A Giant Chiasm in Exodus 25-40 Centered on the Golden Calf

This chiasm tells us three things at the very least:

1. There is a right way and a wrong way to approach God. We cannot bring God down to us through the use of statues, icons, amulets, etc. He comes to us only in the time and place of His choosing and we have to meet Him there or not at all.
2. God's instructions (aka Torah) protect us from error. The Israelites made the calf because their hearts were unable to receive Torah directly. The stone tablets are an interim measure until we are able to receive the full Word of God as He intends. If we keep Torah faithfully, we will not resort to idolatry.
3. Shabbat, quite apart from the rest of Torah, also protects us. If we keep Shabbat in the way that God intends, we will be drawn closer to Him. Shabbat is as near God's presence is time as the Mishkan was in space.

Update: This chiasm is actually a little bit bigger than the image shows and spans six parshot.

• Exodus 24:15-25:2 (Mishpatim) - Glory of God, Moses, Sinai, fire, 40 days and nights on the mountain, in the sight of all the people
•  Exodus 25-30 (Terumah-Tetsaveh) – Mishkan (right way)
•  Exodus 31:12-17 (Ki Tisa) – Shabbat
• Exodus 31:18 (Ki Tisa) – Stone tablets
•  Exodus 32 (Ki Tisa) – Golden calf (wrong way)
• Exodus 34 (Ki Tisa) – Stone tablets
• Exodus 35:1-3 (Vayakhel) – Shabbat
• Exodus 35:4-40:33 (Vayakhel-Pekudei) – Mishkan (right way)
• Exodus 40:34-38 (Pekudei) – Glory of God, cloud, Moses, Mishkan, fire, day and night in the wilderness journeys, in the sight of all the people

And here is a 4th lesson from this additional point: The close presence of God isn't cozy. Even Moses couldn't approach God in all His glory without being destroyed by it.

Judeo-Christian Is Christian

For 1500 years Christian political & religious leaders tried to excise the "Jew" from Christianity. Gutenberg, with the assistance of Wycliffe, Tyndale, Luther, Lefèvre d'Étaples, and others, put an end to that by putting the Jewish scriptures--from Genesis to Revelation--into the hands of the people so they could read it for themselves.

The only way to take the "Judeo" out of "Judeo-Christian" is to take the Bible away from the people. Well, the cat's out of the bag, and there's no way to put her back in. Jesus was, is, and will always be a Jew, and "Christian" without "Judeo" is a half-pagan, clay-and-iron monstrosity that needs to be crushed.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with modern Judaism or the Talmud. It has everything to do with a Jewish Savior and a collection of divinely inspired writings penned almost exclusively by Jews. Any "Christian" system that denies its Jewish roots cuts itself off from its own nominative founder and messiah.

Restitution, not Vengeance

"An eye for an eye & a tooth for a tooth" was never meant to be understood literally. It's about restitution, not vengeance.

 The basics of Torah are simple and easy to understand, but there is also profound depth and an assumption of minimal mental competence. Torah was written for adults able to make logical connections, not for children who need everything spelled out.

“When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." (Exo 21:22-25)

Points to consider regarding this commandment:

• It is directed at people who have come before a court of law for an injury done to one person by another.
• It sets the financial penalty to be imposed by judges on a guilty party.
• It does not command anyone to remove another's eye, tooth, hand, or foot, nor to burn or strike anyone.
• Although it has applicability in principle, it is not directed at people involved in private disputes of any kind that have not been brought to court.
• It does not mandate that the injured person must accept the payment ordered by the court. 
• It does not mandate that the injured person bring the case to court at all.

A Chiasm in the Beatitudes

The Beatitudes don't represent different kinds of people so much as characteristics of a Christ-like character. Here are a few observations you might find interesting:

Yeshua presented the Beatitudes in a thematically chiastic structure. The first and last are thematically connected by the Kingdom of Heaven, the 2nd and 7th by a childlike characteristic, the 3rd and 6th by a condition of the heart, and the 4th and 5th by true righteousness.

The Beatitudes also represent a progression from a discovery of one's own sinful state to the ultimate selfless state of martyrdom.

1. The poor in spirit have realized their sinful state.
2. The mourners experience intense regret for their sin.
3. The meek are ready to approach the throne of Grace and receive the salvation that God offers despite their unclean state.
4. The newly penitent hunger to learn and exhibit righteousness.
5. The pursuit of righteousness reaches its culmination in the desire to give mercy just as we have received it.
6. The pure in heart are guiltless, having suppressed the evil inclination by the Spirit of God.
7. The peacemakers are ready to go into the world and spread the good news of forgiveness and salvation from sin.
8. The perfected follower of Yeshua is always ready to give his life for the Kingdom. He will be hated by the world because the world hated Yeshua first. The wicked cannot tolerate even the presence of the truly righteous.

Did Paul say the Sabbath & Kosher laws don't matter?

Colossians 2:16  Therefore, let no one judge you in matters of food and drink or with respect to a festival, a New Moon, or Sabbath days. 

Paul was absolutely NOT saying that Christians are free to ignore God's instructions concerning eating, drinking, and His appointed times. He clearly stated just a couple of sentences earlier that he was talking about man-made traditions that men had added to God's commandments and not the commandments themselves.

Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one enslaves you through philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to the Messiah.

His point was that we don't need to expend a lot of energy worrying about whether we're doing it all exactly right. We're not priests entering the Holy of Holies. We aren't going to be struck dead if we eat something God told us not to or if we don't understand exactly what God meant by "labor" on the Sabbath. Only God gets to set the rules--not theologians--and He is eager to forgive our mistakes.

Don't worry if you aren't tying your tzitziyot exactly the way some rabbi says you should or about whether or not tuna is kosher. (It is. ;-) ) Focus on obeying God's commandments, not man's, and on walking as Yeshua walked. It's not complicated.

A Chiasm Showing Moses' Family as a Microcosm of Israel

There's a chiasm in Exodus 18:1-11 that reveals Moses' family as a microcosm of the nation of Israel coming out of Egypt. Jethro brings Moses' wife and sons into the wilderness to meet Moses, while Moses brings God's bride and children into the wilderness to meet him at Sinai. See here for more info.

A Case in Point

Concerning unbelieving Jews, Paul wrote "For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. THEY ARE ISRAELITES, AND TO THEM BELONG THE ADOPTION, THE GLORY, THE COVENANTS, THE GIVING OF THE LAW, THE WORSHIP, AND THE PROMISES. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen."

Whatever else Paul wrote about the Jews must be reconciled with this very clear, unambiguous passage.

Handling Apparent Conflicts in Scripture

When two Biblical passages appear to conflict, you have three options:

1. Adjust your interpretation of one or both passages.
2. Reject the Bible as hopelessly muddled and contradictory.
3. Reject one or both of the Biblical books that contain the offending passages.

My advice is to always err on the side of caution and go with option 1, giving God the benefit of the doubt by interpreting the passages in a manner that makes Him both truthful and faithful.

This especially applies to any passages related to God's covenants and promises.

Update: For some Common Sense Bible Study, check out http://jaycarper.com/biblestudy.

What the Good Samaritan Did and Did NOT Do

But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ (Luke 10:33-35)

What the Good Samaritan did:

• Have compassion.
• Care for a stranger.
• Pay other people for services.
• Pay for a stranger to stay at an inn.
• Use his own personal resources.
• Inconvenience himself.

What the Good Samaritan did not do:

• Invite the man to live in Samaria.
• Invite the man to come home with him.
• Anything at all with multitudes of people.
• Take anyone's time, money, or resources against their will.
• Put himself in physical danger.
• Put his family in danger.
• Start a war against bandits.

Words Are Shadows of the Reality

Alphabets and vocabularies change. The shapes and pronunciation of letters change. New letters are invented and old ones abandoned. New words are coined while old words fall out of use. Slang becomes proper usage, while what once was proper becomes stilted and archaic.

Letters and words are just symbols. It's the meaning behind them that is important. Don't get so hung up on shadows that you forget the reality.

The Only Unacceptable Routes Are Standing Still or Going Backwards

Exodus 13:17

Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war… Ambition and drive can be good things. Sometimes people need to be pushed and a forward motion is the best plan, but a husband, father, leader, pastor must also think of his people and not drive them faster than they are able to go. Some lessons are very hard to learn and to accept. We must always be moving forward, improving our positions, but sometimes we have to move in a circuitous route or at an easy pace. The only completely unacceptable routes are standing still or returning to Egypt.

Exodus 13:18

But God led the people about... The people did not go where they wanted, and God did not lead them by the easiest route. He led them where he needed them to go. Israel, God's bride, was not in charge. She could make requests of him, but she could not issue demands without risking her own destruction. Following the example of Israel and her Husband, wives should follow their husbands even if that road leads into the wilderness or through the territory of giants.

The Sabbath Was Made for Man...

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, so it's ok to change it so it works for you and keep this day instead of that one.

Marriage was made for man, not man for marriage, so it's ok to change it so it works for you and keep this woman instead of that one.

The Bible was made for man, not man for the Bible, so it's ok to change it so it works for you and keep this book instead of that one.

That's how it works, right?

If you want to know more about how to keep the Sabbath, I wrote a 5 part series on it: All About the Weekly Sabbath.