Exodus 25 – The next
section deals with the construction of the “tabernacle” or “dwelling” [“ark of
the covenant” and “holy shrine” are other translations used] in great
detail. This tabernacle or ark will be
carried by the people as they go on their journey to the Promised Land; it
prefigures the Temple that will come later and perhaps even the Real Presence
we celebrate as Christians and the Inner Light that guides us in our lives.
“The Lord said
to Moses, ‘Tell the people of Israel to bring me their sacred offerings. Accept
the contributions from all whose hearts are moved to offer them” (25:1-2). The
offerings they make are to be used to build “a holy sanctuary so I can live
among them” (25:8).
The
specifications for the tabernacle are very precise: the ark is to be of acacia wood
2.5 cubits long, 1.5 cubits wide and high. A cubit was the length of a man’s
forearm. It should be plated inside and outside with gold with a molding of
gold around the top; four gold rings on the support that poles can pass through
to carry it.
The “stone
tablets” with God’s commandments on them are to be placed inside the ark. An “atonement [or purgation] cover” (25:17) of
the same size is to be made and two cherubim of beaten gold are to be placed on
each end of the cover with their wings spread to cover it. Their faces should be directed to the cover
of the ark. It is there that Moses will
meet with the Lord, and the commands of Lord will come to Moses there “from
above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of
the Covenant” (25:22).
A table of
acacia wood (smaller than the ark) is to be plated with gold and surrounded
with a frame a few inches high. It too
shall have rings and poles. There shall
be plates and bowls of gold, and on the table there shall “always” (“regularly”
says Schocken) be “showbread” or “Bread of the Presence” (25:30).
A lamp-stand
with three branches on either side, with cups shaped like almond blossoms. In
front of the lamp-stand there are to be seven lamps to illuminate the space in
front of the lamp-stand.
The Didache
Of Sunday Worship
14 – On the Lord’s Day, you are
to assemble, break bread and offer the Eucharist after making confession of
your faults. If there are conflicts among you, no one involved is the take part
in the ritual until they are reconciled (197).
Of Local Officials
15 – “You must choose or
yourselves bishops and deacons who are worthy of the Lord: men who are humble
and not eager for money, but sincere and approved; for they are carrying out
the ministry of the prophets and the teachers for you” (197).
“Reprove one another, but peaceably and not in
hot blood, as you are told in the Gospel” (197). Have nothing to do with those
who have done injury to their neighbor until they are reconciled. “In your
prayers, your almsgiving, and everything you do, be guided by what you read in
the Gospel of our Lord” (197).
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