Women of the Word

Exodus 29 & 30

Chapter 29

Verses 31-37

We continue our study of Exodus by completing Chapter 29, which is a wrap-up of the rules of priest ordination.  Meat is involved, in this case a ram that is to be eaten in front of the Tent of God’s presence. The priests are also to eat the bread that has been left outside the Tent as well. They should try to clean their plates. If that is not possible all leftovers must be burned for the food is sacred and cannot be eaten by ordinary man. This eating of ram must be done 7 days in a row. Ah, there’s that number again.  By doing this, the altar is made holy.

Verses 38-46

This reading tells us “for all time to come, sacrifice on the altar two one-year old lambs.” One in the morning and one in the evening. That’s a lot of lamb. The good news is that not all the meat must be made as an offering thus the non-priestly class will receive nourishment and the lambs will not have died in vain.  This rite is to be performed at the entrance of the Tent because God says, “That is where I will meet my people and speak to you.” The rest of the verse is God reminding us that we need to do this every day so that we all stay close to Him. I was struck by the tinge of loneliness in God’s words. It was like “if you come and spend time with me I will feed you and never leave you.” But I also believe that for all our flaws, God likes the company of us humans. God sounds like the parent of college-age children that he wants to have come home for the weekend. And then go back to school promptly Sunday night.

Chapter 30

Verses 1-10

The chapter starts right in with more DIY directions. This time we build an altar on which to burn incense. This altar is to be tended to by Aaron. There are to be no sacrifices on this altar or the burning of any forbidden incense. Since it calls for the burning “sweet incense.” I am guessing they are not to burn sour incense. Believe me, it’s out there. And I’ve wasted good money on it. Calling it “Honeysuckle Dreams” or “Inner Peace” is deceptive advertising. Ghastly. God commands that this offering of incense is to continue without interruption for all time to come. I instantly thought of all the eternal flames that there are in the world. Once a year, Aaron was to purify this altar with…wait for it…blood.

Verses 11-16

Is all about taxes. And this passage has some interesting loopholes in it.  First, rich and poor are to pay the same amount. This isn’t so much a tax (well, it is) but rather a “price” for one’s life. But perhaps most important of all, it states that only men age 20 and above are to pay this tax. Women are not included! Yeah, for once, being a second-class citizen does have a reward. We didn’t have to pay taxes. These collected monies were for the upkeep of the Tent.

Verses 17-21

This covers the making of a bronze basin in which the priests wash their hands. This tradition continues to this day in our services when the acolyte pours water over the priest’s hands at the start of communion.

Verses 22-23

We move away from handiwork to cooking of sorts. Here the Lord gives Moses the recipe for sacred anointing oil. As with all things in this chapter, the oil is only to be used by the priests to anoint themselves and the various sacred objects inside the Tent.

Verses 34-38

Another recipe, this one for incense. God admonishes them to not make this type of incense for personal use. Any one who disobeys this will no longer be considered one of God’s people. That is harsh but there it is.

Next Week: More rules about he making of holy handicrafts.

Respectfully submitted by Diana Lucas Leavengood