Bearing God's Name

by Carmen Joy Imes

  Moses’ attitude bears further consideration. What would motivate any of us to turn down an opportunity to be a star and at the same time get revenge on all those who’ve made life difficult? Anything at all? For Moses, the dishonor to God himself that would result from God’s proposed actions overrides everything else. Maybe this is why Moses is called “more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). At Sinai, he refuses to put himself ahead of God’s reputation.

  The greatest mystery of this story is that Yahweh repents (Exodus 32:14). In response to Moses’ plea, God decides not to wipe out his people. This raises so many questions for me. Is Moses’ prayer effective mainly because he calls on God to act in accordance with his own character? If so, why does God need a reminder to act consistently with his own self? What would have happened if Moses hadn’t prayed? We’re simply not told.

  The story becomes even more complex when Moses gets down the mountain and sees their rebellion with his own eyes. The text tells us “his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces” (Exodus 32:19). His anger burned? This is exactly what Yahweh had said of himself on the mountain: “Leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them” (Exodus 32:10). One wonders if Moses was able to be calm and reasonable on the mountain because he hadn’t yet seen what God could see. Now he sees and lets it fly. He smashes the covenant tablets, demonstrating vividly that the covenant itself had already been broken.

  Moses’ shattering of the tablets certainly would have seized their attention. Aaron’s response is a classic picture of human nature at work: “You know how they are.” He quotes their request exactly, but paraphrases his own response, deemphasizing his role in their rebellion: “They gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” (Exodus 32:24). The narrator has already told us how invested Aaron was in the project: Aaron “took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool” (Exodus 32:4). Aaron is the artisan, a fact he conveniently leaves out of his report.

  The story ends with the valiant actions of the Levites to bring an end to the orgy and with Moses’ earnest plea for God’s mercy. Not only is he willing to give up being the head of a new nation; he is willing to forfeit his own record in the book of life to spare the obstinate nation (Exodus 32:32). How inspiring! But Moses is not alone in his mercy toward the Israelites. Yahweh already has a rescue plan in place. Their rebellion was no surprise to him.

  BLUEPRINTS OF MERCY: PLANS FOR THE TABERNACLE

  What’s most remarkable to me about the golden calf incident is what immediately precedes it. The seven chapters we skipped over contain detailed plans for the construction of a tabernacle—a special tent that simultaneously enables the presence of Yahweh to dwell among the Israelites while providing relief from the devastating effects of their own rebellion. The Israelites had agreed to the terms of the covenant, but God’s first order of business was articulating to Moses the means by which they could be forgiven for breaking that covenant. Wow. That’s grace.

  My husband and I celebrated our twentieth anniversary in the Colombia River Gorge. The Colombia forms a boundary between Oregon and Washington and is home to some of the most breathtaking views on the continent. We revisited our favorite honeymoon spot, Bridal Veil Lodge, a short walk from Bridal Veil Falls, one of many stunning waterfalls along the Gorge. Each morning we would step out our door, cross the scenic highway on foot, and wind our way through the trees to the overlook. From that vantage point we could see the Colombia River, the busy interstate that traces the river’s southern banks, and the tree-laden mountains to the north on the Washington side. We were a good one hundred feet above the freeway, which lay at the bottom of steep cliffs. Wise park rangers installed a strong fence along the edges of the overlook. Rather from preventing our enjoyment of the view, these fences made it possible for us to soak it all in without fear of falling. We could safely get right up to the edge.

  The tabernacle was like this. The hot spot of Yahweh’s presence was hidden in the innermost chamber of the tabernacle, guarded by the outer tent, which only the priests could enter. The entrance to the holy place was further protected by an outer boundary of curtains with an entrance near the altar. No toddler could accidentally wander into sacred space and tip over the menorah with its seven burning lamps. No sin-stained Israelite would suffer a violent death by getting too close to God’s holy presence. The outer boundary of the tabernacle kept them from danger while enabling them to live in close proximity.

  The layout of the tabernacle allows them to gaze at Yahweh’s glory from a safe distance and have the assurance of his attentive presence without constant fear of ritual violation. Just like the law, the tabernacle offers grace by putting up protective fences.

  YAHWEH’S DANGEROUS PRESENCE

  It seems contradictory to say that Yahweh is both good and dangerous. Yet both are facets of his character. Because he is loving, he cannot tolerate wickedness. He is a God “who does not leave the guilty unpunished” (Exodus 34:7). When we approach God humbly, repentant for our sin, he is gracious to forgive us. But if we enter his presence unaware of our sin or in a state of rebellion, his holiness demands purification.

  We might think of it like the sun, which provides light and warmth for the earth. But if we got too close to the sun, we would be burned.7 What makes Yahweh’s presence dangerous is his purity—in the face of our impurity. The Israelites need a barrier between them and God because their moral and ritual impurity makes them unfit to be near God.

  “Ritual purity” is a foreign concept to us today, so it requires some explanation. Leviticus outlines two major categories of impurity for the Israelites—ritual and moral. Leviticus 18–20 instructs the Israelites in the area of moral purity. This category is not as difficult for us to understand because it connects with our sense of right and wrong, even if a few of the commands given may still seem arbitrary. God cannot tolerate immoral behavior. When he moves into the neighborhood, the Israelites need to live rightly. Laws for ritual purity are outlined in Leviticus 11–15. It was not considered sinful to be ritually unclean, but ritual purity was a requirement for participation in temple activities (that is, rituals). Ritual impurity was caused by substances associated with death, such as dead bodies, reproductive body fluids (menstrual blood, afterbirth, semen), mold, mildew, and skin disease, as well as by eating unclean foods outside the prescribed diet.8 Impurity was temporary. A person simply had to wait a set period of time, bathe, and offer a sacrifice to be clean again.

  Figure 4.2. Diagram of the Tabernacle

  The outer boundary, made of white linen, ensures the sanctity of the courtyard. Only those bringing sacrifices or offerings enter. The priests are prevented from accidental contact with dead bodies or mildew or anything else ritually unclean. The tent itself is more elaborate, made of brightly colored fabrics, signaling the elevated importance of its contents. The tent houses and protects the symbolic implements that enable a sensory worship experience—lampstand for sight, incense for smell, sacred bread for taste. When the high priest enters, the bells on his garments jingle and blood is sprinkled for consecration, involving the senses of sound and touch. Behind the most elaborate curtain, woven with designs of cherubim and held in place by gold-plated wood posts, is the inner sanctuary, entered only once a year by the high priest. Inside is the ark of the covenant, an ornate wooden box, plated with gold, that contains the stone tablets of the covenant and various mementos of God’s provision in the wilderness.

  With that, the tabernacle plans are complete—a gracious provision for the maintenance of Yahweh’s covenant with Israel. But just when we think we’ve made it through the most boring passage in the entire Bible, the seven chapters of building instructions before the golden calf incident, in Exodus 35–39 they are repeated again almost verbatim! This fact alone has ensured that most of us will skip reading the second half of Exodus altogether. Why say everythin
g twice? In fact, there’s an important reason: to underscore the seriousness with which Moses treated God’s instructions.

  The tabernacle is no free-for-all, choose-your-own-adventure means of creative self-expression. Every aspect of the project is thoughtfully scripted in advance. Each furnishing holds theological significance. Even the color scheme is intentional (more on that later). God invites us to exercise creativity in many areas, but when it comes to his dwelling place, he’s the designer-in-chief. Moses’ job is simply to communicate the vision and ensure that it is carried it out. This he does with scrupulousness, as these chapters demonstrate.

  In an age that prizes self-expression, we may have difficulty appreciating this attention to detailed obedience. A rough modern-day equivalent might be building codes. My husband worked as an architectural draftsman before we became missionaries overseas. He remembers the tedious work of trying to follow building code—the right number of parking spaces, each the right width, the right number of spots designated for handicap access, proper sidewalk width and curb height, handrails, and stair tread. This all seemed like a bother until we moved to Manila, capital of the Philippines. Living in a city of eighteen million people with little-to-no building code was hazardous! Walking somewhere was “at your own risk.” Gaping holes in the sidewalk—if there was a sidewalk—were left unfilled. Step heights were uneven and inconsistent. Stairs often had no railing at all. Many businesses had no parking and no handicap accessibility.

  One aspect of our service in Manila was to help a local outreach team with a kindergarten program in an impoverished neighborhood. One summer, the director of the kindergarten had travel plans and asked if I could help oversee construction workers who were replacing the floor of the second story in the concrete building. I knew absolutely nothing about building safety. I was merely to show up every few days and pretend to scrutinize their work. That experience gave me a new appreciation for the value of building inspectors who know what they’re doing.

  Israel’s tabernacle instructions are not a building code with the primary purpose of physical safety, though there are physical repercussions if proper protocol is not followed. Instead, they ensure the spiritual health and safety of a people among whom the most powerful being in the universe has chosen to dwell. These instructions are God’s measured and patient way of bringing order to chaos and making it possible for his presence to dwell among them.

  DRESSED FOR SUCCESS: AARON AND THE PRIESTS

  Another way God brings order to chaos is by designating priests to work within the sacred space of the tabernacle. Aaron does not volunteer for his job as high priest. Neither do his sons. Yahweh chooses them by name. They come empty-handed. They bear no special qualifications. They do not even put on their own uniforms. They become caretakers of the presence of God, responsible for the maintenance of the tabernacle and experts in the procedures that ensure forgiveness for sin. But first they have to be dressed.

  The ordination ceremony during which they become authorized to enter the tabernacle and perform sacrifices is commanded in Exodus 29 and carried out in Leviticus 8–9. It may seem like an odd ceremony to us, but it contains all the elements of a bona fide ritual: separation, liminality, and reintegration.9 A ritual, by definition, changes someone’s status in a community and gives them a new identity. For that to work, the person in question must be set apart from everyone else and taken to a neutral zone, a liminal space where the ritual may be performed. Afterward, the person can rejoin the community with the new status. This is precisely what occurs in the priestly ordination ceremony. Aaron and his sons are separated from the people by bringing them to the “entrance to the tent of meeting”—literally a “liminal” space (remember, limen is the Latin word for doorway). There, Moses publicly washes and dresses them in their carefully crafted uniforms. Aaron’s sons wear white linen underwear, caps, and tunics tied with a multi-colored sash.

  Aaron himself wears the most elaborate of garments (see Figure 4.3). Over his white tunic (1) and multicolored sash (2) he has a blue robe (3), the hemline of which is decorated with alternating bells and tiny pomegranates made of bright thread. Over that he wears a multicolored apron threaded with gold (4). On his shoulder straps are two gemstones, each listing six of the twelve tribes (5). An attached chest panel is studded with twelve more gemstones (6), each one engraved with the name of one tribe. These gemstones daily remind Yahweh of his covenant commitment to the twelve tribes of Israel, and they ensure that each of the twelve has a place in his ministry. None can be marginalized or forgotten. They all belong. They are all Yahweh’s treasured possession. On his head, Aaron wears a turban (7) with a gold medallion tied with blue cords (8). The medallion reads “Holy, Belonging to Yahweh,” just two words in Hebrew, qodesh layahweh.

  These clothes make him what he is—a representative of every Israelite before Yahweh and a representative of Yahweh before the people. Aaron becomes part of the tabernacle, capable of carrying out effective rituals on Israel’s behalf. He traverses the space between the outer courtyard and the inner sanctuary, mediating between worlds. In fact, his clothes are an “inside-out tabernacle”:10 his most elaborate garments, woven with purple, blue, red, and gold thread corresponding to the materials of the innermost sanctuary, are his outermost layer. Underneath this, he wears the plain white linen of the outer curtains of the courtyard.11

  Figure 4.3. High priestly garments

  The high priest enters the center of God’s presence, the holy of holies, only one day a year, the Day of Atonement. When he goes in, we might expect him to bear the names of the Israelite tribes, but he does not. Rather, Aaron is instructed to wear only his plain linen tunic and turban, perhaps to symbolize his mediatory role between two worlds. On the Day of Atonement, he comes into Yahweh’s presence without pretense, wearing common clothes appropriate for the outer courtyard. Perhaps his simple clothes remind him that he doesn’t really belong in the most holy place.

  OPEN FOR BUSINESS: THE SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM

  Leviticus 1–7 may read like the priests’ employee handbook, but these chapters are actually everybody’s business. I’ll never forget listening to these chapters on audio with my son Easton when he was only seven. Nobody had warned him that Leviticus is boring. Much the opposite: we had watched The Bible Project Read Scripture video on Leviticus and the theme video on Atonement, so he was pumped and ready. As the narrator spoke, Easton was totally mesmerized. I could see the little wheels turning in his head as he tried to follow the logic of this ancient procedural text: intentional sin, unintentional sin, goat without defect, pair of birds, grain offering. Once, he asked me to stop the audio, puzzled: “Mom, I thought if they were too poor to bring birds, they could bring a grain offering. But it didn’t say that this time.” Easton’s absorption in these chapters was a demonstration to me of how ancient Israelites would have heard them—with great interest. This was a matter of both national security and personal well-being.

  The sacrificial instructions are laced with grace. Yahweh provides clear steps for restoration of a broken relationship and forgiveness of sin. The repeated refrain of these chapters is the jubilant proclamation, “and they shall be forgiven.”

  The sacrificial instructions are laced with grace. Yahweh provides clear steps for restoration of a broken relationship and forgiveness of sin.

  The priest’s training must have been somewhat like the training for a bank teller today. Rather than creativity, the job requires strict conformity to protocol. Money must be carefully accounted for using uniform methods. A teller cannot give money away when she’s in a generous mood, nor refuse service to customers if she’s feeling cranky. She cannot come up with her own system for tracking funds. The slightest deviation from bank rules will get her fired.

  The elevated status of Aaron and his sons does not allow them to do whatever they want. Like bank tellers, the Israelite priests dare not diverge from their training even a smidgen. There is no room for creativity in their work. They are
guardians of procedure and caretakers of protocol. To illustrate just how seriously they were to take their job description, Leviticus 9 offers a sobering account of their first day on the job. After preparing the necessary sacrifices to cleanse the community, “the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar” (Leviticus 9:23-24). God’s fire was proof that he accepted their offering. By consuming the sacrificial animal, the fire symbolically consumed their sin.

  The very next story in Leviticus 10 shows what happens when the priests take their own initiative in worship. Apparently, Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, have a creative itch, so they put unauthorized fire and incense in their censers and offer it before Yahweh. It’s not the time or the place or the method God commanded. He is not impressed. He strikes them dead: “So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD” (Leviticus 10:2). The same fire that consumed sin in the form of an offering in chapter nine, now consumes sinners who have the audacity to think they know a better way to worship Yahweh than what he commanded. Innovation is welcome in other areas of Israel’s communal life, but Yahweh cannot tolerate it in the tabernacle—the stakes are much too high. The purity of the entire community is on the line, and therefore their ability to live peaceably with a holy God in their midst.