5:30am Oz time, midnight Indian time. So on 31st October i landed in two different cities on two different continents, both at midnight.

Rajiv Gaandhi International Aiport is brand new and huge.... wow asia knows how to build airports! It was a funny feeling arriving knowing there was no-one i knew waiting for me. Felt the jitters kick in, grabbed my bag and headed out into a sea of dark faces hoping someone was holding a board with my name on it. And there he was, a lovely Indian bloke who drove me to the hotel. After relief came a recognition of a familiar smell.... beetle-nut juice (chewed by the blokes here... I guess their version of jerky???... then spat onthe ground). Some things change, others stay the same.

Now here i am sitting up in bed in the very flash Hyderabad Airport Novotel, playing with my new toy and waiting for Anil to pick me up at noon. Sooooo, will i hit the gym, take a swim or look for some breakfast?