Law as a schoolmaster

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3 v 24

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The law of God

The Law of God

Abstract Moses was given the Law from God because the congregation of Israel had not the faith of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that God would provide from their seed a Redeemer from the grave. The law was a teacher to bring them to understand the purpose of God focused in His son, Jesus Christ. That law was fulfilled in Jesus life and death and therefore had no more civil use, but the teaching remains the same. It has been recorded for every generation since to understand the beauty of God manifest in Jesus Christ and how he overcame sin.

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The law of God

The instructor of the promise of resurrection from the grave by forgiveness of sins

For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. (Romans 2 v 13-15)

1) The Law of God ~ fulfilled in Jesus Christ The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the fulfilment and conclusion of every aspect of the written Law of God, the open manifestation of the will of God in a mortal man, the will that has been unchanged from creation to this day and that will never alter. Concerning the law it was written of Jesus, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (Psalms 40 v 7-8). Of Jesus God declared, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him (Matthew 17 v 5). Jesus said to his disciples, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil (Matthew 5 v 17). Finally Paul wrote of Jesus, For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth (Romans 10 v 4). Jesus was born into the world to fulfil the law by living a life of obedience without fault in order to reflect the character of God in a mortal man as he testified at his trial To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth (John 18 v 37). It was the popular opinion of the Jews that Jesus strayed from their interpretation of the law, but Jesus taught that popular practice of the law had become entangled with additional traditions and extra commandments added since the inception of the law some 1500 years before. Accordingly he upbraided the scribes and Pharisees who kept the traditions of the Talmud (the Writings) rather than the Torah (the Law), Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15 v 6-9).

The law of God After the birth of Christianity following the resurrection of Jesus the hope of the law was given to the Gentiles who became no different to the Jews, in that they also embraced the principles of the Law of God seen in Christ and promptly began adding doctrines of pagan origin. In the 1st century after Christ the New Testament was widely embraced in the pure form delivered to the Apostles, but within that period corruption began and successive generations added more and more doctrines, beliefs, superstitions and covert pagan practices (II Thessalonians 2, II Peter 2), to such an extent that many Christian doctrines today bear no relation to what Christ lived and died to do, as Jesus prophesied, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them (Luke 21 v 8). . This book is written to examine the beauty of the details of the Law given to Moses and how the minutia of that law prefigured every facet of the life of Christ. Every detail of the law describes the innermost thoughts of the mind of God and how He wants His created children to be. It will attempt to show how that collectively every detail of the law was fulfilled by Jesus alone, how it prefigured his whole life and death and how every jot and tittle was fulfilled by Jesus, as he reassured his disciples in the sermon on the mount, For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5 v 18). (A jot and tittle is the equivalent to dotting the is and crossing the ts in English) 2) The Law The law of God is contained in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, five books that form the Pentateuch along with Genesis. The law is one composite edict such that failure to keep one part results in failure to keep the whole (James 2 v 10) but is divided into integrated sections covering the entire structure of personal, ecclesiastical and civil government. It is not just a set of rules, statutes, edicts and judgments, it is an allegorical encyclopaedia of instruction that leads those who put themselves under its influence to an understanding and keeping of the will of God. That will of God is that by one man (Jesus Christ who would keep the whole law and violently die as a result) God would give eternal life to mortal men and women after resurrection from the grave. The law is provided to lead a willing subject to that end, through a full understanding of Christ in order for them to follow his example (it is not just a rigid code of orderliness) as Paul wrote, Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3 v 24) where schoolmaster in the original is a pedagogue - a child servant who leads a pupil to the instruction of a Master - as was repeatedly referred to in the Proverbs of Solomon, My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light (Proverbs 6 v 20-23). In fulfillment of the law, Jesus took upon him a innocent nature of open-faced trust in God, in order to be led by a similarly uncomplicated but strictly loyal pedagogue (Psalm 131) to a full understanding of the will of God, so that he could accomplish the essence of the law to give God his Father the pleasure due unto Him, as Jesus said,

The law of God I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. (Luke 10 v 21). The law is large and very detailed covering all aspects of the life of a nation and its individual members but it is summarised in its simplicity by Paul, For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Galatians 5 v 14) and, Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13 v 10). This love (agape) is the love found only in God (I John 4 v 8 & 16), a love that is stronger than death (Song of Solomon 8 v 6-7), the love by which God loved Jesus (Matthew 3 v 17, & 17 v 5) and by which He will raise His servants from the grave and give them eternal life because of the love Jesus had for God. It is the love from God that can only be reciprocated by an individual by keeping the spirit and essence of the law of God in Christ. It is not in any man or woman by nature (that natural love in mankind is phileo. (see Testament of Truth, Baptism, chapter 36, Agape and phileo). Jesus gained the love (agape) from God by reading the law (Psalm 1 v 2, Psalm 40 v 7-8, et al) and in keeping the law he displayed that love, firstly to God by obedience unto premature death and secondly, to his friends for whom he died (John 15 v 13). His knowledge and understanding of the law was perfect (Luke 2 v 46-47, Matthew 22 v 33) but he did not vaunt this as educated men often do (Scribes, Pharisees, vicars and priests for example), he summarised his knowledge simply in two commandments, And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these (Mark 12 v 30-33). He became the living manifestation of the law in all its details in that he fulfilled both the letter of the law (its literal commands) and the spirit of the law (what it was leading to) as described in the Psalms The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether (Psalms 19 v 7-9). So complete was his living manifestation of the law that he became the law - the manifestation of the will of God in a mortal body, explained by Paul, And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh (I Timothy 3 v 16), and by this fulfilled the memorial of the name of God given Moses at the burning bush I AM, (Exodus 3 v 14) a memorial that literally means He who was (God eternal), He who is (God eternal) and He who will be (God eternal, manifest in a mortal man by the law that was to be given to Moses in Mount Sinai.), of which mystery Jesus declared, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am (John 8 v 58). The Jews knew what he meant for they were going to stone him for blasphemy. Therefore the law, although not valid in the letter since Christ, in its spirit still leads a willing student to God through Christ, as every detail teaches some aspect of the purpose of God in him.

The law of God

To aid an understanding of the law it is helpful to divide the law into its sections and examine each in order to bring the common teaching together as seen in the life and work of Jesus Christ. . There are 5 distinct sections to the law, a) the law of the Tabernacle construction, b) the law of the offerings, c) the law of the priestly ministrations (Ecclesiastical law), d) the law of the feasts (calendar law) and e) the law of civil behaviour. These five form one composite allegorical pattern, a literal and symbolic description of the life, work, death and resurrection of (the then) promised Son of God, Jesus Christ by whom redemption from an eternal grave would be made possible. 3) The background The law was given to Moses in the 15th century BC (1472 BC) to pass on to the children of Israel after they had been delivered from bondage in Egypt. They had camped at the foot of mount Sinai in the wilderness of Paran and Moses was commanded to ascend the mount on which God descended in order to receive not only the two table of stone containing the ten commandment, but to be shown all the details of the tabernacle where God would meet with them and be their God, as Moses was told, According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. (Exodus 25 v 9). 40 years prior to this, Moses had been a lone shepherd in the area and was shown his future work in a revelation of Divine power in the burning bush (Exodus 3 v 1-6). Here Moses was told that not only was he to lead Israel out of Egypt, but how that God (who is and always has existed) would be manifest in the future through one man exemplified in the law that God would give them when Moses would return to that mount with Israel, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain (Exodus 3 v 12). To serve to God from the heart is the fundamental requirement of the law (Proverbs 23 v 26) and is far more than keeping to the Masters rules as a servant is required, it is to understand the meaning of the rules and allow that meaning to be the fuel that motivates the service, it was the service that the forefathers of Israel gave without the need of a literal law. Until that time there had been no written law of God requiring obedience with penalties for breaking it. However, the law (i.e. the will and mind of God) was known and kept by a few in faith as it is recorded, Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws (Genesis 26 v 5). This knowledge was passed on from generation to generation, but there was no composite written code of law, but nevertheless this inherited knowledge of the will of God did bring responsibility to keep it and a guilt of sin when it was broken, which weakness affected all the forefathers who all believed that the one who would come would be a sacrifice for their sins in order for them to be forgiven and receive everlasting life. For example, Abel recognised the need for atonement of his sins when he slew a firstborn member of his flock in sacrifice to God thus expressing his faith that by the shed blood of one man (the firstborn of many) out of the flock of his race God would accept him by forgiveness and eventual resurrection to eternal life. Likewise Noah offered animals specified by God as thanks for deliverance from what was a foreshadowing of the renewing of the earth when wickedness is finally

The law of God destroyed and the new life he had become. Abraham was prepared to slay his only son for the same reasons believing that God would raise him to life again and was given a ram to offer as a figure of that one who should come. After their deliverance from Egypt 430 years after the death of Abraham, Moses led Israel to mount Sinai and there received the written law of God, an inscribed record of the mind, heart and character of God, an indelible code of how He will have men to serve Him, i.e. the will of God. The faith of Moses and his forefathers was that there would be a man (as then future) who would serve God perfectly by manifesting the mind, heart and character of God in a mortal body through the keeping of the will of God without fault. The written law put the faith of those men into an inscribed code of conduct and civil administration because collectively Israel did not share their faith. Because of lack of faith, the written law was to lead them to an understanding that only by the blood of this one man and faith in him could they serve God acceptably and share the hope of resurrection from the grave that was the hope of their forefathers. 4) Why it was given God has always required that men and women have faith in Him and serve Him in love for all that He does for them every day and in reverence for His awesome power and tender mercy, rather than by following to a strict code of written laws. Because God cannot be seen, faith that there is a living God whose is omniscient and omnipresent is required. Faith comes by belief through hearing and reading the word of God and shows itself in actions. Faith that there is one God and that by Him all creatures live through His mercy, grace, patience, goodness and truth is a personal motivating virtue that becomes evident by manner of life. Faith convicts its holders to quietly demonstrate that God has promised a saviour to redeem those who do His will from the sentence of an eternal grave, and regulates the ambitions and direction of their life. Faith is the demonstration of belief in God and His promises through a manner of life and when faith is present, the spirit of the law of God is automatically followed as a reflection of the perfect obedience that the promised saviour would fulfil. This was the faith of Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and others, including Moses up to that time. They all knew the will of God by hearing their forefathers words and kept those words in love and reverence for Him in anticipation of the promised redeemer, therefore they did not need a written code of rigid instructions and allegorical rituals. The commandments existed (as God always existed and changes not) but were not enforced as a national civil law. For example, murder was forbidden long before the 6th commandment was written down (Genesis 9 v 6). The law of separation between what God designated clean and unclean animals to teach the need to separate the spiritually clean from the unclean of the enmity existed long before the law given to Israel (Genesis 7 v 2). The first commandment, the law to love God was the law that Adam and Eve broke when they simultaneously broke the law of abstinence from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3 v 8). There are therefore two aspects to keeping the law of God (as described by Paul in the New Testament), there is keeping the letter of the law (by rote) and keeping the spirit of the law (by faith). The written law was provided as an indelible record of the then future unblemished demonstration of the will of God in the life and death of the

The law of God promised saviour a detailed illustration of the life he would lead and what he would accomplish in death. Rote is keeping within a rigid code of legal boundaries without understanding why, and subsequent judging of a fellows transgression without compassion or mercy in the realisation that all are guilty of sin. Faith forms a moral code founded on an understanding of the rigid regulations of the law and what they teach, that directs obedience to God via the conscience sensitised by the essence of the law (the life of Christ) indelibly imprinted in the mind, and is followed in love and reverence of God. Salvation is by faith not by the rote of law, even though many who lived before Christ under the stricture of the law will be saved, who obeyed the letter as far as they were able but were directed by conscience through reverence, mercy and compassion to keep the spirit of the law. God saw that a nation as large as Israel could not collectively keep His will by faith alone because all individual had not the faith of their forefathers. The law was not provided to be by rote, but to teach them, to lead them and guide them to an understanding of what God required, as their fathers had understood. So Paul later wrote, Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (Galatians 3 v 24-25). 5) How it was given and received The children of Israel camped at the foot of mount Sinai where 40 years earlier Moses received the promise at the burning bush. The law that God was about to give them was to be given in a specific way in order for them to be impressed by the will of God. God decreed that one man alone would leave his fellows and ascend up the mount into the presence of God in order to receive that law, to teach them that by a singular saviour that God would appoint He would manifest Himself unto them through him and provide a way of salvation in order to impress upon them their mortality because of sin. God chose Moses not because he was born any different, but because he outstood them in the faith and meekness of his forefathers, and Gods will was that of all the human race, one man alone would be allowed to approach to God as a mediator between Him and the rest of mankind. The nation were to be impressed that because of their sinfulness due to lack of faith they could never approach to God, but that by the faith and perfect obedience of one man God would allow him to draw near to him on their behalf. In this Moses prefigured that man, Jesus Christ, then future. Moses alone went up to the top of mount Sinai while Israel feared for their lives because of the fury of the physical power of God in the mount (Exodus 20 v 18-21). The need for a mediator between God and man that was understood by the forefathers was reaffirmed in a very physical way, and the principle that that mediator was of the race of mortal man having been subject to temptation as any other man was established. By that man alone, the will of God through His law, can be understood. However, while Moses alone ascended to the presence of God to receive the law, it was given not by an angry God but was given in love, mercy and compassion for their weak nature and God allowed that a few others would ascend from the camp but

The law of God remain below Moses. Thus seventy elders as a representation of the children of Israel were permitted to ascend part way up the mount (Exodus 24 v 915). By what happened to them God revealed His will, as He had to Israels forefathers, and in that will the promises He purposed to fulfil, the promise that one man would ascend far above all other to the presence of God, there would be others who by his work would be able to enjoy the benefits that his ascension brought. Thus it is recorded, And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink (Exodus 24 v 10-11). God confirmed His promises to Abraham by allowing those elders to meet His angels, immortal messengers of God (the name God used here is elohim, the plural of EL, God singular). The angels stood on a pavement of sapphire stone, as the clearness of the body of heaven representing their immortal state. Sapphire is blue by reflection of the blue part of the spectrum of visible light. The daytime sky is likewise blue as the other colours of the visible spectrum of light are deflected away by the outer atmosphere leaving blue rays predominant to illuminate the sky, thus the clearness of the body of heaven was blue as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. God used blue light to introduce His immortal messengers to mortal men thus revealing the hope of the promise that they also will be made as the angels if they keep the law and understand what is taught therein (Mark 22 v 25). God has therefore chosen blue to represent the covenant of His promise of eternal life to mortal man, as will be later seen in details of the Tabernacle and civil law and as was promised to Daniel, the righteous will become the living manifestation of that covenant as it is promised, And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever (Daniel 12 v 3). This covenant, that mortal man will be made immortal, is solely because of the work of the one man, who after the figure of Moses, ascended in faith and pureness of character far above others (Psalm 24 v 3-5). (See also The Covenant, Chapter 9, Blue sky and clouds) God laid not his hand on them. Despite the anger of God when God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden because of sin, teaching that mankind cannot attain to the immortal state without permission from God and contact with the immortal state could bring death, God reaffirmed His mercy that others will be allowed into the company of the immortal state because of that one man who had ascended above them, so God laid not his hand on them. In the mercy of God they survived and did eat and drink. What they ate and drank is not recorded, but previously when Abraham met the angel Melchisadek (Genesis 14 v 18; Hebrews 7 v 1-3), Melchisadek brought forth bread and wine for them both. Bread and wine form a central part in the law as will be shown, and are the only two items ordained in the law that are physically carried forward from Abraham through the law and up to this day (Matthew 26 v 26-29). When Moses was in the mount he received ten commandments graven by God in two tablets of stone created by God, not hewn by man, And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a

The law of God law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. (Exodus 24 v 12, Exodus 31 v 18). The stone tablets were entirely the work of God. As Moses was in the mount being shown the pattern of the Tabernacle, Israel denied God who had delivered them from Egypt and made an Egyptian god of a golden calf to worship. As Moses descended to the camp and saw their idol he break the two tablets of stone, not impetuosity but as confirmation that Israel had already broken what was written on them. God then told Moses to hew two pieces of stone and to bring them up the mount to God, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. (Exodus 34 v 1). Moses obeyed and the ten commandments were rewritten by God in the stones to become the foundation of all the law and were placed in the inner most sanctuary of the Tabernacle which will later be shown is the figure of the eternal state. These simple events teach the overall purpose and work of God. God created Adam and Eve by His own hand and engraved in their hearts His laws, which they broke. In His mercy and faithfulness, God then raised up a man, not individually created as Adam was but hewn from the race of mankind, and then wrote in his heart all His law which he kept perfectly, as a result of which he attained to the presence of God to live for ever. By these simple events the law was given to Israel and became their national law until its fulfilment in the death of Jesus Christ, after which the letter of the law died but the spirit of the law lived on, as it had before the letter of the tablets were given. 6) The law of the Tabernacle construction The construction was to be strictly according to the pattern shown to Moses in the mount, it was the design and specification of God, And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount (Exodus 25:40). Every detail of materials and craftsmanship was a physical manifestation of the word of God previously spoken in His promises to the forefathers who all died in trust and hope of their fulfilment. It was a material and tangible illustration of His covenant revealed from the beginning, that by the life, death and resurrection of one man, salvation by forgiveness of sins would be given to many - strictly in accordance to the word of God. That covenant - and the promises with it - had never been changed because they were unalterable, according to the faithfulness of God. The word of the covenant of the promises remains the same today, illustrated in the record of the Tabernacle from which help can be gained in understanding what the will of God is today in Jesus Christ. Therefore, no matter how talented, elevated or educated a man may be, he was, and is not, permitted to add to or take away from the pattern by embellishments or simplifications. These were the last words of Jesus given to John concerning the whole message of the word of God which included the details of the tabernacle, For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this

The law of God prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (Revelation 22 v 18-19).

6.1) Reason for its construction and preserved record The forefathers (Abel, Noah, Abraham and others) loved God because of His love for them, and because of that love they saw by faith the future fulfilment of the will of God. They embraced the hope of salvation from the grave and abode by the conditions God had set for inclusion in its promises. What God had said was enough for them, and they believed that in God and His promises they lived and moved and had their being in hope (Acts 17 v 25-28, John 8 v 56, Hebrews 11 v 13, Matthew 13 v 16-17). By unswerving faith fortified by their love for God, God met and dwelt among them by angelic messengers in order to continue to reveal the extent of the promises of His covenant to reassure them in their faith. God loved the children of these forefathers as He loved them and had a desire to dwell among them in order to lead, guide, protect and deliver them ultimately from grave by the son who would come out of their seed according to His promises, therefore He commanded the tabernacle to be built that He may be with them to teach them of His faithful promises that there is a way unto salvation, And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25:8). The tabernacle was a practical illustration of the way of salvation provided as vehicle to lead them to an understanding of how God would make the way unto salvation possible, in order to convince them of His promises and so increase their faith, so that they also could reciprocate the love of God by seeing the will of God in the way that their forefathers. This physical representation and accompanying strict code of conduct was intended to lead their mind to the greater fulfilment of what the tabernacle and its ministrations represented, and in response to their faith God would meet with them in the tabernacle, And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel (Exodus 25:22). Even though the teaching of the tabernacle (and the subsequent temples) was completed in Christ and therefore of no more authority since Christ, the same schoolmaster (pedagogue - the childlike servant of the written law) can lead all who study it to a greater understanding of the holiness of God and our natural uncleanness, in order to understand the perfect manifestation of the law of God (and therefore of God) in a mortal man, and to appreciate the mercy of God to give such help, and our unworthiness to have any hope at all. 6.2) Overall layout

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The law of God

There was a central tabernacle in the form of a tent surrounded by a court with a boundary of white curtains. The tent was rectangular in plan and square in elevation formed by a perimeter of vertical boards on the north, south, and west sides with a curtained entrance on the east. The rectilinear structure was covered with cloths or curtains, the outer one of which was waterproof being made of naturally blue sealskin. The tent was to be pitched with the entrance facing east. Boundry screen

Tent of the Tabernacle

Altar of burnt offering Gate

Laver Court

The court was accessed by an embroidered curtain gate, which hung between pillars on the eastern wall. Within the court moving westward from the gate there was the brazen altar of burnt offering and between that and the tent was a brass laver containing water for washing. The entrance to the tent on the east was by an embroidered curtain supported by five gold-covered pillars.

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The law of God

The tent was divided into two parts separated by a veil embroidered with cherubim hanging on four gold covered pillars. The entrance compartment called the Holy Place contained the altar of incense, the table of the showbread and the seven-branched candlestick. Beyond the veil was Most Holy place containing the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat upon it. The boundary wall of the court was made of white linen curtains supported on pillars of brass with silver fillets and brass sockets and secured in an upright position with stabilising cords and silver pegs.

The camp of the children of Israel surrounded the tabernacle in a three-tribe formation on each of the four cardinal points of the compass. Between them and the tabernacle were the tents of the Levites. The overall view was described by Balaam, How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted (Numbers 24 v 5-7) 6.3) Origin of the materials - a freewill offering Thirty different materials were used in the making of the Tabernacle, from wood to spices and metals to yarn and oil. These included 13 types of precious stone, 3 metals, 1 yarn, 8 spices, 3 dyes and olive oil. The three metals were gold, silver and brass of which the weight of gold was 2430.23 kg (22545lb), silver was 4302.03 kg (33430.3lb) and brass (c70% copper & c30% zinc) was 3681.52 kg (33991.6 lb). In

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The law of God volume the gold was a cube with 501mm (19.7) sides, silver a cube with 742.9mm (29.2) sides and brass with 755.37mm (29.7) sides. Each of these basic materials had a particular significance both in Gods acceptance of them and in the part they played in teaching the purpose of God in the construction of the Tabernacle, of which the details and their individual and collective significance will be discussed as each part is examined. Every piece of material (apart from silver) was to be freely offered by any volunteering member of the congregation according as they were moved to express their appreciation for their deliverance from Egypt and the hope of an entrance into the land promised to them. The origin of these materials (i.e. where the people of congregation got all of them from) is not recorded except that when they were finally driven out of Egypt at the time of the slaying of the firstborn, their Egyptian neighbours thrust upon them many riches, in which way Israel spoiled Egypt (Exodus 11 v 1-3 & 12 v 31-36). Thus Israel were made rich, not by their own devices but because God gave them favour in the eyes of those who despised them. Their wealth was therefore not their own, but they were mere custodians of the spoils of Egypt, it was therefore in order that they should give back to God what God had given them. In this is taught the basic requirement of open-minded humility that is required of all who come to God through Jesus Christ, and which was perfectly exemplified by Jesus as an example for us to follow. He gave to God his whole life, his mind, his heart and his soul (character) and finally his life in death on the cross, counting that as God had given him life, He would give it back if he paid the price God required for deliverance from the Egypt of domination by the enmity to freedom of the Gods Promised Land. Jesus showed (prefigured in the spoiling of Egypt) that all things, animate and inanimate are Gods, He created them, He gives life to use and enjoy them, such that mankind are mere custodians. King David who later prepared for what was to become known as Solomons temple declared what Jesus later demonstrated, Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own (1 Chronicles 29 v 10-19). While these riches were in Egypt they were for the glorification and satisfaction of man, whether in personal indulgences or in idolatrous worship, and are analogous to the riches of the emotions of the heart (love, joy, faith etc) and the intellect of the mind (understanding, obedience, meekness etc). There is no sin in possessing physical and tangible riches (Abraham, Job and David were all wealthy) provided there is full recognition that one is a humble custodian and uses them wherever possible for the honour of God by the betterment of neighbours. This mind can only exist where the intangible riches of the character (love, joy, mercy, grace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance and truth, Galatians 5 v 22-24, Exodus 34 v 6) are given as a freewill offering to God as Jesus did without fault and thus manifested his Father, God in his flesh, by character in his mortal body (I Timothy 3 v 16).

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The law of God

All these materials (analogous to all virtuous emotions of the heart) were to be willingly and freely given to God with one exception; Silver was to be given in the form of a levy, a tax on every male from 20 years old and above and was defined and as a ransom for the soul (Exodus 30 v 11-16). A freewill offering has no selfishness, no greed, no avarice, but displays a trust in God that what He has given He can give again and more. Job had this uncomplicated open mind and thus was a shadow of the perfection seen in Jesus, as a rich man Job lost everything by natural disaster and robbery, but responded by saying, the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1 v 21). The mind of the freewill offering is that as God has freely given, so give freely to God and to others as Jesus showed and taught who said, freely ye have received, freely give (Matthew 10 v 8). Nothing tangible can now be given to God, it is the riches of the heart and mind that now aught to be given to God as the Proverb appeals, My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways (Proverbs 23 v 26). Paul also wrote, Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9 v 7). The Tabernacle was completed its purpose in the death of Jesus Christ who fulfilled all its teachings and became the living Tabernacle in whom God will meet His people and so the original tabernacle now serves as a guide and pedagogue to lead us to a full understanding of Christ and the way of salvation. Jesus is the new tabernacle, the temple to be made up of many living people (now dead and awaiting resurrection) of whose characters the details of the Tabernacle teach, as Paul wrote, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2 v 5) and Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Corinthians 3 v 16), and (1 Corinthians 6 v 19, 2 Corinthians 6 v 16, Ephesians 2 v 20-22). Thus before any building of faith can take place - the basis of the construction and service of the house of God is taught in offerings of a freewill. However, any freewill offering convenient to us is not acceptable to God - or indeed a correct freewill offering - without the levy of recognition that the freely offered offering is not acceptable except by the price of the life of Jesus Christ, which price was the ransom paid for deliverance from death. Silver was the levy placed upon every male from 20 years old and upward, When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORDhalf a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary (Exodus 30 v 12-16, Exodus 38 v 25-28). The word ransom has wide ranging uses as a covering, it means to cover over and seal or make safe as the ark of Noah was pitched within and without to make it watertight and thus a vessel of deliverance from death by the flood. The soul is the character, the person as they grow and that while all have individual physiognomies, each also has a reputation, a character, and it is this that God evaluates. The character of man in the eyes of God (as distinct to his bodily form in the image of God) is sinful and disobedient and He has decreed that for His mercy of resurrection from the dead and the blessing of eternal life to been experienced, a covering for the sins of the soul is required. God decreed that that covering could only be provided by one man who died without committing any sin to mar his character, and that by his death through the shedding of his blood that covering would be provided - the price for redemption from the grave. Jesus Christ provided that

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The law of God covering - the ransom price (1 Corinthians 6 v 17-20, 1 Corinthians 7 v 23) - when he died on the cross when not only was his blood shed but his whole life was finally outpoured in completeness of service to God (John 17). God has chosen that the price of his death (foretold from the beginning) is represented by silver as was confirmed in a practical way (although the perpetrators had no idea what they were confirming) in the betrayal of Jesus by Judas who received thirty pieces of silver for his crime (Matthew 26 v 14-16) as foretold by Jeremiah (Zechariah 11 v 12-13), a price the elders unwittingly called the price of blood (Matthew 27 v 6). What those religious elders and Judas did not understand was why God had chosen silver to represent the price of the shed blood of Jesus - His beloved son, and it was for this reason that the males of the congregation of Israel were levied a half shekel of silver as a ransom (covering) for their souls (sinful characters) to teach them (and all generations following - including this generation) what His purpose was, why and how it was to be fulfilled. Silver is a white metal that takes a deep polish but in every-day use becomes tarnished thus requiring constant care and attention in its storage and handling. The word that God has spoken is white (righteous) but when implanted in our hearts and minds (Psalm 119 v 11, Romans 2 v 13-15) requires regular deep polishing (Psalm 19 v 7-9). Such is the word of God in the heart and mind, the written word is constant and unchangeable but the learned and memorised word needs to be refreshed by reading and re-reading, and the understanding re-polished on a daily basic otherwise the word in the memory becomes tarnished and soon looks nothing like the word of God when reflected in the character. The word of God is described as The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times (Psalms 12 v 6). When that word is handled by man (interpreted) it tarnishes very easily not because the word is faulty (silver will always remain silver whatever use it is put to), but because of mans innate ability to tamper with it, to devalue its teaching, to add to its commandments and to take away the full value that God gave it (Revelation 22 v 18-19, Matthew 15 v 9). If therefore the silver represents the pure word of God how is it the price of redemption, i.e. the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross? The work of Jesus was to fulfil the Word of God in his life, such that he became a living manifestation of the written Word of God the word that spelled out the character of God (Exodus 34 v 6-7) and his purpose (Amos 3 v7) and thus displayed that character (the Word) in a mortal character and body of man. Paul later affirmed this mystery, And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory (1 Timothy 3 v 16). John explained (John 1 v 1-3) that God created the heavens and earth with His Word (represented by refined silver) for the sole purpose of having the earth dominated by His son who was in His image in both body and character i.e. sinless (Genesis 1). Adam the first son of God proved to be a reprobate interpretation of that Word. Reprobate silver is the pure metal with natural and added inclusions of baser elements (in Adam and Eves case the serpents lie). God therefore continued the purpose of His spoken Word in the raising up in due course another son who would not be reprobate

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The law of God but who would drive out all impurities of human nature by obedience to and conforming with His spoken Word. By perfectly keeping and fulfilling every Word of God which sole purpose was to expound the central message of the purpose of God that a son of God would be a redeemer of man unto salvation, Jesus became the Word spoken in the beginning i.e. the son that God created the earth for, he became a living encyclopaedia of interpretation of the Word (the will and mind of God), a practical lexicon of meaning to all the Words of God, to such an extent that John was inspired to write of him as the Word or literally the physical interpretation and manifestation of that Word, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1 v 1-3, Colossians 1 v 13-20). Thus Jesus became the Word by fulfilling the Word, the refined untarnished dross-free silver of the ransom money. Every word of God is pure and righteous as refined silver is white and can never change. Our use of however requires a lot of care and attention because as the Word will remain unchanged our understanding and use of it is subject to the vagaries of human nature (the enmity), and it is that Word in our possession that becomes tarnished with contact, and worse - contaminated with the dross of human opinion and indulgence, so there is always the necessity to polish and re-polish our understanding by reading and re-reading the word and comparing scripture with scripture always to extract the pith of the word as it applies to us and not our neighbour becomes vital, and to allow the fire of the Holy Spirit to purge away the dross of our natural ability to make allowances for the flesh. For any freewill offering we may offer to God (our time, money, efforts, or even our life), is not acceptable to God as was taught in the offerings for the Tabernacle, unless there is an intelligent belief and confession of faith in the need for a ransom (covering of Jesus Christ) for our own sins. The first act of offering is baptism. There then begins a life-time offering of the emotions and desires of our character (soul), our whole life in service to God. 6.4) The Tabernacle the allegory God commanded the Tabernacle to be built in order that He could dwell among His people, And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God (Exodus 29 v 4546). It is the purpose of God to dwell among the work of His hands, the people He created on a global scale (Psalm 24 v 1-4, Revelation 21 v 4-5). As God cannot co-exist with disobedience (sin), mankind is naturally barred from this unity with God. Unity was lost between God and man when God drove out man and woman from the Garden of Eden and placed there the barrier of His angels with flaming swords (Genesis 3 v 2224). Jesus came to restore unity with God (Isaiah 58 v 12) and said at the conclusion of his work, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14 v 6). Paul later confirmed that the way to salvation (and unity with God) was by a new and living way, Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for

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The law of God us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh (Hebrews 10 v 19-20) where the holiest refers the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle (see previous figures) and represents the immortal state as will be explained later. The way that Jesus made (Isaiah 58 v 12), from mortal body (susceptible to every whim of the enmity) to immortality is allegorised in the Tabernacles construction and the way of the blood of the freewill and mandatory offerings at the entrance to the outer court, to the entry of the High Priest once a year into the Most Holy Place through the dividing veil. The reason for the construction of the Tabernacle on the command of God was so that they would see and understand that for God to dwell among His people, His people must undergo a radical change through traversing a way which would be made possible by a son who although susceptible to sin would not break any commandment and make that way possible through his death. The radical change that each and every member of Gods people must make is illustrated in the various material and artefacts that make up the whole Tabernacle and the daily ministrations thereafter. 6.5) Making the parts the labourers God chose Bezaleel of the tribe of Judah to lead a team of willing wise-hearted volunteers to fabricate the parts of the Tabernacle, and appointed Aholiab to assist him (Exodus 31 v 1-5) with Moses as the overseer (Exodus 39 v 43). Bezaleel was of the tribe of Judah pre-figuring the greater son of God - Jesus Christ who would also be born of the tribe of Judah and who would lead the way in setting the form of the spiritual house of God made up of many people by laying its foundation and setting the pattern for all those parts. According to that figure God has given the work of being built-up as a small piece in that spiritual building upon the foundation of Jesus to all who come to Him by Jesus, a house wherein God will dwell for ever such that Paul warned Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble. Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is (1Corinthians 3 v 12-13). Bezaleel had the characteristic qualities that set a skilled craftsman of excellence apart from all others, and God has set him as a pattern of wise-master-craftsman to teach all others who consider the Tabernacle about the spiritual wisdom and skill that would be complete in Jesus, in order to show what are the required qualities that are to be seen in every labourer. Diligence and industry Talented artificers have a natural ability to create tangible artefacts (wood, stone, metal, textile, etc) or intangible art (math, science, service, etc) in whatever field they apply themselves to, but this does not mean that they could not but succeed. Irrespective of natural ability, skill at the highest level only comes with dedication to achieving a goal that is focused upon in the eye of the artificer, and of the artisan never being satisfied with having done enough. Diligence is a quality that every skilled worker possesses and develops, it literally means an urgency to improve on the last effort in order to attain the highest standard of the art sector, and industry is to exert oneself continually, to labour beyond all others in that art. Jesus perfected diligence and industry in the art of service and obedience to God and thus set the pattern of the way unto salvation, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our

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The law of God faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12 v 1-3, Hebrews 6 v 11-12, 2 Peter 1 v 5-11). Patience Part of the essential training of a skilled worker or artist is the need to develop patience. Works of excellence cannot be rushed, there are no corners to be cut or short cuts, so God showed us through the work of Bezaleel that instant salvation does not exist, one cannot be saved in one act of baptism, baptism is the start of a process of developing wisdom in handling the word of God, of learning the art of serving God there are no short cuts, James instructs, Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (James 5 v 7-8). Tenacity In the course of producing works of excellence, skilled artificers overcome many distractions, such as unexpectedly difficult materials and far from ideal working conditions, fatigue, cumbrance of daily necessities, etc, but tenacity to hold fast to a purpose, to hold fast under intense stress without straining, does not distract the eye of the artistic craftsman from the goal set before them. Bezaleel would have experienced many distractions as he worked in a desolate wilderness with no established workshop or supply chain, but in less than 18 months he completed a work of excellence according to the Divine pattern as shown to Moses in the mount. Jesus Christ, the greater Bezaleel, endured distracting stress more than any other man (Matthew 4, Hebrews 2 v 16-18, Hebrews 4 v 14-15) and yet brought forth in his body a character of honour to God preceded or superseded by no other person. Tenacity is to stand firm or hold fast as the Psalmist foretold of Jesus, his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid (Psalm 112 v 5-9). Paul urged all others to follow Jesus example, Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong (1 Corinthians 16 v 13) and Jesus encouraged others to follow him, Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown (Revelation 3 v 11). Attention to detail There is a modern phrase the devil is in the detail, meaning that the most difficult part of every job are the tiny details that set a excellent work above the standard of an good work. So it is in reality - the devil, the enmity, Satan, the world within our heart - naturally prevents the fine details of the word of God to have their intended work. Jesus drove out that devil and slew it every time it tempted him to gloss-over some command of God, thus Jesus responded to the prompts of the enmity like no other man has, it is written and thus slew the devil (Matthew 4 v 1-11). As a figure of Jesus, Bezaleel attended to all the details from the micron fineness of the beaten gold threads of the curtains to the straightness of the shittim wood planks of the tent sides as shown to him by Moses, with the result that his work was approved by Moses (Exodus 39 v 43) and God (Exodus 40 v 34-35). Intra-inspection and humility

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The law of God There is no more critical eye of their own work than the skilled artist, the craftsperson, they will know where every blemish is in their work even though the expert eye of their fellow cannot see it. A skilled artificer is never satisfied at being at the peak of his or her ability, self-critique is part of their training and that which drives them forward to even better execution of their work. It is an inbuilt humility that their best is never good enough. It is a process of intra-inspection and self deprecating humility that while glory may follow the completed work, up to that time examination of every aspect of the work is repeated over and over again, with the mind that they may have fallen short of the standard set be the skilful Master of the art. Such was Bezaleel who worked with self-inspection and attendant humility to reach the standard Moses set him who in turn was instructed of God thus to become as a forerunner and type of Jesus Christ, who after examining every word of God and its intended meaning and purpose and his reaction to them, was able to say to God, I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world (John 17 v 4-6). After this example Paul instructs all others who build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2 Corinthians 13 v 5). Inspiration It is often asked of skilled artisans and talented artists from where they get their inspiration to produce such works of excellence. Their inspiration is their love for the art, their love for the dexterous craft, their love of the materials and the tools they use. The faith of the Bezaleel was in the covenant of God and the promises they held, and his love for these inspired him to apply himself to the task in hand. God works with such faith and gave Bezaleel and his wise-hearted helpers the extraordinary abilities necessary to create parts of the Tabernacle in order for them to manifest their faith in his work (Exodus 31 v 1-6, Exodus 36 v 1-4). Jesus loved God more than any other man or woman and that love inspired him to offer his life in service to God and to develop the skilful talents of his heart to perfect the art of wise service of God and so to lay the foundation of a house in which God would dwell among His people for ever. As a result of his love for God, God gave him a copious measure of the Holy Spirit to further his work (Luke 3 v 22). Jesus set the standard as the Master craftsman so that others could be similarly inspired by smaller measures of the Holy Spirit from God in order to be able to follow him to build upon his foundation (Ephesians 2 v 1922, John 14 v 15-17 & 26, 1 John 4 v 1-3). Love is the virtuous quality that can only be described by the effects that it produces. It is the virtue that drives an inspired skilled artisan beyond all other artisans to set apart their work as unique. Wisdom - perfect skill - is from God who created the heaven and the earth (Psalm 8) by His Holy Spirit. The creation of God is the perfect work of art against which all other works fall or stand. As the ultimate skilled Master, God has inspired others with wisdom through Jesus Christ by a small measure of the Holy Spirit enough to continue His work, not to create a new physical world but a new world of righteousness that will eventually be seen collectively in all the earth on a perfected creation that has been marred by the curse due to the sin of man. His chief worker was His Son Jesus Christ of whom king David was told, And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee,

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The law of God which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men (2 Samuel 7 v 12-14). God loves His creation and particularly loves His son who manifested Him perfectly in his mortal body by the love that he reflected from his Father. That united love is shared among others, that they also may reflect that love (1 John 4) and be inspired to show the wisdom, art and skill of that love in the works of their life (Galatians 5 v 2223). Wisdom and skill in spiritual matters is based on fear (respect) and reverence for God as it is written, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding (Proverbs 9 v 10) for which fear they are blessed with small measures of the Holy Spirit enough to enlighten their eyes as to the progressive changes that are required in their character. Skill wisdom. Skill and wisdom are synonymous. Skill is a word used in modern language and wisdom the word used in the Bible. Both mean dexterous application of knowledge. However, for applied knowledge to become wisdom (or skill), understanding of the knowledge is paramount. Knowledge alone will not make a skilled worker or an artist. Understanding comes with practice, regular use and experience. All knowledge comes from God who created the heaven and earth in His wisdom by the power of His Holy Spirit The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens (Proverbs 3 v 19), and O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches (Psalms 104 v 24), (Revelation 4 v 11, Proverbs 8). When God created man and woman He gave to them the ability to remember and apply knowledge both in replicating the character of God in their body and in creating meaningful artefacts to further their life in service to God. The Psalmist recognised this and asked God for instruction, So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (Psalms 90 v 12). All skill, whether by limb or mind (physical skill or spiritual wisdom) is from God - given by Him in order for man to glorify Him. However, the record of mankind shows that that ability to be skilful (wise) is used for his own service as the wisdom of man, For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe (1 Corinthians 1 v 17-31). God is the source of wisdom and skill. By creation of heaven and earth and all nature therein (from the atom and molecule, man and the animals, to planets and galaxies) the wisdom and skill of God is open for all to see and experience (Romans 1 v 20). Because of mans misuse of the wisdom given him, God is even now creating a new heaven and earth of ultimate beauty wherein will dwell righteousness (Isaiah 65 v 17-25). All skilled craftspeople - wise in their art and craft - use the abilities God has given them. Although God has used the physical skill in man to glorify Him (as with Bezaleel and the wise-hearted, Solomon and his subjects, 2 Chronicles chs 2 -7) God required man to attain to wisdom of the heart and mind by dexterous skill in the application of the understanding of His word in the creation of a new house of

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The law of God righteous people He is building piece by piece, by the Holy Spirit with which He created the heaven and earth. To lead in this work God raised up Jesus to be skilful in manifesting the wisdom of God in a mortal body by overcoming and killing the enmity within himself in order to create the foundation for a living house of many people in whom He would dwell. As a figure of this God used Bezaleel and the wisehearted to manifest His wisdom in building a tabernacle of many members wherein He would dwell among the children of Israel. Even though a child may be born with the innate ability to become skilful in hand and wise of heart, that ability will lay dormant unless training is given. Skill does not develop spontaneously nor does wisdom grow naturally. Jesus was born with the ability to serve God perfectly as every other child, but Jesus had an awareness of the purpose of God from a young age through the teachings of his parents and reading the word of God and applied himself to become dexterously skilful in the application of every word and the purpose for which it was written, i.e. to show the character of God in a mortal body, and thus to begin to build a tabernacle of people on earth in whom God would dwell. At the age of 12 years Jesus said to his parents when they lost him in Jerusalem, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? (Luke 2 v 49). Where the word business means house. Skill is developed by an intimate knowledge of the tools and material used their strengths and weaknesses, and the end use to which they are put. It is perfected by continual repetitive practice with increased understanding at every stage of practice and learning until all potential blemishes and errors are avoided. So it was written of Jesus in the Psalms Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (Psalm 1 v 1-3). A skilled artificer, an artist excelling at their work makes the craft look easy until the same skill is copied and then the realisation of the work-experience, wisdom and skill becomes apparent. As it was with Bezaleel, so it is with Jesus, nobody can replicate his work. The Tabernacle is a work of art of the highest order that sets out in a practical way the wisdom and skill of God that was later fulfilled in a mortal man who paved the way unto salvation by his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. However, Paul wrote that this wisdom of God is foolishness to the wisdom of man, but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1 v 23-24). The Tabernacle and the ministrations in it teach a crucified Christ without sin who by resurrection from the dead entered into the state of immortality and made a way possible for others to follow him by the forgiveness of their sins (Hebrews 10 v 16-2). This is the wisdom of God, it His skill that is fulfilling it, and the finished work will be the most perfect work of art (Revelation 21).

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The law of God 6.6) The parts of the Tabernacle The many parts of the Tabernacle were fashioned separately in the various tents of the wise-hearted sojourning children of Israel, the gold and silver were refined, cast and beaten to shape, the brass was smelted and cast, the timber hewn, sawn and fashioned, the textiles woven and finished before they were all finally assembled. Every diverse piece was made to fit its fellow before that assembly and each piece perfectly cojoined its fellow on the day Moses was instructed (Exodus 40 v 17). The greater purpose of God revealed in His covenant is that He has appointed a day (Acts 17 v 31) when a temple of righteous people will be assembled in whom God will dwell (Revelation 21 v 1-4). On that day all the constituent members who will have been made ready beforehand will be assembled an a unitary body, fellow to fellow bonded together by the love of God where not one crack or missing part will be evident. As Moses assembled the Tabernacle on the instruction of God, so likewise will Jesus assemble the greater house of God on the day appointed by God at (Matthew 25 v 3146). That day is not yet present but is foretold by many of the promises and prophecies. Each member will have been made ready separately in circumstances peculiar to themselves but always after the pattern and example of Jesus Christ their redeemer. Not one will be missing nor will there be any left out. Solomon who had the same faith demonstrated this principle in the building of the temple for God in his days, And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building (1 Kings 6 v 7). The building of the greater house of God is likened to marriage after the example of the creation of Adam and Eve, the original couple God had intended to dwell among. As Eve was made a woman (literally to be built up piece by piece) out of the rib of Adam (Genesis 2 v 21-25), so the greater companion of Jesus Christ has been and is being built up ready for the final union when he returns. As with the Tabernacle, each piece will then have been made ready and the multitudinous companion of Jesus will be finally built up and presented to Jesus as is foretold, Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready (Revelation 19 v 7). The final act of the assembly will be the anointing by the Holy Spirit in its fullness, which means a change of nature from mortality to immortality, For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality (1 Corinthians 15 v 50-58, 1 Thessalonians 4 v 15-17, John 6 v 39-40). The final act of Moses foretold this same event to confirm that the promise of God has never changed And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, .. .. ..And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy (Exodus 30 v 22-33, Exodus 40 v 9-16). 6.7) The Ark of the Covenant This is the most important item in the Tabernacle, the focal point of all that the Tabernacle teaches. After its construction and placing in the Most Holy place (the inner sanctuary of the tent of the Tabernacle) it was never to be seen by mortal eyes again - apart from the High Priest alone who once a year on the day of Atonement who was to enter the Most Holy place to sprinkle blood for the remission of the sins of his family and of the people as a congregation (Leviticus 16 v 2-3, & 34). At all other times it was to be shielded from view by the veil separating the Most Holy from the Holy place. When the children of Israel journeyed and the Tabernacle was

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The law of God dismantled the separating veil was first to be lowered and laid over the Ark of the Covenant which was then to be covered with the covering of badger skins (see Fourth and outer covering badgers skins of the Sanctuary p61) and then again with a cloth of blue (Numbers 4 v 5-6), and not even those appointed to the work of transportation (the Kohathites of Levi) were permitted to see the Ark (Numbers 4 v 18-20). Such was the holiness and sanctity of the Ark of the Covenant. The pattern was created by God and given to Moses to be as a type and figure of the promised perfected son of God in his realised hope of the glory of the promise of eternal life after his progression from unblemished sacrifice to glory through suffering and death (the whole Tabernacle teaching). It represented the centre of the purpose of God, that over that Ark, God would meet and dwell with His people (Exodus 25 v 22). The Ark was made in two significant parts, there was the body of the Ark with an upper ledge and crown in which was located a covering lid called the Mercy Seat, out of which were beaten two cherubim on either end whose faces were inwards toward the Ark and whose wings arched over to cover the Ark. Both constituted the Ark of the Covenant and were of no use separately. So holy was this assembly that even when covered with its coverings from prying eyes during transportation it was never to be touched directly, and for this purpose two staves were passed through two rings each side as a permanent part of the assembly in order for the priests to carry the Ark on their shoulders. The importance of the Ark was confirmed in that when the congregation journeyed during the 40 year wandering through the wilderness (Numbers 14 v 33) it was the Ark that led the way borne on the shoulders of the priests (Numbers 10 v 33-36) until they finally entered the land of promise when it was the ark that stood in the dry bed of the river Jordan as the congregation passed over (Joshua 3). The Tabernacle taught that the Ark of the Covenant was the focal point of the whole construction and assembled congregation, even as Jesus Christ is the focal point of the whole of the purpose of God and the (to be) assembled saints. After this example ordained by God through His law of the Tabernacle, Jesus was able to fulfil the teaching as he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14 v 6), and Paul later taught, Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh (Hebrews 10 v 15-23). The construction of the body of the Ark confirmed the teachings of the promises of God that a new way to eternal life (after the old way was closed by mortality Genesis 3 v 19-24) by forgiveness of sins would be made possible i.e. that a mortal man would display the love of God in his body through obedience to the instruction of the wise Master, that he would comply to the directions of His skilled hand, that he would suffer in order to overcome his natural inclination to rebel, that he would die in conclusion of that service and that he would be raised from the grave and anointed with everlasting life - elevated to the presence of God, through whom God would meet and dwell with a people on earth. The body of the Ark was made from shittim wood, hewn down, de-barked, planked and cut to size, jointed and finally overlaid within and without with gold. Shittim wood is prepared from the thorny acacia (Black acacia, Mimosa Nilotica) that thrived in the arid wildernesses of the Sinai peninsular. The thorns are so strong that that hardy desert cattle are afraid to approach so fierce were their thorns. In its natural

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The law of God stand in the uncultivated wilderness the fiercesomely thorny tree is a symbol of human beings - created originally peaceful and friendly in the image of God - but cursed with the enmity to stand in a wilderness of godlessness manifesting a fearsome and piercing reputation for aggression against the word and authority of God, but out of which tree an almost imperishable fine grained insect-resistant heartwood can be used after all the thorns, bark and sapwood are removed. Jesus Christ was born as a mortal man of flesh and blood (son of man, Adam) in the wilderness of mankind, but by application of the word of God he removed all the effects of the thorns of the enmity, the lightweight bark of outward vanity, the weak sapwood of indulgence in order to become in fullness the son of God. In the figure that God used (the black acacia tree in the wilderness of mankind), Jesus lived as a mortal man shaped and fashioned by God who separated himself by obedience to God from the forest of his fellows, removed the effects of the enmity from his character, made himself of no reputation by removing the bark of respectability and cut away the weak sapwood of vanity to allow his character his heart and mind to be fashioned by Gods word into a vessel of His choice. The response of his fellows was to cut him down. Thus in the figure the acacia was cut down, the thorns, bark and sapwood removed, when the heartwood was then shaped by the inspiration of God in the hand of Bezaleel, conditioned, sanded, jointed and built up into the body of the Ark of the Covenant ready to be overlaid within and without with pure gold (Exodus 25). Gold There are about 0.2 milligrams of gold in every human body. Apart from gold being the most noble metal of all the elements of the Periodic table and therefore of great value to mankind, God has chosen it to represent the most noble characteristic that can be possessed but which is not easily found in man by nature, it has to be searched for and prepared before its effects become visible. God searched for this quality in Job by trial and testing as Job also searched himself, and Job recognised this process as he underwent the test of his love for God, But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.. .. .. For God maketh my heart soft (Job 23 v 10-16). Despite its noble properties, pure gold is so soft that it has little practical isolated uses for man apart from its intrinsic value and ornamentation. However God has chosen gold not for is desirability or value, but to use its preparation and subsequent intrinsic properties to teach mankind of His noble characteristics that He was seeking to be reflected and demonstrated in His greater son Jesus Christ. Gold is extracted from the earth and washed of obvious waste matter. After the obvious waste matter of stones, rock and soil have been removed, it is then sifted (panned) to remove the fine but loose unwanted elements of fine grains of sand and dust by finer and finer sieves. In due course, many common elements are removed and the sifted gold appears to be the dominant element but it will be known by the gold refiner that contained within the grains of gold are impurities that will retard its ability to be sufficiently soft and malleable to be shaped correctly and hence to realise its true value. These impurities can only be removed by raising the temperature of the gold to its melting point (approximately 1000 C) when the impurities separate from the gold like oil separates from water and solidify as a brittle flake as the gold cools and is then easily removed when the gold is cold like chaff from grain. One heating process does not remove all the impurities, and so the gold must be repeatedly heated

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The law of God in the furnace to obtain the purest of gold where at each stage of the refining it is assayed (weighed) against a known standard until it is exactly the same weight per mass. It is a rare metal but not the rarest, its abundance being 73rd out of the approximately 100 elements, being distributed throughout the earth and the sea, but in such minute disparate agglomerations that it defies the most of the attempts of man to gather it. It is estimated that there are 10 million tons of gold in the oceans and seas. In the soil and earth crust it is less abundant but is like an illusive but very real golden thread that intertwines the creation of God. Gold that God has created has 3 significant properties and uses them to represent His love to be reciprocated in man, 1) it cannot tarnish or corrode, 2) it is the most malleable of all metals and 3) the most ductile of all elements. 1) Golds inability to tarnish or corrode. Tarnishing and corruption result from the process of oxidation at the atomic (smallest) level. It is the term used to describe the process of bonding an oxygen atom to any other atom from which bond comes corrosion and tarnishing such as rust (in steel and iron), and tarnishing (in silver and brass). God has created the atom of gold (the fundamental entity) such that oxygen does not bond with it, thus when gold has been purified of all other trace elements including contaminating dross it will remain unaffected by oxygen, i.e. untarnished and incorruptible in our atmosphere. It is incapable of corruption and cannot lose its ability to transmit and irradiate incident light. It is written of the love of God Charity never faileth(1 Corinthians 13 v 4-8) where charity is the love of God (agape). That love is manifest in the word of God by which it was written, and of that word it is written, Every word of God is pure (Proverbs 30 v 5) and of God, whose word it is, God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent (Numbers 23 v 19), and again, He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he (Deuteronomy 32 v 4), and again, . that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him (Psalms 92:15), and again, God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man (James 1 v 13), Habakkuk writes Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity (Habakkuk 1 v 13). As God is incorruptible so also is the love of God. It is incorruptible, it cannot be tarnished and it is that which inspired the writing, recording and preservation of the word of God without corruption, contradiction or error, and which raised up a saviour for corruptible man (tarnished with temptation and sin) in order for him to be made incorruptible by the gift and mercy of God. That love was manifest perfectly in Jesus Christ, In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4). Jesus died for the sins of his friends that they also may be embraced in the love of God as he told them This is my commandment ,That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you John 15 v 12-14). John expanded the beauty of the love of God in His purpose and promises, And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him (1 John 4 v16).

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The law of God

Gold therefore stands out as the symbol God has chosen for the demonstration and outworking of His love in a people who reflect and reciprocate that love. Gold bears no comparison with any other metals or elements, it has no look-a-likes and no substitutes even as the love of God has no substitutes as Paul wrote of look-a-like brass which easily tarnishes, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal(1 Corinthians 13 v1 where charity is the love of God (agape). The love of God (agape) is untarnished and incorruptible. 2) Malleability of gold. It is the property that enables metal to be formed and beaten into complex shapes without fracture. Gold is the most malleable of all metals. It can be beaten and rolled into extraordinarily thin sheets without stress hardening and cracking. It is reported that a single gram of gold can be beaten into a sheet of 1 square meter, or an ounce into 300 square feet, 0.0000071 (0.000018cm) thick, and can be beaten so thin (0.000005inches, 0.000013cm) with out loss of bonding that it becomes translucent allowing the brilliance of light to transmit through, thus irradiating the sheet as if it were a sheet of light. It is prophecied of the glorified saints that they will irradiate the light and love of God with Jesus Christ (Revelation 21 v 18-23). God is light (1 John 1 v 5, James 1 v 17) and He is love (1 John 4 v 8 & 16). From Him comes all physical and spiritual light, He created the sun, moon and the stars to give life and light on earth and it is only through the light of His love written in His word that the hope of salvation can be embraced. The Psalmist wrote of God, For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light (Psalms 36 v 9 where in thy light was Jesus Christ and the light to be seen was the love of God in him). John declared the he came as a witness to the light of God in Jesus Christ (John 1 v 7-9) and Jesus taught, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8 v 12). In order for Jesus to fulfil that statement he needed to fully reflect the love of God in the sacrifice of his mortal body on the cross, at which death he would finally unite the light of God with the love of God in one body, demonstrating that these two (light and love) are inseperable. The more love is refining by the fire of the Spirit and undergoes beating by trials and tests of faith (1 Peter 4 v 12-14) the brighter the light irradiates (Proverbs 4 v 8) and the individual bonds of love strengthen to allow such incomprehensible thinness that is unattainable in any other medium, invisible to the human eye and incomprehensible to the mind of the flesh (1 Corinthians 2 v 14). Such is why God chose gold to represent His love purified in one man (His son Jesus Christ) in order to reflect the brillaince of the light of His truth in resplendent glory in a multitude (Matthew 17 v 1-7, Revelation 1 v 13-16). The love of God (agape) is extraordinarily kind and soft, The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works (Psalm 145 v 9). 3) Ductility of gold. It is the property that allows the metal to be drawn or pulled into fine threadlike filaments without failure of individual bonds of every gold atom. The love of God is encompassed within the character of God described in His name, Merciful, gracious, long suffering, full of goodness and truth (Exodus 34 v 5-7). It is a name and character of love that will never fail. It is a name of love that has been drawn out to man like an everlasting filament of mercy and grace even as gold can be drawn (or stretched) into filaments too small in cross section for the eye to see. One

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The law of God gram of gold can be stretched into a 4micron x 4micron section filament 3200 metres long without breaking or one ounce into a 50 mile-long filament. Thus it is declared of God, for his mercy endureth for ever (Psalms 107 v 1) and of the love of God for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned (Song of Solomon 8 v 6-7). If death is the strongest event in the experience of man then the love of God is stronger than that, for where man forgets and loses everything upon death, God will never forget those that reflect His love but will raise them from the grave in the fullness of His purpose in the fullness of time. God is jealous (Exodus 34 v 14) and all that reflect His love jealously guard their faith against all assault of the flesh. Love burns like a fire and consumes anything that is against God, it has the intense heat of zeal (John 2 v 13-17, Jeremiah 20 v 9). When the love of God becomes sealed in a heart nothing but the possessor can loose it, floods of hatred, torrents of animosity, waves of temptation, or any other flow or current of affliction can remove or weaken that love (Romans 8 v 38-39). The love of God cannot be bought with money, it is only attainable by humility of mind, contriteness of spirit and softness of heart. The love of God (agape) is extraordinarily long suffering, patient and far-reaching as the faith it is bonded to. Gold represents the love of God. The love of God encapsulates the virtues of His name (mercy, graciousness, patience, goodness and truth). That love will never fail. For man it is possible to have strong faith even unto martyrdom but still not have the love of God (1 Corinthians 13), but it is not possible to have love of God without faith, but love is greater than faith. As gold must be purified by fire and weighed after each purging so the preparation of love with faith is by trial and testing. For Noah it was patience, faith and hard work, for Abraham patient waiting as a sojourner and stranger for a land that he never possessed, for Joseph and David it was being hated and then elevated to positions of temptation, for Moses the burden of responsibility, for Jeremiah being despised and downtrodden and for Jesus all of these and more (Hebrews 4 v 15, Hebrews 11). As gold can be beaten into infinitely intricate shapes so the love of God with faith makes its holder so docile that they never resist the direction of God through His word or by circumstance brought on them through obedience to His word. As gold can be tensioned into extraordinarily long filaments without failure so the love of God with faith will never break under the strain of patient endurance in waiting for fulfilment of the promises of God. As gold never tarnishes, so temptation is increasingly resisted as their hope intensifies of having their natures changed to become incorruptible as Jesus now is, never to know temptation or sin again (Revelation 21 v 4) when Jesus Christ returns to the earth. The ark, Mercy seat and Cherubim construction. The timber body of the ark was constructed from shittim wood and overlaid within and without with gold. The dimensions of the ark are recorded, but the thickness of the wood sections are not. How the gold was adhered to the wood and how thick the gold was we are not told. It is not therefore important to know except that the adhesion of the gold to the wood would have been as secure as the love of God was inseparable from the flesh, bone and blood body of Jesus Christ, for even as the Jews were able to kill his body they were unable to quench his love, his love was stronger

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The law of God than death. Gold has the unique ability to be cold bonded which means that if 2 sheets are seamed together and repeatedly hammered the atoms and molecules of the contacting faces will securely bond, whereas in other metals they need to be heated, soldered and welded. In a practical way if four priests were to carry the ark on their shoulders by means of the two staves then the most a man can be expected to carry for long periods over uneven ground would be in the region of 40kg (88lb). If so then the weight of the ark was in the region of a maximum 160kg which would make the boards of shittim wood (density 1170kg/m3) some 15mm (5/8) thick and the gold within and without some 1/2mm (0.02) with the Mercy Seat estimated at 1 talent (83.59kg, 184lb). Whilst there is no significance in these estimates (and that is all they are) it does make the details that are given, accurate and practical. The cherubim Cherubim are angelic personages either literal and real, or figurative. For an example of literal and real read Genesis 3 v 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. These were angels, messengers of God who carry out only His commands having no independent will. However, Jesus summarised the promise of the covenant of God to those who come to God through faith in Jesus, For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven (Matthew 22 v 30-32). The cherubim therefore are both literal (the angels who even now do the will of God in the earth) and figurative - the elect, the saints, the glorified believers. To confirm this dual representation, the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle had representations of both cherubim - angels and saints - who in the fullness of time will be one. The dividing curtain (the veil) separating the Ark, Mercy Seat and golden cherubim from the rest of the tent, had cherubim woven into its fabric (to be considered later in detail) and was the barrier that nobody could cross without pain of death except the High priest once a year. That veil was rent in two upon Jesus death thus signifying that the cherubim (angels) guarding the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3 v 24) were no longer needed as Jesus had done what was required to make the way possible to eternal life (John 14 v 6, Hebrews 10 v 20). If therefore the cherubim of the veil were angels then to complete the teaching the cherubim of the ark (Mercy Seat) were the saints elect. As the angels have no individuality but are one with God i.e. do only His will, then so likewise must be the saints elect and indeed this is what is taught in the construction of the Mercy Seat, the cherubim are not separate bodies joined to the Mercy Seat, but are beaten out of the same piece of gold, and have there faces (countenances, that by which they are known, theirs characters) toward the Mercy Seat with their wings (humility of spirit that allows them to become buoyant by the Holy Spirit and so rise above the mean and beggarly things of the flesh) stretched over the Mercy Seat, thus covering it, or as the word cover means in this passage, to enclose and defend as precious (Exodus 37 v 6-9, Mark 14 v 47, Matthew 26 v 35). That which the saints defend as precious, that out of which they are formed is the Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat is an English phrase translated from Hebrew for a propitiatory meaning to be favourable, kind and conciliatory by expiation of sin. The Mercy Seat alone could not expiate sin, it required the blood of a sin offering for it to realise the

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The law of God use that God intended. God commanded that this association be completed once every year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) when the High Priest alone was to enter within the veil and sprinkle the blood of two animals on the Mercy Seat. The first animal was a young bullock as a sin offering for the High Priest and the second was a goat as a sin offering for the people, teaching that Jesus first obtained to the mercy of God and then followed by his friends (1 Corinthians 15 v 23). This shed blood completed the Mercy Seat - the expiation, the propitiation, the forgiveness and blotting out of sin by God. The name of God (merciful, gracious, long suffering abundant in goodness and truth, Exodus 34 v 6-7) is encapsulated in this propitiation (Mercy Seat) and it is that name that Jesus came to manifest and fulfil in a mortal body (John 17 v 4, 6, 11, 12 & 26) where he gave his life in service and for which he ultimately died by literal shedding of his blood (to complete what he had done with his life), so that he could become the propitiation of the sins of his friends to cover and wipe them out, as he said Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15 v 13). Paul later confirmed this for us, Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God (Romans 3 v 24-25), and John (1 John 2 v 1-2, 1 John 4 v 10). The Mercy Seat was where God would meet with His people (Exodus 25 v 21-22) and Jesus tells us that no man could approach to God but by him (John 14 v 6). The Mercy Seat - the propitiation was Jesus Christ and out of him are to be made the cherubim, the saints made into angels. These angelic saints will have no identity of their own even as the angels of God have none of their own, but their identity is of Christ as taught in the Mercy Seat of the Tabernacle they were beaten out of the one piece of gold (the love that Jesus had for His Father and that He had for Jesus) that made the Mercy Seat. Thus love of Gold is represented by the properties of refined pure gold, God loved Jesus (Matthew 3 v 17), Jesus reciprocated that love for God (John 14 v 31), and Jesus in turn loved his friends (John 15 v 9-10) and they reciprocate his love (John 14 v 15). To complete the promise of God, God loves the friends through Jesus His beloved son (John 14 v 21 & 23) and they likewise reflect the love from God through Jesus (1 John 4). Contents of the Ark The two tables of stone hewn from the earth by Moses with the ten commandments written with the finger of God were placed in the body of the ark (Exodus 25 v 16, Exodus 34 v 1-4), along with a pot of manna (Exodus 16 v 33-34) and the almond rod that budded (Numbers 17 v 8-10). The two tables of stone represent the heart and soul of Jesus hewn in a mortal body from the earth of the human race, upon which God inscribed His word by the willing submission of Jesus to every jot and tittle (dots of the is and crosses of the ts, every detail) of His law. The pot of manna was a portion of the bread God sent from Heaven to give life to a people who otherwise would have starved to death (Exodus 16) to learn that man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live (Deuteronomy 8 v 2-3) and represented the body of Jesus in which the law was fulfilled of which

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The law of God Jesus declared I am that bread of life (John 6). The almond rod that budded and bore almonds (Numbers 17) represented the choice of God above all other candidatemen to bear the first fruits of righteousness to His glory, even as almonds in that locality blossom before all others and bear fruit by March (Colossians 1 v 12-20). Conclusions concerning the Ark The Ark of the Covenant led the congregation to the Promised Land through their 40 year long wilderness journey of hope to search out a resting place for them (Numbers 10 v 33-36) as a prefigurement of the life of Jesus Christ who led his friends through the wilderness journey of human nature by forging an unblemished path of obedience to God. The final barrier was the river Jordan overflowing its banks in a spring flood (Joshua 3 v 15) chosen by God to represent the downward flow of humanity from the heights of Mount Hermon (man created very good Genesis 1 v 31) through the swelling of the banks of pride to the stagnant lifeless state of the grave in the Dead Sea summarised in His curse upon man (Genesis 3 v 19), to show that there was no hope of any entry into the promises of His covenant without a saviour. God provided that saviour in Jesus Christ (the Ark of the Covenant) who because of Jesus victory over his own nature in death God stopped the flow of life into an eternal grave. God commanded the congregation to follow the Ark at a distance of about 2000 cubits to represent the time distance between the death and resurrection of Jesus to the time of the resurrection of his friends, about 2000 years, Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore (Joshua 3 v 4). The Ark, the Mercy Seat and the contents represent Jesus Christ, a mortal man without sin made immortal bearing on his shoulders the saints (the cherubim) his multitudinous bride as shown in the fulfilment of the greater Solomon in the Song of Solomon, King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem (Song of Solomon 3 v 9-10) where chariot is a palanquin, a carriage born aloft on the shoulders. (Revelation 14 v 1-5). 6.8) The veil, pillars and sockets God commanded, And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver (Exodus 26 v 31-32). The veil separated the Most Holy Place (where the Ark of the Covenant was) from the daily ministrations of the priests in the Holy Place, in order to represent the separation of mankind from the Garden of Eden and access to the Tree of Life (eternal life) because of the curse of the enmity enforced by the cherubim with flaming swords (Genesis 3 v 22-24). When Jesus Christ died that separation was removed And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom (Mark 15 v 38) and Jesus became the restorer of the breach and the repairer of the path (Isaiah 58 v 12), he became the new and living way unto salvation (Hebrews 10 v 19-20).

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The law of God The embroidery in the veil depicted cherubim to remind the congregation of the angelic cherubim with the flaming sword who barred the way to the Tree of Life and who led them in the wilderness (Exodus 23 v 20-25, Joshua 5 v 13-15) and, that one would come who would supplant those guardians by applying the flaming sword of the Holy Spirit to kill every temptation of the enmity within himself according to the wisdom of God as Paul later explained of Jesus, Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they (Hebrews 1 v 4-14), and so himself become the guardian of the Tree of Life, - the door to salvation, I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John 10 v 9) and the entrance to eternal life, I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Revelation 1 v 18), and the doorkeeper To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God (Revelation 2 v 7). The veil was hung on hooks of gold affixed to shittim wood pillars overlaid with gold and located in silver sockets. The veil would have been of no use without the four pillars forming the doorposts of the entrance to be crossed once a year only by the appointed High Priest. The posts were of shittim wood overlaid with pure gold, and as in the Ark of the Covenant, represented mortal flesh and blood immortalised by the love of God and seen only in Jesus Christ as the pillar and founder of salvation. Jesus stood for, and in, the truth of the word of God as it is written of him in the Psalms, Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (Psalms 40 v 7-8) and Jesus testified, To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth (John 18 v 37) of which truth Jesus prayed to God, thy word is truth (John 17 v 17) and of which word the Psalmist wrote, The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times (Psalms 12 v 6). So God ordained that these four pillars should stand in sockets of silver upholding the veil as guardian to the Tree of Life, the Ark of the Covenant - the representation of Jesus Christ in immortality. The silver was not any freely donated silver, it was a divinely ordained tax levied to focus the mind of every member of the congregation that it would be essential that a price must be paid as a ransom to buy them from their kidnapped captivity to the enmity, the devil, Satan and human nature within each one of them. So Israel were commanded and their record teaches us with benefit of hindsight, When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD (Exodus 30 v 12-16, Exodus 38 v 25-27). The Hebrew word ransom used has a different meaning in the original than we use it, its sense was a covering or atonement for sin in order to be saved. It is otherwise translated as pitch when Noah pitched the ark within and without to make it watertight and therefore save him and his family from death, it is the same word translated Mercy Seat - the propitiation - covering the body of Ark of the Testament (Covenant). Thus everybody was reminded that a price for a covering for their sins would be needed to be paid in order for them to be expiated by the propitiation, i.e. sins covered and blotted out for

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The law of God ever. This price was the life and blood of Jesus Christ who manifested the character of God in a mortal body And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory (1 Timothy 3 v 16), He was the Word made flesh, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth (John 1 v 14), the fulfilment of Isaiahs prophecy, Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel(Immanuel meaning God with us, Isaiah 7 v 14). Silver is in the same group 11 in the periodic table of elements with gold created by God, it is slightly harder than gold but has similar malleability and ductility (1 gram can be drawn into a wire 2000 metres long and beaten so thin that it becomes almost transparent). The chief characteristic is its reflectivity of incident white light due to the extraordinary sheen it takes upon polishing giving it its white appearance. God chose to use silver to represent His word, The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times (Psalms 12 v 6). The purifying process is done by heat and a strong passage of air across the molten surface that carries away the evaporated oxidised impure elements. The word that God spoke and had recorded was entirely pure and remains pure to this day, but the reading and interpretation of that word introduces foreign impure elements that can only be removed from the mind by application of the heat of trial and testing because of obedience to it, and simultaneously the free passage of the air of the Holy Spirit to remove private interpretations and so purify the understanding, Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1 v 20-21), and All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3 v 16-17) and as Tyndale the translator of the Holy Bible form Hebrew to English advised As thou readefte therfore thinke that every fillble (syllable) pertayneth to thyne awne filf (self), and sucke out the pithe of the fcripture, and arm thy filf agaynft all affaultes (assaults - of our nature) (The Pentateuch, Apologue, p12, 1st , William Tyndale 1525). Jesus Christ alone stood perfectly upright in this word like the pillars holding the veil, so that he became the living manifestation of the word of God and a witness to the full meaning of the name of God (merciful, gracious, long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth), Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works (John 14 v 10). Such is the significance of the silver sockets in which the pillars of the veil stood. God has not chosen the mighty of this world or famous to fulfil the promises of His promises, He has chosen the humble, lowly and despised by man to manifest himself through, as Paul wrote, For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence (1

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The law of God Corinthians 1 v 26-29). So materials used in the making of the veil were of the lowest order of all species, and a plant, a bi-valve seashell, a gastropod shell and a worm. The veil was made of fine twined linen, embroidered with blue, purple and scarlet threads. Fine twined linen The root and meaning of the word linen is white used also to describe the lily and white marble and from which whiteness comes byssus a pure white cloth of cotton, flax or silk used in ancient times to symbolise purity (Genesis 41 v 42, Proverbs 31 v 22). The word linen in the Tabernacle is pure white cotton what is now known as Egyptian cotton, the strongest, longest lasting natural fabric owing to the longer length of individual fibres. The production of cotton thread is well known and it is with purpose that God has chosen fine twined (cotton) linen to represent righteousness as it is written, And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints (Revelation 19 v 8). The fundamental cotton fibre is inextricably linked with the seed of the parent plant in the same way that righteousness cannot be separated from the seed of the word of God, as a single cotton fibre is attached to a seed of cotton. In the natural, when the seed is fully formed and the 2 - 1-inch long (6.2 - 3cm) fibre is mature and of use to the husbandman the fibre is separated from the seed and the dirt (trash) is forcibly removed from the fibre during several processes. After bailing the fibres are separated and longitudinally aligned to form ravings or ropes ready for twisting into twine, thus many pure white fibres tightly unite and bind tightly together to form a cord or thread that can then be woven into the warps and wefts of cloth. Every word of God is a seed from which is attached a strand of obedience intermingled with the trash of temptation to rebel, as each of these pricks of obedience resists the lusts of rebellion so the trash is slowly removed from the fibre of obedience, and as more and more words of God are understood and obeyed so the bundles of righteous thoughts accumulate in the mind and heart and require aligning and realigning to begin to form the godly characteristics of the believer (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Galatians 5 v 22-23) until more and more words are understood and more and more trash of the flesh is removed and the twisting and twining of trial forms the threads of a godly character which then is woven into a covering of righteousness. As obedience, faith and belief increase in the word of God For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous (Romans 5 v 19), .. .. faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10 v 17), and Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness (Romans 4 v 3) so the twisting and twining of the trials and testing because of obedience to the word of God become finer and tighter until fine twined linen of righteousness is achieved. Jesus Christ alone attained to righteousness though he was in all points tempted like as we are yet was without sin (Hebrew 4 v 15), and For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth (Romans 10 v 4). By the fine twined linen God taught Israel and all who read His law that righteousness is of His word alone and that only one man Jesus Christ has ever been able to fulfil every word. Righteousness means justified through faith in every word of God, all His promises and each command, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law (Romans 3 v 23-28) where justified means balanced as a beam of a weighing balance pivots over a fulcrum, where every word

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The law of God of God is on one side pan balanced against faith and actions on the other pan, hence the cry of the righteous, Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity (Job 31 v 6) where God controls the balance All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits (Proverbs 16 v 2) and The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just (Isaiah 26 v 1-11). Blue Interwoven within the white fine twined linen were blue, purple and scarlet threads. In all Gods works His eyes are toward the humble and lowly in spirit, the despised and those of no value to the human eye. Thus Jesus was despised and ejected by his fellow countrymen and over 2/3rds of the world population today, For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him no (Isaiah 53 v 2-3). Blue dye comes from one of the lowest creature in the order of created beings, a bivalve shellfish the cerulean mussel, the Mediterranean Blue Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis). Cerulean is the deep blue of the Mediterranean sky, the colour chosen by God to represent the promise of His covenant of everlasting life for mortal man through Jesus Christ as demonstrated when the elders of the congregation met angels at the foothills of Sinai and man ate angels food (Psalm 78 v 25) as it is written, And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness (Exodus 24 v 10) the shade of sapphire used here is cerulean blue. The same cerulean blue was incorporated in the dress code of every member of the congregation to typify their walk and life to be within the bounds of the commandments and promises of God embedded in His covenant, Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue, which was the hem of Jesus garment that the sick woman was healed by when she touched it after failure of all other remedies, And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole (Matthew 9 v 20-21, Matthew 14 v 36). The cerulean blue sky is the colour that God created when white sunlight is filtered through the atmosphere (firmament) and all other colours of the spectrum are deflected to remind to every man and woman every day that the covenant of God is true, real and alive for ever, represented by blue, and that the promises of that covenant envelops the Ark of the Covenant (Jesus Christ and his multitudinous companion through him) as a covering of blue was laid over the veil that was draped over the Ark and Mercy Seat as the congregation journeyed through the wilderness (Numbers 4 v 5-6). Jesus Christ kept the commands of the covenant to perfection such that he became the manifestation of the covenant and confirmed it to the believers of his day in that he appeared to them in the immortal state after his resurrection from the dead (John 20 v 19-20 & 26-29).

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The law of God Purple This dye also comes from a seashell (Bolinux brandaris) the purple dye murex, which in contrast to the blue mussel is abundantly in shallow tidal waters representative of popular shallow thinking and light entertainment of the masses, purple murex is found in deeper coastal waters. Like a bottomless pit there are no depths to which human nature, the enmity will sink and it was out of this race as a mortal man subject to all the same temptations of all others (But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt Isaiah 57 v 20) Jesus was lifted by obedience to every word of God in order to fulfil Gods purpose in creating a son who would become the sovereign king of all His creation, Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee (Psalms 2 v 6-7). He came to rule his own natural spirit, the enmity, to allow Gods word to be the law in his life and God to be his King. He judged his own nature by the commands of God and killed every thought contrary to God by the word that God had spoken (Matthew 4 v 1-11). Thus, although born of the natural royal lineage of David (Matthew 1 & Luke 3) he became a king in his own right by ruling his own spirit as God testified, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3 v 17), but to which the Jews responded by mocking his lowly appearance with a purple robe as he was about to be crucified in wilful ignorance that that in fact was the purpose of God, And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him (Mark 15:17-20), and cried Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him (Mark 15 v 32). God was therefore fully justified in raising him from the dead and giving him eternal life to become a king and priest forever as foretold by the Psalmist. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool (Psalms 110 v 1-4, Hebrew 7 v 13) and of whom Ezekiel wrote when the natural line of kings was terminated by the Babylonians And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about (Ezekiel 1 v 25-27). Purple represents sovereign rulership where God is the sovereign of all creation and He has made Jesus king over all the works of Hs hands (Matthew 28 v 18). Scarlet The Psalmist spoke prophetically of Jesus Christ, But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people (Psalms 22 v 6) who although the son of God, made himself of no reputation as it is written, Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (Philippians 2 v 6-7). This worm is the cochineal worm of the insect kermes ilicis from which crimson dye is drawn upon the death of the parent as it reproduces on the bark of an evergreen oak tree. In the original Hebrew text crimson and scarlet are used interchangeably, but the root word ( )is crimson (kermes) a deep bluish red, burgundy or colour of red wine). The scarlet ( )cord that Rahab and her family used to publish their faith as a life-line in order to embrace the promises of the covenant of God, saved them from the destruction of Jericho (Joshua 2 v 18-21, & 6 v 22-23) a city that represented the unchecked enmity in the human race - straitly shut

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The law of God up against God (Joshua 6 v 1) destined for an eternal grave. The covenant of God promised hope by faith through a scarlet ( )cord, a life-line running throughout history from the fall of Dam and Eve at the beginning, through Abraham, the Law, Jesus Christ and up to this day. Abraham drank wine provided by the angel Melchizedek (Genesis 14 v 17-20), no offering was acceptable to God without an offering of wine (Numbers 15 v 1-16) and the culmination of the life-work of Jesus Christ was ordained by Jesus to be remembered with wine, And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26 v 2728), and Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him (John 6 v 53-56) and at his death blood and water flowed from his pierced side But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water (John 19 v 34) as a witness to all generations. By the life-blood of the meekest man who gave his life in obedience to every word of God, God has promised forgiveness of sins and an entrance to the Tree of Life, everlasting life. Thus the fine twined linen, the blue, purple and scarlet were bound together as one and embroidered to form a veil of separation of mortal man from immortality symbolised by angels (cherubim) guarding the way, but were supplanted by Jesus who by his death repaired the breach, and restored the path to unity with God. 6.9) Altar of incense The altar was 18 inches x 18 inches x 36 inches high (457mm x 457mm x 914mm) with a crown (pelmet) around the top edge and a horn at each corner. There were four rings at the top of two sides to hold staves to carry it, when it was to be covered with a cloth of blue and a covering of badger (seal) skins and the staves inserted in the rings. Of the altar Moses was commanded, And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it .. .. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold .. And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony .. And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps .. a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. .. it is most holy unto the LORD (Exodus 30 v 1-10). The sweet incense was made of four ingredients of equal measure each bound together in a mortar and pestle, And he made the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary (Exodus 37 v 29). The four spices were of the rarest and highest quality, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight (Exodus 30 v 34). David knew that the offering of incense was representative of prayer ascending to God for he wrote, Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense (Psalms 141 v 2), and John recorded that the smoke of incense and prayer are inseparable, And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense,

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The law of God which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand (Revelation 8 v 3-4). Prayer is worship of God and can only be directed through a mediator, one whom levels or mediates between two opposing parties (John 14 v 6), which levelling is the root and sense of the action to pray. Jesus Christ is the divinely appointed mediator between man and God as it is written, For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2 v 5) because no man or woman can talk to God whether in prayer or in conversation as God reminded Isaiah how holy He is, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55 v 8-9). Where it has been recorded in scripture that man did speak with God it refers to angels (elohim) who are His messengers as it is written, Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? (Hebrews 1 v 14). Prayer and a mediator are inseparable as are the holy incense, the Altar of Incense, the High Priest and his daily ministration were inseparable And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it (Exodus 30 v 7). All men have the habit of make long prayers thinking that much oratory and added honorific appellations makes better intercession, but Jesus upbraided the Pharisees who for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation (Luke 20 v 47). In contrast Jesus taught, And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking (Matthew 6 v 5-7), and But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly (Matthew 6 v 6). Prayer is an act of faith, uttered in unswerving belief that God knows what we need before we ask and that we would only ask for what He knows is good for our salvation. Paul taught that the Spirit of God, the holy Spirit expresses sincere prayer from the heart, Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8 v 26-27). Because God knows beforehand what we need, Jesus taught that prayer should be simple, After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen (Matthew 6 v 9-13). Jesus gave this as an example of open simplicity with four main ingredients, 1) First and foremost - praise to and honour to God Our Father which art in heaven,

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The law of God Hallowed be thy name - praise, 2) earnest desire for the hope of the promises of God, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heave- faith, 3) supplication for forgiveness of sin, Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors contrition, and 4) submission with absolute desire that God is (not us) our king and ruler And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever meekness and humility. Jesus fulfilled this essence of this prayer in his life and death by showing 1) the hallowed name of God in all that he did (mercy, grace, patience, goodness and truth Exodus 34 v 5-7), and fulfilled the will of God in a mortal body on earth, Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (Psalms 40 v 7-8) and he prayed before his death, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done (Luke 22 v 41-5), 2) for the joy of Gods promises that were set before him he endured the cross, despised the shame (Hebrew 12 v 2-3), 3) although without sin he made himself the scapegoat (Leviticus 16) by which means he took the sins of all men upon himself and nailed them to the cross, Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (1 Peter 2 v 24), and 4) he became the living manifestation of the kingdom of God in a mortal body summarised when he was tempted by the devil (his own nature) to take unto himself the rulership of the world, he replied it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou worship (Matthew 4 v 1-11). We can not but pray as Jesus lived - in and through him - with faith in him that he knows what we need as he experienced the same himself as it is written, For in that he himself hath .suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted (Hebrews 2 v 18) and again For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4 v 15) and with faith that he will put our prayers in order (like incense) and will present our filtered, rearranged petitions to his Father where this prayer of faith is concluded with the potent word amen meaning so be it, in other words, we can do no more than trust that Jesus will rearrange our praise and requests and present them to God who will answer them in His own way in His own good time. This was the same faith that the congregation had when the High Priest ministered daily in the Tabernacle, they could not see him but trusted he did his work faithfully. The incense was made of four parts of equal measures and beaten together to make one confection. The four ingredients were stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense. God chose these perfumes to accompany the prayers of His people in order to make them acceptable to Him, to represent four fundamental qualities that would be found in His beloved son then future, as distinct to the cacophony of words from empty

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The law of God prayers of every other man, in order to set prayers from the heart apart from prayers of the mouth. God created all things animate and inanimate and in many of those things He created perfumes and of all delightful perfumes God chose these four because of their origins and rarity to represent the humility and lowliness that He would seek in His son and who would fulfil Gods will, qualities essential for acceptable prayer. The rarest and most valuable perfume was pure frankincense. Frankincense Frankincense means white. It was created and chosen by God to represent the perfume of righteousness. White is the colour God has chosen to represent absence of sin (Matthew 17 v 2). God created all perfumes but chose frankincense above all others to represent a mortal life without sin that would be fulfilled perfectly in His son Jesus Christ, a quality that would be to God (and all believers) as a sweet smelling savour as it is written, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour (Ephesians 5 v 2). Frankincense is an aromatic, resinous sap harvesting by making an incision in the bark of the boswellia tree. Sap is the life-blood of the tree and when the protective bark is cut it is exposed and visible for all to see making a metaphor of the shed blood of Jesus. His blood was first shed during his circumcision that began a life of spiritual circumcision of the cutting off of all temptation from his heart in a spiritual circumcision that was visible for all to see. Circumcision of his heart brought many more incisions to his body inflicted by those enemies who set themselves against him because of his righteousness as it is written, The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows (Psalms 129 v 3), and again of the Jews yet future and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced (Zechariah 12 v 10), and ask What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends (Zechariah 13 v 6), and again, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53), and again But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water (John 19 v 34). For frankincense to be harvested, the bark of the tree is cut with special knives early in the year as the sap is rising and the resinous sap slowly oozes out, and was chosen as an allegory by God for the early display of righteousness in the short life of Jesus when he was found by his parents in the Temple among the doctors of the law at the tender age of twelve years and who told his parents wist ye not that I must be about my fathers business (Luke 2 v 41-52). In the harvesting of frankincense, several incisions are made but the first cut gives the purest resin for pure frankincense, because as further incisions are made spots of yellow appear until finally pure frankincense loses its whiteness altogether. Jesus was the firstborn unto righteousness, who although subject to sin he knew no sin, of whom all that follow him share his righteousness as it was written of him, I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to endure for ever (Psalms 89 v 26-29). Jesus was the perfect example of circumcision of the heart pre-cursored by physical circumcision, the fulfilment of the token that was given to Abraham (Genesis 17), as 39

The law of God later explained by Paul, But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God (Romans 2). God created the frankincense trees to grow directly out of solid rock and used this ability to further represent Jesus who spiritually grew upon the rock of his Father, as it is written of him, He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation (Psalms 89 v 26) and many more times. The means of initial attachment of the root to the stone is not understood, in the same way that no man knew the faith that held Jesus to God, his rock from which he grew, as he answered when the Jews questioned him of the Father he was the son of, I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. They understood not that he spake to them of the Father (John 8) and was mocked by the Jews when he was dying He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God (Matthew 27 v 43). The disk-like growth at the base of the tree is the anchor that prevents it from being torn away from the rock during the violent storms that frequent the region they grow in, a figure chosen by God to show that Jesus was rooted by love to God and fortified by tried faith that enabled him to hold firm despite the intense storms of human envy that led to his death summarised by Pilates observation, For he knew that for envy they had delivered him (Matthew 27 v 18). When ignited frankincense burns with a long and steady flame contributing flammability to the three other ingredients making a pre-figurement of the zeal that Jesus had for doing the will of God For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me (Psalm 69 v 9), and I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. .. .. My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned (Psalms 39 v 1-3). Like pure farnkinsence Jesus character was the pure whiteness of righteous and there is no sweeter perfume that could reach God. God made all the perfumes for His pleasure but the perfume He seeks is the perfume is the praise of a humble obedient heart. Galbanum Galbanum is a white fatty-wax resin extracted from the unremarkable Ferula genus of plants. When cold the wax is hard but warmed in the hand it becomes ductile, easily formed and adhesive, and when subject to flame it liquifies and is immflamable. Of the four ingredients of incense it was the food of the fire that gave off the perfumed smoke. This aspect of the food of the fire is important in the understanding of why God chose this resin of His creation to be a fourth part of the Holy incense. Galbanum comes from Hebrew fat, not the fat of excess or obesity (although it is used in that sence - see Psalm 17 v 10), but the best of the fat - not only animal fat but the fat of the land (Genesis 45 v 18), wine and wheat (Numbers 18 v 12 where best is the fat). But the most important part performed by the fat of animal kidneys (the finest fat)

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The law of God was an essential fuel of the fire of the burnt offering, such that God called it the food of the offering, and as such the Jews were forbidden to eat it as it is written, And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,.. .. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD's. It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood (Leviticus 3 v 14-17). Why was this finest fat so special of which the name of galbanum is derived? The only other part of the animal that was forbidden to be partaken of was the blood and in this it stands in the eyes of God as of equal importance. The significance of blood is easily understood - it is the life of the body and represents the life-blood of Jesus Christ, but the finest fat (the root of the word galbanum) is not so easily understood. Death follows excessive bleeding very quickly, but death also follows starvation after many days during which time the fat of the body is consumed until there is no more goodness and inbuilt nourishment to sustain life and the body organs cease to function. Fat is therefore the lifegiving nourishment of the body illustrated by the miracle that God brought upon Jesus when he fasted in the wilderness for 40 days without loss of life (a miracle) afterwhich he hungered, was tempted to lose his trust in God by using the power of the spirit to help himself to sustenance but reaffirmed his trust by killing the thought of the enmity But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4 v 4). The finest fat represents nourishment of faith and trust as the fuel for allowing the fire of the Holy Spirit to consume the enmity within Jesus, a quality that caused God to declare, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased (Luke 3 v 22). This is why God chose galbanum as the fourth part of the sweet incense to accompany faithful prayer in order for it to be acceptable to Him. Physically, apart from its flammability, it has no sweet or pleasant perfume but is said to be balsamic and soothing. Absolute trust and faith in God is the finest of the fat (the best) of the emotions of the heart and mind that was only fulfilled in entirety by Jesus Christ. Onycha Onycha is harvested from the shell of a gastropod sea-shell found in deep coastal sea water. The make-up of a sea-shell creature is well known, a hard shell protects the flesh of the animal which feeds through a gap in the shell. For onycha to be harvested the shell must be prised open, the flesh removed, the hard shell finely broken and then ground to powder and it is from this powder that onycha is collected giving off a sweet musky aroma when subject to flames. All sea creatures (other than fish with fins and scales) were unclean to the congregation of Israel as commanded by God, Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you (Leviticus 11 v 9-12) and any who touched them was to be shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. To this day Jews and many Christians do not understand the significance of the laws of unclean meats (Leviticus 11) and as a result Jewish scholars have gone to great lengths to interpret onycha as derived from some other source particularly from plants, they cannot accept that something from an unclean source could be

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The law of God incorporated in the holy incense, any more than they could accept that Jesus was the Christ, their Messiah, the son of God, born son of man. What is not understood is that no creature is unclean of itself, i.e. inherently dirty. The Bible explains this through Paul, I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean (Romans 14 v 14). God created every creature very good (Genesis 1 v 31) with no blemish, imperfection or uncleanness anywhere, but as a result of the sin of man God cursed the earth and all creatures (Genesis 3 v 17-18) - not that they had done anything to displease Him, but to be a constant reminder to mankind that all creation was cursed because of his sins, and that most of the creatures were classified as unclean as a constant reminder to him that it was man that was unclean and that he needed to be cleansed in order to find favour with God. God has esteemed many creatures as unclean because of mans sin, therefore any who deny Gods classification of uncleanness are effectively denying their constant, inherent, underlying guilt of sin. God chose a creature He created as very good (but cursed because of man) to show that it will be from one man of the unclean race of the deep seas of mankind that will be the source of a sweet smelling perfume of righteous praise to God. That man was Jesus Christ of whom his guardian-father Joseph (then espoused to Jesus mother Mary) was told, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1 v 18-25). Inborn into every male and female babe is seed of the enmity, placed there by God as a result of the sins of Adam and Eve as was told to the (then intelligent) serpent And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Genesis 3 v 14-19). The seeds of the enmity soon germinate in the heart and mind of a child and mature into a force to be reconned with as the child enters adulthood and is manifest in rebellion against the word of God no man or woman is exempt. The growth of the seeds of the enmity form the flesh, the devil, Satan, the world, and many other words used by God throughout the scriptures which today we would collectively call human nature. Flesh is an aptly descriptive word used in the scripture as it directly links all animal sacrifices made to God with the need to destroy its workings by the fire of the Holy Spirit, it is a word which is used today in common language to descibe debauchery, hedonism and base sexual activity. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like (Galatians 5 v 19-21) (Romans 1 v 26-32). The seeds of these gross diversions are in every child when born, the upbringing and environment in which the person chooses to live dictates the development of the excesses of the flesh, but let there be no mistake, the flesh and its activities are in all men and women, it is just the degree of activity and remorse, that seperates the righteous from the wicked. The choice of God of onycha from the sea-shell is equally apt, for in order to obtain the sweet smelling perfume it is first necessary to break open the shell to reveal the raw flesh. The shell protects the flesh of the mollusc as pride in the heart protects the pricked conscience, and only one man Jesus Christ has fully confessed by word and action that . in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing (Romans 7 v 18)

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The law of God and The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17 v 9). God has stated These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood .. .. (Proverbs 6:16-19). Acknowledgment of our inherent resistance to humiliation through obedience to every detail of Gods word is the first step to breaking open the hard shell of pride that naturally protects our mind of the flesh. This Jesus did perfectly encapsulated in his resistence to the fleshly thoughts that arose in his mind when he considered the immense power God had placed in him by the gift of the fullness of the Holy Spirit to perform miracles beyond the experience of mortal man, Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve (Matthew 4 v 8-10). This incident confirmed his resistance to temptation throughout his whole formative life. Jesus alone fully fulfilled the spirit of the Proverb, The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate (Proverbs 8 v 13). For onycha to be found, the flesh of the mollusc must be cut out and discarded even as Jesus cut out all fleshly temptations as they arose in his mind before they boure the fruits of the flesh as it is written of him Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Psalms 119 v 11) and Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good (Isaiah 7 v 14-15) where butter and honey represent the word of God. As the flesh of the animal offerings were burnt upon the altar of burnt offering so Jesus allowed the fire of the Holy Spirit to consume the flesh of his mind in a continual burning until ashes were the only evidence (Number 28 v 1-8). After the flesh of the sea-shell has been removed the shell must be washed, broken and crushed to a fine powder, even as Jesus was washed by the water of the commands of God and was baptised by full immersion in water. God has said The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (Psalm 34 v 18) and (Psalm 51 v 17). The enmity remains in man and woman for the whole of their life as it did in Jesus, so it cannot be broken once, it is a continual process of breaking, crushing and grinding to reduce its resistance to obedience to every word of God and the breaking down is acheived by submission to the will of God by experiences that come due to faithfully following its instruction, but God has promised to dwell with those who are broken and crushed in spirit, For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Isaiah 57 v 15). In this way onycha is extracted from a naturally very good creature designated as temporarily unclean by God and produces a powder that when ignited give a delightful perfume acceptable to God. Thus Jesus was filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit and glorified God on earth in a mortal body.

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The law of God Stacte Stacte is from the same tree as myrrh but differentiates in that stacte oozes spontaneously from the bark of younger trees whereas myrrh is harvested later by incision of the bark. The tree is balsamodendron myrrha, it grows in the region bounded by Arabia and Ethiopia in poor soil, dry conditions and is an unattractive twisted and knarled appearance with substantial thorns and grows in the forests of acacias. Stacte by nature of its spontaneous oozing before incisions are made for myrrh, is a voluntary outpouring of the firstfruit of the life of this unattractive tree. The name stacte means a drop as in a tear-drop and that is how it is harvested as a clear oily resin that hardens and yellows with exposure to air. Stacte is the finest and purest myrrh. With myrrh as its close relative it shares similar properties, where myrrh is the name that simply means bitter but gives off a balsamic perfume when burnt. There are therefore several distinct properties that teach why God chose stacte as the fourth part of the Holy Incense, a) spontaniety, b) first-fruits, c) bitterness and d) a soothing healthy aroma and it is from a tree whose spines and grissled appearance represent the humanity of mortal man. Let us examine each in turn and then collectively in the light of scripture. a) Spontaniety is not only voluntary or by freewill but with an eagerness as if no time can be lost. Jesus as a small child lost no time in searching the scriptures to find what God required him to do, he was found after three days among the doctors of the law, And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers (Luke 2 v 46-49) when upon being found by his parents declared, And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? (Luke 2 v 49). Such willing spontaniety was foremost throughout his whole life such that he became, b) the first-fruits of all that please God, and indeed the only one who pleased God in entirety, for at the end of his young life he displayed the same spontaneous willingness in prayer in tear-drops as the stacte exudes from the unattractive tree, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. .. .. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22 v 4244). Thus it was foretold of Jesus, My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? (Psalms 42 v 3), and They that sow in tears shall reap in joy (Psalms 126 v 5). c) Tears are the result of bitter experience because of obediance to the word of God, but Jesus said Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Matthew 5 v 6) and the Proverb advised, to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet (Proverbs 27 v 7) and so it was that Jesus through bitter experience and literal and spiritual tears became the author and finisher of our faith, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds (Hebrews 12 v 2-3).

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The law of God d) The perfume of his sacrifice is a balm to appease the anger of God with His rebellious children and to all who endure the tears of bitter experience when overcoming the enmity within them and when directed as venon from those who despise humble, obedient children of God. It was a perfume most acceptable to God, a soothing balm that reversed His anger to the ingratitude of sinful mankind for all the daily blessings He bestows upon His creation. Faith is the sight that belief gives in the heart of a humble and contrite person allowing them to see with the eye of faith that which is not readily apparent as Paul wrote, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11 v 1) and These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth (Hebrews 11 v 13). But faith without works is dead (James 2 v 14-26) and works of faith bring opposition, first from ones own nature resisting obedience and then from fellows moved with envy at acts of faith. As stacte is the spontaneous tears-drops of resin from the bark of the myrrh (bitterness) tree and tears spontansously flow from the eyes of the greived in spirit, so likewise tears dropped from the heart of Jesus as he understood how base the enmity is in both himself and his fellows that brought such opposition that his tears were as great drops of blood (Luke 22 v 44). Stacte and faith are inseperably linked by the tear-like droplets that give off the purest perfume and was perfected in Jesus when he was a mortal man subject to temptation as every men is, So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. .. .. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered (Hebrews 5 v 5-8). He was spontaineous in his love for God, he became the firtsfruits unto righteousnes, he endured bitter experiences above any other man, and the savour of his victory over the enmity was a soothing balm to God and to all who recognise their naturally fetid nature in the eyes of God. Incense the conclusion Thus the perfumed incense formed by the art of the apothecary represented the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Frankincense pure praise to God by manifesting the name of God in a mortal body through committing no sin. Galbanum he was the only man to give the best and fattest of all his God-given faculties back to God by obedience to every word of God. Onycha he was the only man who overcame and slew the enmity (the flesh) within his own heart and mind and suffered bruising and crushing experiences due to submission the Gods will. Stacte he was the firstfruits unto righteousness, spontaneous in faith and trust in God, enabling him to taste sweetness from every bitter experience.

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The law of God It is not possible to pray to God without remembrance of his victory even as it was not possible for the High Priest to minister every day without burning incense, therefore all prayer must be directed in faith that Jesus will put our praise and requests to God in order according to his own experiences in order that they ascend and are acceptable to God. 6.10) The candlestick The link between the candlestick and the altar of incense was the timing of the dressing of the lamps and the lighting of fresh incense, And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations (Exodus 30 v 8). It was the duty of the High Priest to do these tasks to teach that God had appointed one who would become an everlasting High Priest - not by natural birth as Aaron - but by fulfilling every word of God. The incense and the flame of the candlestick were to burn together and neither were allowed to go out where burning incense represented the sweet perfume of the character of Jesus Christ (acknowledgement of which must accompany prayer) and the candlestick flame represented the light of the Holy Spirit that illuminated the life of Christ, as it was testified of him, In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world and as Isaiah had prophesied, Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee (Isaiah 60 v 1). The candlestick was beaten out of one piece of pure gold of one talent in weight, (Exodus 25 v 21-40). No dimensions are given for the finished candlestick but a talent of 24 carat gold measures 159.75mm x 159.75mm x 159.75mm (just less than a 6 sided cube). It is commonly called the seven-branched candlestick, but in fact this is a misnomer and misleading and one of the reasons why Jews do not accept that Jesus Christ was and is their Messiah. It is a single candlestick with six branches, Jesus Christ is represented by the candlestick and his companion saints the branches, And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side (Exodus 25 v 31-40). Gold is the allegory for the love of God (agape) from which faith cannot be separated (see Gold in section 6.7 The Ark of the Covenant) and was perfectly manifest in Jesus. It was the love of God for His creation and Jesus reciprocated love for God that formed Jesus character into a beacon of light in a dark world of godlessness, the light of God in a mortal body because he demonstrated the fullness of the meaning of the name of God in his actions, words and manner of life, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth (Exodus 34 v 6) as he prayed to his Father before his crucifixion I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. And I have declared unto them thy name (John 17). This was the light that the darkness (flesh) could not comprehend (John 1 v 4-9) later expounded in simple language by Paul, And without controversy great is the

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The law of God mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory (1 Timothy 3 v 16). Thus Jesus stood and stands as a beacon of light, a lamp-standard of righteousness. The central candlestick had four bowls made like unto almonds with their knops and theirs flowers. The bowls for the beaten olive oil were concave reservoirs shaped like almonds (geometrically pinnate) where the stalk would be a narrow channel inclined upward so that the four almonds met at a small bowl-like terminus where the flame would burn being fed by capillary action of the fluid drawn up by the action of the flame. Each bowl was supported by a flower (literally a blossom, a calyx or petals) and a knop or as Tyndale added to his original translation of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) from Hebrew into English, a bud (Pentateuch 1534, Exodus XXV, v31 marginal note). Thus depicted in the candlestick are the stock, buds, flowers and the fruit - the entire process of what God created trees for, And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so (Genesis 1 v 11). Let us first consider the knops (buds) of the central candlestick. God created trees to grow by means of catalytic conversion of water, nutrients, carbon dioxide and light - a process now well known as photosynthesis where the green pigment (chlorophyll) is the catalyst (that which makes it happen). The seed buried in the ground responds to water, sends out roots as an anchor and then responds to light by sending a shoot out of the ground. At the end of this shoot is a green apical bud (knop) that grows within itself by the action referred to above and forms glucose (sugar) that converts to starch that then converts to cellulose (wood fibre). This buds draws more water from the root and sends sugars back down to fortify further growth below it thus extending the stem upwards. This pioneering knop is carried ever upwards ever multiplying until the canopy of the tree is formed. As the pioneering bud(s) continue other knops form in the cylindrical shoot (stem or trunk) called lateral buds that develop into branches, each with its lead apical knop and so the process continues until the full majesty of the tree is formed. Finally there are the fruit knops that develop into blooms and after pollination grow into fruit in order to perpetuate the species of plant. The single central candlestick had all three types of knop, four fruit bearing apical knops and three lateral knops where the six branches were attached, And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick (Exodus 25 v 35). The six lateral branches had no lateral knops (as the central stem had) but they had apical fruit knops at the top. Thus the candlestick (though at one with the branches) is set apart from them, in other words the candlestick is one and the branches are out of that candlestick. The central candlestick is a representation of the full stature of Jesus Christ and the branches are his multitudinous companion (the saints, the justified faithful) and there are parallel scriptural allegories to help understand what God is teaching in the sixbranched candlestick, seven-light candlestick.

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The law of God The reservoir bowls were shaped like almonds supported by flowers (blossoms) and a knop (bud). When Gods authority was challenged by the congregation as to who was capable to be Gods appointed High Priest, God caused Aarons rod to bud, blossom and bring forth almonds, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds (Numbers 17). Even though all the rods were strong and sound only Gods choice had life within it, even as though man is generally of strong mind and sound intelligence Jesus alone had the animating life of the word of God within him, and the blossom that bloomed in him to the glory of God was the herald of the end of the winter of the domination of the enmity and portend of the summer of honour to God, even as the almond blossom is the herald of spring and summer. Concerning the branches that were beaten out of the candlestick they were represented as branches off the stem at the knops (or lateral buds). Of the allegory of the vine Jesus taught, I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing (John 15 v 1-8) and so without doubt or ambiguity the six branches were of the central candlestick and all bore fruit after the manner of the main stock but less in fullness (3 in the branches and 4 in the stem). Concerning the branches being of the stock or stem of the candlestick Jesus also taught that his friends (the saints) would be of him, not independent of him in any way or indeed equal to him. When Peter was asked by Jesus of who he (Jesus) was Peter confessed, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16 v 16) to which Jesus replied, And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16 v 18). Peter (Greek petros) means simply of the rock (Greek petra) - the rock that Jesus said would be the rock of the foundation of the church in the same way that the six branches of the candelabra were of the single central stem, fortified by the allegory of the natural creation of God in the growth of a tree. Jesus is the Rock and he is the Candlestick, Peter and all the disciples and friends of Jesus in any age are of that Rock (Peter being representative) and of that Candlestick. Thus Jesus taught (as God taught in the lightstand) that his friends were of the rock that he was, where Jesus rock was God. The seven lights of the candlestick were all level, albeit the central light was brighter as there were four bowls in it to three in each branch. The covenant of God is that He will give eternal life (the fullness of the Holy Spirit) in response to obedience to His commands. None will get more and none will get less. Jesus will be the brightest, the sovereign king but all will enjoy everlasting life. The fuel of their light will be the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God (Matthew 25 v 1-13). Olive oil the fuel of the light God created the trees to beautify the earth, to balance the atmosphere and to provide some for materials and some for food, And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat (Genesis 1 v 29). Of all the food-giving trees God made the olive unique from all other.

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The law of God God created man as a vegetarian with digestion of fats essential for life. Killing and eating of animals was introduced as a result of the curse of God upon man and all creation, whereby digestion of essential fats are supplemented by animal fat, but as God created man, his necessary fat intake to sustain energetic life was from the oil of the olive and some other fruits. As it is essential to continued energetic life, God made the berries from the olive to be available for the poorest of His creatures, it is a small inconspicuous fruit, abundant in cropping and nutritious. It has been the staple diet for rich and poor for millennia. Apart from being a nutritious food it is a natural source of oil for food preparation (cooking and dressing), cleansing (soap) and fuel (light), where it burns readily with a steady, bright and smokeless flame. The fuel of the candlestick was beaten olive oil. The name olive has its roots in to shine as the oil of the fruit (drupe) is a shining golden yellow and its flame is bright as in, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? (Zechariah 4 v 12). The name oil in the Hebrew has its roots in fatness in the sense of energy and vigour as in My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness (Psalms 109 v 24) as blood is the essence of life so fat is the substance of life, we cannot live without either. The process of extraction of the oil from the berry is by grinding pressure between millstones and separation of the oil from the natural water by decanting (oil and water do not mix). For the smaller quantities that would be the lot of the poor it must be beaten in a mortar and pestle and then decanted in the same way. For the finest virgin olive oil the olive must be perfectly ripe and fresh and the oil used after minimum delay. As God chose the juice of the grape to represent the life-blood of Jesus Christ, so He has chosen the oil of the olive to represent His work in the preparation of a righteous people to inherit the earth forever through Jesus Christ. God is Spirit as Jesus taught, God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4 v 24) and He created the heavens and the earth by His Spirit, And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1 v 2). There is only one Spirit as Paul wrote, There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Ephesians 4 v 4-6) and by that one Spirit God keeps in being the creation including man upon it every day by giving breath and life, but when that Spirit is used for the specific purpose of preparing an individual for salvation (it is always the work of God, no man can do it himself) then it is the same one Spirit but called the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:14-27). God has said, For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Isaiah 57 v 15), and again, but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word (Isaiah 66 v 2), and the Psalmist enjoined, The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (Psalms 34 v 18). The beaten olive oil of the Tabernacle represents the interaction between the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) and

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The law of God the contrite spirit that was found perfectly in Jesus Christ but is to be seen in any man or woman who hopes for salvation. When those two spirits unite and become one, then that is represented by the olive oil of the Tabernacle. Israel and all others who follow the hope of the Covenant of God were being taught what God promised He would do in response to those who humbled themselves in His sight He would give them an increasing measure of His Spirit as enlightenment until their natural spirit was filled with it. The Spirit of God never changes it is the spirit of man that must change to allow the Holy Spirit to work. At the completion of that work, the faithful will out of Jesus become lights in the House of God forever. All other uses of olive oil are representative of the Spirit of God that keeps rich and poor alive each day, unassuming, smooth, nutritious, soothing, and healthy. Beaten olive oil sanctified for use in the Tabernacle represented the Holy Spirit united with the humble and contrite spirit of Jesus Christ, thus he was the light of the world, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8 v 12) 6.11) Table of shewbread The third article of furniture in the Holy Place was the table of showbread that was made after the manner of the body of the Ark of the Covenant and the altar of Incense. It was of shittim wood overlaid with gold, with a golden crown (or lip) and a pelmetborder with gold rings for two staves of shittim wood also overlaid with gold. It stood on the north side of the Tabernacle tent and supported gold dishes (large dish or charger), spoons, bowls (shallow bowl or dish) and covers (Exodus 25 v 23-30). Each Sabbath day, fresh bread was to be set in order (two rows (ranks) of six loaves with pure frankincense set on each) as the old bread was taken and eaten by the High Priest and his sons in the Holy Place that same day. The bowls contained the shewbread that sat in the dishes and were covered from sight by the covers with the spoons for handling the bread. It has been shown that gold represents the love of God (agape) fully reflected and manifest in Jesus Christ and shittim wood (to which it was bonded) the mortal flesh of Jesus. The table of the shewbread represented Jesus in the fullness of his work - the manifestation of the name of God in a mortal body. The purpose of God is that He will be manifest in the son of His right hand (strength) by his sons righteous sinless life and that through him there would be a multiplication of people that would in turn be filled with Jesus manifestation of God, a unity Jesus spoke of in his final prayer to God, And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me (John 17 v 22-23). Encapsulated in the bowls, dishes and covers of the love of God was the shewbread. This word is made up of two words, to shew as in a face or presence and bread as in food made from ground wheat, thus shewbread is often rephrased as the bread of presence. The face or presence refers to the Face and Presence of God from which Adam and Eve hid when they knew they had sinned and were naked, And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden (Genesis 3 v 8). As a result of their sin God turned His Face, His

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The law of God Presence away from mankind when He cursed them with decay unto death and drove them from the Tree of Life located in the Garden of Eden, such that God said to Moses, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live (Exodus 33 v 20). But the promise of God in His covenant with man is that men will one day see His face as it is foretold, And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads (Revelation 22 v 3-4). The means by which this promise will be fulfilled is through the fullness of the significance of the bread of the presence (the shewbread). God purposed and promised that His face, His countenance, His character, His presence (as while the Tabernacle ordinances stood) would be manifest in what was represented by the bread. Jesus said I am that bread of life (John 6 v 48) and at the conclusion of his work just before his death Jesus told his disciples, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father (John 14 v 9) and John Baptist declared of Jesus from his experience, No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him (John 1 v 18). The shewbread represented Jesus through whom God purposed to manifest Himself in a mortal body so that God could show through His son how He intended that man should live in order to fulfil the promise of His covenant that man could see His face again, by change of nature from mortality to immortality through absence of sin. Jesus was not different to any other child and this is represented by the choice of God in bread to represent Jesus body. Production of bread is a well-known but simple process, but extends over a long period representing a lifetime. The process begins with suitable preparation of ground by ploughing, harrowing and exposure of the bare soil to weather. The ground represents the heart, naturally hard and stony, rebellious against the authority of God, and breaking up that resistance requires the discipline of obedience and compliance to every word of God by cutting off temptation as it arises, as it is written, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart (Jeremiah 4 v 34) and Isaiah instructed, Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? .. and cast in the principle wheat .. For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him (Isaiah 28 v 24-29). This was the work of Jesus from birth, he cast out the thorns of self-satisfaction and weeds of indulgence, the stones of rebellion, broke up the natural resistance of his heart to obedience of Gods word and took in the seed of the word of God (Matthew 13 v 1-23) and reproduced that seed-word as the multiple fruits of his life (the word made flesh John 1 v 14), a fruit that when mature needed beating to remove the chaff (the flesh), grinding to produce flour (humility) and sifting (meekness) to remove that last trace of contaminant (the enmity) and unbroken natural-spirit to produce the fine flour of the shewbread, a bread so pure and holy that it was sprinkled with pure frankincense, the representative of pure praise to God (see frankincense, p40.). But God purposed that although His son in whom He would be manifest would be singular, a multitude would manifest His son in their lives after the same manner (and indirectly manifest God), so there were 12 identical loaves to represent the 12 spiritual tribes of Israel made of Jew and Gentile as it is written, For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ

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The law of God Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3 v 27-29), and that promise is yet to be fulfilled, And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands (Revelation 7). To confirm this promise of God that He would be manifest in a family through one man (the son of God), the High Priest and his sons were to eat the bread taken from table each Sabbath as a communion on behalf of all others (in whatever generation) who had faith in the covenant of God that they also in due course would enter the Sanctuary of everlasting life in the presence of God by that one who did manifest God in his mortal life. That was the faith that led the fugitive David to the Sanctuary and ate the showbread that the priests had despised by not eating as required by the law (Matthew 12 v 3-4, 1 Samuel 21). 6.12) Entrance pillars and sockets. Five pillars marked the entrance to the Holy Place. These shittim wood pillars, overlaid with gold were tennoned into sockets of brass, at the top of the pillars were gold hooks to support an embroidered screen that served as the entrance door. This door to the Sanctuary stood as a reminder of the owner of the house. The owner of this house was God as it is written, And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25 v 8). And Ye shall .. reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD (Leviticus 19 v 30). The five pillars represent the name of God, whose name is Holy and Sanctified, the name that Jesus came to demonstrate in a mortal body as he said, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world.. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name .. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it (John 17). The name of God was given to Moses, And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth (Exodus 34 v 6-7). These five pillars are the essence of all life on earth as Paul taught the Gentiles, For in him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17 v 23-31) and the core of the hope of salvation through the covenant of God in Jesus Christ who became the manifestation of those five pillars in his mortal life, works and teachings. As only an appointed priest could pass through the door of the Sanctuary so likewise no man can approach God (in prayer or hope of salvation) other than through Jesus Christ as Jesus taught, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14 v 6). The pillars were shittim wood (indicating mortal flesh origin) overlaid with gold (the love of God) and stood in sockets of brass. The screen was fine twined linen embroidered with blue, purple and scarlet representing the character and person of Jesus (see The Vail, pp 34-37) supported by the gold hooks of the love of God. The sockets of cast brass were the feet and foundation of the whole entrance assembly in the same way as John saw the glorified Christ in the Revelation, And his feet like

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The law of God unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace (Revelation 1 v 12-18) a repeat of the vision that Daniel saw, and his feet like in colour to polished brass (Daniel 10 v 6). Brass Brass is a generic term being a metal alloy made up of copper and tin (bronze), or copper and zinc (brass) of a wide variety of proportions depending on the mechanical property required. The word used for brass in the Tabernacle is copper, a metal of the same family as gold and silver in the periodic table. It is malleable, ductile (but less so than gold or silver) and an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Its natural colour is pink due to the reflection of only part of the full spectrum of white light incident upon it, as it absorbs the blue spectrum (higher frequencies) thus reflecting the lower frequencies (red). It reacts with air and forms a surface oxide of verdigris (green). God chose copper of all the metals He created to represent two powers that are mutually incompatible, the one cannot coexist with the other because one always replaces the other. The superior power is the Holy Spirit - the power of God, and the inferior power is the enmity, the power of the flesh in man, the devil, Satan, the world. Both are capable of ruling the heart of man but neither can rule with the other, they are implacably opposed, man is either ruled by the enmity or by the Holy Spirit. God has chosen copper to represent that power of rulership and domination as being the fiery colour of the Holy Spirit (Daniel 10 v 6, Revelation 1 v 15) or the red of the serpents mouth. The fiery representation of the Holy Spirit is illustrated in the Altar of Burnt Offering (Exodus 27 v 1-8, yet to be considered) that was to be burning continuously representing the fiery work of burning the enmity. It also represents the antithesis, the enmity, the serpent (to be burnt and replaced by the Holy Spirit) as was demonstrated, And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live (Numbers 21v 1-9). This miracle represented the victory of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit over the power of the enmity within him as he said, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up (John 3 v 14). Jesus feet, his walk and stand on every issue of life was firmly in the power of the Holy Spirit, thus he stood represented by the five pillars of the name of His Father as a living witness that there was a God who was a loving Father. To understand the fullness of the power of that name it is necessary to see it in the embroidered curtain of the life of Jesus, the fine twined linen of righteousness, the blue of the covenant manifest in a lowest of creatures, the red of the despised insect who died that there could be offspring, the purple of the humble creature of the sea of humanity. To see the name of God these characteristics of Jesus must be understood. (see The veil, pp 34-37). The entrance of any dwelling is the representation of the owner, the tent of the Tabernacle was the House of God that stood as a teacher of the greater House that God is building, a house of righteous people as it is written, And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God (Revelation 21 v 3). The entrance to that House is Jesus Christ as

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The law of God he said, I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John 10 v 9). Those members are represented by the boards that formed the wall of the Tabernacle. 6.13) The boards and sockets The eastern boundary of the Sanctuary was the entrance of five pillars and curtain, and on the north, west and south sides there were 48 upright boards, 20 boards to the north and south and 6 on the west plus two corner boards. Each board was tennoned into two silver sockets at the bottom and had 5 gold rings affixed equally spaced from top to bottom on the outer side through which 5 bars a were located reaching from end to end with a common locking rings at the corners (Exodus 26 v 15-30). Thus a rigid structure for the Sanctuary was affected. The boards were made of the same materials as the Ark of the Covenant, (pp23-29), of shittim wood and were overlaid with gold. These represent the glorified saints united as a single body surrounding their king and head, Jesus Christ. Jesus alone fulfilled the figure of the love of God (agape) entirely enveloping a righteous character in a mortal body (shittim wood), but God has purposed that a multitudinous companion will be made out of him, put his character on and become like him, which was prefigured in the creation of a companion for Adam when Eve was built up from his rib, And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man (Genesis 2 v 21-25) where made he means built up piece by piece. The Psalmist speaking in the spirit of Christ prophesied of this mystery - the creation of a multitudinous companion out of one man, when he referred to all the members of his body were fashioned in continuance day by day, My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them (Psalms 139 v 15-17) where the first substance is frame or body, the second is embryo that from which the body comes and continuance is day after day (generation after generation), speaking of the creation of a composite body built up over 6 thousand years from the embryo of a perfect man Jesus Christ and finally manifest in a multitude. Paul instructs the Gentiles of the way this is done, Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (Romans 6 v 3), and For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Galatians 3 v 27), and, And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4 v 24) where Christ is the new man of righteousness. This putting on is a lifetime work for each individual generation after generation until finally the last member will be prepared and all the resurrected justified faithful will be presented as a composite bride to her husband as it is written, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints (Revelation 19 v 7-8). Then will be fulfilled the prophetic words spoken by Adam when he was still in the joy of a sinless existence and Eve was presented to him, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh (Genesis 2 v 23), and so also the hope of John, Beloved, now are we the sons of God,

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The law of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3 v 2). Thus the boards are the saints, the glorified justified resurrected faithful with no glory of their own but perpetuating the glory of their saviour who alone glorified God. As fellows in faith they are joined together as one, arm in arm, by the bars that linked them into a palisade of honour, the wall of a city, as faithful subjects to their king and saviour, as it is written of the city of the glorified saints, Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following (Psalms 48 v 12-13). The boards stood in sockets of silver representing their foundation in word of God fulfilled in Jesus Christ (pp31-32). The boards stand shoulder to shoulder as a rank of warriors in defence of the name of God as Paul encouraged, Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6 v 13-17). David the warrior Psalmist wrote of this same gospel from the beginning, the hope of the glorified saints around their saviour and High Priest, Jesus Christ, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion (Psalms 133 &134). 6.14) The coverings There were four coverings spread over the boards and entrance pillars that hung down the sides and rested on the ground, thus enveloping the Sanctuary. The innermost covering formed the visible ceiling and was made in ten coupled 4 cubit (72 or 1829mm) wide strips of fine twined linen woven with blue, purple and scarlet to form cherubims. The next cover was of goats hair, covered with a layer of rams skin dyed red and finally an overlay of badger skin (Exodus 26 v 1 14). The innermost covering Fine twined linen represents righteousness, scarlet the blood of Jesus Christ, blue the covenant of God in him, and purple the royal priesthood (a king/priest) (see pp34-37). The cherubim represent angelic messengers, or angels. It was found that the cherubim of the veil represented the angels as they are now preventing mankind from escaping death and are to be removed, as was foretold when the veil was rent in twain on the death of Jesus Christ teaching that he made the way to eternal life possible through his life and death (The veil, pp 31-37). Thus that work of those cherubim (angels) of the veil was temporary, but God has promised that through His son Jesus Christ, many

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The law of God mortals would be made immortal and become as the angels for (teaching of these mortals) Jesus said, For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven (Mark 12 v 25). This promise is the unifying conclusion of the purpose of God embedded in His covenant to mankind even as these ten curtain strips were commanded to make the Tabernacle one, a unity, And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle (Exodus 26 v 6). Each strip had fifty loops of blue woven into both edges so that fifty gold clasps could unify the covering and thus unify the Sanctuary, the Holy and Most Holy places. Gold represents the love of God (agape) reflected in His righteous children and blue represents the covenant of God that mortal man will be made immortal in His mercy and faithfulness. The ten curtains represent the saints, the glorified faithful, made like unto angels, after the fullness of their preparation by communion with the life and death of Jesus Christ, and will be in the spiritual house of God forever. There were ten curtains locked together as one unit by gold clasps in order that it shall be one tabernacle. The root of the Hebrew word ten is fullness of riches as in the Psalm that spoke prophetically of Jesus, Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments ..Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever (Psalms 112:1-3) and also in when David praised God for all the riches that God had given him, Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all and of those riches David freely gave back to God in order for a house to be built for Him, But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee and O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own (1 Chronicles 29 v 1019). It is from these riches (that God gives every man and women every day) that the word ten comes, the tithe, the tenth of the recognised fullness of riches that God gives, as Abraham showed when he was blessed by God in the safe deliverance of his family, And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all (Genesis 14 v 20) thus the tenth represented the best of all the riches God gave him. At the same time he distinguished between the riches of man and those of God when he refused a reward from the king of Sodom, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich (Genesis 14 v 23). In the ten curtains coupled together by the gold clasps of the love of God, the fullness of the riches of the covenant of God are manifest in a people made like cherubims (angels) who gave to God the whole riches of their lives in the spirit of the tithe (best tenth) thus completing the ten curtains of the fullness of the riches of unification of God with man through Jesus Christ. Thus the Sanctuary, the tent of the Tabernacle was made one, teaching of the fullness of the promise of God that mortal man will be made immortal and dwell in His house for ever.

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The law of God The second covering goats hair There were to be eleven strips of goats hair coupled together with clasps of brass into 50 loops of goats hair on each edge. They were coupled in two groups, 5 and 6 strips each, where the sixth was doubled over at the entrance of the Sanctuary. God chose the goat as the representative of the sin offering, the one (Jesus Christ) who would take away sin and provide atonement for sin. The law of God regarding expiation of sin was epitomised on the Day of Atonement, the 14th day of the 7th month (Leviticus 16). On that day two goats were to be provided by the congregation as sin offerings (v5) where one was to be offered whose blood was to be sprinkled on and before the Ark of the Covenant (the only time the high priest was allowed in the Most Holy Place) and the other goat was to be released into the wilderness as a scapegoat carrying the confessed sins of the congregation, But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness (Leviticus 16 v 10). The one who took the sins of man away was Jesus Christ and in the companion figure (the other goat), the one whose righteous lifeblood was brought without sin before the presence of God. This was the faith of Rebekah, as it was of her husband Isaac. When she heard that Isaac was to bless Esau (who she knew despised the promises of God), she instructed Jacob (who treasure the promises of God) to prepare a kid of the goats in order to obtain the blessing rightfully his. Rebekah saw the bigger picture of the blessing of the promises of eternal life and knew that Jacob shared her faith but that Esau saw only the blessing of a good life now. Of this goat Rebekah made coverings for his hands and neck in order to express her faith that to obtain the bigger blessing (eternal life) he (and she and all the faithful) needed a covering for sins that would be provided by Jesus Christ, And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck (Genesis 27 v 16). Despite the righteousness of the saints depicted in the first covering, God taught that for them to attain to such honour, a covering for their sins was essential and provided the covering of goats hair to teach them. The goat was named after its prodigious strength and agility, two qualities that would be needed (in a spiritual sense in the heart and mind) in the one who would be the saviour - the sin offering providing a covering for the sins of others. The strength of Jesus was his faith and love for God, so much so that God became his strength. But Jesus recognised that the enemy of God was also strong and that he would have to understand all the wiles of the devil if he was to overcome it in himself and he expressed this awareness when he was accused of having a devil', But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house (Matthew 12 v 28-29). Jesus bound the strong man of Satan within his heart by the stronger word of God and spoiled the devils domain by death on the cross. Many times did the devil in the elders of Israel try to trap Jesus in his words, but by the agility depicted in the name of the goat, Jesus astonished his detractors with his answers and put them to silence, for example when he was asked whether he thought it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not Jesus answered them, But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's. And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's (Luke 20 v 23-26) as man was made in the image of God

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The law of God (Genesis 1 v 26-27) it was mans duty to fully repay God with the honour due to his creator requiring a strength of character that no other man has possessed other than Jesus. The third covering - Rams skins dyed red The ram was chosen by God to represent His beloved Son Jesus Christ who would fulfil the requirement of God that there should be a covering for the sins of men provided by a man born of Adams race (a mortal human Galatians 4 v 4) who would die in obedience to God so that forgiveness of sins after resurrection from the dead unto eternal life could be granted to many men and women. This was the hope and faith of Abraham who was told by God to sacrifice his only beloved son (Isaac) in order to try the sincerity of his faith. Abraham proved his faith and God provided a ram to replace Isaac (Abrahams beloved son) and taught that a male (Gods beloved son) born out of the flock' of mankind (tangled in the thicket of the enmity) who would be released from entanglement by obedience to Gods word and would die for the salvation of those who had the same faith as Abraham, And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son (Genesis 22). God then gave Abraham one of the most important promises of His covenant, a promise that was the bedrock of the early Christians and is the keystone of pure Christian faith today, . and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. Paul established this promise as the bedrock of Christian faith, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ (Galatians 3 v16). The enemy whose gate was to be possessed is the only enemy God has, the enmity, the poison of the serpent from the beginning, otherwise referred to as Satan, the devil, the world, the flesh, etc. The gate is the strength of a walled city, the place of council, the seat of judgement and the hub of commerce. The walled city is mankind and the enmity is the ruler, counsellor, the judge and the banker - the gate. That gate (the enmity) was to be overcome and killed by Jesus Christ in his own life and replaced by the ruler-ship of God by His word. To accomplish that he would have to die because the enmity never stops working until death as Solomon wrote of death, Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun (Ecclesiastes 9 v 4-6). The death that Jesus was to endure was not to be from natural causes, but by voluntary submission in obedience to the will of God by the cruelty of the enmity from his fellows, as a result of which he was (as a mortal man) to die in order to provide a covering skin, as taught in the rams skins dyed red. The word red is not the same a scarlet that was used elsewhere that represents the blood of a lowly man, but rather the red of the blood showing through the pigment of skin, i.e. ruddy, it is the word that is associated with the root of the name Adam (synonymous with mankind, i.e. of the offspring of Adam), cursed to mortality. It was the red of the pottage for which Esau sold his birthright exemplifying indulgence of the gratification of the flesh over faith in God, thus Esau (red, ruddy) represented mankind as a whole. The ram-skin of covering sin unto salvation was to be of a male (ram) of the race of mortal men, a race ruddy (red) from indulgence of sin, caught in the thicket of the

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The law of God enmity (entangled because of sin) that Jesus would come and thus makes his victory so powerful. The fourth and final covering badgers skin The Sanctuary contained the representations of the Son of God (Jesus Christ) and his multitudinous companion (the saints) in the future curse-free creation, and this Sanctuary was the place that represented where God would meet and dwell with His family for whom He created the world (Colossians 1). Owing to the sin of man, this condition of unity (the un-cursed creation and Tree of Life eternal life) was closed to mankind and (as represented in the Sanctuary) was covered as a secret place, but not altogether closed off as a forbidden enclosure, for God promised in His covenant that there would be a way of entrance to eternal life by the life and death of His son Jesus Christ. This covenant (covering the secret of the way to the place of eternal life), this covenant that God made to man revealed that if man obeyed Gods law with understanding and love, He would open His secret to them (Amos 3 v 7) and give eternal life in return in His appointed time, The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant (Psalms 25 v 14), and Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever (Romans 16 v 25-27). For those that enter into this covenant by vow to obey God in the way that He has commanded (by obedience to the whole law before Christ and baptism into the death of Christ after Christ) this covenant becomes a covering or covert, a protection from the wiles of the devil man (the enmity Romans 8 v 7, Ephesians 6 v 10-18). In this obedience king David wrote in the Psalms of living under the covering of the covenant of God, 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. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock (Psalms 27 v 4-5) and again, Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues (Psalms 31:20) and again, I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings (Psalms 61 v 4). This outer covering represented that covenant of God, and this covenant was represented in the colour blue by the choice of God (Exodus 24 v 9-11) where men met with angels and did eat and drink. This fourth and final covering was the protector from all outside influence - the sun, rain, wind and the prying eyes of man (both Jew and Gentile). It needed to be waterproof, windproof, breathable and as representing the Covenant of God it was to be of blue colour, strong, tough, soft, supple and above all, durable. The instructions for this covering as read in the King James (Authorised, KJV) bible is, And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers' skins Exodus 26 v 14), whereas that translated by William Tyndale in the early 16th century directly from Hebrew to English (from which the KJV was derived) reads, And thou fhalt make another coueringe for the tente of rams fkinnes dyed red: ad yet another aboue all of taxus skinnes (The Pentatuarch, 1530). Over the recent

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The law of God centuries there has been divergence of interpretations of the Hebrew word (tachash) from which Tyndale translated taxus due to the unknown origin of the colloquial Hebrew name of this animal. Some confusion is due to taking the word Tyndales taxus as part of the Latin name for a badger Taxidea taxus (after Linneous binomial nomenclature notation of species, 18th century), but Tyndales whole work was against the use of Latin as that was the language of the Roman Catholic church against whom he fought so that the English ploughboy could read the Bible for himself. Tyndales translation, however, is clear - the rams skins were dyed red but the taxus skins were not dyed but of natural colour, which leaves an animal whose skin is naturally blue, definitely not the badger. Two major contributors to Hebrew lexicons were John Parkhurst (1871) and Wilhelm Gesenius (1846). Parkhurst recognises the alternative translations but insists that it denoted the colour blue - azure, sky-blue - and quotes older sources to bolster his view, i.e. the Septuagint (Hebrew to Greek- 2nd century BC) where tachash, badgers, is rendered hyacinthus (blue) indigo, or sapphire, or navy, or a deep, clear sky blue (after evening sinset). Also Jerome of the 3rd century AD used hyacinthus (blue) when translating the Vulgate from Hebrew to Latin. Gesinius however is equally certain that it was an animal skin that was used widely as shoes and rendered it seal, badger, taxus or taxo, and quotes Arabic sources as rendering it dolphin or seal and quotes its use a high quality durable footware. Having therefore two equally compelling but divergent interpretations, what was the outer covering of the Sanctuary? For that we can only look from the viewpoint of God who commanded it and to why He chose what He did in order to teach of His purpose and promises. That has been established (His covenant, see above) and leads us to a naturally blue, waterproof, windproof, breathable, durable skin, and for that to be there is only one animal indigenous to the Red Sea (and most warm waters of that latitute) which is the dugong dugan otherwise known as the sea-cow owing to its vegetable diet, gentle trusting demeanor, herding instinct and suckling its young with human-like mammory glands. Recent research into this mammal confirms its use from pre-history as high quality footware and of many shades of blue as descibed by one report, The fact that the Arabs of the Sinaitic peninsula apply dukhas/tukhas/tucash to the dugong, sea-cow, seal, porpoise and dolphin - to such a varied population of sea mammals - strongly suggests that it denotes, not the kind of animals they are, but some distinguishing characteristic they have in common. With very few exceptions, they have a similar coloring: a dusky "bluish-grey" or "slateblue" color, ranging from a darker "sky-blue dawn" or "grey-indigo" and "nearblack" (a kind of "deep midnight navy" or "indigo dye color"), to a lighter "slateblue" and pale "bluish-grey", to an even more pronounced "glaucous blue"--any one of which is more pronouncedly blue in tone and beautiful (ultramarine) when viewed under a clear sky and in the waters of the sea (wikipedia). The fourth and final covering badgers skin - The conclusion God chose the outer covering of the tent of the Tabernacle (the Sanctuary) to be an all embracing protective covering (as a covert) for those who turn to Him in repentance and that it was a witness to His covenant, complete in its protection from outside influences (naturally blue, waterproof, weatherproof, windproof, breathable and durable) to teach of His covenant that mortal man would be made immortal in His mercy through His beloved son Jesus Christ (who fulfilled and became the

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The law of God manifestation of that covenant). The only mammal that satisfied that criteria was the dugong dugan, a docile, trusting, sea-grass eating mammal, but this was classified by God as an unclean animal (Leviticus 11) and it is here that many stumble as they also stumble at the rock that was made the cornerstone (1 Peter 2 v 6-8) because they do not consider the law from Gods viewpoint they see it as a system of rigid rules not a teacher of greater things. God created all creatures as clean (very good Genesis 1 v 31) God cursed all creation (some creatures were classifies as unclean - Genesis 3 v 17 - later confirmed by Paul that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean Romans 14 v 14) not because the earth had angered God but to teach man (who had angered God) - and to remind him every day - that it was he (man) who was unclean because of disobedience by sin and that the promise of God is, that that which is now unclean in His eyes will be made clean through the obedience of His son Jesus Christ, and that is the protective covert of the covering of the mercy and faithfullness of meaning of the name of God (merciful, gracious, long suffering, goodness and truth) manifest in Jesus Christ, and as the outer covering of the Tabernacle it was a daily public witness to Jew and Gentile of the purpose of God (Numbers 24). 6.15) Altar of burnt offering Like the Ark of the Covenant, the incense altar and the table of shewbread, the altar of burnt sacrifice was also made of shittim wood, but in contrast with those the altar of burnt offering was overlaid with brass (Exodus 27 v 1-7). God chose brass to represent the fire of the Holy Spirit (for description see pp54-55, Revelation 1 v 15), to reflect and blend in with the yellow/red of the flames and heat of the fire on the altar, This heat (fuelled by the fat of the offerings, Leviticus 3 v 16 - 17) must have been intense, why then did the shittim wood under the brass not burn away? In the beginning when God created everything He perfected every infinite detail (all what we now call 'science') and in so doing He created the natural phenomena now known as pyrolysis, if air is sealed away from wood as it is heated it does not burn but changes into a hard and durable resinous substance similar to that which we know as Bakelite or phenolic. Thus the altar of shittim wood, encased in brass, was entirely durable and immensely strong as a place of the burning of whole animal carcases. The altar was five cubits square (7 6, 2.3m) and three cubits high (4 6, 1.38m) with four cast-brass rings on each outside corner for shittim wood staves overlaid with brass to locate in for transport, and four horns of the same construction at the four top corners. The whole structure was hollow, i.e. four sides with no bottom, but with four locating points at the bottom of the inside faces to support four rings on the corners of a grating of brass to allow the ashes to fall through. Although it is not recorded, the sides must have been short of the ground with four legs at each corner upon which the grating located in order for the ashes to fall out and be collected. The substantial fuel of the fire was wood and it was not allowed to go out as it is written, And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out (Leviticus 6 v 12-13). The sacrifices (to be considered later) were laid on the wood and burnt, with the ashes of the wood, animals and their fat falling through the grating at the base and collected by the priest to be deposited in a designated clean place outside the encampment, And he shall

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The law of God put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place (Leviticus 6 v 11). The smoke of the burning was a constant reminder to all people of the work represented in the sacrifices. That work represented the work of Holy Spirit as a fire in a mortal body (the shittim wood frame). It has been shown that brass represents either the spirit of man (the enmity, the devil, Satan, etc) or the Holy Spirit and in both cases represents the yellow/red of fire. Satan is a fearsome burning fire enabling its victim to burn with an implacable and unquenchable hatred of righteousness as Jesus taught when he used the analogy of Gehenna as a repository of the enmity as a fire in the heart and mind of man. Gehenna (translated as hell) was the valley of the Son of Hinnom situated around the southern boundary of Jerusalem where dead paupers and miscreants were thrown among the self-combusting municipal rubbish tip continually consumed by fire and Jesus used this as a metaphor for the enmity at work in man as he said. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell (Gehenna), into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9 v 43-44). This spirit of the enmity as a brazen fire cannot co-exist with the Holy Spirit, the one must always overcome the other. To his shame man has always been overcome in some degree by the enmity within him with the exception of Jesus Christ who, although subject to temptation as every other man, overcame the enmity by the word of God through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The brass enveloping the shittim wood of the frame of the altar of burnt offering represented the fire of the God (For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God Deuteronomy 4 v 24) and when God works specifically in the preparation of His chosen people He does so by His own power - the Spirit of God and is always referred to in the scripture as the Holy Spirit, it is not a separate power or being, it is the power of God in a specific work. The fiery appearance of brass reflected the work of the literal fire of the altar whose purpose was to consume the flesh and fat of the animals as a figure of the consumption of the enmity by the Holy Spirit at work in the fatness (best) of the heart and mind of Gods chosen son Jesus Christ by which means he overcame sin as he said, These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world (enmity) ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (enmity) (John 16 v 33). Fire is a chemical reaction of fundamental particles of energised carbon atoms and molecules in the presence of oxygen and reduces any combustible (carboniforous0 substance to its lowest solid form, un-bonded carbon form (ash), where the energy inherent within the substance as created by God is released as a yellow flame and dispersed in the atmosphere as pure energy - the energy from which God created all things in the beginning, therefore it is well known as the fundamental law of physics that energy (of God who created all things) cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transferred from one state to another. Therefore the fire of the Holy Spirit within Jesus converted the fat (best) of the energy usually commandeered by Satan into the best energy to be expended in obedience to God, the same spiritual energy that was given to man in the beginning but who spent it on the lust of the serpent, it is the spiritual energy given by God to glorify God.

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The law of God Therefore the altar of burnt offering represented Jesus Christ who alone allowed the Holy Spirit to work in his mortal body and character until the enmity was consumed (destroyed) finally in death and the details of that work were depicted the various offerings laid upon it, as Jesus upbraided the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon (Matthew 23 v 19-20). The phrase burnt offering (( )as in altar of burnt offering) means to ascend or go up, as indeed the flame and smoke did literally rise and go up, but this Hebrew word-phrase has far more pregnancy than a mere observation of an obvious fact. God is in heaven and man is on the earth and God is righteous and man is inherently wicked, and in this context it is written, Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. By nature man sends up a stinking savour to God even when he claims to honour God by wearisome sacrifices of all sorts of things and hypocritical protestations as did Israel in Isaiahs day, Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day (Isaiah 65 v 5). God sought obedience through love as a sweet savour of to ascend to Him, a pleasing aroma of a continual denial of the enmity, a fragrance of complete victory over the enmity. Noah knew this and he knew that the one that would do that had not yet come, so he offered clean animals as a sweet smelling sacrifice to God to express his faith that that one would come in Gods good time, And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour (Genesis 8 v 2021) where sweet means delighted, well pleasing and agreeable. When God gave Moses the law because the congregation did not have the faith that Noah had, God commanded that a continual reminder of this promise should be offered every day, morning and evening whose savour would go up (ascend) as a sweet savour to God, It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD (Numbers 28 v 6). Jesus fulfilled all that God looked for and God did smell a sweet savour of obedience in Jesus and said, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Mark 1 v 11), again later, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him (Matthew 17 v 5), and again at the end of his life Jesus prayed, Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him (John 12:27-29). The burnt offering (upward going savour) was nothing without the altar and that altar represented Christ. There were four horns at the four corners of the altar made of the same construction as the body of the altar. The Hebrew name horn ( )is that of an animal horn, the meaning of the word being based on its strength, the part of the animal through which the whole body makes its strength known in defence of its territory and family. No

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The law of God mention is made in the Law as to the practical use of these horns, but the meaning of the name horn does represent the whole strength of the altar and its sacrifices as being represented through these horns as a figurative witness to the one who would stand in the strength of God and defend his territory (his mind, heart, soul, character) against all rivals and predators (the enmity, Satan, the devil etc) by which a family would be also protected (as in natural horned animals). However, reference is made to these horns in the Psalms that links a practical use of the horns to spiritual teaching, as it is written, God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar (Psalms 118 v 27). The cords here are twine ropes (strong and tenacious) and the binding ( )is to bind as with chains such that it is impossible to escape (Genesis 39 v 20), it is to engage in battle where every warrior is totally committed (11 Chronicles 14 v 3), it is to restrain every subject to a king by laws (Psalm 105 v 22), it is an obligatory decree (Daniel 6 v 7-8), but above all it is a binding vow of abstinence, as it is written If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth (Numbers 30 v 2, Ecclesiastes 5 v 1-7). The altar represented the mortal Jesus Christ (shittim wood) immersed in the influence of the Holy Spirit (brass) and the sacrificed animals on the altar (to be considered later in detail) represented the substance of his sacrifices the evidence of the fulfilment (payment) of his vow through obedience that completed a perfect sacrifice. Jesus committed himself to his work with a binding vow from the earliest age to honour God by obedience to His every word (Psalm 40 v 7-8, Psalm 116 v 14, Luke 2 v 49), to bind Satan within his soul as a bound prisoner (Matthew 12 v 25-32, Ephesians 4 v 8), to impose the law of God in his heart as obligatory government decrees (Psalm 119) and to engage the enmity in battle within himself with all his faculties until it was defeated (Matthew 4 v 1-11, Luke 22 v 42-44). The inner strength of Jesus was his Nazarite vow (Numbers 6) by which he defended the territory of his heart and mind, vanquished the enemy of God (the enmity) and defended the flock of God - his future multitudinous companion. Thus placing a sacrifice on the altar without first binding it to the horns of the altar was like making sacrifices without any purpose of honouring God (i.e. sacrifice or martyrdom for personal glory) - an empty and pointless waste, as God said To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats (Isaiah 1:11-15). God has never wanted sacrifices for sacrifice sake, he wants the sacrifice of a vow of obedience followed by the sacrifices of humble obedience to His word as Micah wrote, Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6 v 6-9). As therefore the one who offered the animal for sacrifice in order to express faith in the promises of God they saw the slain animal first bound to the horns of the altar and then put in the fire to be consumed, and were thus reminded that God first requires a vow of obedience for any practical sacrifice to be of any value, and by the altar, its horns and their sacrificed animal, they were reminded every day that only one man would make that perfect vow and pay it in full.

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The altar of burnt offering represented Jesus Christ in whom the enmity was slain by the activity (fire) of the Holy Spirit within him that never went out fulfilling the teaching of the law the fire..it shall not be put out (Leviticus 6 v 13), and he became the open manifestation of that power of the Holy Spirit of God in a mortal body by the miracles he performed, the parables he spoke, the scripture he expounded, the teachings he astonished the Jews with and above all, the sinless life he lived, even as the brass enveloped the shittim wood where the Holy Spirit replaced the spirit of the enmity in its entirety. 6.16) Laver Literally a round shaped vessel, a dish or pot. The laver was made wholly of brass and contained water for washing the hands and feet of the priests before they entered the sanctuary. Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD: So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations (Exodus 30 v 18-21). Water is the essence of life, allowing the body both to function and to flush its workings of waste and to cleanse the skin of filth. Sweat causes uncleanness to accumulate as a result of the curse on man that will be removed when the promise of eternal life is given to man in the fullness of the promises for God did not create man to be unclean. The water in the laver was for washing away natural daily contamination of perspiration and accumulated dust the reminder of the curse. Because of the curse, sweat is a natural but unpleasant secretion of the body, a constant reminder of uncleanness of the body and spirit in mortal man in the eyes of God because of sin. God created water for life, but after the curse on man He provided water for cleansing the body also. After the same analogy the word of God has been given for spiritual life unto salvation and the cleansing of the heart and mind unto righteousness. Jesus first miracle at a wedding (that set the scene for the fullness of his work) turned water into wine, teaching that the fulfilment of the word of God (water) in him would result in a life (wine) that would enable a marriage (Christ and the saints) to be completed to the pleasure of the Governor (God) (John 2 v 1-11). Before his crucifixion Jesus took a basin of water and washed the disciples feet of their natural dirt, After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all (John 13 v 4-16). It has been shown that washing the feet refreshes the body of weary travellers (Genesis 18 v 4; 19 v 2 & 24 v 32). The priests were to wash their hands and feet before entering the Sanctuary to be reminded that they were in need of cleansing by the word of God as the disciples were. Theirs was a physical refreshing, but as Jesus taught (they should have known) the application of the water of the word (the law) would remove any natural secretions of world-weariness (jadedness) of the mind and heart, and refresh faith and belief in the covenant of God. Thus the disciples were told to do the same to each other, to

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The law of God rejuvenate their faith by constant sluicing in all the words of God in order to be alert to the wiles of the devil, the enmity within them. The laver was made entirely of brass with no trace of origin in mortality (shittim wood) as was the altar of burnt offering. Brass represents the spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) that replaces the spirit of man (the enmity) teaching that the word of God was wholly sourced from the Holy Spirit with no additions of human reasoning. At the time of the construction of the Tabernacle, the word of God was the Law of God that underpinned the promises in the covenant of God. That word of God was inspired by the Holy Spirit For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21), it refreshes the soul and rejuvenates the spirit All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3 v 16-17) and keeps the mind from the sins of the flesh, But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world (James 1 v 22-27). The laver represented the only source of the cleansing and refreshing word of God essential for preparation unto salvation, a word inspired by the Holy Spirit, and by which spirit alone it can be understood and utilised as it is written, But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2 v 10-13). Therefore for the priest to wash anywhere else - no matter how physically clean they made themselves - it would not have been acceptable to God, because spiritual washing is more important than physical washing, but one is a reflection of the other. 6.17) Court and curtains There was a court bounded by a white linen screen around the tent of the Tabernacle. In this court the priests ministered in their duties about the offerings at the altar of burnt offering and prepared themselves to enter the Sanctuary by washing at the laver. The screen was five cubits high (90, 7 6, 2.3m) by 100 cubits long (150, 46m) on the north and south side, by 50 cubits wide (75, 23m) on the east and west sides. Twenty brass pillars on each of the two long sides with ten pillars on each short side supported the screen. Each brass pillar was located in a solid brass socket. There were silver hooks at the top of the pillars whose use was twofold. One purpose was to locate silver fillets (or connecting rods) that linked the pillars together like fellows (sections of rim) in a wheel that are united by the tension of the spokes, and the other was to hold tensioned cords that led to pointed pegs driven into the ground as tent guy-ropes are. The entrance gateway formed part of the boundary and was a continuation of the white linen screen being twenty cubits wide but embroidered with blue, purple and scarlet hanging across and between four brass pillars.

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The law of God White represents righteousness, a state of no sin or uncleanness found only in God and His angels and conferred on Jesus Christ who though born unclean and lived a mortal life knew no sin. The righteousness of God seen in Jesus Christ is to be bestowed on the companion of Jesus, the saints when he returns to the earth. Thus the house of God, the place where He will dwell among His people is bounded by righteousness, the righteousness manifest in the word that He spoke and that was recorded by faithful men of old as the word of God. This white boundary was supported by brass pillars located in sockets of brass with no shittim wood substrates (as was in the furniture of the Tabernacle). These upright supports represent the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit), fiery of colour, strong of substance and durable in nature, firmly rooted in the solid foundations of the Spirit of God. The link between each pillar was a silver fillet (tie-rod) that was hooked to each of the 60 pillars thus forming a continuous circle of fellowship all tensioned together by cords angled downwards from the tops of the pillars to sharp pegs driven into the ground. Silver has been shown before to represent the word of God (p15), a fellowship of books united as one volume with no contradictions or ambiguities. The screen formed the boundary of sanctity, the clear and definite division separating between clean and unclean, of sanctity and un-sanctity and the holy from the unholy and hence by interpretation the decisive difference between good and evil. The bounds marked out (with startling white clarity) the separation of all holy things of God from the general congregation and every day life, in the same way that the word of God inspired to be written and read by the Holy Spirit separates that which is right from that which is wrong, leaving no uncertainty of what God has said is right or wrong. Peter wrote that Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation (2 Peter 1 v 20-22) thus ruling out any movement of the white screen of separation that God has set in the interpretation of His word. Peter continued, For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21). If therefore inspiration to write the word was by the Holy Spirit it therefore follows that interpretation of that word must be of the same source of inspiration and so Paul wrote, For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2 v 11), but God does not give the gift of His Holy Spirit to interpret His word in order to see the boundaries of His holiness in a public display of ecstasy, but secretly, little by little and only in proportion to the desired effect that it is having on the recipient which is to humble them into submission according as Isaiah prophesied, Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little (Isaiah 28 v 9-10). When God justly drove man out of the garden of Eden and away from His holiness because of mans sin, God has not for ever shut out mankind from being embraced in His holiness by the renunciation of uncleanness, but provided an entrance through His white screen of sanctity and into His sanctified dwelling by identifying an entrance with a brightly coloured embroidery of blue, scarlet and purple. These colours represented the one man who made himself lower in spirit and manner in the sight of God than any other man (see 6.8 The veil, pillars and sockets, pp 35-37), as Paul

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The law of God wrote, But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2 v 7-8) and Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered (Hebrews 5 v 8). It is to be noted that the final words that Jesus gave to his church of believers was concerning the moving or modifying of the white boundary of righteousness that separates good from evil that was set in the beginning, that was reaffirmed in the tabernacle and that was demonstrated by Jesus Christ throughout his life and death, For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22 v 18-19). The law of God still alive in every generation since it was written reinforced this principle, Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set (Proverbs 22 v 28, Deuteronomy 19 v 14). Thus Jesus, almost at the end of his life, gave a few of his disciples a glimpse of the righteousness of God that will surround Jesus and the saints in the kingdom of God when he was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light (Matthew 17 v 1-5). The sacrificial offerings are going to be considered later but it is noteworthy that they were all killed at the entrance to the court whence their bodies and blood was then taken through the screened entrance to be prepared for presentation as God ordained. They that had offered had put their hand upon its head as it was being slain to signify their acknowledgement that one man needed to die in order for their sins to be forgiven, their ungodliness to be sanctified, their faith to be acceptable to God and their hope justified. From this teaching the figure of baptism has been passed down from John Baptist who was first inspired by God introduce it when Jesus came to fulfil every word of the law and figure of the Tabernacle, that by a vow of obedience into the death of that one man Jesus Christ (the sacrificed animal) who pioneered the way through the entrance into sanctity, our sins could be forgiven, our un-sanctity sanctified, our faith in God could become acceptable and our hopes realised as Paul taught, Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6 v 3-4). 6.18) The camp God ordered the encampment of Israel round the Tabernacle in order to teach all who saw the camp and who have since read the record of the orderliness and discipline of His purpose in the creation of a family of righteous people among whom He would dwell. Thirteen tribes encamped around the Tabernacle, three on each cardinal point of the compass and one between the congregation and the Tabernacle. This single tribe (Levi) was further subdivided into four families encamped at the same four

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The law of God points of the compass. Each tribe had its own standard against which it encamped. There were thirteen tribes because Levi had been separated by God to minister in both His Tabernacle and to the congregation in matters of law and order and were subsequently not numbered in the congregation and furthermore were to receive no land inheritance in the future promised land - the Lord and His work in the congregation was their inheritance as it was written, But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them (Numbers 1 v 47-54). There was no tribe of Joseph in the camp but was represented by his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, hence the thirteen tribes. Levi was divided into four families, Aaron, Kohath, Merrari and Gershon. The house of Aaron was charged with daily ministrations in the Tabernacle, Kohath with transporting the furniture of the Sanctuary, Gershon with the structure of the tent and court and Merrari with carrying the boards and pillars. The house of Aaron camped on the east side before the entrance of the court to keep the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death (Numbers 3 v 38-39), and Kohath, Merrari and Gershon encamped on the south, west and north respectively. Issachar, Zebulun and Judah camped on the east side, Reuben, Simeon and Gad on the south side, Ephraim, Mannaseh and Benjamin on the west side and Dan, Asher and Naphtali on the north. Thus the hub of the Tabernacle was encircled with twelve felloes of the congregation to make up a rim of a united congregation as a wheel with the Levites as the tensioning spokes between the rim and the hub. Each tribe was to encamp by its own standard - a luminous beacon so configured as to portray the identity of each tribe in order that they could be seen by day or night whether in camp or in transit and so that collectively the whole camp could be illuminated such that from a distance the camp was alive by day and by night, a circle of lighted beacons with the fire of the altar of burnt offering as the focus. God is light (1 John 1 v 5) and He is a fire (Deuteronomy 4 v 24) and His Spirit is a represented by the fire of the altar of burnt offering and it is His purpose that each of His saints uphold the light of the fire of the Holy Spirit in every generation. Collectively that multitude of lights was concentrated in Jesus Christ who was the light of the world as he witnessed, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8 v 12) but individually Jesus taught that each prospective saint was to bear a representation of his burning light standard as a token of witness that they were of him and of the congregation of God, and so Jesus continued the requirement set in the law of all bearing a burning standard, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5 v 14-16) and Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house (Matthew 5 v 15) and as the Psalmist wrote, We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners (standards) (Psalms 20 v 5) and as they look to Jesus the hub of their life in every generation they see the words of

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The law of God Solomon He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner (standard) over me was love (Song of Solomon 2:4). As the tribes of Israel encamped around the Tabernacle so in the kingdom of God on earth the proven saints will encamp around Jesus who fulfilled all the representations of the Tabernacle and will be endued as King of all the earth as is taught in the Revelation, And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold (Revelation 4 v 4) and, And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God (Revelation 11 v 15-17). Thus the beauty and orderliness of the camp was ordained by God to transport the mind of the beholder forward to the fulfilment of His covenant when God will bestow all power on earth to Jesus His beloved son and he in turn will be surrounded with his multitudinous companion to make a spiritual garden of the Lord as was prophesied, He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters (Numbers 24 v 4-9). 6.19) The High priest, the priests and their garments Of the thirteen tribes (Joseph was represented by his two sons) that encamped around the Tabernacle, God had chosen the tribe of Levi to be closest to Him through whom all other tribes must come in order to express their faith in the covenant of God (Exodus 32 v 25-29, Deuteronomy 10 v 8-9). Of this tribe God chose one family (the Kohathites) to represent His promises in a future family of sanctified people who would become close to Him and through whom all others would approach unto God in worship and God created the office of priesthood to fulfil this work. Of this family God chose Aaron and his sons to further represent His purpose in the one righteous man through whom forgiveness of sin would be obtained and His covenant fulfilled. So God ordained the singular office of High Priest. Thus God taught that of all nations, families and people that will be given eternal life on earth in His good time (Revelation 7), one mortal man would be ordained by Him to make the fulfilment of that promise possible (Psalm 2, Zechariah 8 v 20-23) and that that one mortal man (made immortal) would be a king-high priest of all people on earth for ever (Psalm 110, Hebrews 6 & 7). There is no greater way to understand the reason and purpose of the office of the High Priest than what is written by Paul to the Hebrews (chs 1-10) and it recommended that this be read and understood as it is not intended to expand on this Divinely inspired record. What is to be examined is the significance of the details of his garments as teaching the (then) future work of Jesus Christ both as a mortal man and as an immortal man after his death and resurrection. Thus an orderly hierarchy was established by God to teach of His purpose with mankind, the High Priest as supreme but subservient to God, the priesthood subservient to God through the High Priest, the Levites subservient to God through

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The law of God them and the congregation subservient to all, as was confirmed in the last message of Jesus before he returns to the earth (Revelation 5 v 9-10 & 20 v 6). The office of priest is to serve on behalf of others who are unable to do so and that brings two significant qualities, 1) the ability to serve a superior (God) and 2) responsibility to correctly represent (in the presence of that superior) another servant who is unable to do so. Service to God is obedience to all His words without exception and was intended to take the mind of the priests and the congregation forward to the one man (Jesus Christ) who alone would do this perfectly. For one sinner (Aaron and his progeny) to represent other sinners (Israel) in that service (that repeatedly failed because of sin) required recognition that it was therefore impossible to do so unless there was one who would come who did no sin (Jesus Christ) and then to request forgiveness of sin through faith in that one who should come. It became the High Priest, the priests and the congregation to recognise this before approaching to worship God and to approach to God by faith in that one (Jesus Christ). The role and office of the High Priest was to represent that one (Jesus Christ) who as then would come and who by service of every word of God would be able intercede to God on behalf of other sinners for forgiveness of their sins, in that although without sin he took upon himself the guilt of others sins, as was later written, Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4 v 14-15) and again, Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted (Hebrews 2). Thus the High Priest alone was permitted to enter the Most Holy Place within the veil once a year to intercede first for himself and then for the congregation on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) but was also ordained to enter the Holy Place twice each day to trim the lights of the candlestick and offer incense on the altar of incense (Exodus 30 v 7-8), whereas the priests were ordained to enter only the Holy Place each week to eat the showbread (Leviticus 25 v 8-9). Moses was commanded to make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty (Exodus 28). The Hebrew word for glory is based on that which is weighty or heavy in the way that gravity acts upon substance or mass. In a literal sense the garment of the High Priest would not be heavy because in a hot climate that would encourage unclean exudations (perspiration) of the body, but rather it is used in a spiritual sense in that they were of substantial or weighty significance. Beauty is otherwise translated as honour and glory. That which is beautiful to man is not beautiful to God and what is honourable to man is not the honour of God and likewise the glory of man is not the glory of God. As these were therefore divinely inspired garments it is to the beauty of God we have to look, to seek out His honour and glory. It is written He hath made every thing beautiful in his time (Ecclesiastes 3 v 11) and creation (the natural world) is a witness to this truth as it is beautiful in every detail from the smallest atomic particle to the largest mountain, ocean, continent and the universe. There is a beauty in the eyes of God that is definitely not beautiful in the

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The law of God eyes of man and it is this beauty that coupled with the weightiness of the glory of God represents the character of Jesus Christ who became the High Priest of Gods choice. Beauty to man is outward appearance (a view, a sound or anything felt by the senses), but God told Samuel that He does not behold outward beauty as He does inward beauty when Samuel was to anoint a king over Israel, God said, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart (1 Samuel 16 v 6-12). Herein is the beauty and glory of the garments of the High Priest and his priests. It is the purpose of God that man should be like Him in character, because as man was created in the image and likeness of God in physical form (Genesis 1 v 27) so God required that man be like unto Him in heart, mind and character. Adam and Eve saw the beauty and glory of the promise of better things' (Genesis 3 v 1-6) and ate of the forbidden fruit in search of greater weight and glory than the weight and glory of obedience and trust in God and so was driven out of the Garden of Eden and their access to a prolonged life (Genesis 3 v 22-24). God then began His work of raising up a replacement for the ungrateful Adam, a man of Adams seed who would be beautiful in character and full of the glory of God. When the congregation of Israel sinned after the manner of Adam counting the beauty and glory of Egypt greater than the beauty and glory of the promise of God (Exodus 32) incurring the wrath of God who considered destroying them, Moses interceded on their behalf for mercy and patience and asked God not to forsake them and said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory (Exodus 33) as a result God declared unto Moses His name, And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation (Exodus 34 v 5-7). Thus the glory and beauty of God is His name (merciful, gracious, long suffering, full of goodness and truth) and it is these virtues that God sees as beautiful and glorious in man, and the garments of the High Priest and his sons were representations of this name, later describes as the fruits of the Holy Spirit in man, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Galatians 5 v 22-23, Jeremiah 9 v 24). These fruits (virtues, characteristics, etc.,) were perfected in Jesus Christ who died for the forgiveness of the sins of his friends. Such was the weight of the glory of God in Christ - a substantial, dense and unbreakable faith whose mass gravitated to God and like the gravity God created in the natural world so the closer Jesus gravitated to God the stronger the pull of gravity became, until finally he was at one with God, such that Jesus was able to say in prayer, I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do and, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one (John 17).

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Moses was commanded to make garment for the High Priest, And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework. And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach (Exodus 28 v 4, 39 & 42) and for his sons, the priests, And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty (Exodus 28:40) 6.19.1) The linen coat, girdle and breeches Fine linen represents righteousness (see 6.8 The veil, pillars and sockets, pp34-35) of which the High Priest was to be clothed. These linen garments were to be embroidered - or as the root word implies a tightly woven warp and weft and wrapped closely to the skin, fitted relatively straight with no embellishment of design. It was required that he was to be washed before putting on these garments (Exodus 29 v 4) in order to remove all trace of unclean deposits. God is righteousness and God is light and are both represented by whiteness as Daniel and John were shown, I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool (Daniel 7 v 9) and This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1). In contrast darkness, spots, stains and defilements are representative of sin. The garments of the High Priest were for glory and beauty where there is no more glory and beauty than in the righteousness of God (who cannot look on sin) yet is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, full of goodness and truth toward all. The work of Jesus was to replace the glory and honour of man with the glory and honour of God and Jesus took upon himself the righteousness of God by obedience to every word of God, and in so doing he killed the enmity within himself the source of glory and honour to man, thus Jesus was described as a sacrificial lamb without spot or blemish whose blood was shed for the remission of sin, But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1 v 19). Jesus was the righteousness of God manifest in a mortal body after the figure of the white garments of the High Priest of whom Jesus was the fulfilment. 6.19.2) The robe Above the white linen garments representing the foundation of righteousness the High Priest was to be covered in garment of blue, And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue (Exodus 28 v 31). Blue is colour God has chosen to represent His covenant (see 6.8 The veil, pillars and sockets pp35-36) thus teaching that the one man who would declare the righteousness of God in a mortal body would be the manifestation and fulfilment of the covenant of God, which covenant declared that eternal life after resurrection from the dead awaits he who would keep all Gods commandments without spot as David wrote in the Psalms, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool (Psalms 110 v 1) of which prophecy Jesus said to Mary immediately after his resurrection, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God

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The law of God (John 20 v 1-18) and of which elevation Jesus had asked the Pharisees What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? (Matthew 22 v 41-45). According to the promise of God Jesus was the firstborn of a new creation of righteous people after whom many others would follow in like manner as Paul wrote of those who are baptised into his death and resurrection, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell (Colossians 1 v 13-19). There were no joins in this covenant that could tear and rent with time even as the robe of blue was of one piece without seam, with a hole at the top to frame the head of the High Priest. The rim of the whole was reinforced with linen thread to form a strong garment defended against wear and tear after the example of a similar hole in the defensive armour of an habergeon, And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent (Exodus 28 v 32). There were around the hem alternate bells and pomegranates, and they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen. And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates (Exodus 39 v 24-25). The pomegranate is a sweet, multi-seeded fruit unusual compared to other fruits in that the flesh of the fruit surrounds each seed in a collection of individual fruit pods closely united together to form one fruit, thus around the hem of the robe of the covenant of the High Priest were an endless and united circle of a multitude of seeds richly encased in a sweet cocoon of nutritious fruit. The work of the High Priest was to minister on behalf of a multitude (the congregation) in the presence of God in order to atone for their sins and represented the (as then) future work of Jesus Christ as a merciful High Priest who will seek and obtain atonement of the sins of a multitude who are described as the seed in the promises of the covenant that God gave to Abraham, And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered (Genesis 13 v 16) which covenant embraces both Jew and Gentile as Paul later wrote, For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. .. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, .Who against hope believed in hope,

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The law of God that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be (Romans 4 v 13-18). It is also prophetically recorded that in the fullness of the purpose of God in His covenant that not only will the mortal Jesus be made an immortal High Priest but that that anointing of the Holy Spirit that he would experience after resurrection will extend to all the faithful (the seed) after their resurrection as it is written in the Psalms, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore (Psalms 133). The pomegranates represented the multitudinous companion of Jesus Christ who all, as individual seeds, were multiplications of him who was the singular seed who made peace with God by sacrifice (Genesis 3 v 16, Genesis 22, Galations 3 v 16) by the fulfilling of every seed of the word of God. These pomegranates were symbolic in that they were made of fine twined linen, dyed blue, purple and scarlet that represented the qualities of the character of Jesus Christ, humble, lowly, meek, despised by human nature and foolish according to the wisdom of the world (1 Corinthians v 18-31), a people who put on Christ (Romans 13 v 14), who deny their own personality and elevate that of Jesus in their life as Jesus said, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Matthew 10 v 32-33), and Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 10 v 32-33). Each pomegranate was interspersed with a bell of pure gold. Gold represents the love of God in man that is proven by faith (1 Corinthians 13 [where charity is love], Hebrews 11 v 1). The practical reason for these bells was so that the High Priest could be heard as he went about his duties to God in the tabernacle on their behalf, and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not (Exodus 28 v 35). It is written of the glorified saints, Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance (Psalms 89 v 15) and so as a result of the work of Jesus Christ the saints will sing with joyful voice, And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation (Revelation 5 v 9). As therefore the High Priest ministered on behalf of the congregation and carried with him this constant reminder of why he was doing his work, so Jesus worked and died for the sins of his friends, whose memory of them never left his mind (most of whom were long dead and many not even born) as he progressed his work up to and on the cross, to him the memory of his friends past, present and future and their future union was a joyful noise for which joy set before him he endured the cross, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12 v 1-3).

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6.19.3) Ephod, curious ephod and the breastplate To teach all who read His law of His purpose in one mortal man who would become the saviour unto eternal life of himself and his friends God commanded, And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen..And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it (Exodus 28 v 6-8 & 15). The ephod was a vest with front and back parts that were joined at the shoulders to form the foundation garment of the curious girdle of the ephod and the breastplate. The ephod had two gold rings at the lower front to which were attached two blue lace ties leading to the bottom of the breastplate and at the shoulders were two ouches (clamps) of gold and to which were attached two gold chains that led to the upper corners of the breastplate. The curious girdle ephod was bound round the body over the ephod but under the breastplate and thus held the whole assemblage firmly in place on the chest (heart) of the High Priest. The sense of this phrase curious girdle is a belt, strap or band in which every thread of the warp and weft has been counted and added up to one sum - a garment that every thread is accounted for with none superfluous and none missing. The breastplate was bound over the curious girdle of the ephod to the ephod below by two blue lace ties between golden rings on the bottom corners of the breastplate and two gold rings on the lower part of the ephod and by two gold chains to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. The curious girdle bound the assemblage over the blue robe and white undergarment to the High Priests body. The breastplate was of the same construction, it was two spans (16, 400mm) by one span (8, 200mm) and was folded over to form a square (8, 200mm) and at each corner were gold rings to fasten it to the ephod. The qualities of humility, meekness and human inconsequence represent the colours of the breastplate, curious girdle and the ephod that have been described previously (6.8 The veil, pillars and sockets, pp34-35) and were foretold by Isaiah, Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word (Isaiah 66 v 1-2). Gold represents the love of God that is focused upon those humble, lowly and meek and from which qualities alone can the love of God be reflected. This reflection of the love of God was fully achieved by one man only, Jesus Christ of whom God testified at his baptism, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3 v 17) and quoting from Isaiah (42 v 1-3) Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles (Matthew 12 v 18), and again on Mount Hermon during the transfiguration, And there was a cloud that

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The law of God overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him (Mark 9 v 7). The ephod, the curious girdle and the breastplate represent the humble character of Jesus Christ, but upon the breastplate were twelve clasps of pure gold in which were mounted twelve diverse stones with the name of a tribe of Israel engraved on each. In the age of the Tabernacle they represented the tribes of the congregation, but their teaching was to transport the faith of a believer (Jew or Gentile) forward to a spiritual house represented by the twelve tribes, a people made up of Jew and Gentile (Galatians 3 v 27-29), who Jesus referred to as his friends for whom he died and on whose behalf he would one day minister as an eternal High Priest, these people were seen by John in the Revelation, After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands (Revelation 7 v 9). These living stones were precious to Jesus for whom he died (Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. .. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you (John 15 v 13-15). They were represented by, the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper (Exodus 28 v 17-20). Taken in order of birth they represented (with meanings in parenthesis), Rueben (loved through affliction), Simeon (given because of hatred), Levi (joined to a husband), Judah (praise to God), Dan (judged and vindicated), Naphtali (prevailed through wrestling), Gad (fortune will come), Asher (blessed and happy), Issachar (reward given), Zebulun (good dowry), Joseph (added) and Benjamin (son of the right hand). These twelve represent a multitudinous companion who will be loved because of affliction and hatred, who become joined to a husband in order to praise God for which she will be judged and vindicated, but will prevail through wrestlings with faith that fortune will come when she will be blessed and happy as the reward is given because of her good dowry and she is added to the Son of the right hand (Psalm 110). That is the purpose of God contained in His covenant and was carried on the heart - the seat of all affection - of the High Priest as a pre-figurement of the future work of Jesus Christ. Sardius Rueben (loved because of affliction). This sardius was a red stone most probably a carmelian, as it is readily engraved whereas the ruby is very hard and difficult to engrave. More important than the type of stone is the colour, which was earthy red - the same red as was used to describe the red pottage that Esau chose over the hope of the promises of God (Genesis 25 v 29-24). This multitudinous companion would be cut out from the race of mankind formed of the dust of the earth (Genesis 2 v 7) and first called Adam (and collectively known as mankind) the root of which name is the red earth colour, and from this race this companion would be formed (as Eve was formed out of Adam) and who because of her (the faithful) affliction (because there being no way they can redeem themselves from the grave) would be loved by a husband (one man Jesus Christ) who would save her and would die in love for her as the price of that redemption.

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Topaz Simeon (given because of hatred). The ancient name for modern topaz is olivine (also peridot and chrysolite) a gemstone of a beautiful warm olive-green colour from whence it gets its name. It is one of the most common minerals in the earths crust making up over 50% by volume and is also found in space in the form of meteorite and comet dust, but the finest Olivine of the Bible time was found in a remote island in the Red Sea off what is now the coast of Egypt called St. Johns island (also known as Zabergad, Zeberget and Topazios). Man is made of the dust of the earth (Genesis 3 v 19) and of this common dust God is forming a companion for His son Jesus Christ (as He did Eve out of Adam) of many members to be made immortal by the work of Jesus. Of all the dust of the earth (mankind) God is seeking a few special people (as dust from a remote island in the sea of nations) which dust is of the finest olive-green structure where the olive is the fruit God has chosen to represent the fruits of the Holy Spirit when it works in a man or woman, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance (Galatians 5 v 22-23), and was described a perfected in Jesus Christ as foretold by the Psalmist, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree (olive) planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper (Psalms 1 v 1-3). The fruits of Jesus life were as the perfect olive filled with the Holy Spirit with the exclusion of every spirit of man (the enmity). Carbuncle Levi (Joined - betrothed to a husband) The common name for carbuncle is almandine, a red garnet which when exposed to sunlight glows like the fire of a burning coal. The origin of the Hebrew name is the light as in a flesh of lightning and the thunder that accompanies it, as used in the manifestation of the power of God on earth from which the congregation fled and asked for a mediator. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die (Exodus 19 v 16 & 20 v 18-19). Of his disciples Jesus said, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid .. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5 v 14-16). That light is the working of the Holy Spirit in the heart of man by obedience to His word, from a glowing ember at baptism to a bright shining fire in maturity, a fire that was perfected in Jesus and was manifest as zeal (John 2 v 13-17) a fire that Jeremiah experienced Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay (Jeremiah 20 v 7 - 10). Thus is represented in Levi the quality that will be seen in the multitudinous companion of Jesus Christ who will have betrothed (joined) to Jesus by vow (baptism) and will be filled with the light of the word of God by the Holy Spirit as a fire after his example.

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Emerald Judah (praise to God) The emerald is noted for its green colour symbolic of verdant foliage as a result of copious rain. It is the symbol of the race of mortal man (1 Peter 1 v 24) out of whom a people will be separated who will be made verdant by the word of God (Deuteronomy 32 v 1-2). It is the colour that indicates life, both in lustrous growth and life-giving food as God created in the beginning, And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so (Genesis 1 v 29-30). Green represents full-bodied spiritual health under the care of God, A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (Psalm 23 v 1-2). It symbolises those who forsake the enmity (human pride) and trust in God as David did when he experienced human treachery, Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever (Psalms 52). The promise of the covenant of God is that all those (like David) who separate from evil allowing themselves to be shepherded by God as a flock of sheep through His appointed shepherd Jesus Christ (John 10 v 1-18) will be like a rainbow around the throne of God in the immortal state, where the rainbow is the token of the covenant that God will never destroy His creation again as He did in the flood (Genesis 9). Rainbows are formed by sunlight refracted by countless drops of water and represent those who separate themselves (evaporated) from the sea of mankind and will be distilled after resurrection from the dead as complete replications of the word of God as was seen perfectly in Jesus - the cloud of witnesses spoken of by Paul (Hebrews 12 v 1), so it is foretold of the time of glorification of the resurrected saints, And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald (Revelation 4). Sapphire Dan (judged and vindicated) The cerulean blue sapphire has been considered (see pps 8 & 35-36) and shown that its colour represents the covenant of God that obedient mortal man will be made immortal through one man who perfectly kept all Gods commandments. That covenant is entered into by all the who come to God in faith by a solemn irrevocable vow summarised by the congregations response to the words that Moses gave them of the law of God, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do (Exodus 24 v 3) and was reiterated by David prophetically speaking of his greater son Jesus Christ,

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The law of God I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people (Psalms 116 v 14). The outworking of that vow is obedience to the will of God (faith through the law before Jesus Christ and faith in Christ afterwards) and was represented by a hem of blue that all members of the congregation had to wear on their garment to remind them that as they walked within the bounds of the blue hem in their daily work and journeys so likewise were they to walk within the law of the covenant in their spiritual lives, Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue (Numbers 15 v 38). It was to this hem of blue that the sick woman came when all other healing options were proven of no use, and demonstrated faith in Jesus as the only one who never strayed outside the law of God and by whom she could enter that same covenant of spiritual healing and hope from an eternal grave, And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole (Matthew 9 v 20-22). Those who enter that covenant by vow and keep it to the end will be judged by God and vindicated in that their faith obtained for them the mercy of God through Jesus Christ by forgiveness of their sins and elevation to eternal life. Diamond Naphtali (prevailed through wrestling) This stone is not the diamond (carbon) that is known today, but is a precious stone a particular form of purple amethyst (quartz, silica) and was known as a cardinal stone along with diamond, ruby and sapphire in the era of the translation of the Bible into English. The origin of the Hebrew word translated as diamond denotes hardness in the twofold sense of that which breaks but its many pieces make one. It is used in connection with the work of God with the inhabitants of the earth according to the working out of the purpose of His covenant, it is the power of God to break and to heal as recorded in Deuteronomy, See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand (Deuteronomy 32 v 39-43), in other words God has the power to break and the power to heal where His breaking is in connection with His enemies. In the sense of many broken pieces to make one it is the same word as to dream particularly a divine dream that to the uninspired is a shamble of many broken fragments but to the inspired it makes one dream as was seen in Josephs (Genesis 37 v 5-11), Pharaohs (Genesis 41 v 1-24), Nebuchadnezzers (Daniel ch2, & ch4) and Belshazzers (Daniel 5) dreams. Those who vow to serve God and do so take upon themselves the mind of God through His word and begin a process of breaking their own personal enemy (natural pride) the root of the enmity that resists all calls of the words of God to be obedient as was shown by Jesus when he was tempted (Matthew 4 v 1-11), and Paul experienced, O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death(Romans 7), and the Psalmist exclaimed, The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (Psalms 34 v 18), and The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise (Psalms 51 v 17) which to the un-initiated appears to be a life of missed opportunities, a life (to the flesh) that is deprived of pleasure and broken of

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The law of God ambition, as they derided Jesus as he died on the cross, And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God (Luke 23 v 35). But Jesus foretold And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6 v 39-40). Thus the faithful are broken hearted but will be healed by God and made into on companion of Jesus Christ and thus become as strong as amethysts and diamonds as was shown in the prophecy of the foundations of the city of the House of God (Revelation 21 v 10-21). Ligure Gad (fortune will come) In both the Hebrew and Greek this stone is literally a precious stone as distinct to any stone, as used in Peters letter, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded (1 Peter 2 v 1-10). There is conjecture as to what mineral it was, some report a carbuncle, some a jacinth, but there is no certainty. It is not necessarily important to know the exact type of stone that God chose, but rather the significance of the name of the stone in order to gain the teaching that the stone represented and for this we must look at the roots of the words used. The Septuagint (3rd century BC) and the Vulgate (4th century AD) uses (ligurium) for this stone that John Parkhurst (Greek English lexicon 1769) reports is from the Hebrew word a stone which in turn is derived from the root to build. The sense of this root word to build is to intelligently join together to a planned purpose, particle to particle, atom to atom, molecule to molecule, grain to grain, crystal to crystal, strata to strata, mineral to mineral, stone to stone, wall to wall until a dwelling house is complete. The root word to build up is first used in Genesis 2 v 22 when God made Eve from the rib of Adam, And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man (Genesis 2 v 22) where made is to build. Thus God formed a composite companion with whom Adam could dwell as one (Genesis 2 v 23-25) and in whom Adam could safely trust and confidently rely on for help in obeying God as He had purposed, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him (Genesis 2 v 18). In this way God revealed His greater purpose that He will build (member by member) a companion of many people in whom Jesus will trust and rely upon to serve God as one. This companion is represented by many stones each one individually pre-formed before the final build when they will be built up one by one to form a dwelling in whom God will dwell, the precious stone of which is the chief and most precious corner stone Jesus Christ, as was prefigured in the building of Solomons temple of the 10th century BC, And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building (1 Kings 5 v 17, 1 Kings 6 v 7). The companion building of precious stones that is represented will be a house and a city in which God will dwell (1 Peter 2 v 1-9, Ephesians 2 v 20-22, 2 Corinthians 6 v 16, Revelation 21 v 10-27). The ligure stone is the teaching that all those 12 precious

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The law of God stones of the breastplate will be built up into a dwelling most precious in the fullness of the purpose of God, a dwelling that was and is close to the heart of Jesus as the breastplate was to the High Priest, And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst (Revelation 21 v 19-20). Agate Asher (blessed and happy) This was the grey agate of the chalcedony species, which is also found in many colours. The origin of the Hebrew word that has been translated as agate is meaning grey which in turn is derived from the root of to turn or return from the sense of repentance (to about-turn) and of turning back to an origin as grey hairs are the sign of man turning back to the dust of the earth from whence he came as was told Abraham, And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age (Genesis 15 v 15). It is also the hoary head of experience and wisdom that was to be respected in the congregation, Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God (Leviticus 19 v 32). It is also used in the sense of the anger of God being turned away due to repentance of man, But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath (Psalms 78 v 38) and again, Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease (Psalms 85 v 3-4) where to turn is the principle and meaning of repentance. Those who will be the immortal companion of Jesus Christ will be formed out of a mortal race whose hair turns grey and return to the grave, but who will be resurrected to eternal life because they repented continuously throughout their whole life and turned from the character of the enmity to the character of God as those with the wisdom of the hoary head whose forerunner and example was Jesus Christ. Amethyst Issachar (reward given) The sense of the root word for amethyst is to dream in a wide use of applications particularly in connection with Divine revelation and promise, for example, God caused Jacob to dream of a ladder from heaven to earth (Genesis 28 v 12), Joseph of delivering his family (Genesis 37), Pharaoh of plenty and famine interpreted by Joseph (Genesis 41), Gideon of deliverance from oppression (Judges 7 v 13), Nebuchadnezzer (Daniel 2), Daniel (Daniel 7) etc. It is used in connection with dreaming of the future fulfilment of the promises of God (Joel 2 v 28-32) and the Psalmist of deliverance from death, When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream (Psalms 126). The physical connection with the amethyst is from the hardness of the stone of its ability to break in pieces and the fact that divinely inspired dreams are broken fragments of subconscious thought that collectively make one message often not understood by the dreamer at the time, or indeed others to whom it is related, as in Josephs brethren, Pharaoh, Nebchadnezzer and indeed Daniel where he was told to wait and be patient and died not

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The law of God understanding his vision as it is written, And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. .. .. But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days (Daniel 12 v 8-13) whereas they are understood now at the time of the end. Faith in the promises of the covenant of God is intangible and exclusively personal in that faith cannot be given to someone else, it can only be attained for one-self in isolation or in parallel with others who also gain it themselves by following Pauls advice, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10 v 17). However, all the congregation heard the law of God but did not gain faith as it has been with every generation since as it is written, For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it (Hebrews 4 v 2). When that word is received into a humble and contrite heart (Luke 8 v 4 the parable of the sower) God gives inspiration little by little with His Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ (John 14 the Comforter, 1 John 2 v 20 an unction, 1 Corinthians 2 v 9-16 the Holy Spirit) in order for that word to germinate and spring up as a new character alongside the old character and this process continues until the old is replaced by the new (2 Corinthians 5 v 17), fragment of faith by fragment of faith, piece of knowledge by piece of knowledge (Isaiah 28 v 9-10) until fullness of faith is attained at death as was perfectly done by Jesus (John 4 v 34). To the non-believer this faith (in resurrection from the grave and immortal life thereafter through Jesus Christ) is but an unintelligible dream, broken fragments of self-delusion as indeed the sense of the origin of the word used for amethyst describes. All those represented in the stones of the breastplate represented by the amethyst are inspired by God to collect all the fragments of His word and put them together in a life of obedience to Him and who despite mockery of generations non-believing fellows will fulfil the ambition of their dreams, the dream that God inspired them to have faith in, When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Psalms 126) and that is the reward given that is the meaning of the name engraved upon this stone, Issachar. Beryl Zebulun (good dowry) This is what is now known as the chrysoberyl or cymophane, a transparent to opalescent golden yellow stone with rounded edges and corners and often referred to as the cats-eye where the best cat's-eyes are often called milk and honey refering to a sharp milky ray of white light normally crossing the cabochon (concex shape) as a center line along its length and overlying the honey colored background. The rounding of these finest of gemstones is caused by the vibrant activity of weathering and erotion of less hard rocks until the chemically impervious chrysoberyl is left in sandy rivers with all its corners are polished away.

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The law of God The Hebrew root of the word translated as beryl is from two root words meaning to go round as in the ribband of blue on the hem of an Israelitish garment Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue (Numbers 15 v 38) and gladness as in Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified (Psalms 40 v 16) and joyful activity as of the effect of sunlight described by the Psalmist In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. (Psalms 19). This stone is representative of all the faithful who by cheerful service to God, Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD (Psalms 144 v 15) will have been surrounded by His laws and promises in all their life, For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things that are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5 v 9-16), and as a result will display the milk and honey of the word of God (as Jesus did Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good Isaiah 7 v 15) brilliantly reflecting the light of Gods word as opalescence in the eye of a cat. Onyx Joseph (added) There is much discrepancy over the identity of this stone in the various authorities that have studied it, John Parkhurst and Gesenius relate that it is so named for the human nail due to its colour or the hoof of an animal particularly the horse from which its strength is made known, others claim it is the sardonxy due to its layered strata of many colours and even others the beryl. Parkhurst links it with the sardonyx of the New Testament (Revelation 21 v 20) again emphasising that it is so named after the likeness in colour to a humans nail. Whatever this stone was it was precious and chosen by God to represent a 1/12 part of the character of the future companion of His son Jesus Christ. God created nails to play an important role in the dexterity of the hand by increasing the touch sensitivity of the finger tip by creating a counterforce to the pressure of touch but they require regular paring and frequently collect dirt, and have been used by God to represent the madness of denial of God and His omnipotence as was shown in Nebuchadnezzer when he denied God and was driven to madness, And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws (Daniel 4:32-34).

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The law of God Uncut nails are therefore a symbol of unclean activity emphasised by the law concerning a non-Israelitish woman becoming a member of the congregation, And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails (Deuteronomy 21:11-13) symbolising the cutting off of her past life to begin a new life under the law of God. Represented in the onyx is the work of the collective companion of Christ in regularly cutting off the natural growth of the flesh (temptation and sin) in order to have clean fingers sensitised to work the work of God seen in Jesus Christ. Jasper Benjamin (son of the right hand) This is a stone of the chalcedony group and is found in many colours, red, yellow, brown, green, black, blue according to what minerals were included when it was formed as a sedimentary rock, but one quality is reported by all authorities, the quality of attaining a superior polish. In ancient times contemporary with the giving of the law of God to Israel, jasper was a prized stone. A polished surface reflects incident light without loss through scattering as happens with a rough surface thus representing the character of the companion of Jesus who will reflect his light (the light of God) without loss of intensity as was figuratively prophesied of her in the Psalms, That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: .. .. Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD (Psalm 144 v 12-15). The breastplate - conclusions The twelve stones of the breastplate represent the formation of a unified companion that is bound close to the heart of Jesus Christ and for whom he died that they may be redeemed from death. The breastplate was known as the breastplate of judgment and the High Priest in wearing it was to bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually (Exodus 28 v 30). To bear of is carry and take responsibility for the actions of those carried, thus representing the work that Jesus Christ accomplished as he died upon the cross, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53) and Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (1 Peter 2 v 24). Those people were the congregation of Israel when the law was an active code until the death of Jesus Christ, but taught of a greater fulfilment of faithful Jews and Gentiles who join themselves to God through Jesus Christ by faith and vow of obedience unto love and are represented by the twelve names engraved on each stone, as a multitudinous companion who will be loved because of her affliction and being

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The law of God hatred, who becomes joined to a husband in order to praise God for which she will be judged and vindicated, but will prevail through wrestlings with faith that fortune will come when she will be blessed and happy as the reward is given because of her good dowry as she is added to the Son of the right hand (Psalm 110). Of the stones, it is a people that are separated out of the race of Adam (sardius), who are reborn by the Holy Spirit (topaz) and become full of the fiery light of God (carbuncle) resulting in verdant growth of godliness (emerald), who embrace and fulfil the covenant of God (sapphire), thus breaking the spirit of the enmity within themselves (diamond) and are built up by God part by part into a unified composite body (ligure) who grow together to a full grey-haired age of wisdom (agate) full of faith in the dream of an unseen future (amethyst) that gives them all-round happiness and gladness (beryl), but who never cease to cut away the flesh (onyx) until they become polished and finished (jasper) for their redeemer as a bride for her husband, Jesus Christ. These all will be resurrected from the grave and judged after which they will have their natures changed from mortality to immortality, and thus will be fulfilled the prophecy in which they have hoped for so long, Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him (Malachi 3 v 16-18). And again through Isaiah, I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations (Isaiah 61 v 10-11), and again by John, And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife .. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst (Revelation 21v 9-21). 6.19.4) Onyx stones on the shoulder Moses was commanded, And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial (Exodus 28 v 9-12).

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The shoulder is the symbol of the strength of the body teaching that Jesus Christ used all his strength to carry the burden of the sins of his companion in order that God could forgive her. He was her circumcision, the author and finisher of her baptism, both single acts of faith that indicate a singular vow to cut off all superfluous growth of human nature (the enmity) even as the onyx represents the human nail that requires regular trimming (see onyx p 87). As the names of the twelve tribes were engraved in the two stones of witness so the names of the multitude of his future companion are indelibly engraved on the strength of his sinless body for all to see and manifests the strength he displayed in fulfilling the baptism he finished - But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! (Luke 12 v 50) which baptism was his victory over the enmity in death. On his shoulders was the burden of the completion of the book of life the book that Malachi wrote of Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name (Malachi 3 v 16), it is a book that is representative of the body of Christ as it is written, Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them (Psalms 139 v 16). The memorial of these names is confirmed in the promise of Jesus to his believers in the letters to them in the Revelation, He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels (Revelation 3 v 5) and in speaking of the composite body of that companion - the city from heaven, Jesus revealed, And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life (Revelation 21 v 27). Thus the High Priest bore the memorial (continual memory) of every member of the children of Israel (through their tribes) upon his shoulders in the ministrations of the house of God as a representation for all the names of the faithful who will make up the redeemed, the saints, the companion of Jesus in the kingdom of God on earth. 6.19.5) Urim and Thummim And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually (Exodus 28 v 30) Urim is the literal English translation of the Hebrew word for light, Thummim is similarly translated as perfection and to put in (as Moses was commanded) is from Divine gift. Light in the original Hebrew is fluidity, that which flows freely and describes what we now know as electro-magnetic radiation in the visible spectrum (seven bands of colour of the rainbow), the fastest flowing form of energy - 186,000 miles per second (300,000 km per sec) whose speed cannot be reached by any other medium. God is light (1 John 1 v 5) where that light is there is mercy, grace, longsuffering, faithfulness and truth (embodied in His name), and with this light (of His presence) God created the visible light we now see as it is written, And God said, Let

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The law of God there be light: and there was light (Genesis 1 v 3). Of that name of God (light in all its manifestations) Jesus manifested in a mortal body such that he became that light (John 8 v 12). The physical origin of the light that God created (the light we see) is fire (the sun). Fire is a chemical reaction of two or more elements (hydrogen and helium in the sun, and on earth always oxygen and often carbon) that energetically excite each other such that their orbital electrons are raised to a higher level of energy resulting in the outer orbit electron emitting packets of energy in the form of photons (in order to fall back to their natural level) at a frequency (times per second) correspondent with the intensity of the reaction (white intense, through blue to red less intense). All light comes from fire (a generic term for intense concentrated energy). God is light (the source of all energy and therefore life) and the manifestation of that light is His Spirit (sustaining life on earth according to His purpose) but when the same Spirit is used in connection with the preparation of a people of righteousness it is called the Holy Spirit, and is described as a consuming fire, For our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12 v 29). The word Urim (light) is therefore synonymous with fire and represents the fire of the Holy Spirit that consumes the enmity. Thummim Perfection is the English word that was translated from the Hebrew 'to finish or complete with nothing lacking teaching of a work that was to be done and was done perfectly, hence perfection. The work that God set man to do was to mirror His character (mercy, grace, long-suffering, faithfulness and truth) in the life that God gave him as a gift. Adam (and his offspring) chose to mirror the character of the serpent and was cursed by God with the poison of that serpent in the form of the enmity (Genesis 3). Therefore God continued with His purpose (that man should mirror His character) in that He would raise up another man of the same race of Adam, with the same enmity within him who would complete the work God required in manifesting His name in a mortal body, which necessitated the death of the enmity. For this work, man would need the Holy Spirit because the spirit of the enmity was too strong thus linking Urim and Thummim together. That man was Jesus Christ, the Urim and the Thummim, the gift of God that God put into His purpose. Moses was told to put the Urim and Thummim into the breastplate implying that it was an item, but the original meaning of the phrase to put is a gift from God. The Spirit of God keeps all life in being on earth but that same Spirit when used in the special work of fulfilling His purpose is called the Holy Spirit and is given as an additional gift to give enlightenment to see what the purpose of God is and to understand what God requires as was told Micah, He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6 v 8), and to Jeremiah, But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD (Jeremiah 9 v 24). When there was a High Priest who understood this purpose of God and showed that belief in faith then Urim and Thummim was in (gifted in) the breastplate and that High Priest could mediate between God and the people as a forerunner of Jesus Christ, the eternal High Priest of whom John wrote, And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-

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The law of God 2). When that faith was not in the heart then the High Priest was just a man of the tribe of Levi who carried the title of that office (as in Caiaphas Matthew 26 v 57 and 2 Chronicles 15 v 3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law) and this was recognised by Ezra and Nehemiah when the two tribes were released from Babylonian bondage, And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim (Ezra 2 v 63). Thus not only was the High Priest adorned and consecrated to be the physical and practical mediator between God and Israel as a representation and teacher of the future eternal High Priest (Jesus Christ) then to come, but was also required to embrace the faith of that one in his heart (his manner of life through his character) in order to fulfil his office as the representative and teacher of the people of God. Thus the two onyx stones of the shoulders and the stones of the breastplate represent the complete purpose of God in that by one man represented in the two stones of cutting off the flesh (circumcision and baptism) to redemption and the twelve stones of his companion in whom God will be glorified, the Urim and Thummim is the completion of His work by the Holy Spirit when it will be fulfilled as taught by Paul, And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28). 6.19.6) The mitre Moses was commanded to make a mitre and affix a gold plate a gold plate to the front, And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be (Exodus 28:36-38). The mitre was made of fine linen representing righteousness (see pp34-35). The origin of the word mitre is a turban, a long strip of cloth joined to a cap where the strip is wound around the head in a manner peculiar to the wearer, it is the same as that used today by those who wear turbans. Job was a pre-fugurement of Jesus Christ (a righteous man hatred by his fellows without cause) and he spoke of the turban as a symbol of righteousness, I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem (turban or mitre). I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame (Job 29). Thus Jesus bound the righteousness of God round and round his head such that his whole brain, his memory and emotions were completely enveloped in the word of God as the Psalmist foretold, But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night (Psalms 1) and I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands (Psalms 143 v 5). On this symbol of righteous commitment to God the High Priest was to have a gold plate bound to it with a lace of blue. Blue represents the covenant of God and gold the love of God, where the covenant of God is the promise of eternal life after resurrection from the grave and the love of God is that which is reflected by those who enter into that covenant by singular irrevocable vow to obey, by which obedience Jesus Christ displayed the character of God (His name) in his life, a life that honoured and glorified God by keeping every command without fail thus witnessing and

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The law of God shouting loud and clear that Jesus ascribed all HOLINESS TO THE LORD even as the gold plate was engraved. Thus symbolically the holiness of God was at the forefront of his mind at all times, in that every decision he made Jesus remembered and honoured the holiness of God, so not one thought lacked premeditation of the requirements of the righteousness of God. As a result of his perfect life the mortal Jesus was raised from the dead and given eternal life to be a High Priest forever for his friends (Hebrews 5, 6, 7, and 8). Zechariah prophesied of this change of nature when writing of Joshua (the Hebrew for the Greek Jesus), And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan (the enmity) standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments (mortality), and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment (immortality). And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments Zechariah 3 v 1-5). In this situation Jesus now resides as the Psalmist wrote, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. 2The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies of which Stephen confirmed, But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God (Acts 7 v 55-56) from whence Jesus will return to the earth to establish the kingdom of God on the whole earth as the disciples were told, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven (Acts 1 v 11). 6.19.7) Garments of the sons of the High Priest By these fine white linen garments God taught that His future purpose was (as promised in His covenant) that men and women would be made like unto the angels and would minister in his house clothed in white linen of sanctified righteousness after they had been washed in the blood of Jesus Christ (Matthew 22 v 30, John 20 v 12, Ephesians 5 v 22-33, Revelation 7 v 9-14). 6.19.8) The holy anointing oil God commanded Moses, Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. .. .. This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you (Exodus 30 v 22-32).

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The law of God The anointing oil was made of five parts principal spices and olive oil. Each will be cocnsidered in turn. Pure myrrh This contributed two parts (five hundred shekels) and as pure myrrh is the stacte of the firstripe spontaneous sap as it exudes from the myrrh tree. Stacte (pure myrh) oozes spontaneously from the bark of younger trees whereas myrrh is harvested later by incision of the bark. The tree is balsamodendron myrrha, it grows in the region bounded by Arabia and Ethiopia in poor soil, dry conditions and is an unattractive twisted and knarled appearance with substantial thorns and grows in the forests of Acacias. Stacte by nature of its spontaneous oozing before incisions are made for myrrh, is a voluntary outpouring of the firstfruit of the life of this unattractive tree. The name stacte means a drop as in a tear-drop and that is how it is harvested as a clear oily resin that hardens and yellows with exposure to air. Stacte is the finest and purest myrrh. Myrrh is the name that simply means bitter but gives off a balsamic perfume. There are therefore several distinct properties that teach why God chose stacte as the double portion of the holy anointing oil, a) spontaniety, b) first fruits, c) bitterness and d) a soothing healthy aroma. Let us examine each in turn and then collectively in the light of scripture and what the intended affect and teaching of the holy anointing oil was to be. a) Spontaniety is not only voluntary or by freewill but with an eagerness as if no time can be lost. Jesus as a small child lost no time in searching the scriptures to find what God required him to do, he was found after three days among the doctors of the law, And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers (Luke 2 v 46-49) when upon being found by his parents declared, And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? (Luke 2 v 49). Such willing spontaniety was foremost throughout his whole life such that he became, b) the first-fruits of all that please God, and indeed the only one who pleased God in entirety was Jesus Christ, for at the end of his young life he displayed the same spontaneous willingness in prayer in tear-drops as the stacte exudes from the unattractive tree, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. .. .. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22 v 42-44). Thus it was foretold of Jesus, My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? (Psalms 42 v 3), and They that sow in tears shall reap in joy (Psalms 126 v 5). c) Tears are the result of bitter experience because of obediance to the word of God, but Jesus said Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Matthew 5 v 6) and the Proverb advised, to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet (Proverbs 27 v 7) and so it was that Jesus through bitter experience and literal and spiritual tears became the author and finisher of our faith,

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The law of God Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds (Hebrews 12 v 2-3). d) The perfume of his sacrifice is a balm to appease the anger of God with His rebellious children and to all who endure the tears of bitter experience when overcoming the enmity within them and when directed as venon from those who despise humble, obedient children of God. It was a perfume most acceptable to God, a soothing balm that reversed His anger to the ingratitude of sinful mankind for all the daily blessings He bestows upon His creation. Faith is the sight that belief gives in the heart of a humble and contrite person allowing them to see with the eye of faith that which is not readily apparent as Paul wrote, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11 v 1) and These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth (Hebrews 11 v 13). But faith without works is dead (James 2 v 14-26) and works of faith bring opposition, first from ones own nature resisting obedience and then from fellows moved with envy at acts of faith. As stacte is the spontaneous tears-drops of resin from the bark of the myrrh (bitterness) tree and tears spontansously flow from the eyes of the greived in spirit, so likewise tears dropped from the heart of Jesus as he understood how base the enmity is in both himself and his fellows that brought such opposition that his tears were as great drops of blood (Luke 22 v 44). Stacte and faith are inseperably linked by the tear-like droplets that give off the purest perfume and was perfected in Jesus when he was a mortal man subject to temptation as every men is, So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. .. .. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered (Hebrews 5 v 5-8). He was spontaineous in his love for God, he became the firtsfruits unto righteousnes, he endured bitter experiences above any other man, and the savour of his victory over the enmity was a soothing balm to God and to all who recognise their naturally fetid nature in the eyes of God. Sweet cinnamon At two hundred and fifty shekels cinnamon was one part of the anointing oil. It is a strong smelling spice (the origin of its name in Hebrew) from the cinamomum verum tree of Sri Lanka. It is the product of the life-giving fleshy part of the tree (the cambium layer) immediately below the bark and above the heartwood, the layer that the next year becomes part of the tree-stiffening heartwood as a new layer grows below the bark. This cambium layer is no thicker than a ring of a trees when transversely cut that in most trees is about 2mm (0.08 inch) thick, but in the cinnamon trees is 0.5mm ((0.02 inch). The method of harvest is to grow a young tree for two year and then coppice it, i.e. cut the trunk above ground level from which about a dozen (12) shoots grow. These shoots are then cut off the next year and the bark is the scraped off after which the stick is evenly beaten with hammers and the thin

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The law of God cambium layer is peeled off and left to dry in hot dry sunlight during which drying process the curl into sticks. When fully dry the easily crumble into powder for use as a perfume or food spice. The cambium layer is the life giving part of the tree, although the whole tree is alive it is this layer that gives that life by a series of canals running up and down the trunk whereby water from the root system rises and glucose form the leaves descends. The cabium layer is analogous to the flesh of warm blooded creates, it carries the canals (veins, arteries and cappillaries) of blood to all parts of the body to give vigour and life. Trees grow through photosynthesis, the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2), light (electromagnetic radiation in the visible spectrum) and water. These three are converted to glucose (suger) by chloroform (the green pigment of a leaf) that acts as a catalyst to cause the reaction. The water comes principally from the root system via the cambium layer and secondarily from water vapour in the air on the leaves. The glucose travels down the cambium layer to be deposited in cell of the inner heartwood whence it is converted into cellulose (more stiff tube-like cells and lignin (resin glue) that both make up the wood of the trunk. Thus the cambium layer is the life, the flesh of the whole tree. Job remarked that, For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant (Job 14 v 7-9) and contrasted this with mankind who when cut down by death does not sprout again. But Jobs hope was that through the covenant of God that there would be in the mercy of God as resurgence of life through one who as a tree of a sweet spice would be cut down and spring back to life. This hope was given because the sweetest and strongest perfume to God was the death of the enmity and the fullness of the Spirit of God in a mortal man Jesus Christ by whom many would be saved from eternal death. In this hope Job pinned his faith during his depravations and hatreds confirmed by his words, For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me (Job 19 v 25-27). Jobs faith was justified when Jesus died and he gave his disciples (and all subsequent believers) the hope of unity with him by entering inot and sharing his sacrifice by obedience to his words, I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him (John 6 v 51-56) as the fleshy cambian layer of the trunk is the life of the tree, so the flesh of Christ is the life of the body in whom the name of God is perfected, a strong sweet perfume to God. Sweet calamus

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The law of God Forming a fifth part of the anointing oil, sweet calamus is the perfume from the sedge plant calamus aromaticus. The origin of the Hebrew word is created or made upright that clearly identifies the sedge more commonly known as the reed. It grows in water by the side of rivers and lakes and is harvested for its perfume which is extracted by boiling and distilling, or by laying on the ground and bruising by pedestrians. God created man upright in stance and it is His will that man be upright in character as God who made him. Mankind has chosen to use his upright stance (and intelligence) to distort yet further the crooked character (the enmity) he inherited in the curse of God on the serpent (Genesis 3 v 15). However God decreed that man would become upright in character by one who would come who would overcome and kill every prompting of the enmity and so bring forth a perfume most delightful to God, the perfume of righteousness in a mortal body, for which God would endue the gift of immortality on that one (Jesus Christ) and many more through him, where the enmity cannot exist in immortality in any form (Revelation 21 v 27, Ephesians 5 v 5, Matthew 13 v 47-49). The standard by which that many more will be judged is by the full stature of the righteousness of Christ as Paul wrote of Jesus, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. ,, .. Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ .. .. But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4 v 8-16). The same Hebrew word used for calamus is also used for a measuring reed as was used to measure the temple of God yet to be built, and seen in vision by Ezekiel and John, Ezekiel 40 v 3, Revelation 21 v 15). It is against the standard of righteousness seen in Jesus that all others will be measured at the judgement seat after resurrection from the dead. Nobody will attain to the full height of Christ, some will be upright but shorter with the similar perfume of righteousness but many others will be crooked and bent with a disagreeable stench. The former will be made immortal the latter returned to the grave forever. Cassia The final fifth part was cassia (closely related to cinnamon) it is the bark of the cassia lignea tree that is stripped from coppiced branches. The sense of the origin of the Hebrew word is to cut, divide or tear lengthways and aptly describes the way it is harvested. The bark is parchment-paper thin (but thicker than cinnamon) where the best is cut from young shoots out of 10-12 year old stocks grown on rocky ground. The wood remaining after debarking has no perfume and is burned. The bark is dried in the sun and naturally curls to a stick-like form. It has a less sweet and delicate flavour than cinnamon but is more pungent. Nonetheless it was a principal spice. The bark provides protection to the tree and a means for the sap of life to ascend and descend the tree (as described in cinnimon above), such that without the protective bark the tree is dead. Mankind has no life within him of his own providing, it is God who gives him life by His spirit as a time-limited protection against death, as an opportunity to see if he will obey and love him, after which the protection of life is

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The law of God taken away, Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12 v 7). Only one man obeyed God without fault and perfectly reflected the love that God had for him, but even he had to have the protecting cover of God-given spirit of life taken away as it is written, Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief .. .. because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53), fulfilled in his crucifixion, And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost (Luke 23 v 46). He died in order that he could take it again for ever (John 10 v 17-18) by the power of God who is Spirit and by whose manifestation of that Spirit (the Holy Spirit) God raised Jesus from the dead and then clothed him with an everlasting protection, the bark of life for ever, even the fulness of the Holy Spirit, as Zechariah was shown, Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by (Zechariah 3 v 3-5). The Holy Spirit is the same power as the spirit of God that created the heaven and earth and sustains life on earth, the breath we breathe, the power of animation we have, the difference between a dead body and a living one. When the spirit of God is used in the sanctification of a body of people who will be redeemed from death by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ it is called the Holy Spirit, but it is the same spirit. There is only one spirit as there is one God (Ephesians 4 v 4-6) and that spirit is the manifestation of God in the outworking of His purpose with the created earth and the new creation of righteousness. The purpose of God is that all His faithful children whether of Jew or Gentile will be protected for ever by the power of the Holy Spirit by change of nature from mortality to immortality (I Corinthians 15 v 50-57) as a result of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but that protection is also provided during the mortal life of those who God has called and is testing while-so-ever they humble themselves under His direction, for it is written (primarily of Jesus Christ who suffered temptation as any other man), The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them, and For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Psalms 91 v 11). This does not confer any special protection to the protected (Jesus and his faithful believers) they are still subject to the vagaries and chances of daily life and their own foolishness as Solomon wrote, For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God .. .. but time and chance happeneth to them all (Ecclesiastes 9), but in issues of their sanctification no outside agent can interfere (I Corinthians 10 v 13) other than that allowed by God for the perfection of their character as with Job (his friends), David (Saul), Jesus (Judas and the High Priests) etc. God provides His angels by His Spirit protect and direct the lives of those He calls to those whom He loves (Exodus 23 v 20-25) and thus gives protection from vandal

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The law of God damage from those who would seek their spiritual harm even as bark protects the tree. These all are growing together as sapling trees of righteousness, and it is Jesus who is the chief and superior tree and of whom it is written, The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified (Isaiah 61 v 1-3). So it is written again, The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing (Psalms 92 v 12-14). Thus Jesus became the root and stock (trunk) of a tree of righteousness out of whom many branches of other less-righteous people would be graft and flourish (he became the olive tree, Romans 11 v 15-24), he became the chief and superior tree, the firstborn of many trees that will make up the garden of the Lord. Thus God will finally dress the saints and clothe them with the protection of immortal life never to experience suffering again. Olive oil God created the trees to beautify the earth, to balance the atmosphere and to provide some for materials and some for food, And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat (Genesis 1 v 29). Of all the food-giving trees God made the olive unique from all other. God created man a vegetarian with digestion of fats essential for life. Killing and eating of animals was introduced as a result of the curse of God upon man and all creation, whereby digestion of essential fats are supplemented by animal fat, but as God created man, his necessary fat intake to sustain energetic life was from the oil of the olive and some other fruits. As it is essential to continued energetic life, God made the berries from the olive to be available for the poorest of His creatures, it is a small inconspicuous fruit, abundant in cropping and nutritious. It has been the staple diet for rich and poor for millennia. Apart from being a nutritious food it is a natural source of oil for food preparation (cooking and dressing), cleansing (soap) and fuel (light), where it burns readily with a steady, bright and smokeless flame. The binding substance of the annointing oil was olive oil. The name olive has its roots in to shine as the oil of the fruit (drupe) is a shining golden yellow and its flame is bright. The name oil in the Hebrew has its roots in fatness in the sense of energy and vigour as in My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness (Psalms 109 v 24) as blood is the flowing essence of life so fat is the solid substance of life, we cannot live without either. The process of extraction of the oil from the berry is by grinding pressure between millstones and separation of the oil from the natural water by decanting (oil and water do not mix). For the smaller

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The law of God quantities that would be the lot of the poor it must be beaten in a mortar and pestle and then decanted in the same way. For the finest virgin olive oil the olive must be perfectly ripe and fresh and the oil used after minimum delay. As God chose the juice of the grape to represent the life-blood of Jesus Christ, so He has chosen the oil of the olive to represent His work in the preparation of a righteous people to inherit the earth forever through Jesus Christ. God is Spirit as Jesus taught, God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4 v 24) and He created the heavens and the earth by His Spirit, And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1 v 2). There is only one Spirit as Paul wrote, There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Ephesians 4 v 4-6) and by that one Spirit God keeps in being the creation including man upon it every day by giving breath and life, but when that Spirit is used for the specific purpose of preparing an individual for salvation (it is always the work of God, no man can do it himself) then it is the same one Spirit but called the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:14-27). God has said, For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Isaiah 57 v 15), and again, but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word (Isaiah 66 v 2), and the Psalmist enjoined, The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (Psalms 34 v 18). The beaten olive oil of the Tabernacle represents the interaction between the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) and the contrite spirit that was found perfectly in Jesus Christ but is to be seen in any man or woman who hopes for salvation. When those two spirits unite and become one, then that is represented by the olive oil of the Tabernacle. Israel and all others who follow the hope of the Covenant of God were being taught what God promised He would do in response to those who humbled themselves in His sight He would give them an increasing measure of His Spirit as enlightenment until their natural spirit was replaced with it. The Spirit of God never changes it is the spirit of man that must change to allow the Holy Spirit to work. At the completion of that work, the faithful will be sanctified and seperated from uncleanness and become holy in the House of God forever. All other uses of olive oil are representative of the Spirit of God that keeps rich and poor alive each day, unassuming, smooth, nutritious, soothing, and healthy and when working with a faithfull understanding of the bread and wine of the body and blood of Jesus Christ as he commanded (Luke 22 v 19-20, I Corinthians 11 v 24-28), it is the Holy Spirit as the Psalmist wrote, And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart (Psalms 104 v 15). The anointing oil conclusions The five ingredients and the olive oil were to be prepared after the art of the apothecary a skill that grinds and pulverises the spices in a mortar and pestle such that they became one confection and inseperable, And thou shalt make it a perfume, a

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The law of God confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy (Exodus 30 v 35). Thus the work of God is to make one sweet smelling purfume acceptable to Him alone and never to be repeated by man for his use, it was a holy annointing oil that promised the reward of eternal life to those who are anointed. The ingredients were pure myrrh (the Spirit of God in life of Jesus Christ), cinnamon (the fulness of the name of God manifest in the character of Jesus Christ), cassia (protection of God), calamus (uprightness of God) and the olive oil (Holy Spirit). God created the earth that man should dwell in unity with Him and as such dwell in unity with each other. Unity was broken when the spirit of the serpent (the enmity) replaced the Spirit of God. The work of the Holy Spirit is to drive out and kill the enmity in individuals chosen by God which when that work is done in a mortal body they will be unified with God through Jesus Christ. The unifying medium is the Holy Spirit that will be bestowed on all those who prove worthy of the mercy of God even as Jesus Christ now enjoys everlasting life of whom it is prophecied, Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows (Psalms 45:7). Of the future fulfllment of the promise of God in his covenant when the oil of gladness is bestowed on the faithful companion of Jesus, this unifying oil represents the fulness of the Holy Spirit evn everlasting life as the Psalmist wrote, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore (Psalms 133). 6.19.9) Consecration of the High Priest To consecrate is to set apart as clean, undefiled and holy for Divine use. God created man very good (Genesis 1) i.e. with no uncleanness or defilement and man was expected to keep every law of God in order to remain very good. Adam and Eve chose to defile themselves in disobeying Gods law as a result of which God cursed them with the enmity and thus they became unclean in His sight and were driven from the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden to toil the ground until returning to it for ever (Genesis 3). God then revealed His purpose that where Adam had failed, one would come who would wholly consecrate his life in obedience to God and thus sanctify his soul (character) unto God by killing the enmity as it arose in his tempting thoughts to transgress Gods law. In this way this one would sanctify God as holy in all his thoughts and in return God would sanctify (consecrate) him unto himself. The process of consecration was fulfilled in Jesus from the earliest age when he set himself apart (consecrated) to the service of the purpose of God in the laying of the foundation for a spiritual house of people in whom God would be sanctified and who in turn would be consecrated for ever by God. When he was twelve years of age he told his parents, wist ye not that I must be about my fathers business (Luke 3 v 4052) where business is house and my father was God. The heart and mind of Jesus became the house (temple) of God in a mortal body by casting out every thought that prompted him to transgress Gods law (Matthew 4 v 1-11) and this work continued throughout his life showed by when he entered the temple in Jerusalem and cast out the uncleanness of the Jews that defiled the physical house of God And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep,

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The law of God and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise (John 2 v 13-17). He repeated the act again just before his crucifixion (Luke 19 v 45-46) by which means he taught all people that what he had just done in the physical temple he had accomplished in the temple of his body throughout his life, for which he was justified in saying, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2 v 19). Thus Jesus consecrated his life unto God as he taught when tempted by the Pharisees regarding payment of tribute to Caesar, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's (Mark 12 v 13-17) where the coin in question had Caesars image impressed upon it and the human body is in the image of God (Genesis 1 v 26-27), so Jesus gave his body and life to God who had given it him. Such was the willing and zealous consecration (setting apart) of Jesus to God that God responded with anointing of the Holy Spirit such that he could teach Gods will by miracles. And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased (Luke 3 v 22). After his resurrection Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows (Psalm 45 v 7) by the anointing of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in a change of nature from mortality to immortality to become a High Priest for ever to minister on behalf of his multitudinous companion in preparation for their sanctification as it was written, The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, of whom (Melchizedek) Paul wrote, To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually (Hebrews 7 v 2-3). To Abraham, Melchizadek was an immortal prefigurement of Jesus the greater High Priest, but to the congregation of Israel Aaron and his progeny were mortal prefigurements, By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament .. .. But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore (Hebrews 7 v 22-28). The experience of Abraham with Melchizedek is the same teaching from God as the anointing of the High Priest was to the congregation that was ordained to focus the mind of the congregation on the hope of the promises of God. Abraham obeyed the call of God to separate from his natural background of disbelieving relatives and neighbours in Ur of the Chaldea's (Genesis 12 v 1-5) in order to consecrate his life to God through obedience to the word of God and the promises of His covenant. Abraham obeyed and set apart his livelihood and that of his family to God as Paul later wrote, By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he

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The law of God should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went (Hebrews 11 v 8) and "Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be (Romans 4 v 18). In course of time part of his family broke their consecration and returned to the fleshpots of human activity in Sodom and Gomorrah leaving Abraham set apart in his faithful consecration to God. Distant enemy forces invaded these fleshpots and took Abrahams relatives captive and returned them to where they came from originally, thus signifying the guilt of all men in captivity to the enmity by breaking the oath of separation to God. Abraham possessed the compassion of God his Creator and set off in pursuit to rescue them, defeated the enemy and returned his family to their set apart condition. Following this selfless work an angel from God (Melchizadek) met him with bread and wine and they did eat together thus teaching Abraham that like as he had in compassion rescued his family from the enemy so likewise would one come who would rescue Abraham (and all his likeminded friends) from the captivity of an eternal grave because of the enmity, and that that one would become an eternal High Priest in order to atone for their sins and that he would be represented for the next 4000 years (to this day) by bread and wine (his body and blood) as was later enshrined in the law and continued by Jesus in remembrance of His death and resurrection (Genesis 14, Numbers 15, Luke 22 v 19-20). The anointing of the High Priest taught all the congregation of the purpose of God in a son who He would raise up and by whom forgiveness of sins unto eternal life would be possible. The Psalmist teaches that the holy anointing oil upon the head of the High Priest at his consecration prefigured the blessing of eternal life on him and his faithful friends who were depicted in the pomegranates of the hem of his garment, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore (Psalms 133). This multiple blessing was foretold in the consecration of the priests, the sons of Aaron. After the High Priest was anointed, he and his sons were sprinkled with the anointing oil and the blood of the ram of consecration to sanctify them for their work in the Tabernacle, And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him (Exodus 29 v 21). Blood represented the life blood of Jesus Christ and God has said that only by blood can sin be atoned and consecration unto sanctification be possible, For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul (Leviticus 17 v 11), and Paul later explained, And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (Hebrews 9 v 22). So it was that the High Priest and his sons were to be marked on their right ear, right thumb and right great toe with the blood of the ram of consecration in order to teach them that their hearing (attention to Gods word), the work of their hands (obedience) and the steps of their walk (balance between right and wrong) were in communion with the foretold

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The law of God life blood of Jesus Christ in his victory over the enmity. By this means alone can consecration unto holiness by anointing of the Holy Spirit be attained. There was a specific law regarding the fitness of the High Priest and his sons to serve in the Tabernacle on behalf of the congregation that taught all who considered its significance about the manner of spiritual life of Jesus Christ (his character, soul). The law stated that no priest could be physically impaired, For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire (Leviticus 21 v 1821). Jesus taught that physical impairment does not signify spiritual impairment as it is recorded, And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him (John 9 v 1-3). In the case of the High Priest his bodily fitness represented the spiritual fitness of the one he was to represent, Jesus Christ. Of Jesus bodily form we are told little except that he did not present a tall, robust and imposing figure that would be impressive his fellows as Isaiah foretold, he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not (Isaiah 53 v 2-3). But the bodily form that God created man in the beginning was very good and in the image of God (in whom is no blemish) and this bodily image was a pattern of what God required in the heart and mind, his character or soul of man. The record shows that Adam and his progeny did not fulfil what God required until Jesus Christ who fulfilled the will of God in that due to humble obedience to every word of God there was no blemish in his character, no impairment, no disability or any imperfection which is what the law concerning the bodily form of the High Priest and his sons taught. Impairments of the character are identified by God as the flesh and are manifestations of the enmity at work in the heart and mind and are summarised by Solomon, These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren (Proverbs 6 v 16-19), and again by Paul, Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like (Galatians 5 v 19-21). While the High Priests were to be physically un-impaired they were required by God to show that un-impairment in the example of life as a prefigurement of Jesus Christ as Micah was told, He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6 v 8).

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In addition their wives were to be virgins in order to teach of the future multitudinous companion of Jesus who collectively keeps herself from defilement with any other doctrine and covenant that man may imagine (Revelation 14 v 4). 6.19.10) Anointing of the Tabernacle After the Tabernacle was finished and erected Moses was commanded to hallow it, And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy (Exodus 40). The Tabernacle was the house of God and represented the as then future Son of God who would manifest the name (character) of God perfectly in a mortal body by killing the enmity to sufferance of death and attain unto eternal life in the mercy and faithfulness of God by which means a body of people would likewise be saved from eternal death and in whom God will dwell for ever. Jesus was the perfect pattern of the image of God. Man was made in the image and likeness of God in bodily form and was required to be in the same image and likeness in heart and mind (character) thus manifesting the name of God in honour of Him. Adam and his progeny failed but Jesus attained to this standard such that he was able to say, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father (John 14 v 9) and Paul confirmed, God was manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3 v 16) and Isaiah prophesied, Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7 v 14) where Immanuel means God with us. Moses was shown this pattern of the purpose of God (His name and character) that was to be illustrated by the qualities and characteristics of all the materials to be used and the construction and so was instructed, And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount (Exodus 25 v 40) and And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount (Exodus 26 v 30). When the work was finished, Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it (Exodus 39 v 43). Only then could Moses anoint all the parts with the holy anointing oil as set apart Holy and sanctified to the honour of God. After his resurrection Jesus was judged by God to be in His perfect image in mind, heart and soul (character) and was justified in anointing him with the fullness of the Holy Spirit by removing the curse of mortality and filling Jesus with everlasting life represented by the physical anointing of the parts of the Tabernacle as a seal of Gods approval that he did all according to the pattern contained in all the instructions representing Jesus fulfilling every word of God as he said, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil (Matthew 5 v 17), and in prayer to God, I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do (John 17 v 4) and I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world (John 17 v 6). The name of God was the pattern, merciful, gracious, long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth Exodus 34 v 5-7) and seen in the fruits of the Holy Spirit, Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Galatians 5 v 22-23).

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Embraced within the Tabernacle that pre-eminently represents Jesus Christ are representations of the multitudinous companion of Jesus. For example, the pomegranates of the High Priests robe, the cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant, the boards of the walls, the vessels of service, the branches of the light stand, etc, all these after final inspection were anointed as holy, thus teaching that all those who are called by God to have a place in the eternal house of God will have to be inspected to see if they were to the pattern of Jesus Christ set in the word of God, and if satisfactory are themselves to be anointed with the fullness of the Holy Spirit in eternal life (as Jesus now is) after their resurrection from the grave. Jesus foretold this judgment in his teachings of the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins (Matthew 25 v 1-13), and of the separation of the sheep from the goats When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left (Matthew 25:31-33). Those sheep on the right had manifested the name of God in their lives among their neighbours by following the life of Christ (compassion, mercy, grace, long suffering, goodness and truth the name of God) and motivated not be mere duty but by humility, broken hearts and contrite spirits (Psalm 34 v 18, Isaiah 57 v 15, Isaiah 66 v 2, Jeremiah 9 v 24) all virtues that are the very details of the pattern of the Tabernacle showed to Moses in Mount Sinai and minutely represented by the qualities of the materials and intricacies of construction of the Tabernacle, perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ but imperfectly in the companion whose short comings will be covered by the love that Jesus had for them in that while they fell short of the standard they were always conscious of their failures as Paul wrote, O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7 v 24-25). These people will be sanctified unto holiness by the work of one man Jesus Christ as it is written, Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5 v 25-32). Paul writes of the final sanctification by anointing of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15 v 50-55) This was the hope of the gospel conveyed in the teaching of the Tabernacle that was intended to reaffirm the faith of the congregation to obey God with the promise of salvation after the example of Abraham and their forefathers.

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The law of God 6.19.11) Nomadic movement journey to the Promised Land Although the 40-year sojourn in the wilderness is not part of the law of God there are significant events that compliment and complete the teachings of the Tabernacle and its parts. The whole sojourn was divided into individual journeys that finally accounted for their wandering (Numbers 33). On each journey the Ark of the Covenant was carried on the shoulders of the priests who led the way, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them (Numbers 10 v 33) until on the final journey to the banks of the river Jordan it was to be some 2000 cubits (3000 feet, 1181 metres) in advance, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore (Joshua 3 v 2-4). God led the congregation through the wilderness as punishment for their lack of faith (Number 13 & 14) and to teach them that entry into eternal life after resurrection from the dead and entry into the promised Kingdom of God on earth was not an easy and instant salvation, but required a lifetime spiritual sojourn in the wilderness of human nature, a sojourn and journey of obedience by faith to the will of God and experiences to test that obedience, as God said, And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live (Deuteronomy 8 v 2-3). This overruling guidance of God was fulfilled in its entirety in the life of Jesus in that while he did not wander in the physical wilderness as Israel did, he recognised that he lived in a wilderness of human nature where the enmity ever seeks to suppress the cultivation of godliness and that he submitted himself to endure the same tests of faith that Israel did in order that he should not live by his own efforts but that man (he), doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live (Matthew 4 v 4). In this way Jesus went before those who will be saints (spiritual Israel, Jew and Gentile) as the Ark of the Covenant did and like the Ark he sought out spiritual resting places of the heart and mind (the soul, the character) by his teachings, advice, parables, miracles and example that became spiritual milestones as he emerged from each trial with his faith and love for God fortified (Hebrew 12 v 2-5, John 14 v 6, Luke 9 v 29). The promise of the covenant of God that is underscored in the law is the promise of eternal life on earth in a land (the kingdom of God) free from the curse after resurrection from the grave, a promise that was symbolised in the Promised land of Canaan (a land flowing with milk and honey Leviticus 20 v 24, Deuteronomy 11 v 9-12) the land that Israel journeyed to and in order to enter it they needed to cross the river Jordan. The river Jordan has been used by God to depict the flow of humanity from its lofty origin in Mount Hermon (creation very good) to the wastes of the

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The law of God Dead Sea (the curse of death). This river was the barrier to their inheritance in the Promised Land even as death is the barrier to eternal life. When the feet of the priests who carried the Ark touched the waters edge the flow of the river was stopped allowing the Ark to be supported in the middle of the riverbed while the congregation passed over, teaching that Jesus Christ would make a way possible that would pass through death from mortality to immortality and that in his victory over the enmity causing that death, a nation would pass over unto life everlasting into the promised Kingdom of God (Joshua 3, 1 Corinthians 15 v 48-58). As the Ark was to be two thousand cubits in front of the congregation in its approach to the river and the temporary stopping of its flow, so Jesus would precede the entry of the saints into the Kingdom of God by some 2000 years. Jesus entered into immortality after resurrection in about 31AD, which with 2000 years added predicts that the saints will enter the Kingdom of God in about 2031AD after the judgement of God on the inhabitants of the earth. 6.19.12) Final resting place of the Ark fulfilled in Christ The final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant was Jerusalem some 500 years after its entry into the Land of Promise. During that period it rested at Shiloh and Gibeon, but in the reign of David it was brought to the city (Jebus) that David had established as his citadel and finally set the Ark on a particular location on that hilltop city. This location was not randomly chosen by David but was shown where to put it by being taught of the necessity and reality of redemption from death by the one who was represented by the Ark of the Covenant. David was representative of all the saints in that he sinned and God punished Israel as a result of his sin, but showed David that even in hot anger God would show mercy to His people and so stayed the carnage at the rock of Mount Moriah that Abraham had offered Isaac some 1000 years previously. In order to stay the carnage David had offered burnt sacrifices to express his faith that he was in mortal need of a redeemer who would pay the price of death to buy him back from certain death. At this expression God withdrew His anger and David realised the full extent of the purpose of God centred in the Ark of the Covenant (Jesus Christ his redeemer from death) such that he exclaimed at the site where the carnage had stayed, This is the house of the LORD God (1 Chronicles 22 v 1) and began preparing for a temple in which the Ark would be the heart and focal point. It was on this rock that Solomon built the temple that was destroyed by Neduchadnezzer (587BC) and rebuilt by Zerrubabel (517BC), that was again rebuilt by Herod (18BC), that Jesus worshipped in (John 2 v 13-22) and that the Romans raised to the ground (70AD), that the Muslims built their mosque (693AD) that remains to this day to which site the Jews are forbidden to enter by ordinance of God. It is the site from which Jesus Christ will rule the world as high priest and king assisted by the saints in the kingdom of God (Psalm 2, Isaiah 2 v 1-4, Ezekiel 21 v 2527, Micah 4 v 1-2, Zechariah 8 v 20-23) thus fulfilling the representations of the Ark of the Covenant. 7) The law of the sacrificial offerings Background God created all living creatures for His pleasure (Revelation 4 v 11) and did not create them to be killed for any reason. God gave to Adam intelligence superior to all other

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The law of God creatures in order that he should have dominion over them (Genesis 1 v 28) according to His purpose for creating man in His own image so that he could honour Him with obedience to His law in order that he should rule the earth as God would. God gave Adam a law requiring obedience adding the sentence of death if he failed to keep it, but Adam did not keep that law and as a result of sin God enforced the sentence of His law and mankind and all creatures (because of mans sin) became dying species with each species saved only by reproduction. The purpose that God created the earth was that it should be inhabited and ruled by a righteous people who would live and rule as God himself would have ruled the world, to be manifestations of Him on earth. From this time God decreed that His purpose would be fulfilled, but only by passing the sentence of death and giving the gift of resurrection that followed a process of proving and testing of every mortal individual to see if they were worthy of resurrection to eternal life and of being like Him in inhabiting and ruling the world as God intended. God foreknew that these people would not be able to fulfil His exacting standard and so decreed that they would be saved by a man of their race who would do all that God required. The means by which this would be fulfilled was by shedding of blood in death, not for the pleasure of shedding blood but to teach that His purpose would only be fulfilled by a new Adam whom God would raise up out of Adams mortal race who would obey perfectly and that he would die a violent death as a result of his obedience to the will of God and would give himself willingly to that sacrifice. This death would be the highest price anyone could pay in order to obey as it required a complete trust in God that as that one died (from which he had no power of release from the grave and no precedent unto eternal life had been done) so God would fulfil His promise and resurrect him back to life in his mortal condition and then after judgement resurrect him to immortal life. To illustrate this precondition to eternal life God showed Adam its representation in the first death of an animal to teach him (and all mankind who followed) in a practical and poignant way the reality of the sacrifice of the one who should come to make a way unto salvation possible. It is written, Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them (Genesis 3 v 21) thus necessitating the death of an animal, and from that death a covering for nakedness (skins) was provided teaching man that sin is as abhorrent to God as naked organs are to man (sin causes awareness of such nakedness Genesis 3 v 7). Thus man was shown his need for shame of sin in order for him to be covered by the death of the one represented by the dead animal and whose blood was shed so that sin could be washed away, showing that without full acknowledgement of all committed sin and repentance in shame the sacrificing of either an animal or ones own-self had no value whatever. God delights not in the death of a man or any creature, God delights in acknowledgement of sin, remorse and repentance (Micah 6 v 6-9). Adam and Eve taught these principles to their sons (Cain and Abel) who in course of time expressed their faith in God by freewill offerings but only Abels offering was accepted even though Cain brought of the best he could, because he did not appreciate that for his sins to be covered for any hope of resurrection to eternal life a life would need to be sacrificed and blood shed in order to appease the just anger of God for sin,

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The law of God And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering (Genesis 4 v 3-4). Thus God introduced the sacrificing of selected animals to teach of His purpose of salvation through one who was represented by that animal, and so in response the believer could express his or her faith by making a sacrifice of the best of their flock or herd to show their faith. For this purpose of expression of faith, God chose selected animals and designated them as clean and showed them to Noah when he instructed him in the selection of animals to go into the ark, two (male and female) of every unclean animal and seven of the clean (Genesis 7 v 2). Abel the son of Adam also had this knowledge for he had brought his offering of the flock (i.e. a sheep or goat, both designated as clean Leviticus 11). The differentiation that set the clean from the unclean was not their habits or any defects in their form but that they had both cloven feet and chewed the cud to teach of the major qualities that would be found in the one whom God would raise up to be a saviour of mankind. Cloven feet are found in sheep, goats and cattle etc and are two divided, but not separated, horn-like claws. The root of the Hebrew word cloven is from that which is divided but not broken as illustrated in Leviticus concerning the offering of a pigeon, And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder (Leviticus 1 v 17). In a practical way this cloven footedness gives agility and surefootedness to the animal allowing it to be steady on uneven ground teaching that Jesus walk in the laws of God were always without slip (sin Psalm 73) no matter how hard the mental terrain became (Hebrews 4 v 15), but more than that it taught how Jesus attained to that surefootedness in the ways of God in order for them to appreciate his sacrifice. Paul used this cloven-footedness in a practical spiritual context when he described the correct use of the word of God as it is studied, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2 v 15). The Greek word for dividing originates from two roots 1) to excite in the sense of being upright and straight and is from the Hebrew that means to raise oneself up or excite oneself to a state of alert uprightness and straightness such as engaged enemies would before battle - it implies sprightliness and exertion, (the opposite of languor and laziness), and 2) to cut by that which is very sharp as was used by Paul in describing the effect of the power of the Holy Spirit inspired word of God the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4 v 12). The clean animals chosen by God taught that the one who would be an acceptable sacrifice for redemption from sin was the only one who would be entirely excited and alerted by every word of God as a warrior is to battle (against the enmity) as he examined every word and phrase of God by cutting with the sharp knife of the Holy Spirit through tradition and preconceived ideas of man in order to uncover for himself

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The law of God the hidden truth of every jot, tittle and word (as a surgeon with a scalpel). He used the Holy Spirit to cut away every temptation of contra-interpretation of the enmity in order to see the mind that God had hidden in His word (Proverbs 25 v2) so that he could display that mind in his life as required by God in order to manifest the name of God in a mortal body (1 Timothy 3 v 16), as he spoke concerning the fulfilment of the law of God in himself, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled (Matthew 5 v 17-18) and Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (Psalm 40 v 7-8). The other inseparable quality of the clean animal was its need to chew the cud, to ruminate on the food it had taken. These animals eat grass and store it in a rumen (pre-digestion stomach) and regurgitate it when resting and in so doing extract the full goodness of the nutrients and minerals before swallowing the food for digestion in the stomach. God used this peculiarity of His creation to teach mankind of the spiritually cloven-footed one who would be the redeemer of a family from the grave as the only one who fully digested the food of His word and extracted the intended goodness to give growth and stature so he could manifest the name of God in a mortal body. Thus it was written of Jesus, But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night (Psalm 1 v 2), and of his daily food he said, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work (John 4 v 3134). Many read the word of God avidly every day and have done so since it was written, but only Jesus divided every phrase and word and them applied to himself. He read the word, he rested mentally, he meditated on what he read, he recalled it to mind, remeditated repeatedly and extracted the detail of what God required and then swallowed it in order to extract the pith and core to direct his ways as was foretold in the Psalms, O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day (Psalm 119 v 97). His meditation was not for knowledge alone but to find the mind of God hidden in His name and written in His word so that he could display that name and word in his ways in being merciful, gracious, long suffering full of goodness and truth such that he became the word made flesh and in so doing became the enemy of the enmity, the enemy that he slew with that word that God had given. Thus God decreed which animals were clean and which were unclean solely to teach mankind that He would provide from the race of mankind a saviour who would separate himself from the rule of the enmity by being subject to the rule of Gods word. This principle was endorsed by Paul, I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean (Romans 14 v 14) God esteemed those animals to be unclean and thus they will remain until the enmity is removed from mankind. Although all sacrifices must be of clean animals they were also to be without blemish to be acceptable to God to teach of the unblemished character of Jesus Christ. It was commanded, Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD. .. .. Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or

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The law of God crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land (Leviticus 22 v 22-24, Malachi 1 v 8, 12-14). 7.1) Continuous burnt offering God decreed that there would be a continual smoke that arose by day and the glow of fire by night from the altar of burnt offering to remind the congregation that the work of Jesus in overcoming the enmity was to be without rest until he had fulfilled every word of God. The purpose of the slaying and burning of the sacrifices was to represent firstly, the shedding of the life blood of Jesus Christ (without which there could be no forgiven of sin) and secondly, the consumption of the flesh by the fire of the Holy Spirit. The blood represents the life of Jesus and the flesh (and all its parts) represented the enmity-laden mortal body of Jesus that was never allowed to work by sin, but although sinless he took on himself the guilt of all those sinners whom he came to save in whom the enmity had been successful in working (Isaiah 53). This sacrifice was a sweet smelling savour unto God as it encapsulated all the God required in man as it is recorded in Genesis of Noahs sacrifice, And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour (Genesis 8 v 20-21). The sense of the word sweet is to rest after a work is well finished, not through tiredness - but pleasure in completing a work perfectly as when God rested on the seventh day, And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made (Genesis 2 v 1-2). The whole purpose of the teaching of the burnt sacrifices was to lead the mind of the congregation to the work of Jesus Christ which work was to finish the work God began after His creation was marred by Adam and all his descendants by sin. The work was the manifestation of the character of God in a mortal body by a life and death that gives glory for all things and that metaphorically ascends to God as the Creator, sustainer and giver of life that could only be done by the death of the enmity (the devil, Satan, the flesh, the world). The smoke of the burnt offering represented that the evidence of that work, a work completed that God found a sweet savour (a savour of rest) in which He could rest in satisfaction of a perfect work done as He did after the physical creation of all things. To represent this work, where Jesus without rest day and night denied temptation from the enmity and overcame it within his heart and mind by the word of God that he learned, there was to be a continual burning of a lamb without blemish on the altar, Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: .. .. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee (Exodus 29 v 38-44, Numbers 28 v 110). The male lambs (young rams) were to be no older than a year and were required to be without blemish of the standard mentioned previously. The lamb is noted for its meek and submissive temper and the herald of a new beginning of life in spring and summer and for being filled with the delight and joy of being alive. These were the qualities God sought and found in Jesus as he grew from childhood to maturity, not

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The law of God only in physical activity but in the application of the word of God in his life and were prophesied by Isaiah, He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth (Isaiah 53). It was John Baptist that exclaimed, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1 v 29) where the Greek word lamb is derived from two Hebrew words, 1) to be steadfast, stable, faithful, true and constant, and 2) to be soft gentle and mind all characteristics that God put in the lamb and used to represent His well-beloved son Jesus Christ. The apostle John was also shown later the glory to which Jesus has been elevated and will be revealed in the fulfilment of the purpose of God, And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain (Revelation 5). There were two lambs to be offered each day, one morning and the other at even so that there would be continual evidence of the future work of Jesus as the saviour of those who enter into covenant with God by vow of obedience. On the Sabbath the daily continual burnt offering was to be accompanied by a double sacrifice of two more lambs with their bread and wine offering to show that not only did Jesus fulfil every word of God throughout his whole life but that he fulfilled (and became) the living manifestation of the essence of the Sabbath Day - the day God finished His work and rested. Jesus set himself to finish his work (in the death of the enmity in his own mortal body) in accordance with the sentence God pronounced on all mankind (Genesis 3 v 19) thus showing that God was justified in His judgement of sin and that he had completed the work God began in the beginning such that God again rested from his labour of raising up the firstborn of a new creation of righteous people at one with God, and as such he (Jesus) became the rest (the Sabbath) a work finished that God sought (not through weariness but through completeness of work) in the same sense that God had rested from His physical work at the conclusion of creation, as it was taught by Jesus, For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day (Matthew 12 v 8). No continual burnt offering sacrifice (or any animal sacrifice) was acceptable to God unless it was accompanied by a drink offering of wine and a meat (meal) offering of bread (Numbers 15). God ordained specific weights and volumes of bread and wine for each species of animal sacrifice, in the case of the continual burnt offering (a lamb) the meat offering was a tenth of an ephah of flour mixed with a quarter of an hin of olive oil, and for the drink offering a quarter of an hin of strong wine. A portion of the meat offering was to be burned with the carcase on the altar of burnt offering, but the wine was to be poured out as a libation to God on the floor of the Holy Place of the tent of the Sanctuary, And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the LORD for a drink offering (Numbers 28 v 7), thus setting the pattern for all other offerings. Bread and wine was chosen by God as early as Abraham and continues to this day to represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Its importance (no sacrifice of animal under the law or personal deprivation today is acceptable to God without recognition of their significance) is considered in the next chapter. 7.2) Drink and meat offering

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The law of God No offering of any animal sacrifice was acceptable to God without an accompanying offering of bread and wine (Numbers 15, 28 & 29). The bread could be as uncooked dough, baked or fried (Leviticus 2 v 4-7, Numbers 28). Memorials (portions) of the bread were to be offered on the altar of burnt offering and the remainder to be eaten by the High Priest and his sons (Leviticus 6 v 14-18). The wine was to be poured out on the earth floor of the Holy Place in the tent of the Tabernacle of the Sanctuary (Numbers 28 v 7). Each animal had a specific quantity of bread and wine to be offered. The bread for a lamb - a tenth of an ephah of fine flour kneaded with quarter of a hin of olive oil, for a mature ram - two tenths and one third respectively, for an ox or bullock - three tenths and half respectively, and the wine for a lamb - one quarter of a hin, for a ram one third and for a bullock half a hin (Numbers 28). Bread is the basic food commodity of mankind and can be made from a whole variety of bread flour, but the basic method of preparation is the same. Seed corn is sowed in earth and germinates by air, light and water, the plant matures and bears flowers that turn to seed, which ripen in the husk, the plant is cut down, the seed is separated from the husk by pressure and wind, the corn grain is then ground, sifted, refined by further milling and is then mixed with either water or oil (under the law it was to be olive oil) and salt, baked in heat and is ready for food. Leavened bread has yeast (or old bread dough) added as it mixed and kneaded, it is then left to react (swell) and then baked. Unleavened bread has no reactor and does not rise but remains in volume as it was kneaded. God has chosen leaven to represent the enmity working in the character of an individual (i.e. it swells with pride, the old man - Romans 6 v 6) and unleavened bread to represent the character of Jesus Christ in whom the leaven did not work, but was nullified. All bread offered on the altar was to have no leaven in whatsoever, No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire (Leviticus 2 v 11). The only time leaven was commanded to be present was in the Bread of the First-fruits at the end of the Feast of Weeks, but that bread was to be eaten and not offered on the altar (and has an entirely different significance), As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour (Leviticus 2 v 12), (Leviticus 23 v 17). God used bread to represent mankind, either leavened by the activity of the enmity or remaining an unleavened representation of the full fruitfulness of the word of God. God chose corn (the seed, barley the firstripe and wheat the principle) to represent the His word, the ground (earth) represented the heart of man (Luke 8 v 11-15) that needs to be broken open (removal of pride Jeremiah 4 v 3-4, Hosea 10 v 12) to receive the seed (the word of God, Mark 4 v 14) and allow air, light and water (the actions of His Holy Spirit) to germinate the seed (Isaiah 28 v 23-29). The growth of the plant (natural maturity, Luke 2 v 52) brings flowers (the beauty of obedience to the word), then seed (the fruits of the Spirit, Galatians 5 v 22-23) surrounded by the husk (superfluous human activity, Luke 10 v 40-42), the plant is harvested (natural youthful ambitions terminated, 1 Corinthians 13 v 11) and the seed-head is separated (devotion to God by vow, Ecclesiastes 5 v 4) and is winnowed (voluntary removal of superfluity 1 John 2 v 15-17), then ground (trials of faith, Revelation 2 v 7, 11, 17, 26, etc), sifting (refining faith understanding its effects, Luke 22 v 31) and final milling for the finest of flour (perfecting love, Song of Solomon 8 v 6-7, I Corinthians 13).

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The law of God Such flour will remain of little use unless mixed with oil (or water) and salt (Leviticus 2 v 13) both representations of the Holy Spirit, with oil (water) as vital to life and salt as a healer, preserver and taste enhancer and fundamental to life. Oil, water and salt represent different aspects of the Holy Spirit. Olive oil (see pp 4849) that burns with a clean bight flame (light) and unites grains of flour as one lump (Psalm 133), water that is essential to life and to wash (Deuteronomy 32 v 2, Isaiah 55 v 8-11, John 7 v 38-39) and salt that heals, is used to preserve and to give taste to food. Salt Salt is as essential to life even as the Spirit of God is essential for life on earth and when that Spirit is used in the preparation of a person of Gods choosing unto righteousness it is the same Spirit but is referred to as the Holy Spirit. The use of salt in the 21st century is abused (as many other aspects of Gods creation are) to such an extent that it is often wrongly considered harmful to health (a causes of hypertension high blood pressure). This is because of its abuse as a favour enhancer in processed food - foods processed for convenience and profit, but God did not create or provide food for this reason. Salt is so essential for life that men were paid in salt as part of the wages (salary is from this origin - salarius pertaining to salt, and salad literally means salt after the ancient practice of salting vegetable leaves). Salt (sodium chloride) is essential for balancing the water content of the body and therefore its overall health, too much salt leads to high blood pressure and high risk of death by heart malfunction, too little salt (in comparison to water intake) and water poisoning occurs resulting in death. In ancient times salt was a symbol of friendship (being invited to eat bread and salt was a sign of acceptance of mutual amity) and was held in such high esteem of value that oaths were taken over salt. Salt in the offerings is referred to as the salt of the covenant (Leviticus 2 v 13). The covenant is the promise God made to mankind that if he shows his love for God by not sinning in any way, God will remove the curse after death (Genesis 3 v 17-19) and give everlasting life. Sin is the product of the enmity that is in every man and woman and is the spirit of pride and rebellion. The spirit of man (the enmity) cannot co-exist with the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit), the one always replaces the other. Sin is unsavoury to the taste of God and repellent. In order to savour unsavoury food, salt is needed, in a similar way the Holy Spirit will transform a sinful being into a righteous person in order to become an acceptable (savoury) offering to God, as Jesus taught of those who followed him, For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another (Mark 9 v 49-50). However, without the perfectly salted (savoury) sinless offering of Jesus there would be no hope for anyone in that all have sinned. The salt that savoured the life of Jesus was the Holy Spirit that he allowed and used to overcome his own natural spirit (the enmity) until he replaced it entirely with the Holy Spirit by killing it finally on the cross. Jesus taught this way of salvation by word of mouth and by living example and said, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is

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The law of God evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh and Paul later wrote, Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man (Colossians 4 v 6). Salt readily absorbs water from air and damp earth, in fact it is so efficient at absorption it is an excellent desiccant for items that degenerate by mould and rot in damp air. When salt absorbs water from the air or damp earth it looses its saltness i.e. it looses its properties of 1) preservation of food, 2) cleansing of infection and 3) flavouring and has no further use to man, but becomes a toxic waste. For this reason when salt was thus degraded in times past it was cast onto the street to be trodden in as if it was put on the earth the land would become barren. Sin is the unsavoury sickness that afflicts man in the eyes of God that makes him of no use to God who has condemned him to be trodden under foot. Sin is a toxic waste to the fertile ground of the heart that God requires in man so that the seed of His word can grow. Sin is the mould and microbial corruption that rots the character of man. Sin is the product of the enmity and needs to be killed so the heart, mind and character can be restored and preserved as God created it and to flourish as a sweet tasting savour to God that can only be achieved by the action of the Holy Spirit. God has chosen salt to represent that Spirit working in man such that mans works (manner of life character) become the savoured by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, but if that Spirit is quenched and ceases to do its intended work of preservation, cleansing and savouring then it is of no use to God as Paul wrote, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame (Hebrews 6 v 4-6). The Psalmist (who typified all the believers in God and followers of Jesus and whose sins Jesus took upon himself as though they were his own) recognised his sinfulness and wrote, I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee (Psalms 41 v 4), and The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul (Psalms 121 v 7) and Job remarked, Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg? (Job 6 v 6) and David appealed when he sinned, Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me (Psalms 51 v 11). Job was reflecting upon his low sinful state as viewed from Gods eyes, he confessed he was unsavoury through sin and without the Spirit of God (that appeared to have left him but hadnt), he knew that the yoke of an egg was the seed of the fowl even as the seed is the word of God, and he knew that to feed that seed of the word of God in himself in order for it to grow he would need more than the natural white of his own good intentions, he would need the savour of the salt of the Holy Spirit for his faith to be an acceptable taste to God. In this sense Jesus said of all those who vow to follow him, Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men (Matthew 5 v 13). Thus salt was essential in the meat (bread) offering for it to be acceptable to God as it represented the work of His Spirit at work in the heart and mind of Jesus as a

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The law of God confirmation of the unity between God and Jesus as a result of the cleansing, preserving and tastefulness of his sinless life, it was the salt of the covenant. Bread flour Specific quantities of flour were commanded to make up the meat offering (Numbers 28) where the tenth part of an ephah was the basic measure. The law tell us that, Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah (Exodus 16 v 36). The Hebrew word for omer is and means to compress as a sheaf of corn is compressed in the arms of a man for binding such a sheaf yielding grain that measured approximately 6 pints (3.4 litres) that would give a loaf about 4 x 4 x 12 (100mm x 100mm x 300mm). God told Israel that this was the necessary food for one man for a day when referring to gathering manna, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents (Exodus 16 v 16). The omer represents Jesus Christ who was the perfect firstripe sheaf to be gathered in the arms of God from the fields of the world of mankind because he was the only one who ate the word of God in its entirety as being more precious than his natural food and compressed that word in his thoughts and actions so completely that no extraneous matter was allowed to remain in his character and was blessed with an abundance of Godly wisdom as Jesus taught, But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again (Luke 6 v 35-38). A quarter of a hin of oil was to be mixed with the omer of flour. The origin of the Hebrew word for hin is obscure and therefore gives no hint of the essence of its true meaning. A hin is a volumetric measure and equates to approximately 6 litres. A hin would therefore be 1.5 litres to be mixed with an omer (6 litres) thus making a 4:1 volume ratio that made a soft pliable and non-sticky dough in line with standard bread making recipes. Jesus was represented by the bread offering but was incomplete without the drink offering of wine that signified his life and blood. No offering was acceptable without these two in order for the offerer to express their faith in the need for a necessary redeemer represented in all three offerings - the unblemished animal (life shed), the bread (his sinless body) and the wine his life blood. Wine Wine is the fermented juice of the grape, the grape is the fruit of the vine and the vine is grown and cultivated entirely for the fruit that it bears as there is no use for the wood except for burning. God has used the vine as a symbol to represent the people that He has given the enlightened privilege of the blessing of understanding His covenant. The figure was used by God to witness against Israel who went astray from the commands of God who instead of producing sweet grapes of the spiritual fruit of

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The law of God obedience, produced bitter grapes of rebellion and idolatry as Isaiah witnessed for God, And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. (Isaiah 5 v 1-2). Let us not think that these words applied only to Israel because they do not. The spirit of these words also applied to Adam and Eve who produced the bitter fruit of disobedience and whose bodies were fit only for a return to dust and the same applies to us when we fail to eat and drink worthily of the bread and the wine. The vine is a rampant grower in the same way that our natural spirit is rampant in the ways of the flesh unless it is thoroughly pruned and cut back by continual baptism of the Holy Spirit. The growth of the vine must be severely restricted so much that the best fruit comes from a small, low-stature tree that is of no consequence among the trees of the forest, and thus fulfils the figure used by Isaiah to describe Jesus Christ, For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53 v 2-3). The wild bitter grapes of the rampant vine are the fruit of the enmity when it is unchecked within us and the juice (which also ferments) is the poison of the serpent which often masquerades as the juice of the sweet grape, as Moses spake of the rebellion of the enemies of God, For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter: Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps. (Deuteronomy 32 v 3233). Furthermore, the intoxicating effects of the fermented wine of these bitter grapes is described by the apostle, Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.(Galatians 5 v 19-21). Jesus was of the same stock of the wild vine of mortal man but he was to be the fulfilment of the Nazarite vow from his birth (Numbers 6); (Matthew 2 v 23) and in fulfilment of that law, Jesus (although of the stock of sinful man) never exhibited the wildness of the enmity, ate not of one grape seed or one tentacle of the human (enmity ridden) plant, not of one kernel or husk of the fruit of sinful mankind according to the figure of the law of the Nazarite, All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. (Numbers 6 v 4). By fulfilling the teaching of the law of the Nazarite, Jesus eschewed the old vine of sinfulness and thus became the new vine of righteousness with no superfluous growth of the mind of the enmity (John 15 v 1-5). The fruit of that new vine of the life and body of Jesus Christ was sweet and of the quality that God was seeking as recorded by the apostle, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5 v 22-23).

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The law of God But for his friends to share the hope of forgiveness of their sins (only by the blood of Christ) the grape of the new vine was not enough, there needed to be juice to make the wine to signify his life blood, and so the grape was pressed until the juice ran out like tears of suffering at the hand of the enemies of God typified by his agony as he was betrayed by his former friend (Psalm 55 v 12-13, Isaiah 53) and was to be killed by his brethren who he came to save, And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22 v 44) until finally his blood was literally shed as tears-drops of blood on the cross. (Psalm 6 v 6, Psalm 39 v 12, Psalm 42 v 3, Psalm 56 v 8). From the suffering of Jesus Christ comes the hope of the forgiveness of sins by understanding the token of the flood of teardrops of the blood of Jesus Christ which were shed as a libation for the honour and justification of God and for salvation, and it is by faith in the tears of the life of a despised and rejected man that any offering to God can be accepted, a token that has been preserved to this day as Jesus commanded, For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26 v 28). 7.2) Burnt offering freewill

Any member of the congregation could express their faith through offering an animal of Gods choice on the altar of burnt offering as a sweet savour to God, of victory over the enmity in the life and death of the saviour that God in His covenant promised to raise up, but it was to be offered at their own voluntary freewill at the door of the court of the Tabernacle. It was to be offered as an expression of their belief in the sweet savour of the sacrifice of the one who (as then) would come to provide a way of atonement of sin by entire consumption of the enmity within himself by the action of the Holy Spirit. The one who offered was to recognise that victory in death over the enmity by that saviour was the sweet savour that God looked for in mankind and awaited, who although would be without sin himself would take upon himself the sins of others, and in order to publicly show and confirm their need for atonement they were to put their hand on the head of the animal as it was slain, And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him (Leviticus 1 v 4). To take away the life of any animal is not a trivial thing, to take it from ones own herd or flock of domesticated animals is a personal trauma, the animal is innocent and trusting, it is faithful to its owner and bears no malice, it was the best in the flock and has been separated from its fellows and stands alone at the knife of the priest and awaits the final thrust. It was necessary therefore that the offerer understood the innocence of the life of their redeemer and atoner of sin, as it was later written, he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth (Isaiah 53). Their hand on the animals head was a direct admission and recognition of the finality of the termination of life that was due to them because of sin and that the one represented in the animal would take away their sin and make a way possible for their own redemption from the grave. The burnt offering was to be by voluntary will that means in Hebrew to demonstrate a need to be graciously accepted, to make oneself acceptable. God does not need any man or woman, but all mankind need God. Man has separated himself from God

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The law of God by sin, but God has a desire that man returns to Him and is ready to graciously accept his return (by repentance) for that is the power of the name of God (gracious, merciful, long-suffering, full of goodness and truth). For a burnt offering to be accepted by God (i.e. for sins to be atoned) this had to be the heart and mind of the one who offered in showing a voluntary will, the faith that one man would come who by demonstrating that name of God in a mortal body (John 1 v 14, 1 Timothy 3 v 16) would be graciously accepted by God (Matthew 3 v 17, Mark 9 v 7) and in turn God would accept others in and through him (John 17 v 20, John 14 v 6). There were several animals chosen by God for this demonstration of faith. All were to be males without blemish, of the herd (the bullock), of the flock (a ram), or for the very poor, of the wild flock (turtle dove or pigeon). Each represented a quality of the character of their saviour (Jesus Christ) that no man or woman (however poor) could not afford to offer in order to demonstrate their faith. The word bullock in Hebrew denotes both a builder of a family, and strength to pull the plough to break open hard ground. Both attribes were characterised in the one whom God chose to fulfil His covenant. That covenant was to create a family in whom God would be manifest in all their ways and who would dominate creation (Genesis 1 v 28) as God Himself would. Jesus was the one who began that family, he was the firstborn, the founder of a righteous people, the one who built up the family of God, as it was written concerning those who are joined to Jesus and God by singular vow of baptism and continue to grow in that unity in hope of redemption, Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: . From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4 v 11-16), (Ephesians 2 v 19-22). The companion meaning of strength to pull the plough to break open hard ground represents the inner strength of Jesus to break the naturally ground of the heart hardened by the enmity to resist the seed of the word of God so that that seed can enter, geminate, flourish and bring the fruits of the Spirit required by God, of which no other man was strong enough to do. Thus the bullock represents Jesus Christ. The young ram (male lamb) has its Hebrew origins in submission and meekness as was prophesied of Jesus, but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word (Isaiah 66 v 2), and I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Isaiah 57 v 15) as was perfectly fulfilled by Jesus at his crucifixion, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:42-44). The goat has its origins in agility and vigour from prodigious strength a word used to describe God, O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God (Psalms 68 v 35) a strength that Jesus derived from his faith in God that enabled him to defend his flock against the wiles of the devil in enmity on the treacherous and rocky terrain of human nature. The turtle dove is named after its song, considered by many to be mournful, but in fact is representative of the innermost prayers of those who suffer to overcome the

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The law of God enmity and rejoice in the hope of the prospect of the promises of God in His covenant, Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5 v 19) where that melody so mournful to the man of the flesh is a joy to all who hope in a redeemer from the grave, a melody that was perfected in Jesus Christ who prayed to God as recorded by John (John 17). The meaning of the root of the Hebrew word turtle is that which goes or comes around as in the hem of blue in an Israelitish garment (Numbers 15 v 38). It is associated with its purring call in the olive groves in which it habitually nests, as the turtle dove returns from its wintering grounds and was the herald of spring and summer as the cycle of the year came round, as the Song of Solomon shows, The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away (Song of Solomon 2 v 12-13) figuratively speaking of the time of redemption from the grave. Jesus was the male turtle-dove who brought that joyful sound to all who hope in the promises of the covenant of God. The young (male) pigeon is of the same family and shares the same characteristics representative of Jesus Christ. It is monogamous with eyes only for one lifetime mate, its flight is swift and direct and has an incomprehensible homing instinct when released far from its nest, such that it has often been used as a reliable carrier of messages and mail. Thus Jesus had eyes only for his mate (the faithful), he saw the fulfillment of the promises and flew in haste directly to that goal of forgiveness of sins and eternal life making a way possible for others to follow and the message he carried was the prayers of his sinful fellows. In all these sacrifices, the blood was to be drained out and poured at the bottom of the altar to be mixed and mingled with the ashes of the sacrifices as the evidence of the completion of the work of the fire of the Holy Spirit in overcoming the enmity in Jesus Christ. Of the animals, the skins were not to be burnt but were to be seperated from the carcase and given to the priest who performed the work as the covering provided by the sacrificed animal in the eyes of God representing the work of Jesus Christ who through the offering of his life and the complete consumption of the enmity by the Holy Spirit, a covering for sin was to be the result. The offering of an animal in sacrifice was not in itself an acceptable offering to God and the prophets were later told to tell Israel, To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats (Isaiah 1 v 11-16, Amos 5 v 21-24). What God required was a sincere recognition of the character of their saviour who would reflect the name of God in a mortal body, and a commitment from them expressed in the offering to follow that example as Micah was told, Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? The LORD's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it (Micah 6 v 6-9)

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The law of God where the rod is a sceptre or rod for correction representing Jesus Christ who God has appointed ruler of His kingdom to come and by whom He will punish the rebellious. It was Jesus who fully understood this divine requirement and who set himself from the earliest age (Luke 2 v 42) to fulfill all the words of God that expressed His will (Luke 2 v 49) as it was written of him, Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (Psalms 40 v 6-8, Hebrew 10 v 412), the law that Jesus came to fulfill as he said, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil (Matthew 5 v 17). The burnt offering was ordained to be a sweet savour unto God, which as described in the continual mandatory offering was a savour of rest, a rest not from weariness but from a work well completed. Thus any member of the congregation could express their faith in the work that Jesus would complete in his victory over the enmity within himself during his life and ultimately in his death on the cross, a savour God confirmed when He spake This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him (Matthew 17 v 1-5). The promise of God was that Jesus would not be left in the grave as other men, but that God would raise him to life before corruption started and would give him eternal life as it is written, For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Psalms 16 v 10-11). Paul later explained the fulfillment of the law of sacrifice in writing to the Ephesians, Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour (Ephesians 5 v 12) where love is agape, the love of God that is stronger than death (Song of Solomon 8 v 6-7) thus fulfilling the law of God (Matthew 5 v 17). 7.3 Peace offering The peace offering was to be offered either for thanksgiving, in performance of a vow or as a voluntary offering for expression of faith in God that He would raise up one man who would heal what was an insurmountable breach between God and mankind due to the sins of Adam, Eve and all their progeny. In the beginning there was peace throughout all the earth, there was no violence or death in all Gods creation and all creatures ate herbage. Upon the sin of man, the sentence of death was put on all creatures, the ground was the cursed, and a barrier to perpetuation of life was placed between man and the tree of life (Genesis 3), a simple fact that is testified by cemeteries across the world. That barrier (a breach in the peace) was later represented by the veil in the Tabernacle (see Veil, pillars and sockets pp30-36) which veil was rent in two upon the death of Jesus (Matthew 27 v 51) of being of no further use signifying the completion of the restoration of peace between God and man by Jesus in killing the enmity within himself and fulfilling the prophecy that Jesus Christ would be the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9 v 6-7). The result of the breach of peace by the curse of God has been violence between species (man with man, animal with animal, and man and animals with each other), eating of fellow creatures (carnivores), and disease in all creation, decay and death.

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The cause of the peace of God in the beginning being shattered was by a combination of the wandering desire of Eve, the weakness of Adam to counteract her and the lie of the serpent. The lie of the serpent was denial of the power of the word of God and the seeding of a false hope of an immortal soul, And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3 v 15). Eve disobeyed Gods command and Adam (who bore responsibility for the keeping of the law) cooperated and so God cursed mankind through the serpent by taking the power of reason (the enmity) that the serpent had and putting it in the mind of man, And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Genesis 3 v 15). The work of the one who God was to raise up (Jesus Christ) to atone this sin was to bruise the enmity in the head by killing the power of the enmity within his mind and thus restoring peace with God in which victory the enmity would bruise him in the heel (killing his body on the cross). Jesus set himself from the earliest age to fulfil this restoration of peace as was shown in the wilderness when tempted by his thoughts to transgress, he killed those thoughts with the word of God every time (Matthew 4). So perfectly did he do this that at the end of his ministration he comforted his disciples before his death with these words, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14 v 27) to which the apostle later added the following, But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby (Ephesians 2 v 13-16) (more later). The slaying of the enmity was achieved by no other man and required the whole of the life and body of Jesus Christ to be given in service to God to do it, such that physically and mentally he was spent, with nothing left for his own use as it was written of his physical body when he died, I may tell (count) all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture (Psalms 22 v 17-18) and of his mind when he cried on the cross immediately before his death My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? (Psalms 22 v 1, Mark 15 v 34). The understanding and acknowledgement of this entire expenditure of body and life in Jesus Christ was the core faith of the peace offering if it was to be accepted as a faithful offering and was demonstrated by the fact that the fat of the inwards particularly of the kidneys, and the caul (a fatty veil covering many organs) and the rump (or fat tail wherein is the fat of the marrow of the bones) of the unblemished animal was to be cut out of the carcase and burnt on the fire of the altar as the food of the fire of the altar, And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD's. It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat

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The law of God neither fat nor blood (Leviticus 3 v 16-17) and the blood to be sprinkled round about upon the altar. The blood and fat represent the whole life-energy of Jesus Christ - the essence of his body and character - in that a body cannot live without either. It is well known that excessive loss of blood leads to a quick death, whereas continued loss of fat leads to a slow death for when the body ceases to take food (for any reason) to replace fat burnt by natural exercise, the energy supplied by that fat reduces as the fat is consumed by conversion to energy until the bodily organs fail and death ensues. Such was the expenditure of bodily energy in the fulfilment of all the words of God in his war against the enmity that he expended the final molecule of his bodily fat (energy) of his physical body (his cross was carried by another, Matthew 27 v 32) and his mental energy (Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost, Matthew 27 v 50) to his final victory over the enmity in death thus making peace with God and restoring the path unto salvation as Isaiah prophesied, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in (Isaiah 58 v 12). The fat was to be burned on the altar as a sweet savour unto God, but the flesh was to be cooked and eaten the same day for the thanksgiving offering and within 2 days for a voluntary offering or a vow. In both cases the remainder of the carcase was to be burnt (Leviticus 7 v 15-18). Thus God taught that there was hope to be at peace with God by faithful association with the body of Jesus Christ (the Peace offering acceptable to Him) by eating and digesting his flesh, a hope that extends beyond the tenure of the law to this day (John 6 v 51-56). For an offering of thanksgiving, the peace offering was to be accompanied by an additional bread offering (in addition to the bread and wine offering required for all sacrifices described previously) that was to include unleavened cakes and wafers and leavened bread (Leviticus 7 v 11-13). The root of the Hebrew word cake is from a fully pierced dough to so pierced to prevent fermentation, and wafer (a very thin cake) from the Hebrew root to spit of which it is unclear why unless it be that spittle congeals to a thin flat membrane. However the teaching of both is clear, Jesus was pierced throughout his life by the venom of his enemies and finally on the cross (where fermentation of the enmity was wholly absent, Psalm 22 v 16, John 19 v 34, Zechariah 12 v 10) and was despised and rejected and finally spat upon at his trial as a witness of contempt (Mark 15 v 9). The offerer was to also bring leavened bread to be offered as a heave offering (literally an offering lifted up in both hands as an oblation) that was certainly not to be burnt on the altar as that was forbiden (Leviticus 2 v 11), but was to be eaten with the flesh of the offering by the priest, thus confirming that even those swelled by the pride of the leaven of the flesh (the enmity) had hope of making peace with God through (and only through) the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This was to be the faith of anyone who offered a peace offering, even as faith is now the only path to peace with God through Jesus Christ, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Romans 5 v 1-2).

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The law of God The fat of the peace offering was the fuel for a perpetual food of the fire on the altar such that the burning in the wood was never to go out, And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out (Leviticus 6 v 12-13) in proclamation of the perpetual witness of the work of the Holy Spirit in the giving of the fatness of the life of Jesus Christ in his full and final victory over the enmity to the glory of God, long after the use of the altar of burnt offering has ceased to be used. A final reminder of Pauls word to the Ephesians regarding Jesus being our peace offering is worthwhile as this scripture is not easy to be understand and has been wrested from its context in the bible as a whole. The all-time expert and pioneer on GreekEnglish translation was William Tyndale (17th century) to whom we owe a debt for the translation of both the Old and New Testaments. He was excecuted for his translations before the Old Testament was completed but after he finished the New testament, and it was given by James I of England to 50 Divines (churchmen and academics) to collate the Authorised bible from Tyndales and others versions and who made minor alterations to Tyndales text. One of those alerations was the passage concerning the fulfillment of the peace offering in Jesis Christ. The Authorised version reads, For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby (Ephesians 2:1416), impying that the law was the enmity, whereas Tyndales original translation from the Greek reads, for he is our peace, whych hath made off both wone, and hath broken doune the wall in the myddes, that was a stoppe bitwene us, and hath also put awaye thorowe his flesh, the cause of hatred (thatt is to saye, the lawe of commandments contayned in the law written) for to make of twayne wone newe man in hymsilfe, so makynge peace: and to reconcile bothe unto god in one body throwe his cross, ans slewe hattred therby; Ephesians 2 v 15,16; William Tyndale, 1526. Note that Tyndale found that it is the law of God that is the cause of the hatred (not the hatred itself, because it is Gods law that ignites the enmity in us) that was put awaye (for where there is no law there is no active enmity and therefore no sin; Romans 7 v 7), and that hattred is the enmity which Jesus did not put awaye but slewe. The peace offering was inaugurated by God to teach the congregation of the son that God would raise up to be a restorer of the peace between God and man and its detail teach all generations including us the core manner and essence of the life and sacrifice that Jesus lived and completed. 7.4 Sin and trespass offering While these two offerings are separately detailed they are inseparable in that one is the companion to the other. For example, when a common person sinned through ignorance a female lamb or kid (ewe) without blemish was to be offered as a sin offering as recorded, And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance,

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The law of God while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty; Or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned (Leviticus 4 v 27-28) whereas under the law of the trespass offering the same words were used but a male without blemish was to be offered, And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him (Leviticus 5 v 17-18). The sin offering in this case was a young ewe (lamb or kid) that by nature has seed within it but who had not been mated by a ram meaning it was not violated by any third-party male thus representing the pure and unadulterated character of Jesus Christ who was the seed of the woman (Genesis 3 v 15) - the singular seed of the woman which woman was represented by the family of Abraham as it was written, That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice (Genesis 22 v 17-18, Galatians 3 v 16). The ewe lamb of this sin offering was slain with its pure seed within it and the full fat of that lamb representing the strength of that seed was offered to God on the altar for a sweet savour with its blood (life) being put on the horns of the altar and then poured out at the base while the carcase was to be for food to the priests. Thus sin was atoned by acknowledging these truths concerning the life of Jesus Christ (the promised seed) and the promises of God fulfilled in him. The trespass offering was to be a male thus representing the male seed that would be born of the woman of the promises as Paul later wrote, But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Galatians 4 v 4-5). The common man or woman was thus taught that the promised Messiah, the Saviour of sinners was not a supernatural being but would be a mortal man born of the seed of Abraham who would be subject to the same temptations of the enmity and would live a life of righteousness and die as every other man. Is was commonly taught and believed in the unbelieving nations that the son of God was a divine being not subject to mortality and that (as is widely taught to this day) came down to earth as God in the form of a man, i.e. an immaculate conception. This pernicious lie (rooted in the serpents lie (ye shall be as gods (angels), Genesis 3 v 5) is the foundation of the church of Babylon shown as the great apostasy in the Revelation chapter 17 against whom Jesus warned, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them (Luke 21 v 8). Therefore the sin offering for the common man showed every member of the congregation that the purpose of God was not as was practiced in the surrounding nations but was to be as Paul later wrote, For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham (Hebrews 2 v 16-18, Matthew 1).

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The law of God There was but one sin offering but four applications, regarding 1) a priest who sinned, 2) the congregation as a whole, 3) a ruler and 4) the common man and all sacrifices represented some characteristic of Jesus Christ as Paul later wrote concerning the fulfilment of these laws, Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9 v 12-14). For the priest (1) and for the whole congregation (3) who sinned they were to offer a male of the herd, a bullock (meaning the one who is strong to build up a family), for a ruler (2) - a male kid of the goats. The Hebrew word for goat is from that which stands upright and erect being linked through etymology to hair that stands up and hence the goat from its stiff hair thus displaying the righteously upright and erect character of Jesus Christ whose life and death provided the covering for Jacob in order for him to receive the blessing of God from Isaac, as Rebekah directed Jacob with his father, And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck (Genesis 27). In the case of the bullock for the priest and the congregation, its blood was to be taken into the Tabernacle and put on the horns of the altar of incense, and the rest was to be poured at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering, but in these cases the flesh was not to be eaten, but burnt outside the camp in the place where the ashes of the altar were put to signify the death of Jesus in which his life-blood was so precious to God that its savour entered into His presence as an acceptable precious offering as he was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem as Paul explained, For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come (Hebrews 13 v 11-14). In the case of the ruler or common person then the blood of the sin offering was not taken into the Tabernacle tent to the altar of incense but to the altar of burnt offering and the flesh was to be eaten by the priest showing the necessity for communion with that sacrifice by digestion and internal dissemination of the teaching of the sacrifice and its significance. The trespass offering The scope of transgression under the law of God was widened with the law of trespass to include 1) swearing (adjuration, an oath other than to God (Leviticus 5 v 1&4) to which Jesus referred, Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5 v 33-37), 2) contact with uncleanness (Leviticus 5 v 2-3) that Jesus fulfilled in his separation from the whims of the enmity and thus taught the significance of this law, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye,

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The law of God blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man (Mark 7 v 20-23), or 3) in abuse of the hallowed articles and laws of the Sanctuary against which Jesus demonstrated when he drove out the traders and money changers out of the temple, teaching that his body was the fulfilment of the temple of God, And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise (John 2 v 13-22). For the elders this was presumptuous sin (of which there was no forgiveness - Number 15 v 30) but in their error they caused the ignorant to trespass against the law for whom the law of trespass was made (Leviticus 5 v 15) as was also the case under the tenure of Eli in the days of Samuel (1 Samuel 2 v 12-17), and finally 4) deceit and lying of which Jesus taught that this evil is of the devil - the enmity at work in every man and woman (John 8 v 44) the enmity that he slew in his mind and heart. The Hebrew word for sin means to deviate, to step aside, to trip and fall that translates simply into to commit an error, whereas trespass means to be guilty. It is possible to commit a crime (to sin) and freely admit it but to have no guilt and this is called a presumptuous sin of which there can be no forgiveness from God - but that man or woman would remain in their sin and pay the penalty of eternal death, But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him (Numbers 15 v 30-31). Guilt is a sentence such as a judge would pronounce after considering all the evidence of an accused and translates into the conscience of a man who after reading and learning the law judges him (her) self against that knowledge and by a sensitised conscience admits guilt with its attendant shame. Thus there was opportunity for any member of the congregation both to confess sin and expiate guilt, the same of which is available to this day by faith and belief in Jesus Christ with the knowledge that all sin are known to God. The object of the laws of sin and trespass offerings was to gain forgiveness from God in order to continue to hold on to the hope of salvation by resurrection from the dead at the time appointed by God. This forgiveness was called atonement (Leviticus 5 v 6) that means to cover over, to expiate, to pardon and reconcile, and God has purposed that atonement for the sins of mankind is through one mortal man who killed the enmity in his head by keeping all the commands of God and who gave himself as a voluntary sacrifice so that through his death and shed blood as he was bruised in the heal (Genesis 3 v 15) he provided atonement of sin for others. That man was Jesus Christ, born of the tribe of Judah (Matthew 1 v 18-25) a man subject to temptation as any other man (Hebrews 3 v 18 & 4 v 15) but who loved and respected God faultlessly. 7.5 Other offerings Sparrows Beside the burnt offering, meat (bread) offering, sin and trespass offering there were also sacrificial offerings for new moons, feast days (to be considered later), vows, and cleansing. In addition to ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats) and doves (pigeons) - all of which displayed a characteristic of Jesus Christ, there were other creatures and items that were to be burnt on the altar, each giving more detail of Jesus character. For the cleansing of lepers (to be considered later) two birds were to be offered (Leviticus

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The law of God 14 v 4) where these birds in the Hebrew were sparrows. Jesus spoke of the abundance of these birds as being so common that their monetary value was very low, Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? (Luke 12 v 6) yet is was of these flocks of insignificant chattering creatures that God showed that one would come who He would choose as being the saviour of the race of mankind by providing a cleansing from all effects of the enmity uncleanness (leprosy) of mind and heart. Leprosy is representative of repetitive sin that results from the effects of the enmity in all people who are also as insignificant as sparrows in the eyes of God but none of whom are unknown to Him. Mankind is like a garrulous flock of gregarious sparrows who habitually inhabit densely populated areas and it was one of this flocking species that separated himself from the chattering masses to the loftiest point of the house of God as the Psalmist wrote of all those who obey God after the perfect example of Jesus Christ, I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me (Psalms 102 v 7-8) and that by instinct he found a resting place in the cavities of the temple of God. My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house (Psalms 84). In this small creature God showed that there was the hope of salvation through cleansing of natural uncleanness of mind (represented by leprosy) even for the poorest of people who all could afford to buy or trap two sparrows. Details of the significance of this cleansing will be considered under the chapter on leprosy. Hair Under the law of the Nazarite vow (Numbers 6) the hair of the Nazarite was to be shaved from the head and burnt on the altar together with the appropriate animal sacrifice of which vow further consideration will be given later. The uncut hair was the visible witness that the wearer was bound under the vow of the Nazarite for the period they had allotted, and was the symbol of the vow - as it was usual practice for an Israelite male to periodically cut or trim their hair. The Nazarite would therefore stand out with long hair. The significance of this offering was shown in the life a Samson who by divine instruction was a Nazarite from birth (Judges 13 v 5) after his parents bore him by divine promise and he was given extraordinary strength to fulfil the work God raised him up for - to break the strength of the Philistines (representing the enmity) under whom Israel were subservient. After dalliances with Philistine women, Samson exposed the source of his strength to his woman of the enmity, That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man (Judges 16 v 17). Thus he was shorn of his hair by the enemy and consequently broke his vow as a result of which God removed his extraordinary strength. Hair is a natural protein of the body produced from the follicle rooted within the skin of the body and even though dead is a physical, tangible and visible representation of the parent bodies well-being, health and life. Although having no life in itself (no nerves or blood) it is extraordinarily strong for its size (17 - 180m, 17 180 millionth of metre, 0.0007 0.007 inch) and is as strong (380 MPa 27.7 tons per

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The law of God square inch) as many metals (copper for example) but even more elastic being able to be stretched without fracture up to 50% of its length. Samson was a prefigurement of Gods greater son Jesus Christ who was raised up by divine action to deliver mankind from the domination of the enmity, the devil, Satan, the world (represented in the Philistines). The Nazarite vow was to be an expression of faith in that one who was promised (Jesus Christ) who would be the strongest man ever in warfare against the oppression of the enmity, in that he kept perfectly the vow that was upon him (fulfilment of the will of God the destruction of the enmity) and as in Samsons bodily strength, the hair represented the physical and tangible witness of the spiritual health and well-being of his body. The strength of Jesus was his love for God, a love that covered his head and shoulders like countless strands of hair, each strand an individual manifestation of his love that collectively united as his faith, finally proven upon the cross. As Samson killed many elders of the Philistines in his death, Jesus slew the enmity within himself once and for all, and the hair offered on the altar at the conclusion of the Nazarite vow was the representation of this victory over the enemy of God (the enmity) by which victory alone can there be hope of salvation for any man or woman. 7.6 The place of the offerings While the congregation was in the wilderness they had no alternative but to bring their offerings to the tabernacle in the centre of the camp, but when they were to dwell in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (the land of Canaan) they would be dwelling at significant distances from the place that God chose the Tabernacle to be pitched, creating the temptation to offer sacrifices locally as was the tradition of the indigenous people who they were to displace (the Canaanites). Therefore all the offerings (and obligatory convocations - gatherings) were to be brought to the place where the tabernacle was pitched at Shiloh (and the temple when it was built at Jerusalem) and never offered anywhere but upon the sanctified altar of burnt offering as it was written, But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks (Deuteronomy 12 v 5-6). However there was a provision for those who lived a long way off from the tabernacle or temple in that they could exchange their offering for money at home and reexchange it for a suitable offering when at the site chosen by God (Deuteronomy 14 v 24-26). The abuse of this exchange for animals into money and back into animals was the cause of Jesus action when he twice overthrew the moneychangers tables in the temple that had profited from this law to extorting gain from sincere worshippers. The first time was when he was newly baptised (John 2 v 13-22) and again shortly before he was crucified (Matthew 21 v 12-14) thus teaching that his sinless mortal body was the fulfilment of the laws of the tabernacle (temple), and that what he did to the traders was what he had done for his whole of his life in his heart and mind in casting out the tempting merchandising power of the enmity that always seeks to profit the flesh even though pretending to keep the commands of God. Thus Jesus preserved his heart as the place where the word and Spirit of God (and therefore God) resided as

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The law of God was foretold by Isaiah, where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word (Isaiah 66 v 1-2), and For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Isaiah 57 v 15). Of the temple Jesus said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body (John 2 v 19-21) and it is therefore to his body that all who seek to worship God must come by irrevocable vow of baptism into the death of that body (Romans 6 v 1-16) and continuance therein by faith by a renewing remembrance of him each first day as Jesus commanded, And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me (Luke 22 v 15-20, John 6 v 48-58, 1 Corinthians 11 v 23-29). By this way of faithful affinity with the temple of God (Jesus) the sincere believer grows closer in heart and mind to Jesus until they become a part of that temple (Christ) in which to worship God (1 Corinthians 6 v 19-20). There was no other acceptable place for the congregation to worship God under the law, and there is no other way in which to worship God but through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as Jesus said, no man cometh to the Father, but by me (John 14 v 6). 7.7 Firstborn offerings God commanded that all firstborn were to be dedicated to Him to remind the congregation generation by generation of His purpose of salvation for all mankind as it is written, For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firlstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel (Numbers 8 v 16-18). No man, woman or child was to be offered in sacrifice (as was a widespread abomination in the neighbouring nations, Jeremiah 19 v 5 & 32 v 35) but all firstborn were dedicated to God by the presence of the Levites who were chosen to be sanctified unto Him and dedicated to the service of God in place of all firstborn, and to mark that dedication each firstborn was levied with a payment of five shekels. It is not recorded whether these were silver or gold, but the importance of the levy was its weight (irrespective of its material) - the mass that caused the balance of the scale to be even when weighed against the standard measure. This weight (levy) represented the value (spiritual weightiness) that the promised firstborn the firstborn man of righteousness would attain to by righteousness, filling his heart and mind with the full measure of the word of God such that when compared to that word (compressed in the law) there would be no difference, but whose character would be in perfect balance with Gods character as manifest in His name. The life-service of the Levites therefore represented all the firstborn sanctified unto God under the direction and example of the chief Levite (the high priest) where the priests acted collectively as the prefigurement of Jesus Christ and his friends - the saints elect, as

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The law of God Paul wrote, But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming (1 Corinthians 15 v 23). In a faithful congregation each firstborn male would inwardly recognise that the Levites were the figures of his redemption by a promised redeemer and that without that faith he would be in the eyes of God (in terms of salvation from the grave) as the slain firstborn of Egypt who were representatives of the whole ungodly race of mankind and who died as a result of the anger of God (Exodus 12). That same faith to this day assures the holder of faith that of all the generations of the race of mankind God would provide a way of escape from the Egypt of rulership of the enmity into the promised land of eternal life on earth through resurrection by a firstborn who would be the antithesis of the enmity, even a gentle lamb-like man who became separated from his fellows purely by righteous obedience to God (Isaiah 53). To underscore that teaching each firstborn of the cattle, sheep or goat was to be given to God in sacrifice to show that as the then promised firstborn righteous man would give himself to God in entirety (as if he was offered in literal sacrifice) his sacrifice was first and foremost of the heart and mind and then, when that was perfectly completed, of the body on the cross. In this way God showed that He would raise up a man who would be His firstborn, not after the manner of Adam (who was the first natural firstborn, Luke 3 v 38), but of Adams mortal seed who would be the firstborn of a righteous character, a character after the character of God full of mercy, grace, long suffering, faith and truth, a manifestation of God in a mortal body (1 Timothy 3 v 16). Thus it was commanded to teach the congregation of this hope, But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD (Numbers 18:17). In this offering, the priests were to partake because the remaining carcase was to be theirs. An unclean animal however was not exempt in order to teach the congregation yet more concerning their natural estate in the eyes of God. All men are represented by animals designated unclean by God in that sin is the contaminant that renders all men unclean in Gods eyes, but God has provided a way to cleansing from uncleanness of character to spiritual cleanliness by the sacrifice of a clean lamb, And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem (Exodus 13 v 13). The firstborn ass was chosen to represent all unclean animals to teach man what his natural estate was in the eyes of God. The Hebrew word for ass is derived from its turbulent character often given to fits of rage or lust but which can be tamed with a strict overseer to become a beast of burden, from which characteristic of strength is the origin of the word ass used in the Greek New Testament, i.e. that which is strong. The teaching of God through this law was illustrated and confirmed by Jesus at the end of his life as he was entering Jerusalem before his crucifixion, when he told his disciples to Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. . And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, .. And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon (Matthew 21 v 2-8) and

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The law of God Mark records that it was a foal whereon never man sat (Mark 11 v 2) telling us that it had not been broken in by man for the service of man (as all foals have to even to this date) but it willingly gave himself to a new master who had had already broken the spirit of the enmity and tamed its temptations within him bringing it into complete subjection to the law of God. Thus the miracle confirmed the teaching of the law that a promised son would come who would be of the turbulent race of mankind but who from birth would have the docility and meekness of a lamb and the strength of a beast of burden under the direction of the strictest but fairest of all overseers even God his Father, and would become the redeemer of all unclean men and women as was shown by the rejoicing of the common people as Jesus entered Jerusalem on the colt of the ass, And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest (Matthew 21 v 8-9, Zechariah 9 v 9, Psalm 118 v 25-26). Should there be any doubt of the turbulent fits of rage and lust caused by the enmity that man is capable of sinking into such that the naturally wild ass represents, the record of Balaams lust for reward serves as an example. He was promised dazzling rewards to bring harm on the congregation of Israel that was allegedly within his powers to do so and he eagerly went after the rewards despite being repeatedly warned by the angel of God that his way was wrong. Finally the ass on which he rode turned out of the way which he repeatedly beat but that had displayed more sense that his own headlong rush into transient vanity. The angel caused the ass to speak and show that man is capable of sinking into the pit of lust to a far greater extent than a natural ass enters into a rage of temper (Numbers 22). 7.8 Offerings after child bearing After the birth of a child a woman was classed by God as unclean due to the curse upon womankind in the beginning (Genesis 3 v 16) and as a reminder of that curse was required to offer a lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or turtle dove for a sin offering, or if she was poor two turtle doves respectively for each offering after a predetermined period of purifying (Leviticus 12). As with Adam and Eve they were both in the curse of God together, so likewise as a faithful husband and new father, although he was not classed as unclean he would share the guilt of his wife as he was the cause of the birth, in other words the new mother was not a social pariah, but was reaffirming the justice of the curse of God upon both of them. Mary the mother of Jesus faithfully fulfilled this sentence of the law fully supported by Joseph her espoused husband who still took her to be his wife even though he did not bring about the conception of Jesus (Luke 2 v 21-24). Thus was taught that all mankind - boys and girls - are unclean by birth, none are born clean in flesh but that while not having sin in them at that stage, all have the seed of the enmity (the propensity to sin) within them inherited from their mother and father (who have fruits of the propagation of the enmity within them in that all men and women sin at some stage) throughout each generation. Eve was told, Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou

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The law of God shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee (Genesis 3 v 16) to which Paul explained, And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety (1 Timothy 2 v 14-15). Thus it is taught that Jesus was born of an unclean mortal woman and that he had the enmity within him and as with every other baby had no sin, but whereas all other children grow and succumb to the temptations of the enmity at a very early age, Jesus did not at any time. Thus a naturally unclean mortal babe was born without sin as every other child of an unclean mortal woman but uniquely maintained cleanliness by obedience to Gods word thus not sinning and so became the firstborn of a new creation of God - born son of man - but grew into being the Son of God 8 Singular vows and the Nazarite vow

There was no compulsion under the law to vow, they were to be entirely voluntary but for those who had the need to vow there were commandments for their conduct. The scope of vows is not declared making it clear that an individual could vow to dedicate to God anything that was of their possession, i.e. their time or entire life, an animal (clean or unclean), a house or building and land, or field (Leviticus 27, Numbers 30). The opportunity to vow to God was provided to teach individual members of the congregation about the saviour that God was to raise up of their lineage who would vow to dedicate his whole mind, heart and life to God and would pay that vow with his life in order for mankind (them) to have the hope of resurrection from the grave and the blessing of eternal life. The strict commands that each individual were to observe in their own vow, however small that vow may have been, was to teach them of the details of the greater fulfillment of their vow to be seen in their future redeemer. A vow is a solemn promise of dedication to God and is a small price of repayment to Him who has given everything to man, and any vow would have this underlying acknowledgment for it to be accepted by God. Solomon later confirmed this when he wrote in the Ecclesiastes that extreme care was to be taken before making a vow that payment was within the capability of the one who vowed for he advised, Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay (Ecclesiastes 5 v 1-7). The vow was more than a promise - it was a bond, as it is written, If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth (Numbers 30) where a bond is to confine and restrain captive as with cords or chains as happened to Joseph in Egypt, And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison (Genesis 39:20) and as Samson was bound by the Philistines (Judges 15 v 10-14). It is also a word used in the binding of men in an army by rank and discipline to wage war, of which the apostle Paul later spoke concerning Christians who have also taken the vow of baptism, Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please

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The law of God him who hath chosen him to be a soldier (2 Timothy 2 v 3-4), where soldiers take the vow of alleigence to their master and is a serious offence to break that oath. The same sense of the word is used in the binding of a yoke to man or ox of which Jesus taught, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11 v 28-30) teaching of the vow taken in baptism to follow Christ as he taught, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Mark 8 v 34). The same sense of word was used by Jesus in explaining his victory over the enmity within himself, Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house (Matthew 12 v 28-29). A vow was not a vague and convenient promise made in times of stress, contrition or elation but a binding oath with penalties for failure to complete. This made the vow extremely solemn in that any triviality or frivolous dedication was unacceptable because the vow is directly linked by God to the central core of the covenant of God - the marvellous and wondrous work of (firstly) creation and (secondly but more importantly), the new creation of a righteous people by one man born mortal who God would bless with everlasting life after resurrection. Of the vow it is written, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation (Leviticus 27 v 2). The word singular is elsewhere used as marvellous and wondrous and most often used in connection with that greater work of God, for example, The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes (Psalms 118 v 22-23) and again speaking propheticly of Jesus Christ to whom the Psalm 119 is exculsively dedicated, Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law (Psalms 119 v 18) where marvellous and wondrous are the same Hebrew word for singular. The pattern of usage of these interchangeable words is common throughout the scripture showing that the singular vow could only be acceptable if made (and paid) with the marvellous work of God in mind. That marvellous and wondrous work was of raising up a mortal man who would vow to fulfil Gods will expressed in His word. In payment of that vow he would kill the enmity within him as he perfectly manifested the name and character of God, would die as a willing sacrifice that was the ultimate price of his vow and would be resurrected and given eternal life to become the saviour and redeemer of others who did not live perfect lives but whose sins would be forgiven by God through his sacrifice and who similarly will inherit eternal life on earth. Those who made their vow were levied a value in shekels of silver commanded by God according to their gender and age, or if they were too poor by the estimation of their ability to pay by high priest (Leviticus 27) to teach them that the one who would come in whom they had faith would pay the full price - as valued by God - of the fulfilment of every word of God - represented by silver (Psalm 12 v 6) and the redemption money of which parts of the Tabernacle were built, (see 6.3, Origin of the materials - a freewill offering). The full weight of the value of the representative silver was the price that Jesus Christ paid for his loyal obedience and fulfilment of the binding oath of his vow, but

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The law of God it was prophesied that one would come who would prepare the way of the Lord, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts (Malachi 3 v 1). That messenger was John the Baptist of whom Jesus spoke, For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Matthew 11 v 10-11). Of this man his father Zechariah was inspired to speak, And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1 v 76-79). It was John who first introduced the act of baptism by divine instruction (Luke 3 v 23) and who candidly admitted, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire (Luke 3 v16). Baptism is inextricably linked with the vow, a binding oath of obedience to God for the remainder of ones life, such that baptism is the uniting of all vows as the singular vow of Jesus Christ who came to John to be baptised to set the course of the new testament of salvation through faith in the Messiah appointed by God, Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness (Matthew 3 v 13-15). Jesus said, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil (Matthew 5 v 17) and in that fulfilling there became no further use for the law as a civil code as Paul explained in the letter to the Romans. The congregation had vowed a collective vow immediately before that law was given in Sinai as they were told it was to be given, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do (Exodus 19 v 8). This vow was in response to the promise of the covenant of God the Abraham believed in but that was soon to be formalised in the law, Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation (Exodus 19 v 4-6). That vow was the culmination of the exodus from Egypt. The climax of the exodus from Egypt was the crossing of the Red Sea in which the power of Egypt (representing the enmity) was broken and Israel emerged as a newborn fledgling nation on a journey to the land of the promises. Paul tells us that the divinely ordained passage through the waters of the Red Sea was the first teaching from God of the baptismal vow that John would later introduce as preparing the way for the Lord (1 Corinthians v 1-12). The passage through the Red Sea (the waters of death to the enmity) represents baptism into the death of Christ in which death he killed the enmity. The law that immediately followed the rising of Israel from those waters that they vowed to keep was the written manifestation of the will of God as to

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The law of God how He wants man to live, and coupled with that law are the promises of His covenant, even everlasting life after resurrection from the grave when man will be as the angels (Matthew 22 v 30). The vow of Israel to keep that law was the confirmation of the bond between God and His people (represented by Israel but since Christ, incorporating people from all nations Isaiah 56 v 1-8). Only Jesus fulfilled that vow to do the will of God by keeping and paying the price of the vow that he made as written in the Psalms, Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (Psalms 40 v 7-8) and just before his crucifixion he sweat as it were great drops of blood in agony of the final test of his faith and payment of his vow, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done (Luke 22 v 39-46). The keeping and payment of that vow was the way that John came to prepare for by introducing the vow of baptism by the instruction of God as the vow that mirrored the lifetime vow that Jesus bound himself to God with and paid the price with his life, and to confirm the truth of this act of faith Jesus himself was baptised of John to mark the beginning of that way as a public and physical witness of the private vow of his heart and mind. Therefore baptism into Christ is a declaration of conformity to Jesus vow that superseded the congregations broken vow - All that the LORD hath spoken we will do, and a taking upon oneself the payment of that vow as Jesus taught, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Mark 8 v 34). Jesus said of that way whose beginning is symbolised in baptism, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14 v 6). The vow was the way God provided for any member of the congregation to express their faith in the saviour God had promised and to associate with the vow that he the saviour perfectly performed (as yet then future Deuteronomy 18 v 15-19) in order to give God pleasure and receive the blessing of God in this life and everlasting life in the fullness of time (Deuteronomy 28 v 1-14). John Baptist brought the divine principle of the vow (under the law) forward to the post-law era where baptism into the death of that saviour is the only way unto salvation, a death in which Jesus his vows to do all that the Lord hath said as contained in the law and the prophets which death that marked the end of the letter of the law (the old testament Hebrews 9) and the beginning of the vow of faith in the new testament (Romans 6). Whilst the vow of baptism is to be entirely a freewill voluntary vow after the pattern of vows under the law, also (as prefigured in the law) there are strict commandments and orderliness for those who do volunteer to be baptised, which without the keeping of that orderliness and commands the vow cannot be paid (as in the law). Without an intelligent confession of faith at baptism and a full immersion in water (after the pattern of Israel in the Red Sea) there can be no hope of salvation and there follows after baptism a lifelong determination to pay the price of that vow by conformance to the life and character of Jesus Christ and obedience to his commands as he said, If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14 v 5-27). As there were precise commands to order the payment of a vow under the law so after that pre-figurement there are commands for the vow of baptism and its outworking. The first commandment is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and

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The law of God with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second law is. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Matthew 22 v 37-40 & Matthew 5 v 1-12) and the third is first to be baptised, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mark 16 v 16), the fourth is to renew that singular vow each first day, And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me (Luke 22 v 17-19, 1 Corinthians 10 v 16, 1 Corinthians 11 v 23-28), the fifth was to preach the gospel, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16 v 15), the sixth to be meek (Matthew 5 v 5), the eighth to have faith (Mark 11 v 22, Hebrews 11 v 1), the ninth to be true (transparent honesty 1 John 1 v 5-10) and the tenth to be temperate (excess in nothing Matthew 23 v 23), all of which commands are encompassed in the fruits of the spirit, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Galatians 5 v 22-23), the manifestation of the name of God perfected in Jesus (Exodus 34 v 6-7, 1 Timothy 3 v 16). The Nazerite vow Of all the vows permitted under the law there was one freewill vow that was specific. This vow was called the Nazarite vow to separate themselves unto the LORD(Numbers 6) and was provided by God as a teacher of the details of the work of Jesus Christ. There was no time limit on this vow of sanctification to God, but the one that vowed became a public witness to their dedication to God in the performance of their vow. It was usual practice in the men in the congregation to poll or trim long hair but under this vow their hair was not to be cut (Numbers 6 v 5) as a witness of their vow. The significance of the long hair of the Nazarite vow was considered in chapter 7.5 (Other offerings, Hair pp126-127) and shown to represent the well-being and health of the body as a sign of the spiritual well-being and health of faith, love and obedience to God as was demonstrated by Samsons extraordinary physical strength. Samsons physical strength over the Philistines prefigured the spiritual strength of Jesus over the enmity - the enemy of God that was never able to bring him into subjection but where Samson finally betrayed his vow to the Philistine enemy; Jesus fulfilled his vow by final killing of the enmity as he died on the cross. The name Nazarite is based on the Hebrew word to separate and to sequestrate (as in payment of a debt) and was chosen by God to designate one who should come who would separate himself perfectly unto the service of God by obedience and to keep himself from any indulgence of temptation, one who would consecrate his life wholly to God in a sequestration seen in no other man in order to pay the debt of sin of others by a sinless life and voluntary premature death because of that sinless life For he (Pilate) knew that for envy they (the elders) had delivered him (Matthew 27 v 18). The consecrated Nazarite was not permitted to eat or drink anything from the vine from the kernels to the husk (Numbers 6 v 3-4) whether wine, grape juice or raisin. Jesus taught that he was the true vine, I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman (John 15 v 1-6) thus teaching that there was another vine that was not true. Adam was created very good with no blemish as a perfect vine to honour God

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The law of God and glorify His name in all creation by bringing forth fruits of obedience and righteous rulership from a pure heart and mind over all the earth (Genesis 1 v 28). However Adam and all his descendents chose to taste the fruits of disobedience and thus became as a degenerate vine - a figure later used to describe the children of Israel, My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes (Isaiah 5 v 1-2). The wild grapes are the fruits of the enmity - the work of the flesh, Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like (Galatians 5 v 19-21). Jesus never partook of the degenerate vine of human indulgence and although born of the same root and stock of that uncultivated vine, he allowed God as a good husbandman to train him, to prune away unproductive thoughts, to cut off all excess growth of pride and wring the dead fibres from the bark of his stock such that his whole life was dedicated solely to producing fruit full of the goodness of God, mercy, grace, long suffering, full of goodness and truth as embodied in the name of God (Exodus 34 v 6-7). Jesus was the embodiment of the Nazarite vow, having no association with the vine of human nature, but dedicated entirely to the service of God and thus became the new true vine to which many can become graft in by vow of baptism. The emblem of that perfect vine was the wine that Jesus gave to his disciples just before his death to symbolise his whole life-blood that he had consecrated to God and would finally consecrate in the blood that he shed on the cross as the ultimate and final fulfilment of his vow, blood that was emblemised in the wine of the communions, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you (Luke 22 v 20). Before the victory of Jesus over the enmity there was no new testament in the new vine, therefore for the Nazarite, physical separation from the old vine was necessary but with faith in the new that was to come. The Nazarite was committed to separation from any dead body, All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body (Numbers 6 v 6-9). God created man to live in obedience to His law but because of disobedience God cursed mankind and all creation with death as a witness to mans disobedience and the justice of Gods law (Adam was warned Genesis 2 v 17). A dead corpse is a repugnant witness of that fact and is a reminder that sin through disobedience is equally repugnant to God such that a disobedient living man in sin is as a dead body in His sight abominable and repugnant. This repugnant state of sinfulness is referred to as the old man in the New Testament, That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4 v 22-24). Thus mortal sinful man is as a dead man in Gods eyes, it is only a short time before he is dead compared to the eternity of God as it is written, For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away. But the word of the Lord endureth for ever (1 Peter 1 v 24-25).

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The law of God Jesus was born of this mortal race and therefore under the sentence of death, but Jesus committed no sin and so had no guilt but lived as God intended Adam to live when He created him. Jesus was therefore not a living dead man (in the sense previously described), but a lively living mortal man thus fulfilling the teaching of the Nazarite law that they must not touch a dead body or the vow was void (Numbers 6 v 9-12) and had to be paid again. Of this new lively sinless body Jesus commanded the disciple to eat represented by bread, And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me (Luke 22 v 19) where that bread was unleavened bread and leaven represents the wickedness of pride as a product of the enmity, for in Jesus it was entirely inactive due to his obedience to Gods word. Thus the Nazarite was to avoid contact with any dead body (including his own close relatives) not as an aloof holy person but in faith in the one who should come who would have no sin even though of their human nature. By faith in the product of the new vine (wine) and the bread of the new lively body of Jesus Christ and the appreciation of the unbounded love Jesus had for God to promote the glory of His name represented in the hair, the Nazarite vow could be acceptable to God. Jesus fulfilled the need for this particular vow and thus became the Nazarite. It is written of his childhood and growth to maturity before he was baptised (as a witness to his vows at the age of thirty), And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2 v 23) and Jesus was repeatedly referred to as Jesus of Nazareth none more powerfully than at his death where it was universally testified over his dying mortal body by the Roman governor Pilate, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS (John 19 v 19) thus fulfilling the teachings of the Nazarite vow. According to generations of researchers there is no etymological connection between names Nazareth and Nazarite, but there is significant connection between the Nazareth (and Nazarene) and the prophets as Matthew recorded. The Hebrew word for Nazareth is meaning to keep, guard and preserve, and a plant or young tree that shoots from the base of a felled tree (as in a coppiced tree) and is used by Isaiah (where is translated as Branch) to foretell the birth and growth of the promised redeemer, the saviour of man, the Messiah, And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots (Isaiah 11 v 1) where Branch is the same word as the Hebrew version for the Greek Nazareth. In the following verses (verses 2-5) Isaiah foretells the character and person of Jesus Christ that was to be seen as he grew to maturity in Nazareth and that were the substance of the ultimate fulfilment of the Nazarite vow that prefigured him characteristics that were perfected in his ministration and that will be seen in all the earth over which he will rule when the kingdom of God is established on earth as described in verses 6-9. His growth to maturity in Nazareth was a testament to the prophetic name ( Branch) Nazareth where he lived, a name that meant to keep, guard and preserve, and a plant or young tree that shoots from the base of a felled tree. Job mused on his own hopeless state of sick mortality without (as then) a redeemer and in his musing looked forward to one who would come to redeem him from death and be that branch of a new life by resurrection, For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down,

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The law of God that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? (Job 14 v 7-10). Adam was the first to be cut down and all his progeny have followed him since due to perpetuating sin, but Jesus was that new shoot from the cut-down mortal race that sprouted up as a tender plant and a root out of a dry ground to keep, guard and preserve the holiness and sanctity of obedience to God that Adam lost and so to become the saviour of mankind from an eternal grave, as it was written of him, Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him (Isaiah 53). On completion of the chosen time of the vow, the Nazarite was offer a first year male lamb for a burnt offering, a first year ewe lamb for a sin offering and a ram for a peace offering - all to be without blemish which were to be offered after their hair was shaved off their head that was to be burnt on the altar with the peace offering (Number 6 v 13-21). All these offerings represented different aspects of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as discussed in previous chapters (7.2, 7.3 and 7.4), but the addition of the combustible hair with the peace offering unequivocally linked the animal sacrifices with that of the Nazarite, teaching all who witnessed the performance of this vow that the one who should come as represented in the animals was not to be a symbolic sacrifice but a living participant in the offering. The vow of baptism has superseded all other vows, as it is the embodiment of the whole life and death of Jesus Christ who was the embodiment of all vows under the law. As under the law, payment of that vow is required of all who intelligently make it and payment is by conformance to the character of Jesus who was after the character of God, and as the vow is broken by sin each week it must be renewed by faithful remembrance of Jesus victory over the enmity and resurrection from the dead in the eating and drinking of the bread and wine he instituted, a remembrance that he referred to, I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him (John 6 v 51-56). It must be remembered also that many considered this a hard saying and turned back from following him (v 60-66). 9) Ministration law of the High Priest (Ecclesiastical law), The priests duties were to minister in all matters of worship to God on behalf of the congregation within the confines of the Tabernacle court and inner tent and so could not be seen by the congregation due to the 90 (7 6, 2.3m) high perimeter curtain (see chapter 6.17, Court and curtains) thus requiring the congregation to trust that their ministrations were being done as God commanded, and that the priests, in turn, had a responsibility to minister even though they could not be seen. This was in order

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The law of God to teach that in the outworking of the fullness of the purpose of God there would come a time when the teachings of the Tabernacle would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ and thereafter worship would be by faith and not by ceremony - a time that Paul ushered in with his Epistles, particularly Romans and Hebrews. The ministrations of the High Priest however could be heard because of the golden bells attached of the hem of his robe (Exodus 28 v 35) of which the Psalmist wrote, Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance (Psalms 89 v 13-16). The work of the High Priest was such that the congregation could walk in the light of the countenance of God, which light was the manifestation of the name of God in a mortal man of which the Psalmist was rejoicing in that Psalm, Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted (Psalms 89 v 13-16) - a prophecy that was fulfilled in life of Jesus Christ of which he prayed to God before his death, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word (John 17). The manifestation of the meaning of the name of God was embedded in the daily ministrations of the High Priest by faith. His work was a daily ritual but faith was behind those rituals. 9.1) Morning & evening duties Lighting the lamps morning and evening His work was to 1) replenish the olive oil in the lamp-stand in order to keep the light burning continually and 2) to burn incense on the altar of incense such that the smoke arose and permeated the veil, And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations (Exodus 30 v 7-8). The faith behind the work was that one should come who would be the light of the application of the meaning of the name of God (mercy, grace, long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth Exodus - 34 v 5-7) set among the darkness of the pervading mind of the enmity (A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren (Proverbs 6 v 17-19). In his ministrations Jesus told of the difference between ritualistic law abiding and the faith which God required, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone (Matthew 23 v 23). Speaking of his experience of Jesus, John referred to him as the light using the analogy of Gods physical creation on the 1st day as the pattern of the new creation of righteous people, And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not .. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not (John 1). The ritualistic work of the High Priest was to ensure that darkness (literal light as a figure of spiritual) never encroached into the

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The law of God Tabernacle of God to prefigure the future living temple of God that was the heart and mind of Jesus Christ (John 2 v 19) - a place where there was no darkness of rebellion, a place where God dwelt - who John tells us is light, God is light, and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1 v 5). This was to be the faith in the mind of the High Priest as he twice daily dressed the lamps and doubly of faith in the congregation who had to also have trust that he was doing the work required of him, in the same way that faith is now in Jesus Christ as a faithful High Priest at Gods right hand even to this day, Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4 v 14-15). Jesus is the light that leads to God (who is the source of light) and the illumination of that light (Jesus) is the comprehension and understanding of God (the light) and is manifest in knowing His name, as Jeremiah wrote, But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD (Jeremiah 9 v 24). Offering incense morning and evening David wrote, Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice (Psalms 141 v 2). To pray is to make supplication or to make entreaty to a benefactor from a dependant, from one in need of mercy to one who can give mercy. Because of persistent sin God has decreed that no man or woman can pray directly to God but only through mediation. Before Moses that mediation was by animal sacrifice in faith of the one who was represented by the animal (Jesus Christ). From Moses to Christ prayer was by the ministrations of the High Priest in the tabernacle each evening and morning as the continual burnt sacrifice was offered (see chapter 7.1, Continuous burnt offering, pages 109-110). After Christ (the Christian era) prayer can only be accepted through Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of the work that the Mosiac High Priest represented, as Paul wrote, For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2 v 5), see also (Hebrews chapters 3-9). The ingredients of the incense represented the entire sacrifice of Jesus (see chapter 6.9 Altar of incense pages 36-45). That sacrifice (epitomised in the smoke of the incense) was necessary in order for Jesus to manifest the fullness of the name of God (mercy, grace, long suffering, goodness and truth) in his mortal body as a witness for all to see what and who God was. The enmity is directly opposed to the rulership of God and all godly characteristics (Proverbs 6 v 16-19, Galatians 5 v 19-21, Ephesians 5 v 3-6) and so it was the enmity within him that Jesus had to kill (his sacrifice) by fulfilling all the spiritual figures of the preparation of the ingredients (see ch 6.9 above) that produced the sweet smelling qualities of incense that God commanded. The life of Jesus therefore was the perfect prayer, the perfect praise to God, a sweet savour as Paul wrote of Jesus, .. hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour (Ephesians 5 v 2). This sweet smelling savour of the incense was complimentary to the sweet savour of the continual burnt sacrifice that was offered morning and evening as the lamps were dressed and the incense offered, and all these savours ascended up to God to represent the work of

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The law of God Jesus such that He declared, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Mark 1 v 11), and again, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him (Matthew 17 v 5). The faith of the High Priest as he burnt the incense morning and evening was to be in this man to come, otherwise the offering was a meaningless ritual - but of equal importance - the faith of the people was to be in the High Priest that he was doing his work faithfully as he was carrying the responsibility of delivering their faithful prayers to God. Prayer can only be offered acceptably to God through Jesus Christ with full recognition of the perfection of his life and sacrifice, thus the content of prayer is to be concise as Jesus taught (Matthew 6 v 6-13), 1) praise to God (Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed by thy name), 2) an appeal for His will to rule in the earth as it did the life of Jesus (Thy will be done in earth as in heaven), 3) a sincere cry to be content for what is good for us in His eyes (give us this day our daily bread), 4) to forgive as God forgives us (forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us) and 5) a sincere appeal that God will rule our lives as He did Jesus life in order for Him to prepare us for salvation lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for this is the kingdom (over us), the power (by His Holy Spirit) and the glory (it must be His work). This prayer was the life of Jesus Christ condensed into words and should be the essence of any prayer of ours, the life that manifested the name of God for all to see and love - as Jesus himself prayed to God, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world:. keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me,... I kept them in thy nameI have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it (John 17) confirming what Jesus said earlier to his disciples, If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (John 14 v 7-9). The work of the High Priest in the Holy Place foreshadowed the work that Jesus has now been appointed to do in heaven, Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec (Hebrews 6 v 20) where Jesus offers the supplications of his friends to God, Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2 v 17). Prayer of faith in Jesus from the inner reaches of the emotions of the heart has replaced the need for incense as Jesus taught, ..that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (Luke 18 v 1) and Watch ye therefore, and pray always (Luke 21 v 36) and that for which the disciples asked for help, Lord, teach us to pray (Luke 11 v 1). Most prayers fail by failure to practice what Jesus warned about, But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking (Matthew 6 v 7). The sanctity and power of prayer is not the words uttered but the yearnings of the godly emotions of the heart as the Holy Spirit moves the suppliant to appeal for succour from their only source of help as Paul later wrote, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that

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The law of God searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.. It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8 v 26-34) It is those supplications (for the end of the rule of the enmity in all its innumerable forms) that the John saw in the vision of the Revelation - the end of the rule of man on earth, And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake (Revelation 8 v 3-5). 9.2) Sabbath day duty Each Sabbath day new bread was to be set in order on the table of shewbread by the High Priest. There were two rows of six loaves sprinkled with frankincense (see chapter 6.11, Table of shewbread pages 51-52). The old bread was to be eaten as it was removed by the High Priest and his sons the priests the eldest of whom would succeed him as it was commanded, And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute (Leviticus 24 v 5-9). The table of shewbread represented Jesus Christ supporting the twelve loaves representing the multitudinous companion of Jesus Christ who will be (in the fullness of the purpose of God revealed in His covenant) of him and in him and he in them and God all and in all - the mystery that Paul referred to in his teachings, For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church (Ephesians 5). But before that could be fulfilled it was necessary that God was manifest in a mortal man as Isaiah prophesied, Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (God with us) (Isaiah 7 v 14-15). This was the prophecy for which Jesus gave his life and did so without fault such that he was finally able to pray to God, Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me..that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one (John 17). Paul confirmed that completion of the mystery of the promise of God that will be fulfilled when all scripture is brought to pass after the millennium-long kingdom of God on earth, The last enemy that shall be destroyed is deaththen shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15 v 26-28).

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The law of God

Those twelve loaves were of one bread dough and that unleavened dough represented Jesus Christ, a mortal man without sin. This figure was passed on by Jesus to his disciples at the time when his death fulfilled all the teachings of the law and thus negated the shewbread as a ceremonial teacher, but confirmed it as a spiritual guide (a schoolmaster Galatians 3 v 24-25). The figure that Jesus passed on was the bread of the communion to be eaten every first day in renewal of the vow of baptism to conform to the sacrifice of Jesus in overcoming the enmity within each of us, thus changing us to be like him in character (who was after the character of God) such that he (like the action of leaven) fills us and we rise toward his full stature of righteousness (Ephesians 4 v 13). Leaven is the representative of the enmity in all cases except one - where it represents the firstfruit of righteousness (Christ) as leaven in a new meat offering (Christ and his multitudinous companion) - Leviticus 23 v 9-21 to be eaten on the day after the seventh sabbath (fifty days after the offering of the sheaf of the firstfruits Leviticus 23 v 10) the day that has become known as Pentecost. On this day the twelve apostles were inaugurated as the founder members of the Christian faith, the day they were eating that leavened bread of the firstfruits (Leviticus 23 v 20) as it is recorded, And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place (Acts 2). Prior to this Jesus had taught them, The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened (Matthew 13 v 33). In this parable Jesus took the figure of the leavened bread of the first fruits and applied its teaching - even his sinless character as the firstfruit grain that was used to fill his friends as leaven of the bread of the first fruits. Thus when Jesus inaugurated the communions (Matthew 26 v 17-35, Mark 14 v 12-26, Luke 22 v 7-20, John 17) he used unleavened bread (represented by the first-ripe grain of righteousness), but as the apostles were inaugurated by Jesus through the holy Spirit as the founders of the Christian faith they were eating the bread that was leavened (not with the enmity) but with the body of Jesus (the bread of the firstfruits that was not leavened by the enmity). Thus from Abel to Abraham faith in the body of the redeemer was by faith alone, from Abraham to Moses by bread and wine, from Moses to Jesus Christ by the shewbread eaten by the Priests and from Christ to this day by the bread of the communion with wine. The faith of Abel was that by one righteous man a multitude would be united as one who will be united to God and that faith has not changed to this day. The weekly eating by the High Priest and his sons reminded the congregation of the hope of the promises that they trusted in and so it was that David when he faced what appeared to be certain death expressed this faith when he realised that the High Priest of his day had despised this hope in neglecting to eat the shewbread on the sabbath day and expressed his faith that his only hope and desire was to be united in that number by resurrection from the dead (1 Samuel 21 v 1-6, Matthew 12 v 3-4). 9.3) Teaching In blessing the congregation before his death Moses gave the vocation of teaching by word and example to the priests and particularly the High Priest where to teach

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The law of God means to point as an arrows travels to its target or as water flows towards its destination by gravity, And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one (the High Priest) They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar (Deuteronomy 33 v 8-11). When there was a rebellion against Gods choice of High Priest, Moses reminded Aaron of the responsibilities of the office that position held, And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses (Leviticus 10 v 10-11). The responsibility to teach the law (and its promises and judgements) to the congregation for subsequent generations began at the High Priest as the one appointed to point to the conclusion of why God gave the law (that He should be manifest in a mortal man Matthew 5 v 17), And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deuteronomy 6 v 5-7). Isaiah prophesied that one would come who would teach (point out) the meaning of the law and promises - a prophecy that Jesus quoted as he began his work, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4 v 18-19, Isaiah 61 v 1-3). Israel always had the law and jealously guarded its precepts with a rigidity that was fanatical but without understanding the end to where it was pointing them or the destination where the water of life in every word of God was flowing such that Jesus saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things (Mark 6 v 34). The High Priest was the shepherd of the congregation, the one who was appointed to lead the flock, to seek out the spiritually nourishing food in the green pasture of the law and cause the congregation to rest in the security of the faith that their forefathers rested in who did not have the written law as an edict. The High Priest therefore represented the one then to come (Jesus Christ) who would be the shepherd of those whom God is calling to be His family to live forever on this earth. Jesus pointed out the end of the law in a righteous life manifesting the character of God in a mortal body but the nation never saw what he demonstrated, Jesus led them by his example to the end of the law but they despised his way of life, Jesus showed them the peace of the pasture of obedience to God and the tranquillity of the shelter of the mercy and compassion that the name of God meant, such that he was able to teach, I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep (John 10), but they prefered the turbulence of human debate and opinion. Jesus manifested the name of God in his mortal body but the elders and their people envied (hated) him because of it.

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The law of God In order to manifest the name of God it was necessary that Jesus kill the enmity within him by obeying every word of God and thus to prevent the rise of the poison of the enmity as a leprous lesion in his character. The responsibility of the High Priest and his sons extended to the diagnosis and cleansing of leprosy as the congregation were instructed, Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do (Deuteronomy 24 v 8) as considered in the next section, The law of leprosy. 9.4) Law of leprosy When God created animals and man there was no decease or decay but all were in a state of perpetual healthy life neither mortal nor immortal. When man sinned and was cursed by God (Genesis 3 v 16-19), decease, decay and death was introduced and to this day serve as a constant reminder of the curse of God upon the whole creation because of the sin of man. Of all those diseases God has chosen leprosy to represent the working of the enmity that results in sin, not that the sufferer is any more sinful than a healthy neighbour but nonetheless as a constant reminder that all are by nature sinners and are leprous in the eyes of God. Thus this decease was singled out in the law as the decease that requires especial care in the congregation. The High Priest was tasked with this special responsibility in order to prevent the spread of this pernicious decease within the camp, in the same way that the effects of the enmity can spread rapidly from person to person to infest a whole congregation. When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests (Leviticus 13). This law applied to man, woman, garment or a building in which the plague of leprosy became resident. The High Priest was given specific conditions to look for and it was his duty to inspect the casualty and judge as to whether it was leprosy or some other non-malignant affliction and if it was to oversee its healing. The High Priest had no power to restrain the rise of the disease in an individual or to heal them, but had the authority to contain the disease by following the commands of God. When Jesus came he also had the propensity to allow the enmity within him to become spiritually leprous by sin but he contained that potential disease by killing the enmity before it progressed into leprosy of the mind and heart (Matthew 4). Because of this victory carried on every day God blessed Jesus with a full measure of the Holy Spirit such that he was able to heal disease - not to relieve the afflicted as was then but to teach all generations of the way of spiritual healing by obedience to the word of God and lepers were some of those he healed (Luke 17 v 12-17). The apostle wrote of Jesus work after his death and resurrection that he was the fulfilment of the Mosiac High Priest but now an eternal High Priest, For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec (Hebrews 7) and speaking of the state of eternal life Paul wrote, Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec (Hebrews 6 v 20). For all who come to him by intelligent baptism and remain in that way by faithful renewal of the vow of baptism each first day, Jesus inspects their heart for signs of the rise of the effects of the enmity (spiritual leprosy) and overrules their lives such that the disease is eradicated if they respond to the direction of God submissively after the example of Pauls writings My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor

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The law of God faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? (Hebrews 12 v 5-7). Chastening experiences can come in any shape or form - it is for the recipient to be privately aware of such events and recognise their significance and act accordingly. A faithful member of the church of Christ will quietly welcome the experiences however hard they are in recognition that God is aware of them and is preparing them through Jesus Christ for a place in His household as Paul wrote, Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby (Hebrews 12 v 9-11). The High Priest of the Mosaic law oversaw the cleansing of the sick by a series of offerings with accompanying rituals as Jesus told the men whom he had healed, And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed (Luke 17). The offerings for the commencement of the cleansing were of the humblest nature - two sparrows, Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop (Leviticus 14) where the word bird is a sparrow (see chapter 7.5, Other offerings, pp 125-126). One sparrow was to be killed in an earthen vessel over running water and its blood was to be added to the cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop, the remaining live bird and he who was to be cleansed, and the living bird was to be let free in the open field, teaching that by the shed life-blood of the most humble and meekest of men, the leprous effects of the enmity (sins) will be taken away for ever by that meekest of men, as Paul later wrote, Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross (Colossians 2 v 12-15). Cedar wood These were pieces of cedar wood (rather than bark or sawdust) from the root Hebrew word for wood to be fixed, firm and steady as used in any wooden structural item from a house to a gibbet. Cedar wood is noted for its beauty of colour, fragrance, insect and fungal repellence and durability due to the high resin content of the heartwood that resides in canals running both vertically along the grain of the heartwood and horizontally across the grain. God has used the cedar to represent any man who rises above his fellows in both a good and bad sense. Representing the pride of the race of mankind (in a bad sense) synopsised in Assyria as lifted up in pride above all other nations as God spoke through Ezekiel (Ezekiel 31), but in a good sense, The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted (Psalms 104 v 16) and of the man who God would raise up in righteousness above all other men, Ezekiel wrote, I will also take of the highest branch of the high

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The law of God cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent . And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it (Ezekiel 17 v 22-24). This superior tree surpassing all other trees in grace and beauty represents the full stature of the character of Jesus Christ under whose branches many can abide. Of the wood of this tree there is a fragrance unmatched in all the trees of the forest, a clean and healthy fragrance of obedience to God and durability from the onslaughts of parasites and decay by the copious binding resin of the love of God. However it was to a stake of wood that Jesus was nailed and in which his blood was shed. It is not recorded what wood the stake was but as crucifixion was an empire-wide practice of executing unwanted miscreants in the Roman Empire the durable stakes would have been employed to be used again and again. To those sticks of cedar the blood of the slain sparrow was to be added so that the healed leper could be cleansed. Scarlet and hyssop Scarlet has been considered and shown to represent the life-blood of the most humble of all men (Chapter 6.8, The veil, pillars and sockets, pp 35-36). Hyssop is a humble herb available for all men and women to harvest however poor they are, as it grows wild in walls and rocks. There is disagreement between language scholars as to the actual herb that the Hebrew ( ezowb) and Greek () denote, some claiming any wild herb from marjoram to mint and others that it is caper. The representation of this herb however is its humble and lowly status in the plant world as described by Solomon, And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall (1 Kings 4 v 33) where the cedar is the most majestic of plants and hyssop the most humble. Thus Jesus Christ was the most humble of all men that have lived, but who because of that humility became the most majestic in righteousness. The humility of hyssop is linked with blood throughout it use in the bible, it is blood that washes away sins as Paul wrote, .without shedding of blood is no remission (Hebrews 9) and in the law, And whatsoever man there be ..that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul (Leviticus 17 v 10-11). It is therefore only by the blood of the most humble of men that remission of sins can be gained and that unique and perfect humility was achieved in Jesus by the purging action of the word of God working in him, a purging that drove out and killed the enmity within him until his final purging on the cross when it was confirmed that the representation of hyssop had done its work, Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost (John 19 v 29-30). Humility before God is the foundation of salvation, and godly humility is not easy to achieve - as no man can be godly humble by his own effort. The humility that and God requires (the humility of Jesus) came through obedience to every word of God, it was this humility that David figuratively asked God for when he had grievously

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The law of God sinned, Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (Psalms 51). Hyssop cannot purge away temptation but the blood that hyssop is associated with can, and that blood is the life of Jesus Christ that was purged of the effects of the enmity by the word of God enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Thus blood and hyssop are joined in significant events in the bible, at the Passover with the blood of the lamb (Exodus 12 v 22) at the delivery of the law and the congregations vow to obey (Exodus 24 v 6-7 & Hebrews 9 v 18-22), cleansing of a leper (Leviticus 14), and the preparation of the waters of separation (Number 19). Thus leprosy was chosen by God to represent the working of the enmity within the heart and mind of any man or woman, but God provided a way of cleansing through His son Jesus Christ, now a High Priest for ever at the right hand of God, who will be entreated by any who sincerely turn to him for inspection, judgement and healing of the spirit of the heart. 10) The law of the feasts (calendar law) There were two concurrent calendars in the year of the congregation, one measured by the familiar solar system and the other the not so familiar lunar system. The solar year began on the first day of the month that the congregation were to prepare for the Passover as God prepared to bring the last plague on the nation of Egypt by killing the strength of the nation (i.e. all their firstborn that in biblical times was the measure of the strength of an individual - the seed of the race) as it was written, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you (Exodus 12 v 2), This day came ye out in the month Abib (Exodus 13 v 4). Therefrom began the calendar law from which the timing of the three annual feasts were counted, Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year the feast of unleavened bread ... the feast of harvest and the feast of ingathering. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD (Exodus 23 v 14-17). In reality these were in the first month, the first to second month and the seventh month respectively. The significance of these feasts will be considered in detail in the following sections, but it is important to know that the annual counting of years (as we do centuries) was by jubilees of 50 years duration and counted from the seventh month. This fact will be important when considering the tenth-day of the seventh month and how it relates to the prophecies of both Ezekiel and Daniel and the fulfilment of the purpose of God. Intertwining that solar calendar year was the lunar year as the commandment was given, And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD .. this is the burnt offering of every month throughout the months of the year (Numbers 28 v 11-14). The lunar calendar is 29 day cycle according to the time it takes for the moon to circle the earth giving a 12 month year of 354 day duration, whereas the solar cycle is measured by the time it takes for the earth to circle the sun giving us a 365 day year. The effect of this on the annual calendar of sacrificial events and feasts was that the monthly remembrances rolled over each year on a different day sometimes coinciding with a Sabbath day or a feast day

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The law of God sometimes not, in the same way that high and low tides of the sea, cycle on a different day each year. God created the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night (Genesis 1 v 16-18) and thus the monthly offerings and the annual feasts represented the rule of the will of God through his sacrificial son (represented in the offerings as previously described) in all aspects of creation and in the outworking of His purpose where subsequent nations and empires who have risen and fallen like the tides of the ocean under the overruling power of God (Daniel 4 v 17) until such time that God will bring peace to the earth where there will be no conflict (Isaiah 2 v 4, Micah 4 v 3, Revelation 4 v 6 & 15 v 2). The common link between these two dominions was the sounding of trumpets (two silver and one rams horn) that were to be blown on a variety of occasions, but particularly in the new moon offerings and the convocations of the solar months (the three times a year when all males were to appear before God) thus linking the solar with the lunar. 10.1 Silver and horned trumpets There were two types of trumpet, silver ( chatsotsrah) and rams horn (, shophar) of which there is considerable disagreement between Hebrew and Greek etymologists as to the correct meaning and accuracy of these words, but it is the sound that is most important. When a trumpet (a long narrow tube) is blown the breath of the trumpeter is compressed as it passes through the inner surface of the tube where it accelerates (as in a venturi) and accentuates the turbulence of the exhaled breath caused by the high frequency vibrations of the lips of the trumpeter giving a stream of oscillating air pressure with enough highly compressed energy to transmit it great distances through atmosphere to the ear of the hearer. Thus the sound of a horn is clear, sharp and penetrating - cutting through air like a scalpel of a surgeon. The trumpet sound represents the voice of God whereby His compressed and energised word is transmitted to all men and women. It was first represented this way in mount Sinai when Israel was receiving the law, ..when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. ..and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. ..And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice (Exodus 19 v 13-19). In a parallel figure, the word of God is likened to a surgeons knife - even as the sound of the trumpet cuts the air, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4 v 12-13). The fact that there was one range of sounds (calling of assemblies, war, sacrifices, jubilees etc) made by two types of trumpet teaches different characteristics of the one who would be the instrument of the clarion call of the word of God in a mortal body Jesus Christ. Silver has been considered in chapter 6.3 (Origin of the materials - a freewill offering, pp12-16) and shown to represent the life of Jesus Christ as the manifestation of the word of God in a mortal body. The rams horn is the strength of the male ram that Abraham was shown (Genesis 22) which represented the sacrifice of a son beloved of his father (God) in order that the blessing of eternal life after

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The law of God resurrection from the dead (Hebrew 11 v 17-19) could be achieved by the promises, mercy and faithfulness of God by His name (Exodus 34 v 6-7) through a singular seed (Galatians 3 v 16) who overcame and killed the enmity within himself, .and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genesis 22 v 17-18). There is no instruction to make a trumpet of rams horn but shophar is the word used by the translators to describe the instrument of the trump of God in Sinai, the call of the Jubilee (see later) and in the fall of Jericho (Joshua 6), and indeed scholars of Hebrew dispute that rams horn was used, but as mentioned above it is the sound that is important. The congregation however was commanded to make silver trumpets, Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.. in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God (Numbers 10 v 2-10). Thus the sound of the trumpet linked the monthly (lunar) sacrifices with the solar feasts as a unifying clarion call of ruler-ship over night and day (for which the sun and moon were created Genesis 1 v 14-16, as was also the continual burnt offering a constant morning and evening (night and day) witness) and were to alert all who heard the sound to respond to the trumpet-call of the word of God - a word that is so compressed that the more it is examined and practiced the more it unfolds and the more penetrating to the heart and mind it becomes. This was the word that Jesus came to hear, understand, expand and manifest in his life that caused so much offence to the elders of Israel at that time and that is still not recognised to this day. By understanding that word, Jesus became the wisdom of God through its application in his life, as Paul later wrote, But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1) - a wisdom that the world in its own wisdom could not comprehend. Solomon wrote that the wisdom of God has sounded from creation as a trumpet-call for all men to come to God, Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold (Proverbs 8 v 1-10). Because Jesus became the wisdom of God, his life, words and actions were so powerful that they cut the conscience of his hearers (friends) and watchers (enemies) like a physicians scalpel cuts through flesh as a trumpet call cuts through the air to the inner reaches of the mind, where his friends rejoiced but his enemies hated him, and so his contemporaries were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes (Mark 1 v 22), and And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power (Luke 4 v 32), and And the scribes and

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The law of God chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine (Mark 11 v 18). Thus the words and actions of Jesus were the trumpet-call of every word of his Father to turn sinners unto repentance as Jesus told his disciples, ..the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works (John 14 v 10), and with the sharp knife of every word of God and the penetrating sound of a trumpet he healed the spiritually sick as he upbraided the hypocrites, They that be whole (self-righteous) need not a physician, but they that are sick (the humble) (Matthew 9 v 10-13). That word of God through Jesus Christ is yet to be heard in all the earth as a clarion call to fulfil the purpose of God, it is the sound that will mark the gift of everlasting life on those whom God chooses to inherit the kingdom of God on earth with Jesus Christ, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first (1 Thessalonians 4 v 16), and And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24 v 31), who after their resurrection from the grave will be made immortal and rid the earth of wickedness in order to rule the earth under Jesus their king, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15 v 50-57). Thus John saw in vision that time of glory for the saints, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet (Revelation 1). This purpose of God was brought to the attention of the congregation by the sounding of trumpets every month, on the feast days and at the commencement of each new 50year period of their calendar and at going to war. 10.2 Passover & feast of unleavened bread God has used Egypt of the Pharaohs (particularly the reigns of Tuthmosis I, II, III and Hatsepshut 15th century BC) to represent the working of the enmity in man (individually and collectively) throughout all ages to this day. Israel was in cruel bondage under this empire (Exodus 1) while sojourning in that land. The bondage was rooted in hatred and jealousy of Israel because of their bountiful growth as a result of the blessing of God upon them through the faithfulness of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Gods promises to them (Genesis 15 v 13-14). Such is the enmity in all men and women when confronted with the evidence of the work of God, a force that Jesus referred to as Satan (Luke 4), that Jesus and John referred to as the world (Matthew 13, 1 John 2 v 15-17), that Jesus and Peter referred to as the devil (Matthew 4, 1 Peter 5 v 8) and that Paul refers to as the old man (Romans 6 v 6) and that which he wrestled with all his life, O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Romans 7). Despite that hatred the Egyptians made huge profit out of the people in that they enslaved them as bondservants, but God had decreed that they should be His servants in the land of the promises of their fathers (Canaan in those days Genesis 13 v 1417). Because of this hatred and bondage and Pharaohs persistent refusal to let Israel

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The law of God go out of Egypt to return to serve God, God brought upon Egypt a sequence of plagues that culminated in the slaying of every firstborn including animals, which because the firstborn were deemed the strength of the generation - the nation was impoverished. This impoverishment is supported by recorded history as Hatsepshut (the wife of Tuthmosis II and mother of Tuthmosis III) who usurped the throne (women at that time could never be divine pharaohs) of her immature son on the death of her husband (Tuthmosis II in the Red Sea in 1473BC Exodus 14) and restored the impoverishment of the land by vast building projects, where the palace of Deir El-Bahri remains as a tourist attraction to this day. This was no isolated judgement of God upon Egypt but a revelation of His call to all men and women in every generation to acknowledge their inherent bondage to the enmity within them and repent in order to worship God, a way of repentance that God ordained could only be done through one man whom He would raise up to make that repentance acceptable and subsequent service possible, and God demonstrated this way in the exodus from Egypt that was simultaneous with the death of the strength of the enemy of God the enmity. In the night of the death of the firstborn of Egypt, God instituted what became for the congregation the first feast of the New Year - the Passover a new year that signified a new beginning after release from bondage to the enmity. The Passover was so named because the angel of God who slew the Egyptian firstborn passed-over any dwelling that had the blood of the sacrificial lamb painted on its door posts and lintel and in which house were assembled all who had faith in God (Exodus 12 v 7 & 22-23). The sacrificial first-year male lamb was to be selected from the flock by its unblemished condition and separated from its fellows on the tenth day of this month (Abib) a day that God that had commanded to be counted from the first day of that new month in preparation for the last plague on Egypt. The lamb was kept separated until the fourteenth day when it was to be slain in the evening of the last plague, its blood was to be painted on the door surrounds and whose flesh was roasted with fire and eaten that very night with unleavened bread and bitter herbs with none remaining until the morning (Exodus 12 v 1-11). God taught the children of Israel and all who consider their exodus from Egypt that the one man whom God would raise up to be the means of deliverance from the bondage of the enmity would be Jesus Christ, a male firstborn with a lamb-like character without sin (blemish) as described in chapter 7.1, Continuous burnt offering, pp109-110. Jesus was the firstborn of a new generation of righteous children of God, a child who matured to manhood without transgression of any word of God. This perfect obedience led him to baptism by John Baptist at the age of thirty (Luke 3 v 21-23) from whence he became separated by manner of life from his fellows due to the extraordinary gift of the Holy Spirit from God in order to teach the way unto salvation by word, miracle, action and obedience unto death during a 3 year period (represented by the 4 days of separation). Thus Jesus fulfilled what God required of man so that he could truly become a child of God and escape the clutches of the enmity. Isaiah prophesied of Jesus - and the work he came to fulfil - words that Jesus quoted in the synagogue during his ministrations (Luke 4 v 17-20), The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto

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The law of God the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives (by the enmity), and the opening of the prison to them that are bound (by the enmity) that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified (Isaiah 61 v 1-3). Thus Jesus was represented by the Passover lamb who would bring deliverance from bondage by its death in the night of the 4th day of its separation from its mortal fellows, representing the 3 years ministration of manifestation in a mortal body of the name and power of God through his miracles, teachings and obedience. This 4th day was the 14th day of the new first month signifying a new beginning for a new generation of obedient, righteous people. As the blood was to be painted around the door surround so the life of Jesus was to be a witness for all to see that he did not hide as a monk or recluse, but he showed himself openly to all who came in contact with him, teaching that God is creating a household of obedient children who must be separated in manner of life from service to the enmity (human nature) within His house of faith and covered by the baptism vow of obedience through the life blood of their saviour around the door (2 Corinthians 5 v 1-10, 1 Peter 2). Association with the promised saviour represented by the Passover lamb was to be through eating the flesh of the fire-roasted animal, teaching that casual acknowledgment of Jesus Christ is not acceptable, but assimilation of his love represented by eating his flesh is paramount, a principle Jesus taught his disciples just before his crucifixion on the very night of the Passover in fulfilment of its teaching, Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever (John 6 v 5458). The bread of the communion is the representative by faith of Jesus flesh. The figure of the Passover feast was roast with fire representing the work of the fire of the Holy Spirit that prepared Jesus to become the fulfilment of the Passover lamb in order that his friends could eat of his flesh in faith represented by bread. In that killing, roasting and eating no bone was to be broken, .. neither shall ye break a bone thereof (Exodus 12 v 46) to teach the congregation that the one who would fulfil the figure of the Passover lamb, Jesus Christ, would keep his spiritual and moral strength even unto death, a strength that Solomon wrote of that is derived from reverence of God, Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones (Proverbs 3 v 1-10). Marrow is the rich tissue at the core of bones that is the source of healthy blood making it the generator of the strength and life of the body safely encased in rigid bone - features of Gods creation that He has chosen to represent the strength of His word in man. That word of God was the source of the strength of Jesus, a strength that was never broken even in death, besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken (John 19 v 31-36). Thus Jesus broke not one word of God but fulfilled all scripture

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The law of God according to the will of God, but like the flexible framework of over 200 rigid bones that make up our skeleton so every word of the law and prophets spoke referring to him gave Jesus the flexibility to withstand the onslaughts of the enmity both within himself and in his enemies like a palm trees in a tempest and the strength to stand upright as a tower of shelter to his multitudinous companion, the saints. On this night all traces of leaven were to be removed from each dwelling (Exodus 12 v 15) marking the commencement of seven days of eating unleavened bread. Leaven represents the working of the enmity in all cases in the law except one that will be considered in the following Feast of weeks. The 7-day feast was started with a holy convocation (gathering together) and terminated with another wherein no work was to be done, but were to be days of reflection and remembrance of the purpose of God manifest through His words and the saviour that should come, who although of mortal flesh - beset with temptation to sin - he overcame all temptations and thus was without sin (leaven). The holy convocation or gathering together where no servile work was to be done represented the life of Jesus who never worked for the enmity in satisfying his mortal desires but gathered together every word of God in order to show in his life the meaning of those words to a few fellow mortals whom he called to convocation (gather) with him as his disciples or disciplined ones. The Passover was not the social feast of a family get-together, but a feast of intense anticipation, strong faith and unswerving determination to leave Egypt to serve God. To show this urgency they were commanded And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's passover (Exodus 12 v 11) to teach the congregation and particularly those in later generations that the final Passover feast when Jesus was about to be crucified, that he would eat in such a manner, not for deliverance from Egypt, but for release from the bondage of the enmity against which he wrestled all his life and finally slew on the cross - even as the firstborn and full might of the army of Egypt with Pharaoh were slain by God. So Jesus told his disciples at that Passover feast, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer (Luke 22 v 15). Immediately before that Passover Jesus had said, Now is the judgment of this world (Satan, the devil): now shall the prince of this world (the enmity) be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die (John 12 v 31-33). The intensity of his faith and determination to fulfil the teaching of the Passover was shown when he prayed repeatedly to God, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22 v 42-44). The strength of his faith and his unswerving determination to be a saviour for his friends was tested to the limit as he died on the cross, And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me (Matthew 27 v 46). The feast of the Passover was to be celebrated in such a fashion by subsequent generations and in remembrance of their deliverance by God from Egypt where the whole congregation faced certain death by Pharaoh in that night apart from the protecting angel of God. That remembrance is now practiced in the weekly renewal of the vow of baptism in the eating and drinking of bread and wine,

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The law of God not a ritualistic ordinance as though a small piece of bread and sip of wine can help anybody, but with intense faith in the victory of Jesus over the enmity and the our exodus from bondage to the enmity under his shepherding toward an eternal inheritance on this earth. It is written of their exodus on the night of the Passover after the death of the firstborn of Egypt that the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders (Exodus 12 v 33-34), and And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual (Exodus 12 v 39). In such manner did the feast of unleavened bread begin and was to be remembered throughout their generations in such a way of revulsion and repudiation of the leaven-like workings of the flesh. It is not possible to consider the inauguration of the feast of Passover and unleavened bread without remembering the events of the seven-day period of the feast that began on that dark night of deliverance from bondage. During that seven-day feast of unleavened bread they fled Egypt south-westward toward the Red Sea that led to Mount Sinia in the desert of Sinai where Moses had been told that he would worship God after deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 3 v 12). In this journey of fulfilment the angel of God led them by means of in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Pharaoh considered this direction a trap as they could not escape that way due to the sea and so pursued them in an attempt to recapture them and put them to bondage again. By the power of God Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry land as the waters were parted by the action of Moses with his staff and the cloud of the angel covered them overhead, where the Egyptians followed them in hot pursuit but drowned as the waters resumed their flow as Israel reached the far shore (Exodus 14). These two feasts were inexorably linked to the spoiling of Egypt by God, the flight of Israel from Egypt and their passage through the waters of the Red Sea under the cloud, and so while keeping the feast of unleavened bread in all later generations up to Jesus, they could not but be in awe of those events and what God was teaching them, for God did not lead them along the common northern route to Canaan that was an established trade route, but south-westwards to the Red Sea. At the time of Jesus, John Baptist was inspired by God to reveal the significance of these events in his teachings in the wilderness (Mark 1 v 4) to which many responded by being baptised in water and to whom Jesus came to be baptised. Paul later wrote of the meaning of the Exodus in terms of the New Testament in Christ - the testament that Jesus established by his death and victory over the enmity. When writing to Christians (Hebrew and Gentile) Paul said, Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea (1 Corinthians 10 v 1-2). Thus the principle of baptism by full immersion in water was introduced by God 1 millennia before Christ as the teacher of the way that Jesus paved in order (John 14 v 6) to obtain release from the power of the enmity and to serve God in the only acceptable way even to this day. God inspired John the Baptist to teach this long

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The law of God remembered principle as a preparation of the way that Jesus was about to fulfil as Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 40 v 13). The Passover, the slaying of the enemy of God, the flight, the immersion in water and the death of the enemy are one teaching now encapsulated in baptism and its weekly renewal in faith as the life-long journey through the wilderness of mortality continues after the example of Israel in the wilderness. At the time of the Passover Jesus showed the work of the Passover within himself when both at the beginning and conclusion of his ministry he cast out the traders in the house of God with a scourge of small cords and overthrew the trading table declaring, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise (John 2, Mark 11 v 15-19). What he rightly did publicly in the temple he had done in the sanctified temple of his own body and so taught the people why he had acted thus, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. he spake of the temple of his body. Thus it was on the day of the Passover that Jesus died, he was laid in the grave until the third day of the feast of unleavened bread and was then bodily resurrected when he appeared to Mary Magdalene and was then raised to eternal life in which is no enmity and therefore no temptation to sin thus finally fulfilling the purity of the figure of unleavened bread. To emphasise the importance of the feast of unleavened bread and to direct the mind of all the congregation to the sacrifice of their promised saviour, animal sacrifices for a sweet savour unto God were to be offered on the throughout the feast (Numbers 28). These animals were bullocks, rams and first-year lambs for burnt offerings as a sweet savour to God and a kid of the goats for a sin offering and all were considered in chapter 7, The law of the sacrificial offerings, page 105 onwards and shown to collectively represent the complete character of Jesus, as a strong bullock, a male of the flock, a gentle lamb and an spiritually agile young goat, all without blemish as Jesus was without sin. 10.3 Feast of weeks The Passover was held on the 14th day of the first month Abib that equates to March in our calendar. There is no biblical record of it changing to coincide with the first-ofthe-month sacrifices as is practiced by Jews (hence the variability of Easter in the Christian calendar) but those new-moon monthly remembrances must have coincided at some time with the fixed Passover due to the asymmetry of the cycles of the moon around the earth and the earth around the sun (see chapter 10, The law of the feasts (calendar law)). As the month of March is the commencement of what we call Spring it is the herald of the first harvest of the year (barley). Naturally there is no fixed date for the first sheaf to be cut and thus the feast of weeks does not commence on any particular day. Thus the feast of weeks is focussed upon corn and what it represents in Gods teaching of His purpose. The figure of corn God has chosen grain seed (corn) to represent His word as was taught by Jesus in his parables, The seed is the word of God (Luke 8) and the ground into which it is sown is the heart (Matthew 13). As men labour for the whole year and anticipate the corn harvest from the first-ripe barley to final choice-wheat, so God anticipates a harvest of the fruits from His word in the heart of man (Isaiah 28 v 23-29). Any husbandman

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The law of God will know that crops do not grow without attendant weeds because of the curse of God on the ground due to the sin of man (Genesis 3 v 17-19) and that the weeds affect the quality of the crop not only in lost nutrition from added competition for water and sunlight but also in the need to separate weeds from crop in the harvest. Weeds are a figure of the enmity at work in the heart of men as Jesus taught in the parable of the tares, The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one (Matthew 13). Jesus said that the good (weed-free) ground is a open and honest heart, But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience (Luke 8 v 15) and it is this ground that yields crops one hundredfold or without loss of any grain that was sown. The work of Jesus Christ was that every seed of every word of God should be brought to the fruit that God seeks and that fruit is spelled out in the name of God, merciful, gracious, long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth (Exodus 34 v 6-7) and by Paul in his writings, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law (Galatians 5 v 22-23). Before that fruit can yield, the ground of the heart has to be prepared to receive the word for it to grow and produce one-hundredfold of the seed sown and the husbandmans work expended, i.e. with no loss or fault. The enmity naturally hardens the heart to rebel against the authority of God and to resist acknowledgement and admission of sin, therefore that enmity has not to be allowed to stiffen or has to be broken when it has. The closest one can get to a heart without an active enmity is a very young child who with open eyes and sincere heart learns from its parents and teachers without question or opinion, so it was that the Psalmist mused on this lost childhood that all (bar Jesus) experience, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger (Psalm 8 v 2) words that Jesus applied to his disciples (Matthew 10 v 21) and thanks God, In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight (Luke 10 v 21). Jesus was the only son of man who became Son of God by absolute obedience - without fault - to the words of God and brought forth one hundredfold of the fruit that God required where all others fall short. The harvest that God is seeking has a first-ripe ingathering and a final grand harvest and He has long patience for it as James wrote, Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it (James 5 v 7). That fruit is a generation of righteous children under the guardianship of an elder firstborn brother who have been taken from all generations that have lived on earth. The elder brother, the firstborn, is Jesus Christ as Paul wrote, But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming (1 Corinthians 15 v 20-23). This significance of the work of the husbandman from firstfruits to harvest is the teaching of the Feast of Weeks, And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the

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The law of God LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee (Deuteronomy 16 v 10) and was part of an annual reminder of the fullness of the promises of the purpose of God, Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty (Deuteronomy 16 v 16). The Feast of Weeks The commencement of this feast was governed by daily inspection of the fields of grain to decide the correct moment when the grain is ripe - too early and the chaff will not separate from the husk and too late and the risk of damage by rain is increased. The time is right when the whole field has an appearance of whiteness due to the drying of the chaff as Jesus observed, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest (John 4 v 35) - it is the time when an ear of corn is rubbed between the hands and the chaff separates cleanly from the husk, a time that God has chosen to represent the full removal of the enmity from its natural association with the heart wherein is sowed the good seed of the word of God - a separation that Jesus made in order to manifest the full glory and power of the word of God in fulfilment of Johns words, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth (John 1). This simple skill is given by God to teach mankind that God is waiting for a harvest of righteousness people by obedience to His word, and at the right time - when the enmity was vanquished (his crucifixion) - God raised up His son as a firstborn son of a new generation and gathered him to Himself as Isaiah prophesied of that new generation, Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child (Isaiah 66 v 7-8) and as the Psalmist prophesied, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool (Psalms 110 v 1) as the disciples witnessed his ascension into heaven (Luke 24 v 51). The first sickle-cut of the harvest is a time of joy after the preparation, sowing and nurturing of the field throughout the seasons in anticipation of that time and so it was with God who declared of Jesus as he was preparing to be the first-ripe sheaf of the harvest of God, And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Mark 1 v 11). To mark the commencement of the Feast of Weeks, the first-ripe sheaf was to be presented to God and therefore separated as sanctified, it was to be kept separate for further use with far reaching significance (as will be explained later). Thus the congregation was commanded, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it (Leviticus 23). The word to wave literally means to wave the hands as in sprinkling and sowing or to move the hands up and down as in the action of sifting with a sieve, both representing the hands being full of vigorous activity to the glory of God as distinct to spiritual laziness in putting the hands to the satisfaction of the flesh. Thus the waved first-ripe sheaf was an acknowledgement that despite all their hard work throughout

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The law of God the seasons, it was God that brought the increase thus allowing them to eat and live, in the same way that God would raise up a saviour who would be the first-fruits of many unto salvation, an analogy of husbandry that Paul used when preaching the gospel, I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6-9). The activity of the hands of Jesus in this work was vigorous from the earliest age as he laboured to bring the fruit of the heart that God required to give glory to Him, as was shown when at the age of 12 years he was found in the temple communing with the doctors of the law and he said to his parents, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? (Luke 2 v 40-52). This activity of his hands was completed upon his death, as he said in prayer to God, I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do (John 17 v 4). Thus Jesus was the fulfilment of the wave offering that was to be accompanied with a burnt offering of a male lamb of the flock and an attendant offering of bread and wine - symbols that Jesus inaugurated to represent his body and blood to this day. The sheaf of the firstfruits was to be waved on the day after the Sabbath following the cutting of the first sheaf, and there from seven Sabbaths were to be counted (49 days) to mark the 50th day (Pentecost) when a new meat offering was to be prepared and waved after the manner of the sheaf of the firstfruits, Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD (Leviticus 23 v 16-21). This day (Pentecost) was called the day of the firstfruits as it was written, Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto the LORD, after your weeks be out, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work (Numbers 28 v 26-30). The new meat offering was called the bread of the firstfruits and was to be of leavened bread, And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, ... they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest (Leviticus 23 v 20). This leavened bread was to be waved with attendant burnt, peace and sin offerings but was not to be burnt with them for that was against the command of God, As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour (Leviticus 2 v 12). As referred to above this is the only time in the whole law when leavened bread was to be offered and whereas in all other cases of leaven it represented the enmity, on this occasion God changed the analogy to represent a principle that is quite opposite and extends to this day. Leaven of the Bible is not yeast as used today but old dough that ferments and is added to new dough causing it to be filled with the fermentation such that it rises to a full loaf. The principle feature of the Feast of Weeks is the sheaf of the firstfruits offered on the first day of the feast as described above, without which there would be no seven-week feast, and that sheaf represented Jesus Christ exclusively as without Jesus there would be no harvest of righteous ones. It has been shown above that that sheaf (the sheaf of the firstfruits) with its grain was separated as sanctified (i.e. waved to God) and kept for later use (rather than being swallowed up in the general harvest). The new meat offering of two loaves was called the bread of the firstfruits and was leavened with a fermented dough, and as it was not just the new meat

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The law of God offering but also the bread . of the firstfruits - that fermenting dough was from the grain of the sheaf of the firstfruits. Therefore the new loaves took the name and identity of that firstripe sheaf (bread . of the firstfruits), representing an ingathering of the fullness of the harvest of God not leavened with the enmity but filled with the character of body of Jesus Christ the firstborn. Thus the teaching of Jesus took this figure where the leaven is righteousness (not the enmity) as he taught of a woman (wisdom) who baked bread, The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened (Matthew 13 v 33) where the heaven is where there is no enmity but is Gods dwelling place. The inauguration of the Christian faith was on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2 v 1-4) when the apostles were endued with a extra measure of the Holy Spirit in order to preach the gospel of salvation to all the world. Thus that day was the founding day of Christianity and was the first day of the week (the day after the Sabbath after the law still then observed) therefore as the apostles were faithful law-abiding men they were celebrating with leavened bread, the bread of the firstfruits that has thus set the standard for remembrance of the body of Jesus Christ each first day that it is leavened bread with the faith in eating that the leaven is the symbol of the character and spirit of Christ that is ingested by reading the word of God in order to fill the life with his works such that they become of his body, he the head we the members as Paul taught, Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (1 Corinthians 12 v 1331) and But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4 v 15-16). The new meat offering, the bread of the first fruits was to be in two loaves to teach the congregation that there is one faith in one Jesus Christ but gathered together by common faith from two distinct eras, the faith from law of Moses (the Jews from Moses to Christ) and the Gentiles (after Christ) not under the law but bound by the same faith. These two loaves were to be waved to God after the manner of the sheaf of the firstfruits doubly emphasising the work of God through Jesus Christ in bringing many people to salvation, it is therefore God who is working to bring people to salvation not the people themselves, they have to respond to His love and work accordingly but it is Gods work overall as Jesus taught, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14 v 6) and No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father (John 6). The bread of the communion is to be eaten in the same faith that the faithful of the congregation had as they offered of the new meat offering under the law, that the body of the bread was the saviour and that they were but members of his body filled with his woks and directed by his example even as the physical body is controlled by the head, And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence (Colossians 1).

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The law of God Thus the Feast of Weeks taught the congregation of the fullness of the purpose of God that their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had believed in - faith that there would be a mortal firstborn of a new righteous generation who would die, be raised from the dead and given eternal life to become the saviour of that generation who would likewise be ingathered by resurrection from the grave and experience change of nature to be united with him for ever in the presence of God. That new generation will include all faithful men and women from Abel to this day. 10.4 Day of Atonement The Day of Atonement was not one of the three classified feasts (Exodus 23 v 17) but was the prelude to the final feast (the feast of Tabernacles) and the most important day in the calendar of the congregation. The day was heralded by a Sabbath appointed on the first day of the seventh month irrespective of what solar day (day of the week) it was on - in order to prepare the congregation for the day of Atonement, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation (Leviticus 23 v 24). This Sabbath heralded the start of the seventh month when all the corn and fruit harvest had been gathered, a time of rejoicing for all rural self-sustaining communities, a time when all work in the fields is done and there is rest for man, woman, ground and animal before the next years crops are sown. It has been considered (10.1 Silver and horned trumpets p149-151) that the sound of the trumpet was more important than the trumpet and represented the voice of God. This 1st day of the 7th month was to be a day when the voice of God was to be listened to, remembered, understood and acted upon in faith, it was a time to focus the mind of the congregation away from mundane daily chores, cares and concerns towards the promises of God of a redeemer from the sentence death that they were to recognise they so desperately needed. God has set days of rest as hallowed institutions after the pattern of His creation where God rested on the seventh day to teach mankind of His greater work in the ongoing creation purpose of a new generation of righteous people that will inhabit the earth for ever (Isaiah 65 v 17-25) as it is written, And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made (Genesis 2 v 2-3). The word rest here is not associated with tiredness after its common usage but as a time of completion when there was nothing more to do to improve what has been done. It literally means to stop work on completion of a task and was set by God as the Sabbath in the calendar of the congregation as a time to stop the work of six days. Thus freed from distractions of work it enabled all men and women to reflect on what God is teaching them both by His word and the example of nature (creation) in order to transport their mind forward to one who should come who would stop all the work of the enmity within him and fulfil (finish) the work that God required of man in conformance to His word. This one was Jesus Christ who fulfilled the teaching of the Sabbath in that not only did he stop the work of human nature in himself that had ruled mankind for millennia but also he finished the work God set him to do - which was to manifest the name of God in a mortal body by killing the enmity - the seed of human nature. Thus he became the living Sabbath as Jesus testified, For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day (Matthew 12 v 8) and therefore in fulfilling it

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The law of God there was no further teaching to be gained from the celebration of that day, because those who are baptised into Christ are baptised into him who was the Sabbath and therefore they also are of the Sabbath day in heart and mind, having ceased (rested) from the work of serving the enmity unto sin but alive unto service to God by obedience (Romans 6 v 1-17). Thus the first day of the seventh month was a day to stop the work of the flesh (chores of subsistence) and consider the one who would redeem them from servitude to the enmity and deliver them from that bondage to become servants of God for ever, thus preparing the mind for the tenth day of this month that was the Day of Atonement, the day when all sins were forgiven by God, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD (Leviticus 23 v 27-32). The commandment was to afflict the soul on that tenth day where afflict is a word translated from the Hebrew that carried the sense of humbling the heart and mind through the analogy of ploughing fallow ground, it literally means to break up and open the ground to receive air and light and is otherwise translated as the furrow created by a plough blade. The same word is used in the Psalm by foretelling the affliction that Jesus endured from the enmity in his enemies - a process that humbled him more than any other man, The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows (Psalm 129) that in turn was in fulfilment of the later prophecy of Isaiah, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted (Isaiah 53). Jeremiah and Hosea used the same analogy when they were sent to appeal to sinners in Israel to repent, For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns (Jeremiah 4 v 3), and Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men (Hosea 10 v 12-13). The way that God provided for the affliction (humbling) was by fasting - a denying of the satisfaction of the natural appetite as an analogy of refraining to satisfy the desire of the cravings of the appetite of the enmity (the flesh) through temptation. David knew the significance of fasting (that has become a ritualistic formality) when speaking prophetically of his greater son Jesus Christ, But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting (Psalm 35 v 13). Thus the Day of Atonement was a day set apart for the congregation to do what Jeremiah and Hosea later admonished them (to humble their hearts before God) in order to set the tone of the forthcoming year, because it was on this day that the trumpet of the Jubilee was to be sounded thus marking the commencement of a new agricultural-pastoral year (in addition to the solar and lunar years mentioned previously) and the way in which future centuries and millennia would be counted. But firstly the Day of Atonement will be considered, the most significant day in the calendar of the congregation and then the Jubilee will be considered.

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The law of God Atonement is literally to cover in order to protect or obliterate from view a word that is used extensively by God in covering and obliterating sin. This mercy of God is channelled through one man (as then yet promised) - His beloved son Jesus Christ and it is only through the shed blood of that man by willing sacrifice in death that atonement can be afforded by God, as God made clear in His law, for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul (Leviticus 17 v 11) and that Paul taught when explaining the teaching of the law to Christians, and without shedding of blood is no remission (Hebrews 9 v 22). This day was therefore the Day of forgiveness of sin through shed blood in order to teach the congregation that there will be a day (yet future in the purpose of God) when the sins of men and women will be covered and washed away and a new beginning free from sin will commence, a time that is foretold in the Feast of Tabernacles that followed four days after this day (to be considered next). The blood that was to be shed for the atonement was from two animals, the first was a bullock for a sin offering of the High Priest and the other from one of two goats for a sin offering of the congregation (additionally there was to a burnt offering of a ram each for High Priest and congregation, but whose blood was not to be used in the atonement but sprinkled around about the altar of burnt offering). The order in which the sacrifices were killed was specific (High Priests first and the congregations second) and was to teach the congregation that God has set order to His purpose of salvation in that there must first be a man who would make the way to salvation sure after which others would follow. The High Priest represented Jesus Christ as has been considered in chapter 6.19 (The High priest, the priests and their garments) and his sin offering was to be killed first, it was a bullock - a symbol of strength (see pp116117) and its blood was to be taken into the Most Holy place beyond the veil of the Sanctuary. Entrance for any man within the veil was forbidden on pain of death except on this one day of the year when the High Priest alone was to enter with the smoke of incense and sprinkle the blood of his sin offering on the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant and before the Ark seven times to signify the victory of Jesus Christ over the enmity and his entry after his death into eternal life by resurrection from the grave and from mortality to immortality (John 20 v 17, Acts 1 v 9-11). Thus Jesus was the first-fruit of a new generation of righteous children of God, and he alone achieved this according to the will of God as was prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 66 v 7-9). The High Priest was then to show furtherance of the purpose of God in the figure of the two goats of the sin offering of the people And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat (Leviticus 16 v 7-8). Of the two goats (the LORDs) was to be killed and its blood was then to be taken within the veil and be done with as he did with the blood of the bullock of his own sin offering no other man being present (Leviticus 16 v 17). The remaining blood and that of the ram of the peoples burnt offering was to be put on the horns of the altar of burnt offering in the Court of the Tabernacle and sprinkled seven times upon it. The goat represented Jesus Christ by whose shed blood an entrance was made possible for the multitudinous companion of Jesus to enter into the immortal state (Hebrews 10 v 19-22) after he was made immortal, and the ram of the accompanying burnt offering represented his role as the male firstborn of the collective multitudinous flock of God - a sacrifice of a sweet savour to God that

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The law of God promised one who would possess the gate of his enemies or kill the enmity in the head, as Abraham was shown (Genesis 23, Genesis 3 v 15). The second goat was then to be taken to emphasise and confirm the purpose of God through the sin offering in order to impress the promise of God in the minds of the congregation that atonement of sins by the work of the High Priest within the Tabernacle (out sight) was real, as they saw the second goat taken away into the wilderness and let free. This word goat has been translated from Hebrew to English as the scapegoat and has become synonymous with an innocent who takes the blame for wrong in others and is derived from two Hebrew words - the goat which name is derived from strength and literally a word meaning to go away. The qualities associated with the goat have been considered previously (pp 57, 117 & 124) and shown to represent Jesus Christ as the sin offering in that by his death he provided a covering for his fellows sins that they should be hidden for ever from the sight of God. This second goat (whose companion was sacrificed and whose blood was taken into the Most Holy Place) was to have the sins of the congregation laid upon its head, And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness (Leviticus 16 v 21). This action foretold the work of Jesus that he would - although innocent of any sin - take the guilt of the sins of others as though they were his own and fulfil the sentence of death passed upon man by God because of sin, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53). Although there were two goats they represented (as one) the way that God purposed to forgive the sins of man, by 1) acceptable sacrifice by the shed blood of a singular righteous sinless life (blood) and 2) taking confessed sins of the congregation far away by the direction of a fit man. This word fit is translated from a Hebrew word meaning without time or for ever, thus the second goat represented not just the taking of sin away from man but taking it away for ever that can only mean the promise of a change of nature from mortality to immortality. Jesus lived a life without sin although tempted in all things as every other man (Hebrews 2 v 16-18, Hebrews 4 v 14-15), he died a violent death at the hand of his enemies - simply because of his righteous example (Matthew 27 v 18) - and who shed his blood in that death, a sentence Jesus willingly submitted to in order to publicly justify Gods sentence of death on mortal man (Genesis 3 v 19) even though he was without sin. Jesus faith was that with such a sacrifice God would cover, forgive and wash away the sins of those who endeavoured to serve God but failed in weakness, which mercy would be manifest in resurrection from the grave and that he would be the forerunner - who after resurrection from the grave would then be given everlasting life. This was the teaching of the two goats of the sin offering of the Day of Atonement, the sacrificed goat and the scapegoat For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD (Leviticus 16 v 30) and heralded a day yet to come in the purpose of God when all sins will be forgiven for ever as taught in the Revelation, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21 v 4).

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The law of God It was an annual reminder of a new beginning promised by God and was marked by the herald of the blowing of the trumpet of the jubilee. Jubilee The Hebrew word for the bible-word Jubile (now used as Jubilee - as a year of celebration) comes from the root word meaning to break in pieces as in breaking an established order - like a shrill sound breaks the stillness of air (Parkhurst Hebrew Lexicon, 1811, pp691-692). The word is also used in the second Psalm that foretells the completion of the work of God in establishing His kingdom on earth by the hand of His son Jesus Christ at his second coming, Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel (Psalm 2) and again by Daniel in the interpretation of the vision of Nebuchadnezzar of the great image that foretold the succession of human world rulerships that would supersede each other until the second coming of Christ to establish the kingdom of God on earth, Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces (Daniel 2). Thus the trumpet of the jubilee was the penetrating sound that heralded a break from the established order of the previous fifty years where sin dominated the congregation. Thus the jubilee (heralded by the trumpet sound) marked a new beginning to teach the congregation that there will be a time when a new order of righteousness will be established on earth when the old order of the enmity dominating the mind of man will be broken and ended. The same herald was referred to by Paul was teaching of the resurrection of the friends of Jesus from mortality to immortality, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15 v 50-57) and For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first (1 Thessalonians 4 v 16-17). Therefore on this day of Atonement a trumpet sound - marking the start of the fiftyyear jubilee - was to be sounded throughout the land, Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land (Leviticus 25 v 9). The trumpet sound represents the voice of God, clear, sharp and of perfect fidelity as considered in chapter 10.1 (Silver and horned trumpets, pp149-151). The sound specific to this day was the voice of promise of everlasting release from bondage into sin by change for mortality to immortality. To the congregation the sound of the Jubilee trumpet was the herald of a year of release from debt and servitude to a neighbour due to impoverishment, it was a time when all debts were cancelled, all sold possessions were returned to their original owners, all sold lands were returned to the family who inherited it from their forefathers and all servants returned to their independent inheritances, to teach them of the future release from spiritual impoverishment through service to sin by the sin offering and scapegoat Jesus Christ who would take their sins away for ever. The period of a jubilee was 50 years, thus the value of all lands, goods and possessions sold because of poverty were valued according to the time left to the next Jubilee, more years the more value, and less value for less years. The 50 year period was divided into seven, seven-year periods each marked by a year in which no work was to be done, so not only did men and women rest but equally the animals and the

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The law of God land rested also, Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard (Leviticus 25 v 3-4). Thus the seventh year was a period for the congregation to have time to reflect on the mercy and power of God and refresh their faith in the future deliverance from mortality to immortality by the one man that God would raise up from their progeny. There was a cycle of repeating seven year periods that brought the people to the year before the Jubilee, And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land (Leviticus 25 v 8-9). Thus 49 years passed and the trumpet of the Jubilee was sounded on the tenth day of the seventh month of the 49th year and heralded the 50th year as another year of rest, thus the 49th and 50th years were years of rest. This fifty-year period became the anchor year for counting the passage of time and the foretelling of future as seen from Ezekiel and Daniels writings, Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month (Ezekiel 1 v 1) where the thirtieth year is counted from the previous Jubilee year (622BC), and Daniel, Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy (Daniel 9 v 24) where the seventy weeks signifies 70 periods - Jubilee periods - making 3500 years to the second coming of Christ from the inception of this law in 1472BC. As further waypoints, it can be noted that (with Ezekiel dating it at 622BC 30-592) Josephus records a Jubilee in 22AD thus making the first advent of Jesus at the start of his ministry as 28AD Note that there is always a minimum two-year error in computing any date from BC to AD, therefore all dated quoted cannot be absolute but approximate). The jubilee year was a foretaste of the kingdom of God that His son Jesus will establish when God sends him back to the earth at the time appointed by God. Thus to celebrate this promised time the congregation were commanded to keep the feast of Tabernacles. 10.5 Feast of Tabernacles This was the third of the three feasts that were to be kept each year, Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty (Deuteronomy 16 v 16). It was also called the feast of ingathering (Exodus 23 v 16) and began on the fifteenth day of the seventh month - five days after the Day of Atonement. It was a feast that every year reminded the congregation of the significance of the 50-year Jubilee a time when the peace of the kingdom of God should come and to celebrate that time they were commanded to dwell in booths for the seven day period, Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths (Leviticus 23 v 42). The booth was to be a temporary shelter of interwoven boughs of trees as it is written, And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees,

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The law of God branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days (Leviticus 23 v 40). The booth The booth was literally a cover of intertwined boughs and branches cut from living trees, interwoven to form a dome or similar structure in construction like a basket, where the leaves of the boughs would create a green covering to keep out wind and rain. A booth literally means to cover as a protection and many materials can be used for a covering, but the word booth used in this sense had a more significant meaning. The Psalmist uses the word to describe the covering provided by a woman to her developing foetus in her womb - literally a place of covering and protection, but more than that it is a cocoon of safety where that which is covered can develop as a living image of God, where the same word is used as womb, For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb (Psalm 139 v 13). David was speaking allegorically of Jesus Christ whose conception was by direct intervention of God (Matthew 1 v 20-23), but whose development was by natural means of a mortal woman as created by God. The Psalmist then continues to sing not only of the development of the child (Jesus Christ) in the womb of the protection of God, but the members of his multitudinous companion (the saints) also who will make up the composite body of righteousness of whom Jesus is the head (Ephesians 4 v 1116). So the theme of covering as in a booth continued - first in the singular (Christ) then the plural (the saints) - I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well (singular). My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth (singular). Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them (plural) (Psalm 139 v 14-16) where in continuance means day by day or generation by generation until the body of righteousness is complete. In this protection the Psalmist sought refuge, For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings (Psalm 61 v 3-4) The result of this protective covering generation after generation will be seen in the kingdom of God when all those permitted to live there will sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it (Micah 4 v 1-4). Thus the feast of Tabernacles was the feast of booths or the feast of dwelling under the protection of God that will be complete in the future kingdom on earth. The feast began and ended with a holy convocation, one on the first day and the other on the eighth day. The first to seven days were to be days of offerings - burnt offerings, sin offerings, bread (meat) offerings, and drink (wine) offerings, all of which represented different qualities of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christs as has been described previously. There was however a special order of sacrifice. Each day two rams and fourteen lambs as burnt offerings were to be accompanied by a descending number of bullocks each day terminating in seven bullocks on the seventh day, thus making 70 bullocks in all, in addition to one goat as a sin offering each day, where seventy represents seniority of counsel.

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Thus was concluded the annual cycle of feasts to teach the congregation the purpose of God in raising up a redeemer to deliver them - and all who join themselves to the covenant of God - from an eternal grave. 11) The law of civil behaviour - Ten Commandments The commandments that have become known as the Ten Commandments were given by God firstly as a requirement to reverence God and secondly, for the foundation of the code of civil behaviour. They are the expression of the mind of God of how He expects man to revere Him in response to all that God has done, and for man to live in peace with his neighbours. The first four commandment were encapsulated into one command by Jesus The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment (Mark 12 v 29-30). These four commandments are; 1) Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Deuteronomy 6 v 4-5) 2) Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20 v 3).Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them (Exodus 20 v 45) 3) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Exodus 20 v 7) 4) Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God (Exodus 20 v 8-11) These are the foundation of all the other commandments, rituals and ordinances of the law, without which the whole law would have no meaning but become a mere code of conduct open to individual interpretation. Within these four commands are contained the need to fear God - without which it is impossible to please God (it must be remembered that it is within the capabilities of all men and women to keep commands without understanding why they are kept but to blindly follow convention, tradition or familiarity). Reverence and fear are interchangeable terms where the original Hebrew word translated as fear is not terror as of an inferior to an angry God but the Hebrew word to revere, respect and tremble where to tremble means to respond as used in Isaiah ..but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word (Isaiah 66 v 2) where to tremble is not through terror but as a leaf trembles (flutters) in the breeze, hence the sense of response without resistance to the movement of the Holy Spirit through His words and commands in the conscience (Romans 2 v 13-15). Fear was used by Job as the foundation of wisdom, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding (Job 28 v 28) and Solomon in the Proverbs, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction 168

The law of God (Proverbs 1 v 7) and the Psalmist linked fear to forgiveness, If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (Psalm 130 v 3-4).

1) Thou shalt love the LORD thy God.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Deuteronomy 6 v 4-5) It is not possible to revere God without believing who He is, and it is not possible to fear Him if it is not known how and through whom He manifests Himself - by His will and commands, and it is not possible to revere Him if it is not understood that the love that God manifests to man is not in man by nature but can only be received from God via His chosen manifestation and reflected back by a life of reverence, respect and fear. In the first commandment all these links are revealed and whilst a detailed knowledge of these links is not necessary to be able to fear God, the spirit of those links must be the foundation of all obedience and worship - where that spirit comes spontaneously in a humble and contrite heart as God promised, For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Isaiah 57 v 15). The spirit of reverential worship is contained in the first of those four commands, Thou shalt love the LORD thy God (Deuteronomy 6 v 5). The three words LORD, God and love are the three links (mentioned above) of 1) who the LORD is, 2) through whom He manifests himself, and 3) the love that is unique to the LORD which He manifests to man. The Hebrew word LORD translated and printed in uppercase refers to the single creator and sustainer of heaven and earth who is self-existent and eternal. It is the Hebrew word Jehovah, Yahweh or Yah simply meaning to exist or to subsist that is to exist without any external assistance, in other words the source of life. It comes from the root Hebrew word for the name that God gave to Moses at the burning bush in order to describe Himself and His work with His people. That name was I AM and is not just a name such as all men and women have but a description of a character, And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you (Exodus 3 v 14). The meaning of I AM is He who existed, does exist and will exist - eternal, self existing and the source of life. It is a singular name. The word translated God (uppercase and lowercase letters) is the Hebrew word elohim - a plural word - derived from a singular word El (pronounced ail) - the singular word meaning strength and mighty and that refers to the LORD alone from whom all strength (energy) comes. Elohim (God) is the plural of that word (He who was, is and will be) thus teaching that the LORD was 1) manifest through many (the angels - in creation), 2) is manifest through many (angels in directing the course of history, Daniel 4 v 17) and 3) will be manifest through many both by the angels

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The law of God (preparing the final theatre of the nations for the return of Jesus Christ to the earth), but most importantly - the son of God - Jesus Christ - who came to manifest the character of the LORD and El in a mortal body. This he did by killing the enmity (human nature, the devil, Satan, etc.) within himself - once and for all - and once and for all for those that join him. Of this work Jesus told the Jews Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad..Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am (John 8 v 56-58) where I am is that singular name God gave to Moses at the burning bush. The Jews knew what he said for they attempted to stone him for blasphemy in a misguided attempt to fulfil the fourth commandment, thou shalt not take the name of the LORD in vain. Thus the LORD revealed in His name - I AM (He that was, is and will be) that He would be manifest (then future) for all to see as a physical witness to what His character was and who He is, and this was the work that the LORD raised up Jesus to do (Emmanuel - Isaiah 7 v 14-15). It was a work that the LORD approved of when He said at the baptism of Jesus, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3 v 17) and again when Jesus was transfigured before his disciples, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him (Matthew 17 v 5) and that Jesus confirmed to his disciples .he that hath seen me hath seen the Father (John 14 v 9) and that Jesus said when he prayed to God before his crucifixion, I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to doI have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world (John 17:4-6). Paul later wrote of that work, And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory (1 Timothy 3:16), and again that Jesus became so much better than the angels, For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? (Hebrews 1 v 5). Thus the LORD was, is, and will be manifest in the angels - but preeminently - is and will be manifest through Jesus Christ, and in the fullness of the purpose of God will be manifest through the saints by Jesus Christ. That is what is taught in the name God (elohim) and by that name the love (the third link mentioned above) of the LORD is manifest - the love that man is commanded to reflect by reverence of the LORD through God (elohim) now seen in Jesus Christ. The love that the LORD has for man is described by Solomon, for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned (Song of Solomon 8 v 6-7). Death is stronger than man, but not stronger than the LORD (hereinafter God) in that God is eternal - the source of life and able to raise the dead to everlasting life according to his promise to faithful men and women, therefore this love is the love of God not man and is the foundation of salvation. Solomon continued, Jealousy is cruel as the grave. God is a jealous God (Exodus 34 v 14) and the grave is non-negotiable or ever satiated (Proverbs 30 v 15-16) thus the love of God will make no compromise with evil or negotiate with any other lover for shared affection not something natural to man but who must reflect the love of God if salvation is hoped for. That love is also a burning fire, the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame, where most vehement flame literally means a flame of Jah and describes the intensity of that love (as being of the

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The law of God LORD Yah) as consuming all opposition in any form after the description of God from whom this love comes. For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4 v 24, Hebrews 12 v 29). Water extinguishes fire but the love that God shows to man cannot be extinguished other than by the recipient, Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it and once resident in the heart of man only they can allow it to be quenched (Jeremiah 20 v 9). This love is beyond any value that man can put on it, it is for the poor in heart and spirit whether materially rich (Job) or destitute (mortal Jesus Christ), and so Solomon said of the love of God if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. Jesus taught his disciples and through them all who seek salvation, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him (John 14:23) and that love is the love that emanates from God and is the subject of the first commandment, as Jesus continued that thread, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13) and that John further recorded, Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.. We love him, because he first loved us and that, God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him (I John 4). Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit through the love of God in a mortal woman and was born in order to manifest the love of God in a mortal body and it was he who differentiated between the love that man has by nature for his fellow and all other things, and the love that is from God (in the original text the words for these differing types of love - the Greek phileo and agape respectively are both translated as love). Jesus taught this differentiation in his words to Peter when he asked him to feed his sheep just before his ascension into heaven, .lovest (agape) thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (agape) thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (phileo) thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest (phileo) thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep (John 21 v 15-17). The words Jesus spoke were in Hebrew but were translated into Greek and then into English for the New Testament. There are two words (love) used in this passage - as shown - agape and phileo. The love of God is agape and the love in man by nature is phileo. The pre-eminent word love used in these passages is from the Greek agape which in turn is a translation from the spoken Hebrew word agab meaning to be joined as one even as God created woman (Eve) out of man (Adam) of whom Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh (Genesis 2 v 23-24) as in the root sense of agape - be joined as one. Thus God created man and woman to co-join physically in the irrevocable vow of fidelity of marriage as a consummation of their love for each other, to teach man of

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The law of God the higher love that God has for mankind, thus adultery in any form is an abomination to God (Leviticus 20 v 10, Matthew 5 v 27-28). When God created mankind He intended them to be at one with Him in character (as a co-joined man and wife should be) and as such God loved man above all creation as a husband loves his wife, and He separated the children of Israel to fulfil the figure of that purpose as Isaiah wrote, For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called (Isaiah 54 v 5), where the word husband is be lord and master as Sarah obeyed Abraham (1 Peter 3 v 5-6). Due to mans infidelity the unity between God and man was broken (Genesis chapters 1, 2 & 3), but God saw a greater son who would be united to Him by irrevocable vow in reflection of the love that God had for mankind and that that love would unite them (God and man) as one (John 17). That co-joining united love is the love that is stronger than death a shadow of which God has given man and woman in that they have the ability to love exclusively unto death but no further (Ecclesiastes 9 v 5-6) whereas the love of God goes beyond the grave by resurrection unto eternal life (Matthew 22 v 31-32). That is the love with which God requires man to love him but that has been repeatedly broken by infidelity in every man and woman except Jesus Christ and it was that love that motived Jesus to keep and obey every command of God in reverence and fear even unto premature death. The love that is in man by nature (that Peter had see above) is phileo described in Strongs Concordance as to be a friend, to be fond of [an individual or an object]), i.e. have affection for (denoting personal attachment, as a matter of sentiment or feeling); while agape is wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle. Thus phileo is the love that man has for the expression of his every emotion without the need to unite as one with the object or person loved - the only love that Peter understood at that time. Agape (that Peter at that stage did not understand, but later did) refers to the love that God has for righteous man that can be absorbed and reflected by man by fear and reverence. This teaches that a man or women must grow into the love of God by increasing reverence and fear for Him throughout the life, a fear sensitised through forgiveness of transgressions and sins, and reverence intensified from a greater understanding of the magnanimity of God. Thus to embrace the love of God is to keep His commandments through Jesus Christ by baptism (the irrevocable vow of fidelity). Jesus alone revered and feared God perfectly making the first commandment the foundation of faith unto salvation by unswerving belief in the one LORD who is manifest through God (plural) - the angels and in fulfilment of his work - Jesus Christ, and yet to be manifest in the saints through Jesus, after which God (the LORD) will be all and in all as Paul wrote, And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15 v 28). For baptism to be meaningful it must be intelligent (Acts 8 v 30-38) and confirmed by the spoken words of fidelity and faith with understanding, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8 v 36-37),

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The law of God and as Jesus instructed his disciples, .baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28 v 19). It must be noted that there is a pernicious and damnable doctrine that states that these three are one, but the Father is the LORD (singular), the Son is Jesus Christ (singular) and the Holy Ghost (or Spirit) is the Spirit of God with which He created the universe with which He sustains it in being and with which He is preparing a people to inherit it for ever (Ephesians 4 v 4-6). When the love of God is resident in a humble heart the love is so strong that even if it feels through trials and difficulties that one is rejected by God that one will still love Him as Job did in the depths of his trials, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him (Job 13 v 15), and the greatest terror such a humble heart will have is that God has removed His love from them as Job again experienced, For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me (Job 3 v 25). Job was never forsaken by God as indeed Jesus was never forsaken, but God puts all his children through such varying degrees of testing experiences in order to prove the strength of their love for Him, but as James wrote, Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy (James 5 v 10-11) because God has said in His love, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13 v 5). This is the joy, happiness and rejoicing contained in the promise and keeping of the first commandment, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Deuteronomy 6 v 4-5). 11.2 The second commandment Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20 v 3), and For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them (Exodus 20 v 3-5, Exodus 34 v 14). The word gods and god is from the Hebrew elowahh a singular word for any god and is defined by the word worship that means to do reverence, to prostrate before, to make obeisance to, to fall down before or to acknowledge any superior (object or concept) that has power or influence over the worshipper for good or bad. Worship of many gods is endemic in human nature (nobody is excepted) it is part of the enmity placed in mankind because of Adam and Eves worship of the serpent in the beginning, because he (and Eve) did reverence to the serpents apparent superior knowledge when the serpent said regarding the command of God, For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3 v 5). This lie of the serpent became the seed of the enmity that God then placed in man and is known as human nature, the devil, Satan, the world, the old man and many more descriptive names. From this sprang all manner of imagined deities as mankind regenerated the earth, most notably

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The law of God manifest in the tower of Babel (Genesis 11), but no deity greater or more pernicious concept of god is the worship of man - either a fellow human being or self. Jeremiah was told, Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord (Jeremiah 9 v 23-24). Glorification of fellow-man (or of self) is worship and is a result of pride in mans ability to disregard the one true singular God (the LORD) who demands obeisance in return for life, and man so turns to his own imagination and power of reasoning (the enmity) as the Psalmist wrote, They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? (Psalm 12 v 2-4). Deities (gods) are therefore manifest in any form that the imagination of man chooses from objects of wood, stone and metal (Isaiah 44 v 8-22) to concepts of the mind such as evolution, agnosticism, atheism, humanism, occult and any other pseudo-religious or cosmic superstition, but the most insidious is worship of self through pride. In a modern note, it is often national and commercial educational policy to propagate the theories of evolution based on Big Bang theory. This theory is discounted by the physics community as not possible due to the fact that the mathematics of the full scale of the Big bang become unstable and that 100 or so elements of the Periodic Table (the array of atoms that make up everything) could not have been created in a single explosion. Some elements are formed by fusion (combining two elements by intense heat and pressure e.g. 1+1 H = 1 He) and some by fission (breaking down those already in existence - e.g. U238 - Pb) where the heat and pressure of fusion would evaporate those formed by fission and those formed by fusion do not breakdown or else there would be no sun and therefore no life. Propagation of such theories is worship of the god- mammon and cannot be entertained by any who believe in God as Jesus said, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6 v 24). Those who decry the truth of the Bible record that God created the heavens and the earth in six literal days have not read the first chapter of Genesis correctly. The Bible is a book of many facets - it is not a once-upon-a-time story book, it is a book of historical record, it is a book of civil conduct, it is a book of prophetic fact and above all it is a book of symbols that are patterns of future events - designed by God to be sought out and interpreted by uncomplicated minds, as Jesus said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight (Luke 10:21). Genesis chapter 1 is both a record of fact (creation) and pattern or symbol for future events (a new creation, Isaiah 65 v 17-25). God purposed to create - in 6000 years - a race of people that were righteous by the sacrifice of one man, a race of people that would prove their worthiness to be eternal and to pre-figure that period God divided the Genesis creation record into six symbolic days evenings and mornings. With

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The law of God careful thought it will be seen that the evenings and morning (days) are simply symbolic because the sun was not created until the fourth day so therefore there was no means of measuring the time of evenings and mornings of days 1, 2 & 3 that are understood by man, because a day is a revolution of the earth on its orbit around the sun. The period of those evening and mornings of the first three days are unknown to our experience, they could be millions/billions of equivalent years or eternity (no time) - man cannot speculate, they were times (periods) known only to God and definitely not days as we understand them. Therefore fossil records and scientific dating methods do not contradict the Bible record that God (the only superior God) created the heavens and the earth, all they do is speculate on a relative date of all things in terms of mans experience of going round the sun. Before the sun existed (claimed by man to be 6.3 billion revolutions-of-the-earth-on its-orbit-around-the-sun in Big Bang theory) there is no way of measuring time therefore the propagators of Big Bang or any other such theory as 13 plus billion years ago is nonsense because there was no sun to measure that passage of time (13.6b 6.3b), time was infinity (incomprehensible to man, but not to God) - all that can be agreed is that incomprehensible infinity is that which is finite (comprehensible) but without boundaries, in other words in mans present state of knowledge we do not know infinity until the boundaries of our finite knowledge are expanded. It can be considered that the universe (cosmos) is spherical as has been predicted, that it is at present expanding as proposed by mathematical science, but that it is a dynamic system (the earth and all things thereon and in are in constant movement) in that it is not static but in constant expansive and contractive activity, and not just expanding from an explosion and that it is a small cosmos within a larger system hitherto unknown to man, such that our universe is surrounded by a greater system wherein God dwells and where all energy for the cosmos comes and is anchored, such that if we were able to be in the bigger system and view the earth-bound cosmos it would be analogous us viewing present-day nano-engineering as developed by man (nano-engineering is making structures on the scale just above atomic (angstrom) level, it is an established manufacturing discipline). Propagation and dissemination of evolution and Big Bang theory in any form including any of the time-lines attached is worship of other gods (mammon) and a denial of the one true singular God and thus the second commandment continued. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them (Exodus 20 v 45) There has never been (nor is there to be) any physical representation of God in any form whatsoever in heaven or earth. Although a real and living God, because of the sins of man and the curse of God upon him He cannot be seen by man as God told Moses, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live (Exodus 33 v 20) nor can there be any representation of Him according to the second command. Paul later glorified God as being unseen and said, Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1 v 17).

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The law of God

God, the LORD, the source of all power, light and life is to be seen only by faith. He is a God of faith while-so-ever man is mortal and subject to the rule of the enmity. In the fullness of the purpose of God - when God has removed all sins from His people through Jesus Christ - He will be seen by those thus blessed, And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads (Revelation 22 v 4). Faith is the practical demonstration of convicted belief, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11 v 1) and is manifest through a life of reverence for God by obeying His will through His word as manifest in Jesus Christ who came to show the character of God in a mortal body as he told his disciples, .he that hath seen me hath seen the Father (John 14 v 9). Without a life demonstrating faith that manifests a convicted belief in God all worship of God is vain as it is written, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11 v 6). The second commandment therefore forbade any representation of God other than a life of faith in Him by belief in the (then future) Son who would manifest His character through demonstration of His name by practical interpretation of the word of God, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin (Exodus 34 v 6-7). This commandment (as all the Ten Commandments) is still valid to this day, thus dedicated churches, cathedrals, edifices, religious artifacts, crosses, ribbons, fish symbols, religious tomes, relics, images and any such article are transgressions of this law of God and a blasphemy of His name. Even the Holy Bible is not to be revered to such an extent that it becomes an object worship, nor the bread and wine of the communion. The Bible containing the word of God is to be revered but only to be the director to worship of God and the communion bread and wine are symbols of faith in the life, victory and death of Jesus Christ. 11.3 The third commandment. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Exodus 20 v 7) The name of God is not an appellative such a men and women identify themselves but a description of His character and to count that description as an empty name without appreciating or applying its power or meaning is to take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. The words containing that description (God, Lord, Almighty) are to be used with absolute respect and never in the form of a curse, in humour, in stress or as an expletive. God told Moses the meaning of His name, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation (Exodus 34 v 6-7).

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The law of God Because of the inherent spiritual blindness of mankind to see the power of God in creation and the promises of salvation that make up His name, God purposed to raise up a son in His image and likeness who would show to all people what the magnanimity of the name of God was - who would fill his mortal body with the image and likeness of the character of God as a living witness. Thus Jesus came to manifest that name in a mortal body as a witness to all generations in order to glorify God in that there is a God who is the source of those attributes seen in nature and in the hope of salvation. All therefore who are joined to God by in faith in Jesus Christ must show the same characteristics in their life after Jesus example. Failure to do so while bearing the name of God and Christ (a Christian) is to take the name of the Lord in vain. By his life, miracles, parables and teaching Jesus demonstrated mercy, grace, long suffering, goodness, truth and forgiveness - attributes that are the meaning of the name of God. Jesus showed mercy to repentant sinners to teach that God shows mercy to those who do not hide the shame of their guilt from Him. He demonstrated the mercy of God to the woman who hid not her shame publicly before the self-righteous religious elders of her day who despised for doing so, but Jesus said for all to hear, Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little (Luke 7 v 37-48). The mercy of God is not toleration of wrongdoing (as practiced by man) but means to embrace and enclose for protection those who acknowledge their need for protection, and in so doing it means to feel for, to share suffering, to empathise as the Psalmist wrote of God, Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust (Psalm 103 v 13-14) and of whom Paul enjoined, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10 v 13). Jesus came in compassion to administer mercy to the humble who cast their sinful guilt upon God in open-hearted faith that He will forgive them, even as the father who would not be diverted from his cries for help in the healing of his sick son Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief Mark 9 v 24). Jesus however came in righteous anger against the proud who practiced rituals and traditions as being more important that faith in God, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. James followed with the teaching that he had learned from Jesus, For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment (James 2 v 13). No greater mercy did Jesus show than that he fulfilled the will of God (inherent in His name), that God purposed to forgive the sins (unto salvation) of many faithful men and women by the death of His son who - in that death - would overcome and kill all temptations of the enmity the enemy of God, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15 v 13) and so Jesus taught, And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth

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The law of God on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6 v 40). That same mercy is extant to this day where Jesus is the mediator between faithful man and God by appealing to Him to forgive their sins and increase their spiritual strength, (Hebrews 4 v 14-16, John 14 v 16 & 26). The grace of God displayed in His name was demonstrated by Jesus when he showed grace to people he never previously knew, people who followed him in his work - often not for spiritual healing but to satisfy their hunger and heal their sicknesses, But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd, and And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people (Matthew 9 v 35-36). Thus he fed twelve thousand strangers (five thousand and the seven thousand) because he had compassion on them. He said that they were as sheep with no shepherd and taught them that the grace of the name of God was that Jesus would provide spiritual food and would lead (shepherd) them in the way of salvation. He taught them that although they naturally hungered after food there was a bread-of-life that he could provide that would sustain them in the spiritually barren wilderness of life and, that as they ate fish so God was seeking a few to be separated from the turbulent sea of mankind who would be of that food of life (John 6 v 48, Mark 1 v 17). Grace is kindness and Jesus testified of God his Father whose character he displayed in his mortal body, for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil (Luke 6 v 35) fulfilling what Joel had taught, turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil (Joel 2 v 13). The grace of the name of God is seen every day in life, food and the ability to enjoy the beauties of creation, but more importantly in the gift of the word of God in the Holy Bible for all who seek God to read and understand what His purpose is and how to serve Him in faith unto salvation from the grave, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10 v 17). The full beauty of the mercy and grace of God is seen in His long-suffering as shown by Jesus with those who were slow to understand the magnanimity of the name of God that he came to show and the benevolence that had been prophesied in all scripture of which they had learned but not understood and the patience that God has shown for generations even to this day. Jesus waited for the faith of his disciples to grow and mature and was patient in their weaknesses such that he was caused to say, O ye of little faith (Luke 12 v 28), but he never abandoned them but nurtured them as God nurtures those who trust Him. To this day that slowness of understanding is patiently endured by God and Jesus as they wait for the fruition of the work of the Holy Spirit in the sanctifying of a few people who will be raised to immortality to be companions of Jesus for ever, for God has said, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3 v 9-15). Knowledge and understanding of God and His purpose do not come easily, but over much time of reading the word of God and experiencing its significance and then only with experience and knowledge of the treachery of the heart and mind - human nature (Jeremiah 17 v 9). Nobody has been saved in an instant of time, but salvation comes

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The law of God from a process of preparation by learning and experience (1 Peter 1 v 4-8, Ephesians 4 v 15). The disciples of Jesus knew the law and the promises, but did not understand the workings of human nature - the enmity. Understanding the enmity and its workings is a slow process where the more the temptations of the enmity are overcome, the more its wiles are understood (Ephesians 6 v 11) and as they are one by one understood then the overcoming of them can continue. In this long work the patience and long-suffering of God is shown in that He gives a little more of His Holy Spirit to open the eyes of understanding enough to be able to identify the treachery of the enmity and to kill it with the word of God as Jesus did (Matthew 4). Jesus demonstrated this long-suffering with those disciples when he said, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees (Matthew 16 v 6). The disciples understood Jesus to mean that they had no bread, but Jesus was patient with their ignorance and explained the scriptural significance of leaven as representing the enmity at work in the heart and mind that fills it and causes it to swell up in pride and arrogance as did the religious leaders of their day. The work each member has to do is to overcome that enmity (Revelation 2 v 7, 11, 17 & 26 and 3 v 5, 12, & 21) and that is a miracle that can only be done by allowing the given measures of the Holy Spirit to work, it is a work of overcoming that is likened to a farmer preparing and maintaining his ground so that good seed can grow and nurturing it until the harvest (Jeremiah 4 v 3, Hosea 10 v 12, Matthew 13). As the great husbandman, God is waiting for a harvest of righteous people and He has provided the means in His word to break up the hardness of the enmity in the heart so that the effects of His word can flourish, and as a husbandmen He is waiting patiently for fruits or righteousness to come from that seed and as such is waiting for the full preparation of a righteous family to be made ready through His firstborn son Jesus Christ. James used this analogy to describe the long-suffering quality of the name of God, Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain (James 5 v 7). The first-fruit of that harvest was Jesus Christ who without fault overcame the enmity within him and allowed the full glory of the word of God to be seen in his life and death showing long-suffering to those who had not the strength that he had, but succoured them in their suffering, most notably in Peter who denied him thrice (Luke 22 v 31-34 & 55-62) and yet loved him. The long suffering of God reveals the goodness of God for everyone to see - but few rarely do, so God sent Jesus to openly demonstrate His goodness. The Hebrew word for goodness comes from the root word to bend to an inferior or to stoop in kindness, thus it is written of God, Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness (Psalm 107 v 8-9). This is a daily witness of God who gives life (and takes it away) with food to every creature in order to nourish and preserve the species so that they beautify the earth. Following that figure God provides spiritual nourishment by His recorded word and the gift of His Spirit to those who seek Him in order that the attributes of their characters become like His name. Jesus came to demonstrate the character of God in a mortal body where the goodness of God was seen in all his ministrations in that he appealed to all people whether rich or poor. His appeal was to the poor in spirit and the humble of heart to whom he said Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy

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The law of God laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11 v 28-30). The poor in spirit and the humble of heart acknowledge the guilt of their sins and bear that guilt with shame. The guilt of sin is a burden all faithful men and women carry and it is this that sets them apart from religious hypocrites, where the more humble the heart is the greater the burden of guilt, such that without the goodness of God the burden would be too great to carry. To fully understand the goodness of God it is necessary to look to Jesus in which it was fulfilled and through whom forgiveness of sin and removal of the burden is made possible, because he overcame all temptation to sin and made a way possible for sinners to be forgiven by giving himself as a perfect living sacrifice so that the sins of others could be blotted out for ever in fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah of the words of God, Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? (Isaiah 58). Thus Jesus fulfilled the goodness of God in a mortal body in that he came to bend to an inferior and to stoop in kindness to the sinful, he came to bind up the broken hearted as Isaiah also wrote, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound (Isaiah 61 v 1-3, Luke 4 v 18-19). In addition to mercy, grace, long suffering and abundant goodness, the name of God means to be abundant in truth. The Hebrew word truth comes from the root to support and sustain with absolute reliability - as a faithful parent reliably cares for its child without falsehood or deception but with a fierce defence against predators. The enmity is the predator of the hearts and minds of all men and women the wild tempter that steels the heart and mind away from open obedience to God as Peter later described, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5 v 6-9). Jesus said that the word of God is truth (John 17 v 17) and finally testified before Pilate To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth (John 18 v 37). Jesus came to fulfil the word of truth and to manifest its power in a mortal life such that he became the word of God (John 1 v 14) - the name of God in a mortal body, and out of that word Jesus made possible the hope of salvation from an eternal grave and the gift of everlasting life not only for himself but for those who have no right to live for ever because of transgression. In this hope thousands have died during the last 6000 years and now rest in hope of resurrection from the dust of the earth - dead and forgotten by man but not by God who is true (Matthew 22 v 32). The truth of the name of God was manifest in His care for the Israel when He delivered them from Egypt in accordance with His promise to Abraham several generations earlier (Genesis 15 v 13-16). He gave them the land of Canaan that He had promised unto Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but not because of any special favour to them but because of the truth of His promises to Abraham (Deuteronomy 9 v 4-6).

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The law of God Truth (described in the name of God) is therefore not just transparent honesty but reliable support for those who trust God such that His word (the truth) is able to sanctify unto righteousness as Jesus showed when using the word of God to kill all the temptations of the enmity as he repeatedly countered its promptings within his mind it is written (Matthew 4). In that work of fulfilling truth in a mortal body Jesus came to forgive sins, not just the sins of his contemporaries but the sins of all generations (those dead and those not yet born) who acknowledge their sins and repent with shame and he said to those whom he met thy sins which are many are forgiven thee Luke 7 v 37-48). Thus described in the name of God there is forgiveness as God said of His name, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin but also made clear that forgiveness is conditional upon those who repent as His name also reveals, and that will by no means clear the guilty. All men and women are guilty of sin and if that attribute is taken out of context then there is no forgiveness - as all are guilty, but Gods name shows there is forgiveness and the guilty are those who do not repent but remain proudly in their own sins as the Psalmist wrote Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? (Psalm 12). Paul said, For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6 v 23) but John wrote, There is a sin unto death..and there is a sin not unto death (1 John 5 v 15-17). Herein lies the beauty of the name of God demonstrated by Jesus - where there is repentance there is forgiveness, where there is no repentance there cannot be forgiveness - therefore when there is sin (however trivial) that is not repented of it remains without forgiveness by God, but there is sin (however serious) that is forgiven by God because of repentance (Luke 7 v 37-48). This applies to sins against God, but where a fellow offends his fellow that must be forgiven in all circumstances. Ezekiel revealed the fullness of the magnanimity of meaning of the name of God when he wrote of the forgiveness of God that is extended from generation to generation, in that the fathers should not carry the burden of the sins of their sons or the sons the fathers but that every man is responsible for repentance from his own sins, Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? (Ezekiel 18). Thus of the name of God it is said that He is visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. A principle of Gods law is that the children should not bear the sins of the fathers (or vice-versa Deuteronomy 24 v 16), but that every man or woman is responsible for their own sins, so even though the sins of the fathers may be gross, God seeks repentance in at least four generations thereafter in case one son will return to Him, and so Jesus taught I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance (Luke 15 v 3-7). To demonstrate this - after generations of the rejection of the truth of God by Israel - Jesus came as one last opportunity for them to embrace the faith of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and so he sought out those whose immediate fathers had rejected God but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Matthew 5 v 5-6). They still followed their fathers sins and crucified Jesus the son of God, thus the opportunity was taken from them and given to the Gentiles until the return of Jesus to the earth when they will be united with the faith of their forefathers.

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The law of God To bear the name of God by association with Jesus Christ and not to manifest these attributes in the life is blasphemy of the name of God and a taking the name of God in vain for which there is guilt of sin (James 14 v 17). This commandment is a cornerstone of the requirements to be seen in all those who will receive everlasting life as the Psalmist wrote, Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully (Psalm 24 v 3-4), where sworn deceitfully means to take the name of the Lord in vain. Jesus came to manifest the name of God in a mortal body, to demonstrate the attributes of that name, to describe His character by reflecting that character in order to unite to God a sinful congregation of faithful believers of many generations and nationalities, he came to repair the breach of death made by God in the beginning because of the sin of man. In the final prayer Jesus made to His Father he spoke of this work, I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them (John 17). To be a Christian is to bear that name (Jesus Christ), the name that bore the fullness of the name of God and therefore to carry that name is to bear the responsibility to do honour to that name through manner of life - in obedience to the spirit of the law in faith by following the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. For this reason there will be a time of judgement after the resurrection from the grave in order to weed out those who failed to understand and practice the significance of the name of God and yet professed to uphold the name of Christ, or did understand but ignored the responsibility to follow his example, as Jesus said, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7 v 21-23). Thus Jesus taught that there will be a judgement of those who God deems to be responsible for their faith in that God helped them with their understanding of His name by repeated measures of the Holy Spirit - whether they took the power of that name (mercy, grace, long-suffering, goodness, truth, forgiveness) upon themselves or not, Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when 182

The law of God saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25 v 34-40). Those actions are the essence of the practical outworking of the name of God. They who failed to honour the name of God by not following the example of Jesus will be turned away to an everlasting grave (Matthew 25 v 41-46) as having taken the name of the Lord in vain. Thus the first three commandments set the tone - and underpin - all the other commands so that all the remaining commandments are kept - not as a rigid code of civil conduct - but in reverence, fear and reciprocal love for God. This was the work of Jesus Christ that he finished without fault. The letter and ritual of the law was fulfilled in Christ but the spirit of that law lives on and is as valid today as it was when it was given. 11.4 The fourth commandment Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it (Exodus 20 v 8-11). The word sabbath means to desist from exertion not from weariness but by completeness of work, hence it was the day that God rested from His work of creation in that it was complete, And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good (Genesis 1, Genesis 2 v 1-3). The physical creation being complete, God began the second phase of His work in creating a world of righteous people to inhabit the earth who would prove their worthiness for such an honour by obedience to His word. Isaiah later called this work a new creation, For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.. (Isaiah 65 v 17-25). For that new creation there would inevitably be the need for a firstborn of that new creation, a foundation, a cornerstone to which all the new creation could be fitted to. The Sabbath day was chosen by God to represent that new beginning, in that in one (the firstborn, the foundation the cornerstone) the works and cares of daily-life (analogously for the works of toil under the enmity) would cease - concurrently with completion of the work God set man to do, i.e. to keep His will and commandments without fault and so be worthy of inheriting the earth for ever. Gods people were commanded to keep this day in order that they could remember and reconsider this work - free from the distractions of everyday life - and to emulate the one that God had in mind by keeping His word with understanding of what it meant. God raised up that one in Jesus Christ who completed the work of God in that he ceased all temptations of the enmity (Matthew 4) and obeyed every word of God, thus he became the Lord of the Sabbath as he taught, For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day (Matthew 12 v 1-8). Jesus was referring to the words of the prophet Isaiah where the prophet was required to upbraid the people of Israel for keeping the Sabbath as a rigid ritual like a strait-jacket without understanding, and not

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The law of God a day in celebration of faith in the displaying the attributes that God required to be seen - love, mercy, graciousness, patience, goodness and truth - as described in His name and that which Jesus came to manifest, as Isaiah wrote, Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? (Isaiah 58) where the fast refers to the Sabbath. All these Jesus did and was hated of those who were supposed to do them as he said, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone (Matthew 23 v 23). Jesus fulfilled this work and therefore became the fulfilment of the Sabbath in that no other man or woman could do or repeat what he did. The keeping of the Sabbath is now inseparable from the vow of baptism where the life and character Christ is put on as a covering garment in order to permeate the mind and heart until there is full growth into his manifestation of the spirit of the Sabbath i.e. to cease from service of the flesh (the enmity) and to complete the work God has given each one to do of unification with Jesus character. Thus the creation record in Genesis shows by six symbolic days the second phase of the creation of God, i.e. creation of a righteous people to inhabit the earth, so God created the heavens and the earth in six days, where the days are periods (of indeterminate length to man) that He has chosen to represent the future work of six thousand years of preparation (new creation) concluding with a Sabbath of one thousand years rest after which there will be no time. When the second phase of the work of God is nearing completion the seventh day of one thousand years will be ushered in by the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth as it is written, ..and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years (Revelation 20). Thus the Sabbath day was a regular opportunity to refresh the memory with the law of God and what that law in all its details was leading them to, and the spirit of that law as fulfilled in Jesus Christ is now the essence of the payment the vow of baptism. In Christ (a Christian) it is to live the spirit of the life of Christ, a ceasing of service to the flesh and a completion of the work of God in Christ, such that the life of a baptised person is a Sabbath. The first four commandments are therefore the foundation for the whole keeping of the law, on these four commandments all commandments stand and without these four the rest become meaningless rituals to be learned by rote and followed in blindness as became the practice in subsequent generations such that Jesus said of those who claimed to keep and enforce the law, Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch (Matthew 15 v 14). 11.5 The fifth commandment Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee (Exodus 20 v 12).

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Honour in the original Hebrew means weight. Weight is the measure of the amount of substance in an article and in Hebrew is the same word as for gravity - the fundamental force that makes weight evident whose law of action is unalterable and all pervading. Substance is the amount of mass a body possesses and mass is the agglomeration of primary elements into tangible form. Gravity is the force that draws lighter substances towards heavier substances (or any two equal substances together) and its force increases dramatically with lessening distance. What gravity is and how it is formed is not understood by man but God created gravity and maintains it together with three other forces that make life possible in the universe and God maintains its attractive property by His unalterable law. Mass is an allegory for the law of the wisdom of God to which the hearts and minds of man can be drawn, and the written will of God is analogous to the agglomeration of particles where every particle-word of God is unified into an allegorical gravitational mass - the substance (weight) of which is love by faith, and there is no law or word of equal or comparable weight (power). Weightiness is therefore an biblical symbol for godliness and conversely lightness is an allegory for vanity or lack of godly substance. God created man to draw closer (gravitate) to Him in character by obedience to His law (in the same way that all substances obey the law of gravity to a greater mass) such that the closer man was drawn to God through obedience to His word the stronger the force of attraction (as with gravity) and the wiser a man is the more he is attracted toward God by His word, as Jesus taught, No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him (John 6 v 44, Psalm 73 v 28). Adam displayed such lightness of character that he was attracted to the flippant lie of the serpent and away from God. Paul used this allegory in describing the duty of a father who aspires to be a bishop (a father) in a church who has oversight over the laity, he must be One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity (1 Timothy 3 v 4) where the Greek word gravity means to venerate. God is a Father and requires His children to venerate Him through His word thus allowing the attracting force of His law to draw man closer to God after the metaphor of gravity. God created man and woman to be parents (fathers and mothers - Genesis 1 v 28 & 3 v 23-24) in order for them to attract their children to gravitate towards God by His laws after their example. The will of God is that a man who is righteous will draw his children to righteousness by his wisdom that came with his experiences. Thus the command was for children to honour their parents who were endeavouring to draw them closer to God. If children cannot honour their parents whom they can see it is not possible for them to honour God as a Father who they cannot see (1 John 4 v 20). Therefore the command incorporated parents in that they were to be grave in example (weighty in godliness) in order to bring their offspring to God. Thus parents in the congregation were instructed to keep the laws of God, And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up (Deuteronomy 6 v 7). God further commanded the congregation through Moses, Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father.. I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 19 v 3) where to

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The law of God fear is to revere (as distinct to a fear of terror) - the same word that is used for man to fear God. This honour, respect and fear from the children was to be extended to all members of their parents generation (whether natural fathers and mothers or not) provided the wisdom of God was present in that elderly person as Solomon wrote, The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness (Proverbs 16 v 31), as it was written in the law, Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord (Leviticus 19 v 32). This law taught that God is a Father and Wisdom is His companion (as the mother Proverbs 8) out of whom mankind was created (Genesis 1 v 26-28, Luke 3 v 38) and God taught that He is now working to create a new family of children by His companion (Wisdom) - a family of children who would honour, fear and revere Him by the nurture of the mother (wisdom) and to whom He would give life without end as the command promised that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The word father in Hebrew means a founder, an author, one who nourishes with natural affection and tenderness, and the word for mother means the one who supports and holds the family together after the analogy of the growth and support of a child in her womb. The firstborn of that new generation was conceived by direct action of God as a Father in His wisdom (Luke 1 v 26-35) and the result was that a mortal woman (Mary) - who was a natural virgin subject to temptation - conceived and brought forth a son who was a son of man (Adam) but who would grow and develop into the son of God by obedience to His every word such that he would gravitate in character to be in the image of God Himself and at one in spirit with Him, and that by this one many sons and daughters would be born and likewise gravitate to the righteous weightiness of God and increase in density of love and faith (spiritual weight) toward the substance of godly wisdom and away from their natural parentage of the Adam, such that Jesus said of them, For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother (Mark 3 v 31-35). As all the laws, Jesus fulfilled this law in all its meaning by honouring God as his Father and his parents as his mentors, and thus became the firstborn of a new generation, the cornerstone and foundation to whom all members would fit and on whom they would stand, thus bringing a new generation unto God to whom God will give everlasting life even after the metaphor of gravity or weightiness.. The spirit of that law lives on in Jesus Christ for all those baptised into him. Unbelieving parents must be respected and believing parents revered for the care in bringing their offspring to God, elders in all walks of life must be treated with respect and honoured for their experience and age. God must be revered by obedience to His word through Jesus Christ, and Jesus must be honoured by becoming like him in character. 11.6 The sixth commandment Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20 v 13)

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The law of God This law is from the beginning as Noah was told, Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man (Genesis 9 v 6). Earlier Cain slew his brother Abel and was cursed above all men, And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand (Genesis 4 v 11). God made man in His own image and likeness (Genesis 1
v 26-28) and therefore mans visage is constant reminder of the God that made him. To take life from that image is to usurp the power and authority of God who presides over the life and death of all His creatures - particularly mankind - as it is written, See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand (Deuteronomy 32 v 39).

As God presides over the affairs of man He has laid down conditions (in the law) where it is necessary to kill a man or woman but only according to His direction with regard to breaking His commandment, in other words God has legalised certain judgements to act on His behalf in taking life, not for vengeance but to maintain respect and reverence for God, as God has said, Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death (Deuteronomy 32 v 39). However the Hebrew word for kill used in this particular law relates only to murder not punishment or battle. There was a difference under the law between killing by accident and killing by hatred (premeditated). For the accidental killer there was an escape from the death sentence by following strict rules (Numbers 35), but for the premeditated killer, for blasphemy, for adultery, for bestial sexual behaviour there was no remedy, in order to keep the congregation free from depravity and confusion. Life is given to man as an opportunity to revere God by obedience to His word and is the same reason life is given to a new-born child to this day. Therefore to take away the life is to take away the opportunity for the victim to repent and serve God. In the same way enlightenment of the understanding of the way of salvation by service to God through Jesus Christ is a gift of God as valuable as life itself, such that the one thus embarking on a life of service to God (now by baptism) begins a new life by enlightenment of the Holy Spirit as Paul wrote, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). That new creature is by rebirth into Christ as Jesus taught, Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit ... The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit (John 3 v 1-10). To impede the progress of such a one by misleading teaching, by false doctrine, by temptation with worldly matters and any other such distraction from unadulterated truth is accounted by God as killing (murder) of the highest order as Jesus taught, But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18 v 6). The command was thou shalt not kill but had significantly more depth and scope than literal taking life by shedding blood or other such action. Jesus taught that the

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The law of God scope of killing included hatred in the heart of a fellow man or woman, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca,(vain) shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire (Matthew 5 v 21-22). In the eyes of God any such hatred, envy and jealousy is tantamount to killing as the intent was resident but not necessarily the opportunity, and it is God who weighs the hearts of all men not just his actions (Proverbs 16 v 2). Hatred in mankind by the action of the enmity was at its most potent when Jesus was arrested by the elders such that at his trial even Pilate could see their naked hatred, For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy (Mark 15 v 10) where in their hearts they had killed him already. Every man and woman is made in the image and likeness of God and despite familiarity with every-day acquaintance this fact must be recognised and respected in reverence to God, thus this law is valid and just as important and as far reaching today as it was then. To remove - or attempt to remove - the hope of salvation from a fellow by any means is murder. 11.7 The seventh commandment Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20 v 14) God created woman (Eve) out of mans (Adam) body (Genesis 2 v 21-25) such that Adam said when Eve was given to him, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. God created Adam and Eve to procreate children to - Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it (Genesis 1 v 27-28) and to this end created the physical means to conceive seed and bring to birth within a united bond of father and mother. The deliberate physical act leading to conception was created to be of a man and woman joining together as one - and they two shall be one flesh - an act of physical bonding that united two in a vow of fidelity until death. That bonding by physical co-joining is the marriage vow in the eyes of God (where spoken civil vows are mere symbols of legal union), but to God the physical co-joining of a man and woman (whether to pro-create children or in act of love) is the bonding of two in an unbreakable and irrevocable vow of marriage, a vow of absolute fidelity without exception. To co-join with another other than husband or wife is adultery and a defiance of the reason that God made man and woman, it is a deliberate and premeditated act following a period of heightened emotion during which time there is opportunity to remember the will of God and withdraw. Thus adultery is a heinous crime in the eyes of God to this day - equal to murder - in that without fail it carried the death sentence (Leviticus 20 v 10), and Jesus taught the depth to which this law was intended such that intent to commit adultery even though consummation was not gained is of the same magnitude as the actual act of adultery (Matthew 5 v 27-32).

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The law of God God created all creatures male and female in order to procreate, but set a distinction between them and mankind in that the woman was created out of the man. By this means God taught that in His greater creation of a righteous people (that would one day inherit the earth for ever) there would be an analogous union between two parties - a singular son raised up by God and a companion of many members created out of him - who would be united to him as one in a bond of fidelity (Song of Solomon). Thus physical co-joining as a vow of marriage became analogous to the vow of union between the promised son and his multitudinous companion (who he would redeem from grave) in preparation for full union in the immortal state as Paul wrote, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church (Ephesians 5 v 31-32). Baptism is that act of union, a vow of fidelity unto death such that such procreation is not a physical child but a new person of righteousness within the heart and mind and manifest in the character, Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6 v 3-4, John 3 v 48). There-from begins a life of growth by change of character in anticipation of full growth to maturity (Ephesians 4 v 11-16) when the bride will have made herself ready by sanctification through obedience to the word of God, as was shown to John in vision, Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready (Revelation 19 v 7). As physical co-joining with another - other than husband or wife - is the breaking of the physical vow of fidelity and is adultery, so likewise is association with doctrines not in accordance with scriptural teaching whether it be idolatry, friendship with the world or sin of any kind. Because every man and woman sins there is the constant need for forgiveness by renewal of the marriage vow and this was provided by Jesus in the communion feast as he taught, Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him (John 6 v 54-56). Thus Jesus instituted the feast of remembrance, And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you (Luke 22 v 19-20). The law of adultery is valid to this day in that a baptised person is free to marry, procreate children and nurture them in the way of salvation, but co-joining before any civil marriage vow is made is the act of marriage and therefore those who so do have no option but to become legally man and wife as God intended and remain within the vow of the physical act for life. Multiple-partner co-joining without civil vows (premarital co-joining) is adultery (Exodus 22 v 16-17, Deuteronomy 22 v 28-29), in the same way that co-joining is in contravention of the marriage vow. 11.8 The eighth commandment

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The law of God Thou shalt not steal (Exodus 20 v 15) To steal is to take away by stealth or in secret and applies in the Hebrew to both physical things and emotions of the heart. Rachel stole her fathers images (Genesis 31 v 19) and Absalom stole the hearts of the people (2 Samuel 15 v 6). To steal is to deprive a neighbour of what is theirs for personal gain. What the gain Rachel had is not recorded but the gain Absalom sought was personal honour and glory. Job confessed the truth about the possessions of man when he said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1 v 21). Therefore life is the gift of God given to use in honour of Him by obedience to His word and all other possessions are superficial to that. Honestly gained material possessions are therefore only possible because of the life God has given man and so all things belong ultimately to God and He distributes that which is His to whomsoever He will. Some men have become wealthy in material possessions (Abraham, Job and David) and some have been desperately poor (Jesus, Ruth and Paul) but God gives to every man according to His will as Solomon recorded, every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God (Ecclesiastes 3 v 13) and again, Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion (Ecclesiastes 5 v 18-19). The sentence for a man or woman caught stealing was severe, for example - stealing an ox and selling it on carried the penalty of restoring it to the owner fivefold (500%) and for a sheep - fourfold. If the animal was still in their possession then it was to be restored double and similarly for many other cases of stealing or negligence that had the same result of depriving a neighbour of their possession (Exodus 22 v 1-15). The principle of judgement was restoration of at least double the possession stolen. In this sentencing of reparation God intended that the natural prefigured the spiritual. The heart and mind of man (his intelligence and faculties) is Gods who gave them to man - above all other creatures - to honour Him. To take away that gift in order to honour another by deception or any other means, is theft of the highest order. The serpent stole the hearts of Adam and Eve away from God in exchange for an empty material and vain emotional gain. The material gain was the transient taste of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil - a gain that Solomon later described as sweet, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell (Proverbs 9 v 17-18). The emotional gain was the promise to have knowledge like the gods but resulted instead as despair and death (Genesis 3). Because of the curse of God, all their progeny have been stolen by the enmity - now resident in the emotions of every man and woman as human nature (the devil, Satan, the world, the old man and many other names). Jesus came to restore that which he took not away as the Psalmist wrote, then I restored that which I took not away (Psalm 69 v 4) and of which Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. (Isaiah 58).

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The law of God The breach caused by the theft of the emotions of the heart and fidelity of mind was the loss of unity with God and its attendant access to eternal life - by the path that was the way to unity with God. By overcoming the tempting of the enmity (human nature) within him without fault and shedding his blood in death to finally kill the enmity Jesus repaired the breach in unity between God and man and restored the path to salvation by restoring the emotions of the heart and fidelity of mind and sanctity of the body back to Him who created it, as Jesus said regarding the image of Caesar on a coin, Render therefore unto caesar the things which be caesar's and unto God the things which be God's (Luke 20:25) where man bears the physical image of God and Jesus restored his character to that of Gods. This law teaches that to steal goods or emotions from a neighbour is to steal from God. God gives and God takes away and so the keeping of this command is not a strait-jacket of rigid compliance but a call to remember that our life and emotions plus our possessions and those of all our neighbours are the evidence of the hand of God. To misrepresent the word of God by word or action is to steal the hope of salvation from its hearers and witnesses (Revelation 22 v 18-19). 11.9 The ninth commandment Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour (Exodus 20 v 16) The word in Hebrew for false is a lie and the word witness is a testimony. The command forbade any testimony that was a lie. The first testimony that was a lie was the serpents, And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3 v 4-5). The result of that false witness was catastrophic in that Adam and Eve allowed themselves to be deceived. As punishment, the reasoning intelligence of the serpent was transferred by God from the serpent to mankind as the enmity that is always opposed to God. It is the enmity that gives mankind the ability to bear false witness and thus negate the required testament of character that man is in the likeness and image of God. Jesus came to bear witness of God in body (as all unwittingly men do) but particularly to the name of God in character as well, and was able to complete his work because he did not transgress any commands or bear a false witness of the name of God. Jesus said of himself, To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth (John 18 v 37). Jesus was the manifestation of the word of God in a mortal body and of that word Jesus said, thy word is truth (John 17 v 17). Those who are joined to Christ by baptism have the responsibility to bear that name honourably by word and by manner of life where failure to do so is a false witness and to bear false witness of any type is to deny the power of the truth of the word of God and ultimately the truth of the life and character of Jesus Christ. hypocracy is false witness, to claim righteousness and practice otherwise (James 1 v 22-27). The law also stated, One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established (Deuteronomy 19 v 15) but went beyond testimony at the trial of a suspect to cover every aspect of mans dealings with

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The law of God his fellow man, Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness (Exodus 23 v 1-2) making gossip, tale-bearing and half-truths to be false witnesses in evidence or in life. Of the hope of salvation of eternal life represented by the vision of new Jerusalem John was told without equivocation, And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life (Revelation 21 v 27) 11.10 The tenth commandment

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's (Exodus 20 v17).
The Hebrew word covet means that which is most desirable and pleasant to the sight and is used in both good and bad senses. The first use is the desirability and pleasantness of the beauty of creation in which Adam and Eve were placed (Genesis 2 v 8-15). God created everything very good- most desirable and pleasant as the record says, And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food (Genesis 2 v 9) - where pleasant is the same word as used for covet or desirable in a good (godly) sense. In this unparalleled beauty God gave man freedom to enjoy all the fruits of the garden that his eyes beheld but with one small command, And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis 2 v 16-17). Thus God laid the foundation of obedience to His will in return for the benefits of His blessings, and gave man the choice to obey or disobey as a means of measuring the gratitude that man (Adam and Eve) had for those blessings of God. The serpent, however, deceived Eve with a lie (Genesis 3 v 1-5) and as a result of which the seeds of to covet in a bad (ungodly) sense were sown in her mind, And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat (Genesis 3 v 6) - where pleasant is the same word covet. The sentence of death ensued and man has become a dying (decaying), mortal creature to this day. The will of God is that all men and women desire or covet the fruits of His word manifest in His name (mercy, grace, long-suffering, goodness and truth) represented by the abundant permitted fruits of the Garden of Eden, as distinct to the fruits of knowledge of good and evil. The Psalmist wrote - when speaking of the desirability of the word of God, the law of God, the testimony of the LORD, the statutes, His commandments, the fear of the LORD and the judgements of the LORD, More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb (Psalms 19 v 7-11) where desired is the same word as covet. The will of the serpent (now the enmity) is covetousness, i.e. the desire of the eyes for anything other than obedience to the word of God (Ecclesiastes 1 v 8).

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The law of God Jesus came to demonstrate the dividing line between good and the evil by coveting the word of God and shunning the wisdom of the enmity on a minute-by-minute, day-byday basis (Matthew 4) thus Isaiah prophesied, Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good (Isaiah 7 v 14-15) - where butter and honey represent the word of God free from private interpretations, traditions, and doctrines and commandments of men (Matthew 15 v 9). The dividing line was it is written (Luke 4 v 1-13) and remains the same clear boundary and counterweight to covetousness to this day. Solomon wrote that mans thirst for more than he has, will never satisfy the covetousness of the eyes, Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied - where hell and destruction (Gehenna) are the words that God and Jesus use to describe the enmity at work in the heart. In contrast it was prophesied of Jesus in the Psalms, But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night (Psalm 1, Psalm 119) and so left no room for the wandering eye to satisfy the lust of the enmity. As a result Jesus was able to teach from experience that the natural treasures of the eye (to covet) were transient and of no long-term value, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. In contrast he taught that the treasures of the heart (faith in God) were permanent, But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal where heaven is anywhere wherever the enmity is not at work. Herein, Jesus taught, is the root of covetousness, the lust that leads to cancer of mind and heart that eats away at a simple and open-hearted obedience of the word of God, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6 v 19-24). Jesus therefore reinforced the meaning of the law of covetousness by using the analogy of singular sight (as distinct to double-vision that leads to confusion), The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6 v 19-23). Paul later wrote, But godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6 v 6) and that contentment is the opposite and antidote for covetousness and the reinforcing of faith, Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13 v 5) where conversation is manner of life.

1. Sundry laws To be continued

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