Publishing a Novel

 I have been writing since I was a child. Besides letters and cards to family and friends, and what was required at school, I probably did not start other writing until I was in my teems. That first writing consisted of notebooks full of observations about nature, mainly birds. I did dream of being an ornithologist at the time.

Twenty years later I was writing poetry. Then folks songs. A couple of articles for our national church-affiliated newspaper. Some 25 years ago I began to think of writing a novel. My first idea has still not come to fruition, nor my second. Perhaps three years ago, I began to think of a biblical historical fiction story - of Mary of Nazareth and her relationship with her firstborn son, Jesus, no less.

I tested it our by putting instalments on this blog, which some of you will have read. That began in March 2018. Today, I received my first copy of this novel in published form.  This is some 50% larger than what was on here, so those who have read it here will not have read it all. 

It is on sale at FriesenPress bookstore, the publisher. I think they have a pretty good deal for you. Amazon and Kindle also have it on their website. I also have a goodly number of copies which I can get to you for a pretty good price.

Here is a photo from the 'unboxing video' that happened today, as filmed by my daughter. The movie is on my FB account but it's too big to upload here.

No Room in the Inn? Not Likely

 

The “Christmas Story” most of us know is likely not historically accurate. Oh, we know that no one knows for sure about when Jesus was born. But, as you can guess from my title, what we have been told is probably not even correct as far as to where Jesus was born.

 

If we take the time to really read the biblical sources, we know that only two of the four Gospels have a story of Jesus’ birth. The first, the Gospel according to Matthew, actually says nothing about where Jesus’ birth took place when it talks of his being born (Matthew 1:18-25). Place only comes up when the story of the ‘wise men’ follows. They had gone to Jerusalem, the capital city, thinking that was obviously where the king would be born as that was the home of the king. Then it is told that the learned men of Jerusalem, called upon by King Herod to answer the question of where a king was to be born, finds that the prophet Micah, some six or seven centuries earlier, had prophesied that this king would be born in Bethlehem. This is seen as appropriate as he was to be a descendant of Israel’s most beloved king, David, and that is where David was from. Indeed, as we know from the story, the wise men did go to Bethlehem where they were led by the ‘star’ they were following to Jesus. 

 

The other, the Gospel according to St. Luke, places Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. From Luke 1:26 and 2:4 we learn that Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, were from Nazareth, up north in Galilee. However, according to Luke 2:4-5, they had to travel to Bethlehem, in the Judean hills six miles south of Jerusalem, for census purposes because they were descendants of David.

 

So, that’s the town. But where in the town? That’s where we have likely got it wrong.  The oldest Greek manuscripts of the Gospels we have say Jesus was born in a kataluma. This is the place for guests in a home, literally, above or ‘beside the room’, room her meaning the main area of the home. The fact that Mary laid her newborn in a manger then clues us into that because the guest room was full, they slept on the periphery of the spacewhere most household activities took place. It was on the border between that and where the family’s animals would be kept for the night for safety. The living quarters were raised a few feet above the level of the animals. On the edge of that transitional space were indentations, space to hold feed for the animals, so they could eat from it at will. This is the Middle Eastern ‘manger’, not a wooden structure that we know from the places we in the West keep animals. It was into this place, Mary laid Jesus, right beside where she and Joseph slept off to the side of where most household activities took place. 

Middle Eastern people are among the most hospitable on earth. They always had room for strangers. If they really did not, a neighbor would take them in. Some villages even had a special guest room built above a home which villagers took turns looking after to host guests in. There was severe censure for lack of hospitality, if not from society, maybe from God. Even the Bible speaks of this. Sodom and Gomorrah were burned for their utter lack of hospitality for God's own representatives (Genesis 19). These customs continue even into the early 21st century, as my wife and I can attest to. On our travels to the Holy Land we were shown hospitality by Jews, Muslims and Christians, sometimes together, whether it was in a restaurant, as is often the case nowadays, or in homes, the latter even in refugee camps!

 

So, how did we go wrong? Kenneth Bailey, who grew up partly in Egypt and spent most of his working life studying and teaching in the Middle East, believes it is due to a non-canonical writing (a ‘book’ that did not make it into the Bible) called The Gospel of James. Here is where the story says Mary gave birth to Jesus immediately on her arrival to Bethlehem, so where else but in the place for animals as there was, ostensibly, ‘no room in the inn’. What does the Bible say about that? Luke 2:6, our only source, simply says “while they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child” (NRSV). No idea about whether that was hours or days later! 

 

It appears to be from the Gospel of James where the ‘no room in the inn’ story originated. This writing had proven so popular, so captured the imagination of the Western Church, that it obviously influenced the translation of the King James Version and very other translation into English that that followed. It might also have been accepted as the main narrative as it seems to fit with the idea of Jesus giving up everything, heaven and all its glory, riches and power, to begin life at the lowest level of humanity to really identify with us. 

So, if we accept all of this, likely more authentic, alternative tradition, what does that do with this longstanding theology? Here’s where further understanding of this core Middle Eastern hospitality comes in. Both being of the line of David and coming to his hometown, Joseph and Mary would have been enthusiastically welcomed ‘home’ as long-lost relatives. They would have been looked after as well as conditions permitted. The guest room was occupied, as were in all probability, most of them in Bethlehem, because of others from David’s line coming back to Bethlehem for the census. Mary, being pregnant, probably slowed down the couple’s travel and they arrived later than most.

 

Yes, John writes in his Gospel (1:11), “he came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” This refers not to Jesus the infant, but to the grown man, who was not accepted because his actions and teachings were too much for his people, the Jews as a whole. If we discard this ‘Jame’s’ writing and accept that Joseph and Mary were welcomed by family, what could be better?  God was the one who first ordained family, according to Genesis. What could be more fitting that his Son was born into family? And in the home of his illustrious ancestor? It simply underscores the importance of family. 

 

 

 

The Acts of God in My Life

The Bible contains numerous references to The Acts of God. The Psalms, in particular, often refer to these and how the writer will tell of them. Sometimes it is written that they will be shared in ‘the assembly’ or in ‘the congregation’ (nowadays we would say 'church') or even ‘to the nations.’ Sometimes the writer states he will tell of them in return for what God has done for him. 

I believe these examples suggest we who claim also to believe in the same God should continue to tell of the Acts of God in our histories. Let me begin speaking of my history. I have written earlier of our need to tell of the God-stories in our lives, as a testimony to how we believe this has taken place. Here's a summary of mine so far. 

 

In the first place, I thank God for being born into a heritage of some 400 years of Anabaptist Christianity. I must at the same time be thankful that my ancestors, at least enough of them, survived severe persecution directed at them at the time by the Roman Catholic Church, but not only that. The Christian Reformed Church also persecuted them. I don’t think the Lutherans were quite as active in that way.

 

In an effort to escape this persecution, my ancestors moved from the Netherlands and northwestern Germany to what is now once again Poland. From there, one of my mother’s ancestors, Jacob Hoeppner, was instrumental in a move of his people from there to what was then Southern Russia. This was at the turn of the 19^th century at the invitation of Queen Catherine the Great. They got off to a rough start there but things improved and more came to join their number, settling in many villages in what is now Ukraine, north of the Black Sea.

 

Again, my ancestors were blessed in choosing to leave this area when they did, in the 1870s (my mother’ side) and early 1900s (my father’s side). In so doing, they escaped the horrors of the Russian Revolution and the anarchy unleashed then. They were fortunate in being able to settle in Southern Manitoba, which, after again an initial tough beginning, turned into fertile farmland so they prospered.

 

Then, in the mid-nineteen-forties, God led my father to Manitoba where he met and married my mother (his family had moved to Saskatchewan very shortly after his birth).  I was thus provided with the most wonderful, loving, caring and generous Christian parents and grandparents. Our parents encouraged us in many ways. They spent time with us, in work and play. They introduced us to things in the world, took us on trips.  The responsibilities I was given in my teens, the gifts I got, the trips I went on with my father, all showed me how much they loved and trusted me.

 

As a missionary family, we lived in what were then somewhat remote communities in Manitoba through my childhood. There were many benefits to growing up in such locations. I learned to appreciate nature and the indigenous habitants of our land. When I was about to turn sixteen, we moved to Winnipeg. This allowed me to get a better education academically for the last two years of my public school life.

 

I am also thankful that my ancestors had the vision and foresight to join more progressive branches of the Anabaptist tradition. As such, I was able to go directly to our denomination’s newly university-cross-registered college in Winnipeg after high school.  This was a wonderful experience in broadening my horizons, learning and also in experiencing Christian community, when I lived on campus two of the three years there. I had been mentored and given experience in youth leadership in our church. In college, I was able to join a choir and travel across the West visiting churches; itself an experience in seeing God at work in many lives and many places. I was also able to serve in the dormitory and on the student council. 

 

Father’s work in the city, the connections he had made as a chaplain, provided an opportunity for me to get a good job in a hospital on graduation after three years at Canadian Mennonite Bible College. Meanwhile, the family lad left Winnipeg for Saskatchewan. In the spring of 1968 I followed them. I thought there was a young woman there I had met in college whom I would marry but God had other plans. However, those years were again ones of growth in the church – teaching Sunday school in two different churches. I also gained more experience in leading in youth work where I developed many good and long-lasting friendships. 

 

I had also been blessed to have two parents who were good singers and mother was a good organist and pianist. She got me started on playing the piano and ensured I took more lessons beyond what she started, reaching a Grade VI level. Father had also tried violin and so my parents had me start for one year on that instrument but then the teacher moved away and that was never continued. I continued with the piano, even playing in church and for choir. I was also blessed with a natural tenor voice and learned early to sing harmony with my siblings on our parents’ missions deputation visits to churches. This gift was fostered with more choir singing in church, in college and in high school. In Saskatoon, I got more involved in music, including beginning to write once I taught myself to play a guitar my stepmother was kind enough to lend me.

 

From when I graduated college and after I also gained experience in preaching and other church leadership work. On two occasions, I almost became a pastor. However, God had called me, when in college, into medicine and it required a move back to Manitoba to get into Medical College. I realized shortly how God had a hand in that. From first year, I became involved in the very supportive Christian Medical and Dental Association, which also taught me a lot through the examples of other physicians and an opportunity for leadership here too.

 

Even more to the point, in third year I was able to take part in an elective in medicine in a Mennonite mission hospital in Taiwan. This led to me being introduced – in Winnipeg, though, not in Taiwan - to a young woman who eventually became my wife. We began to go out in earnest in fourth year. However, her parent resistance meant it took another two years before we could marry and begin our life together. I know God led me to Winnipeg for these reasons -  a supportive medical community, church and my wife-to-be. Go supported us both through the long difficult time from when we first pledged ourselves to one another till when we were actually able to be together. 

 

The church I refer in Winnipeg to was the one I had been part of when a youth in Winnipeg. Now, I became a choir leader, a Sunday school teacher, Music Committee member and then chair, and was involved with a good youth group and small group. 

 

Life was not without its struggles. Our mother died when I was in my last year of high school. Then I got mumps. All of that did not help my academic record. It took me three tries to get into medical school, but that helps develop persistence and patience and keeps one humble. So did failing a key exam in second year medicine, but I passed the oral make-up. I failed the College of Family Practice Examinations at the end of my Family Practice residency too, but passed on appeal. 

 

God then led Anne and I to a small community for the beginning of my medical practice. I worked with a good mentor for the first year. Here again, over time I became the medical director of the health unit and even vice-chair of the local health board. We found a good and welcome church home with more Mennonites. Again, God allowed me to use my abilities to teach Sunday school and be involved with bibles study groups. There were difficulties related to the delivery of health care in this community. I tried to mediate in some ways but my efforts were not appreciated and those I had considered friends ended up not appreciating me, but we got through that.

 

Anne turned into a strong believer and follower of The Way, especially the Anabaptist way. She became a member of the church in Gladstone on baptism. I had gone through that in the Bergthaler Church in Winnipeg. I had a good supportive minister there in Ernest Wiebe who baptized me and later married Anne and I.

 

When things got stressful work-wise in Gladstone, God opened the way for us to move into wonderful home and another welcoming church community in Brandon. I was also able to join a good collegial group of physicians. In this church, I was also able to develop further abilities in teaching, worship leading and even preaching. Perhaps in part because I was away at residency when it happened, my wishes to have done more to prevent and heal a split that occurred in our church here did not materialize. However, we carried on and things were still good for us with the group we were left with. We made some very good friends who remain so to this day. 

 

Here again, I went through a time of testing when a colleague reported me to the College of Physicians and colleges for alleged improper prescribing. My psychiatrist supervisor where I was working part time said I was just being compassionate and ahead of my time, but that did not help.  I had to leave the practice for 6 weeks of remedial training in Winnipeg. However, even here, God provided in the form of a scholarship from the College of Family Physicians to help cover the cost of that period when I did not work.

 

In spite of my being away from the family for 5 days out of 7 when in the psychiatry residency a few years later, God looked after my family. God has given me a most loving, loyal, capable and longsuffering wife and she managed things very well. Our son Ansel had a fracture and a leg cyst that got infected and needed surgery. Both children needed congenital hernia surgery. But all happened all right.

 

Then, after our daughter’s graduation, we had a real test of faith and found again how great it is to have a supportive family and faith community. Thanks to much help and many prayers, Anika went through some very difficult times over the period of the first couple of years out of high school. However, she came out of that all right and went on to graduate from university, away from home, in Montreal, as her brother had done. This really helped deepen Anika’s own faith in seeing all these prayers answered, in experiencing the support she did.

 

In 2004, for several reasons, we began to seriously consider moving from Manitoba to the west coast. A British Columbia physician matching service quickly picked up my case and in a few months, I had five interviews to attend: five different communities, workplaces, to choose form. All were new. How to choose? We prayed and drew lots. Richmond – which we knew least of. Questioning that, we repeated the process – same answer. After we moved to this city we soon realized why God had led us here. It was at a time when many Chinese were immigrating to Canada. Some of them were searching, for what they did not really know. However, they came to our church. Again, we fairly shortly found what has turned into a good church home. This time, it was Anne’s turn to be able to use her knowledge of language and culture to make connections with these immigrants and a number have become members of our church and personal friends. Anne helped with Sunday School here as she had in Brandon. We jointly led an immigrant bible study and taught that for years. I got on to the Missions and Service arm of the church council a couple of times. We ended up joining and then leading small groups again. 

 

Finally, I retired, at age 69. The following year it was my turn for a health crisis.  I required surgery for a bowel obstruction but God provided quickly a very capable surgeon who was able to operate in such a way that the physical aspect of the procedure hardly interfered with my life.  When this recurred a year later, God calmed it before it grew to need another procedure or surgery. 

 

Our extended family life has not always been easy either. Interestingly, on Anne’s side it has turned out to be more consistent and supportive. On my side the vagaries of a blended family, having a stepmother etc., have presented their own difficulties. However, we have navigated all of this well enough. Last year my father died, three months after Anne’s mother. Her father had died five years earlier. Our stepmother is developing dementia but even there, God has provided. Our parents were able to get into a very good and inexpensive Assisted Living facility near where they lived. When father, unfortunately, ended up in hospital a month later and it was deemed he could not return there, it was only two months before he got into a good care home next to the hospital. This was close enough so mother could go and see him very day by walking on her own. 

 

This year, we got the Covid virus in our community and world. Fortunately, father had passed on three months earlier. It would have been very difficult for our parents to have experienced the separation that would have called for. Even mother’s dementia has been somewhat of a blessing in this. She is happy in the world that is her Assisted Living facility and has not troubled us with wanting more. None of our family, indeed no on we know, had so far contracted Covid, so that is also a blessing at this time for which we thank God. 

The Chickens Have Come Home to Roost

 

“So, you want me to wear a mask so you will feel safer? I’m telling you, it’s my right not to wear a mask.” Words to that effect have been heard too many times already in recent months, mostly in our neighbor to the south, the United States of America. This while Covid-19 infections rates are soaring to new heights. The speaker is implicitly accusing the other of being selfish. Might s/he be selfish too? I’ll leave the reader to decide who is most selfish in this scenario. 

 

Phrases such as these are the result of reading America’s founding documents too literally. Interestingly, many of the same people read the scriptures too literally and also use them as weapons in their arguments. In this line of thinking, we’ve also heard words to the effect of, “God made my body and he made the air for me to breathe freely and I don’t need a mask in between.” Or, “God will protect me.”

 

What we have here is a convergence of individualism and fundamentalism. In other cases, it is an extreme view of civil rights, libertarianism. Relativism also plays into this. Everyone is their own interpreter of laws, of the Bible, of everything. Community and altruism suffer.  

 

Where does this come from? How did we get to this place? Some trace it all the way back to the Enlightenment. The rational thought that originated there is what informed the founding fathers of the USA’s first documents and declaration, which speaker(s) such as the one(s) quoted to begin with point to in support of their stance.

 

Others point to the “God is Dead” movement, of which one of the earliest proponents was German philosopher Friedrich Nietszche. He, in fact, predicted precisely where we are at over 100 years later. His life trajectory paralleled where society can end up if we follow his philosophy to its extreme – he ended up with a complete loss of his intellectual and cognitive abilities. 

 

The existentialism, post-modernism and post-structuralism which followed really gained momentum with the hedonism of the ‘60s. Any reference point outside of man was out the window. There were no absolutes. All of which brings us to where we are today. Living in a moral vacuum with real leadership in short supply. The title under which I write this can also be summed up in two quotes from The Ancient Writings which many know, “”They sow the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind (The Ancient Sayings 8:7),” and the writings of Amabassador Paul to the Galatian Church, “”You reap whatever you sow (6:7).”

 

To be sure, not all have bought into all this thinking. There are still good people out there, those who do show that they are made in God’s image. They can be found in every society, in every religion, in every profession and occupation, in every neighbourhood. There is still hope. In fact, right after that line to the Galatians, Witness Paul writes, “Let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all (6:9-10).” Those, my friends, are the words we should live by. Those words embody a spirit that rises above individualism and selfishness. Those are the words that someone who will wear a mask might be living by.

The Arc of God’s Story IV: Tabernacle & Temple

2020 6 7  – W. Pratt

 

This message was spoken for our congregation on the above date. I am sharing it here for your benefit. There are some good diagrams to go with this but I was unsuccessful in loading them. You can see them at the Youtube site where this message is recorded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0JrGz70TS4&t=1483s

We have been camping with the Israelites in the Exodus story the past two weeks. 

1.    In the first week, we saw how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt and we also notice how God restored them to our high calling as priests and rulers in God's kingdom. 

2.    Last week, my good friend Matt Kitchener spoke about the special covenant God

established with them. God gave them words of wisdom for their life together as his people.

Now, God is finally ready to come and dwell on earth again. What an exciting moment it's been. Nearly 500 years since the call of Abraham. It's a major moment in the arc of God's story. This was the real physical in-person presence of God coming to be with humanity on a permanent basis again. This was nothing short of Eden being restored.

God's grand plan was still on track and God's great desire to be with us is being fulfilled.  God tells Moses to build a tabernacle that is a special tent like structure for him to dwell in. It was meant to be portable so that it could travel with them on their journey. This is what God says: have them make a sanctuary for me and I will dwell among them. Then God gives him detailed instructions about its construction and its purpose, saying make this tabernacle and all of its furnishings, exactly like the pattern that I will show you. 

What was that pattern? What did the tabernacle look like? It had a three-part structure.

1.    There was an outer courtyard enclosed by a fabric fence.

2.    Then there was a tent inside that was divided into two sections. The outer section was

called the Holy Place.

3.    The inner section at the far end, at the back end was called the most holy place of all, the Holy of Holies.

It was a tent with three chambers, so we can ask ourselves the question, what did it signify?

This is where things get really, really interesting. It's three partitions have clear echoes back to earlier elements in the story. 

So, allow me to drop in at three points in the past. This may sound a little bit technical but I promise to keep it simple. It will become clear as we connect the dots and the payoff will be

totally worth it. I promise that you won't be able to read those old stories in the same way again. 

(1)  First, think back to Genesis 1 and 2. God created the world, the cosmos, as a temple palace for him to live in. Remember also the important interpretive principle that we

mentioned right at the start of the series. Here it is again: the principle is this. The Bible is written for us but not to us. What does it mean? It was written for our instruction and for our benefit, but it was written for an ancient audience. It was written in the symbolic language that they were familiar with, where they stood; it worked with their conception of the world. Then, it slowly reshaped it so what do we see in the creation story is that the universe has a three-fold structure, as illustrated here.

1.    First, there is the realm in which God lives, the realm beyond all the other realms.

2.    Secondly, there is the celestial realm that is the domain of the visible heavenly bodies like the Sun and the moon and the planets and the stars.

3.    Thirdly, there is the earthly realm, the space and the domain where we live and a place that we inhabit: the land, the sea, the rivers and the air.

What was striking about the Bible's unique story of creation was its different worldview: That the world was made by a single God, Yahweh, not many gods and also that the material world was a good place set up for Humanity and all the other creatures to thrive and to flourish.

This is mind-blowing stuff to an ancient who counted the world as chaotic and unpredictable and a dangerous place. There's more. Even more astounding than this is the fact that God chose to come down and to make earth, this place, his home and he chose humanity to rule as vice-regents and ministering priests in his kingdom for him. Mind-blowing stuff to an ancient:  a good God doing good things for our benefit so we can flourish was totally unthinkable. 

However, the important thing for you and I to see today is that God was to choose to be with us; God was coming down to dwell with us. This is what God was saying in their language. I'm pitching my tent here on earth with you. He was, in a sense, ‘tabernacling’ amongst them, so that's the universal picture.

(2)  Secondly, what about earth? our dwelling place. It turns out that our domain has a three-part structure too, from the Genesis story. Eden was the sacred space or the sanctuary

with God's presence, where he came to rest, to reside. 

Now, a close reading of the text allows us to see that Eden was in fact separate from the garden. This is what Genesis says: Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden and

there he put the man that he had formed. A little later it says this: a river watering the garden flowed out from Eden. From there we are told that it flowed out to the four corners of the known

world.

This is the picture that we get, as shown below:

1.    First there is God's sanctuary on earth, where his presence resides. The River of Life flows out from Eden to the earth and it has its source right there. 

2.    The garden is alongside and it's where Adam and Eve live. They tend to it on God's behalf and they're also sustained by its abundance of trees for food.

3.    Tthen, thirdly, beyond the garden is the rest of the world. it is not yet neat and orderly like the garden and they are commanded to multiply and to fill it and also to bring order to it.

Let's pause for a moment to take that picture in. God's desire is for his glory to fill the earth and his wise rule to be extended across the world. How was he planning to do this? Through Adam and Eve and we can say by extension through us, through you and through me. Consider this as we rightly live into our identity as image bearers and as we properly fulfill our calling as godly rulers. We take God's presence and God's glory with us into the world, yet God intends to fill the earth with his glory through us. What a noble calling we have as the people of God in Christ. We carry the kingdom of Jesus, the kingdom that he inaugurated with us wherever we go. Or rather, I could say it this way: we should be carrying the kingdom with us wherever we go.

The next question is, this whose kingdom is reflected in our life and witness? God's kingdom or the kingdom of the ruler of this world. That's a poignant question and let's be honest we see that being played out before us in America right now. Now let me say that Canada is not exempt from criticism either. We know that we have a similar track record in this regard - but this is topical in America at the moment, especially in light of the killing of George Floyd and the outpouring of anger over anti-black racism that has followed. The evangelical church there has been composed by the politics of nationalism in some quarters.

The agenda of the church has become somewhat conflated with the agenda of the state and the church seems to be endorsing power in order to bring about its version of the kingdom. You could say Jesus's kingdom looks like the kingdom of conservative America and many are watching and asking whose interests are you serving. More pointedly, whose image is shining through you?

So, I want us to remember Jesus's words to Peter when Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus at his arrest. Jesus said to him, put your sword back in its place Peter. Those who take up the sword will die by the sword.  In other words, that's not the way that my kingdom will come in and that's not consistent with the values of my kingdom. 

The thing for us to note is that God intended to extend the character and the rule of his kingdom through us.  What an amazing privilege. Except - we were kicked out of the garden and we were sent into exile beyond Eden because we had become defiled by sin. We got banished from the personal presence of God and the way back to Eden was blocked and heavily guarded. 

What does God do? God begins anew with Abraham and Sarah. He chooses this elderly pair to make a new start to achieve his purposes and his plan. He promises them a land of their

own and he also promises them that he will make them fruitful and they will become a large nation. He promises to extend his blessings to the rest of the world through them.

Where we are we today? Around 500 years pass and they have faced many hardships and tests including slavery. Then God steps in to rescue and restore them through Moses and makes a covenant with them as they prepare to enter into the Promised Land.

One more picture and then we will return to the sanctuary. Moses was told to hold the Israelites camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, but God calls Moses and 70 of the elders of Israel up

to the mountain to meet with him there. They go up but not all the way and God appears and they see what looks like the underside of God's footstool. They have a theophany, a vision of God. It's a powerful picture of God's feet resting on the mountain, in a sense showing that the earth has become his footstool. Later, only Moses can ascend to the top to meet with God to

receive the tablets of stone and while there Moses is engulfed in a cloud of God's presence.

As we consider the scene, again we notice a three-fold structure, as seen here:

1.     There is the outer zone for the ordinary people. They must stay at the base of the mountain and not touch it and not approach it. 

2.    The middle zone is for the chosen representatives, those seventy elders. They can ascend and get closer but they can't go all the way up. 

3.    God's special presence is right at the top and only Moses can meet with God there. 

The feature for us to note is the increased levels of holiness as you get closer to God. The closer you get the more restricted the access. Also important for us to see is that you can't just approach God in any way to get in close.

Now we come back to the tabernacle and I want us to note the gradations of holiness and the levels of access, again as illustrated:

1.    The ordinary people could come into the courtyard for worship and in the courtyard, there was an altar for animals to be sacrificed by the priests and there was also a large basin for ritual washing and cleansing. Together they can note our need to be forgiven and to be washed and cleansed from sin. 

2.    Then the next part, the second, there was the middle part the, holy place only the priest could enter. It contained the seven-branched menorah, a reminder of the tree of life in 

the garden. There was also a table for the bread of God's presence or the showbread reminding them of God sustenance in the garden. There was also an altar for incense, a symbol of the

prayers of the people going up before God. Again, a beautiful picture.

3.    Then there was the innermost zone, what we refer to as the Holy of Holies. It contained the Ark of the Covenant with its two tablets of stone. The lid of the ark was called the 

atonement seat or the atonement cover. 

God spoke to Moses from above this cover. His voice could be heard from above the seat. Only the high priest could enter into that chamber and only once a year. This place symbolized the holy presence of God himself on earth. In a sense this was where heaven and earth came together once again and we could say just like in Eden. 

As we think about this I want us to note that the outer zone is the zone furthest away from God. It's like the outer zone of the garden. I also want us to note the middle zone for the priestly representatives like Adam and Eve in the garden. Then note the most holy place where God dwelt is like Eden from which flows the river of life that sustained all of the earth. 

This threefold pattern is full of resonances to God's original plan and God's great desire. The designs mirror each other because they reflect the same intent by God. The tabernacle brings us back to God's presence so that the blessings of Eden can flow out from God to the world.

Bringing this home for us today - if the Bible is written for us, what does all of this mean? That's a good question and important for us to consider. 

1.    Firstly, it shows that God's great desire remains to be with us and it also shows us the great lengths to which God will go to make that desire happen. He was slowly but surely 

working out his plan. in a sense. the goal may have been long in coming from our standpoint but his sovereign hand was at work keeping things on track all the time. I want us today to take comfort in this. Take comfort in this thought. We so easily lose hope during those long stretches between the mountaintop experiences but these stretches call for patient steadfast faith and hope. It was 500 years between Abraham and Moses and it was also 430 years between Joseph and Mount Sinai. Faith is holding on

to God's promises even when the results that we expect are not immediately forthcoming.

Nothing can stop these purposes from being achieved for God’s people. How long between Eden in the beginning of the story and Sinai where we are right now? Who knows? Maybe millennia but eventually though things do come together for good according to God's plan.

2.    Secondly, it also reveals that God by His grace makes a way for us to be restored into a right relationship with himself again. What wonderful news that is. The entrance back into 

the garden in a sense has been reopened and the barrier has been removed through the sacrifice of atonement. We can be close to God again and we can approach God without being

consumed by the fire of his holiness because of our sin. God has established a way for us to be forgiven and cleansed and to be at peace with him.

3.    Thirdly it highlights the centrality of God's presence and his word. Keep in mind the two are inseparable in worship and what we are doing today. We draw near to God's

presence and we listen to God's voice through his word. I could put it this way. There is no proper word apart from God's presence. If he is not there, there is no worship. Neither can we live out our call without being grounded in God's Word.  His presence and his word are inseparable. ere in the story we see that God moves in the midst of his people to be at the center of their life together and to lead them in the way that they should go. 

The tabernacle as we saw it was a portable tent to go with them on their journey. The temple that came later was God's fixed abode once they were settled in the land. The temple had the same design and structure. It's important for us to remember that that reality is the same for us today, whether we are wandering or whether we are settled, whether we are gathered for worship or whether we are scattered into the world.

In order to serve, Christ's presence is real and with us by the power of his spirit. Christ shapes and leads us by the power of his word so whether we meet virtually or whether we meet in person, worshipers offering praise and giving thanks to him for his great goodness.

We also come into God's presence as priests interceding for others and interceding for the world, bringing their needs to God and mediating God's love and God's blessing back to them. What a wonderful picture for us. We also come into his presence as disciples learning from his word how to live as his people and also how to bear witness as God's image bearers and as ambassadors for Christ.

God's great desire is to be with us and to fill us with this presence, to make this a reality in

our lives.  The invitation is always open: will you follow Christ? Will you choose to become part of God's great love story for his world. This is what I hope that you will do today.