Gideon's sign was peace

In Judges 6:11–24 we read about how Gideon asks for a sign that the messenger was truly from the lord. The manual points out that this indicates that “messengers may sometimes be from the wrong source” and that it is important to tell the difference. In this instance the angel transformed the simple meal provided by Gideon into a burnt offering as a sign that he was from God. Then Gideon received peace in his heart which was also a sign. Gideon later built a monument to the lord there and called it Jehovah-shalom which means Lord of peace.

I think that Gideon miraculous experience parallels nicely with a common experience of those who exercise faith in the lord. Gideon offered the angel a modest meal and the Lord’s power was manifested which was followed by the Lord’s peace. I have found it to be common experience that I bring a modest offering to the lord and he is able to make what I can give to him so much greater. In these moments I often feel a quiet feeling of peace and I know through the spirit that the magnification of my efforts is as a result of his mercy and I am then able to more clearly see his hand moving in my life.

Greater Context

In Numbers 15:32–36 it is described how a man was found picking up sticks on the sabbath. The man was taken to Moses by the people because they did not know what should be done with him for violating the sabbath. Moses took the mater to the Lord and the Lord instructed them to stone the man to death which was then done.

At first blush this might seem like a brutal and frivolous waste of life but we must put it into context. As the manual points out the law of the sabbath and the consequences for violating it had just been explained to the Israelites and that this was an act of defiance to the law not merely an accident or an honest mistake. Even so one my wonder why there was such a harsh punishment for something as small as picking up sticks. Keep in mind that not long after this that the Israelites joined with the Moabites in ritualistic whoredoms in the worship of a false god. Such a large act of rebellion as a community does not happen out of the blue. It is led up to by rebellious thoughts, communication, and smaller acts. The lord knowing the hearts of the people knew how dire the nature of their proto-mutinous state. By having this individual stoned the Lord was removing a cancer from the people and sending a message to the people.

I also think that perhaps there may be additional context not included overtly in the text. A question we could ask ourselves is, for what purpose was the individual “gathering sticks”? first we must consider that God is just and good and we therefore can assume that he had good reason for his actions even if those reasons are not easily detected or understood. I think it is not unreasonable to conjecture that it was not just the picking up of sticks on the sabbath but also what the sticks were being prepared for. There are many instances in the scriptures of improper sacrifices being offered in rebellion, which are greatly sacrilegious acts. There are also many instances of various types of fiery tributes offered to false Gods such as the burned human sacrifices offered to Molech.

If this individual was gathering sticks on the sabbath for the purpose of sacrilegious or Idol worship then decisive action would be required. The manual also offers an additional line of reasoning as follows.

“think for a moment of what had just happened to Israel. They, as a nation, had despised the word of the Lord, first, by refusing to go up against the Canaanites when the Lord had told them to, and second, by going up against them after the Lord had told them not to. Thus, Israel had been denied entry into the promised land. Now, an individual despised the word of the Lord and refused to enter the rest required on the Sabbath. Just as Israel was to suffer death in the wilderness for their rebellion, so a rebellious individual must be punished with the same punishment. Otherwise, God would be inconsistent.”

a quick thought about Hebrew slaves Exodus 21:2-6

An interesting thing I learned this week, in regards to the law of Moses, is found in verses 2 through 6 of exodus chapter 21. The verse says the following:

“2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

3 If he came in aby himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.

4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.

5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:

6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.”

Pervious to reading this I did not know that A the Hebrews had slaves that were Hebrew or B that being a slave in some cases was voluntary. When I first read verse six I was confused and did not know what to think of part with the ear and the awl. In the manual it explains these practices in more depth as follows”

“His ear was then to be bored with an awl against the door or lintel of the house, and by this sign, which was customary in many of the nations of antiquity, to be fastened as it were to the house for ever. That this was the meaning of the piercing of the ear against the door of the house, is evident from the unusual expression in [Deuteronomy 15:17], ‘and put (the awl) into his ear and into the door, that he may be thy servant for ever,’ where the ear and the door are co-ordinates.” (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 1:2:130.)”

I had never before understood this practice. It is both symbolic and ceremonial, but it also seems to have the practical advantage of denoting the slaves situation within the context of the law of Moses. Since everything that that the Lord creates is created both physically and spiritually given that the law of Moses was authored by the Lord, I began to wonder what the spiritual reflections of this law might be. Or in other words I began to wonder what lessons could be gained on spiritual matters from this practical commandment. The conclusion I came to is that we are all like a servant when we are baptized. as we serve the lord we come to love him even more deeply then what led us to baptism. When we are truly converted we make covenants with the lord that further bind us to him and increase our commitment to him. In a way this is like getting our ears pierced with an all. We are stating to the lord that we never want to leave him and that we want to serve him forever.   

Jacob's Ladder

you have probably heard references to Jacob's ladder. you may have even read Genesis chapter 28 many times and still not understood what Jacob's ladder is. to explain Jacob's ladder let me begin by first summarizing the relevant content of Genesis chapter 28

at the begging of Genesis chapter 28 it says that Isaac blessed Jacob and commanded him to not marry a Canaanite. Isaac then commanded Jacob to go to Padan-aram to marry one of the daughters of Laban. In verse 10 Jacob begins the first leg of his journey to Padan-aram and leaves a place called Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. In verse 11 we find that while en route, Jacob stops for the night along the way and seems to have slept outside. In verses 12 through 15 Jacob has a dream wherein is featured the aforementioned ladder. and it says

"12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

  

13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

  

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

  

15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of."

in verse 16 Jacob wakes from his dream and acknowledges that he feels the Lord's presences in that place were he had dreamed. In verse 17 Jacob says "and this is the gate of heaven"

In the next three verses Jacob sets up a stone "pillar" or monument in a way that seems in line with ancient traditions of Hebrew temples. he then named the place Bethe-el which is a condensed version of the of the Hebrew words Beth Eloheim which is interpreted to me house of God.

Joseph Smith said “Paul ascended into the third heavens, and he could understand the three principal rounds of Jacob’s ladder—the telestial, the terrestrial, and the celestial glories or kingdoms” 

President Marion G. Romney explains that the rungs of the ladder were covenants. He further explains that the place Jacob made promises with lord, Bethel, was essentially like a temple and today modern temples can be a ‘gate to heaven’ for us like Bethel was to Jacob. President Romney further expounds that because Jacob kept the covenants he made, he not only approached the gate of heaven but ultimately entered in. I am grateful for men of God like Joseph Smith and President Romney for opening up the scriptures to me as they may have never have been otherwise.

Cain and Abel

This week I was studying in the Old Testament and I read again how Cain slew Abel. Cain was a "tiller of the ground" (Genesis 4:2) and so he attempted to offer the Lord a sacrifice consisting of "the fruit of the ground" (Genesis 4:3). This was in direct violation of the practice of animal sacrifice which had been instituted by God prior to this time. the Lord required a sacrifice that consisted of a lamb that was without blemish. a lamb without blemish being slain on an alter gave a powerful reminder of the sacrifice that Christ would one day make for them. by removing this symbol from the sacrifice, Cain had removed the powerful lessons of the atonement and reduced the ordinance to hollow and potentially sacrilegious ceremony. Cain, possibly, attempted to give what he grew as sacrifice as a way to adapt what the lord asked of him so that he would not have to go through the work of obtaining a proper sacrifice. after all, wasn't his fruit as good as his brother's flocks?  When Cain's sacrifice was rejected he became angry. the lord's response to Cain's anger is found in (Genesis 4:6-7)

"6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him."

The Lord was essentially saying to Cain, why are you angry? if you did what I asked, I would have accepted your sacrifice. The Lord then warned Cain that if were to not repent and he persisted in his wickedness that the adversary would gain power over him.

Instead of repenting, Cain became Jealous of his brother's Flocks and he united with the devil and slew Abel and obtained his property. Cain was then cursed and spent the rest of his life as a "a fugitive and a vagabond"

Abel died a righteous and justified man having had his sacrifice accepted of the lord. Cain died after a cursed life only to receive his just rewards. Cain's mistake, before he united with the devil and before killing his brother, was trying to remove Christ from his life to fit his circumstances and to gratify his pride. 

May we all learn from this lesson and make the sacrifices in our lives necessary to keep Christ at the center of our lives.