AbovePerfection

      This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled Sh'mini, which means "8th Day". The reading portion includes Lev. 9 through Lev. 11. The title comes from Lev. 9:1: "It came to pass (haya/hava/ava - exist, become (like), be established, to be finished/existence, shall be, become, breathe, the breath of living creatures, to live/ negatively, the root ava mentioned above includes the meaning: lust, greatly desire, covet, be greedy, crave, long for, turn aside) on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel." There is a positive and a negative meaning associated with the phrase "It came to pass", as we can see. Breathing life is created, existence is established, or the opposite of life - the darkness of heart that leads to sin and death is established.

     We see here in the meaning of the Hebrew of this verse that something became alive and breathing, came into existence on the eighth day. "Eighth" in Hebrew is semini. It is an ordinal number, showing a progression in order like sixth, seventh, eighth, and so on. The root words connected to semini: semone and samen, refer to "a surplus above the perfect seven" and "fatness, plenteousness". There is also a root word, saman, which can mean to shine from fat or oil, or, in a negative sense, to be covered in the grossness of fat, and to cover the heart with fat to render it callous so as not to heed the words of the prophet (see Isa. 6:10). Again, we can have a positive or negative result when going "above the perfect seven". The abundance above the seven can work two different ways depending upon the heart of the person. In another reading portion from this Sabbath, Solomon wrote of a man having great plenty in every way, "but his soul be not filled with good (tob - goodness, beauty, favor, gladness, joy, delight, merry, agreeable, to do rightly)". It would have been better, Solomon wrote, if that man had been a stillborn child rather than to not to see this goodness. He calls it vanity and an evil affliction (Eccl. 6:1-6). Good and goodness are part of the character and name of God (see Ex. 34:5-7, Ps. 23:5-6). Psalm 23 is an "eighth day Psalm" to me, incorporating the eighth day blessings of abundance, which are those blessings that result from exceeding above the perfection of "seven". We will read about those blessings and where they come from later.

     However, we see a problem today. We have a very prosperous society, but there is sickness of heart and mind, an evil affliction as Solomon wrote, because we consume the bounty, the fatness, but we as a society have systematically and deliberately removed the knowledge of the goodness of God. Without being able to incorporate that goodness, having all of earth's riches sickens the soul rather than gladdens it. Without the goodness that is rooted in God, Solomon wrote that man has no hope or future regardless of how much wealth he has or how long his days are (v. 10-12). Rather than the eighth day blessing, we are living the eighth day curse. Let's now see what happened on the eighth day in Lev. 9.

     The eighth day in Lev. 9 marks the beginning of the priests' ministry, after Aaron and his sons spent seven days of consecration, being set apart as holy. So in numeral order, the eighth day is above or beyond the perfection of the seven of consecration. This priestly ministry started with peace offerings, sin offerings and burnt offerings made to the LORD to make atonement for the priests and the people. This eighth day would be a special day: "...for today the LORD will appear to you...and the glory of the LORD will appear to you." (v. 4, 6). From the sacrifices, Aaron's sons "presented (masa - find, attain, suffice, deliver, secure, to meet, to encounter, to detect, to discover, to come to, obtain knowledge of, be in possession of) to him the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar (mizbeah/zabah - altar/to slaughter, kill, sacrifice, to slaughter in divine judgment)." (v. 18).  After the offerings were completed, the LORD kept His promise: "Then Aaron lifted (nasa - lift up, bear up, carry, forgive, be exalted, take up) his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down (yarad - descend, sink down, go down alive into Hades [see Ps. 55:15-16], those who go down to the grave) from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces." (v. 22-24). This was an awesome eighth day event. The glory and fire of the LORD answered their offerings.

     The Hebrew word for blessing used above as Aaron blessed the people, also contains the meaning "to curse": (barak - bless, salute, kneel down, cause to kneel, be blessed, be adored, also to break down, to curse, to imprecate some evil on one by calling upon God, blaspheme, impious words against God, to wish ill). As we have seen above, the eighth day can have a dual meaning. What made the eighth day above such a wondrous event? 

     We can see the hint of the presence of Jesus Christ in this eighth day event. He is in the offering. He is in the knowledge of the blood. He is in the descent of Aaron from the brazen altar of sacrifice, just as Jesus descended into the realm of death and the grave after offering Himself as a sacrifice for us. There He led captivity captive, took the keys of authority over death, hell and the grave, and "ascended far above all the heavens". (see Ps. 68:18-19, Eph. 4:7-10, 1 Pet. 3:18-19, Jn. 20:16-18, Rev. 1:17-18). The eighth day to us must be all that is contained in the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ into the realm far above the highest realms: the realm of all glory, which He has delivered to us (Jn. 17:22-24). It is from this realm of glory above the highest realms that He blesses us with all of the riches and abundance, particularly spiritual riches, of that glory realm (Phil. 4:18-29). The word "above" in Hebrew is al, meaning, "over, in addition to, above, excess, pre-eminence, state of rest, on high, the Highest". The root word, ala, of "above" gives us a deeper understanding of this highest region: "offer up, bring, come, cause to ascend, go up, light, increase, raised, arose, to be taken up into, go up over, exalted".  The al "above" is the place of God (Gen. 28:12-13). We have the scripture also from Paul: "...to know the love of Christ which passes (hyperballo - beyond anything, surpass, exceed, excel) knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fulness (pleroma - fulness, abundance, copiousness) of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above (hyper - beyond, more than, above, very chiefest) all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Eph. 3:19-21). What a wonderful eighth day calling to which we have been called! Paul tells us to "walk worthy of the calling to which you were called...". (Eph. 4:1).

     We have seen the duality in meaning of the eighth day, which can be either abundant blessing, or abundantly empty and hopeless life, a curse. The dividing line between the two, as we saw in the Hebrew meanings of Lev. 9 above, is the new and abundant life of glory in Jesus Messiah/Christ (see Jn. 10:7-11), or the vanity and evil of a life without Him and the work of salvation which He completed (Eph. 2:12-13). 

     We see this duality again immediately after the glory was experienced on the eighth day. This is what occurred: "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane (zur - estranged, gone away, turn aside, depart, stranger, foreigner, enemy, loathsome, alienated, prostitute, adulterer, falsehood, lie) fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. And Moses said to Aaron, 'This is what the LORD spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all people I must be glorified." (Lev. 10:1-3). These two priests, who had experienced the eighth day blood and glory, approached the LORD in a manner that did not respect His holiness and glory. By doing so, the LORD did not recognize them as priests, but as strangers, and destroyed them. Jesus mentioned the same thing about some of those who will claim to know Him and serve him doing spiritual works in His name. To them He will say: "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." (see Mt. 7:21-23). Jesus will not accept "strange fire" from us, a fire mixed with something loathsome and foreign to the Lord. Are we coming before the Lord with strange fire?

     Moses had two kinsmen of the dead priests to carry their dead (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) brethren from the front of the sanctuary, and out of the camp (v. 4-5). However, to Aaron and his two remaining sons who were still serving in the tabernacle, Moses gave a serious warning not to defile their holy priestly robes with signs of mourning for the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) burning which the LORD had kindled, or to come out of the tabernacle "...lest you die, for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.' And they did according to the word of Moses." (v. 6-7). We want the anointing of the Lord, the priceless Holy Spirit, but do we understand the standards by which the Lord commands that we wear His anointing? Paul wrote: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." (1 Cor. 3:16-17, see also 1 Cor. 6:19-20).

     As those who are part of the eighth day new and abundant life in Messiah/Christ, which is above the perfection of seven, we also have been made priests by God (1 Pet. 2:9-10). We are purposed to be blessed, as we offer our pure worship to God. We are here to bring God's eighth day glory among His *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega people. Our golden bowls of incense are not filled with strange fire, but prayers, declaring the new song: "You (the Lamb, Jesus) are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." (Rev. 5:9-10).

     Let's learn to walk worthy of this exceeding abundance from above that has been given to us from God through the death, burial (descent), resurrection and ascension of His Son.

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as Α Ω , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, which is the name of Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.

     If you would like to know more about the eighth day and its calling and blessings, you can pray with me: "Dearest Father, You have called me into Your eighth day abundance through our Savior, Your Son, Jesus. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit to lead me into the new life of glory and priestly ministry before You. You said that You have filled me with all fulness of God. Through Christ, I have been joined to You in the highest realm, the realm of glory and exceeding abundance. This is the substance of Your Kingdom, and this is the calling and purpose to which I have been called. Help my understanding so that my offerings to You in holiness will bring forth Your glory in the earth. I ask this in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

     

Eighth

This week we resume the Sabbath readings in Leviticus, which is from the Latin, meaning "of the Levites". The Hebrew name of this third book of scripture is Va-yikra meaning "and He (God) called". In this third Book, the LORD is establishing something new. He commanded Moses to construct a tabernacle and furnishings for worship which would follow a pattern that God had shown to Moses on the mountain. Also established at this time would be a priesthood, led by Aaron, Moses' brother, as the high priest. The priests would be accepting and offering specific sacrifices for the atonement for their sins and the sins of the people, and for their forgiveness. Why was God establishing this new pattern? Sacrifices had been offered to God since Genesis, including Abel, Cain, Noah, Abraham, and so on, all done without the mediation and reconciliation ministry of the priest. While only the tribe of Levi could form the priesthood, the LORD had previously said to Moses in scripture regarding His people: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you will be a special treasure to Me above all people; for the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Ex. 19:6). We can see here a prophetic promise of a priesthood that goes beyond the tribe of Levi, and extends to all of Israel. Long after this Levitical priesthood was established, Isaiah prophesied: "But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, they shall call you the servants of our God." (Isa. 61:6). This prophecy comes in a section that begins: "The Spirit of the LORD God is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed (masah - to rub with oil, to anoint, to consecrate, to spread out and expand (like a liquid)) Me..." (v. 1). As Jesus read this passage from Isaiah in the synagogue, He declared that part of the prophecy was fulfilled in that moment by Him. This prophecy is considered to be connected to the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ. Over a thousand years after Moses, the apostles Peter, and also John in the Book of Revelation, wrote about a royal priesthood, and of kings and priests, who are connected to the Messiah, Jesus. This priesthood consists of people who do not seem to be directly connected to the Levites: "His own special people...who once were not a people but are now the people of God..." (1 Peter 2:9-10). Perhaps this week's Sabbath reading will help us to understand more about the formation of the priesthood, and its ordained transformation to our present day. The title of this week's reading portion is Sh'mini, which means "eighth" in English. This portion covers Lev. chapters 9 through 11. Aaron and his sons had completed the seven days of their consecration as priests. Then, on the eighth day, their priestly ministry began with offerings for both Aaron and sons, and the people of Israel: "... make atonement for yourself and the people." (Lev. 9:7). Something unusual would happen, as Moses prophesied the Word of the LORD, as a result of the atonement made on this eighth day: "...for today the LORD will appear to you...This is the thing (hadabar) which the LORD commanded you to do, and the glory of the LORD will appear to you." (Lev. 9:1-4, 6). The glory would come as a result of obedience to "the thing" which the LORD had commanded them to do. "The thing" is dabar in Hebrew, or "the word, speech, voice, command, song" of God. The meaning of the individual letters in the word dabar, which are daleth, beth, and reysh, with the letter he added to the beginning of them, could also mean "Behold, the door to the house/family of the Highest". The glory and presence of God that comes from the service of the priesthood is a result of obedience to the Word of the LORD. That Word of creation, salvation, deliverance, life, abundance and holiness would be wonderful enough just as it is written, but even greater is that the glory of the Word is of such a nature that it became flesh, and dwelt among us. It is light, it is living, it is Spirit, it is truth and grace, and it is the Person of Jesus Christ, who possesses the glory as of the only begotten of the Father (Jn. 1:1-5, 14). The priests followed the hadabar command of God, and the glory of the LORD did indeed appear to all. We see the opposite of this in the second reading portion for this Sabbath from Lev. 10. Two of Aaron's sons, who were consecrated priests, put fire in their censers, added incense to it, and "offered profane/strange (zur - another place, strange, foreign, enemy, loathsome, falsehood, turn aside, depart) fire before the LORD which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD." (Lev. 10:1). Aaron's other two sons had to go and carry out the bodies of their brothers from before the sanctuary. Some may think that this seems harsh of God, but we can find out why this action of seeming worship cost the two brothers their lives. One thing we know for sure that made this fire "profane" in God's eyes is that He did not tell them to do it. If it is not of the Spirit and the Word (of God), then it is of corrupted flesh. Let's look and see how Paul explained this: "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace...So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God...For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." (Rom. 8:5-8, 14). We can get more understanding perhaps in the names of the two sons who offered this "profane fire". One was named Nadab, which means "generous, spontaneous, freely offered, incite to anything, to impel oneself". It is good to be generous, but giving by the flesh rather than by the Word and the Spirit is like bringing death before God. Our "good ideas", or "good intentions" mean nothing if they have not been birthed by the Spirit of Truth. The second son ws named Abihu, meaning "he is my father". A son of God, as Paul wrote, is led by the Spirit of God. It is not enough to say, "My father is Aaron, or My Father is God, so I can do this". An anointed son obeys his Father (see Phil. 2:5-11), who is Spirit. We see this in what the LORD spoke after this sad event: "By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people, I must be glorified." (Lev. 10:3). We, the priests of the LORD, cannot come so disrespectfully into the presence of God in the rotting death of flesh. By doing so, we rob all of the people of the glory of God. Scripture says in an earlier part of Leviticus that if an anointed priest sins, it brings guilt on all the people, and he must make a burnt offering sacrifice for his sin (Lev. 4:3). In another portion from this Sabbath's reading, we see another example of seemingly "good intentions" gone horribly wrong. In 2 Sam. 6, David wants to bring the Ark of God up to Jerusalem, to be placed in a tabernacle there. However, they did not transport the Ark as the LORD commanded Moses to do, carried on poles by the priests, but they placed the Ark on a new cart pulled by oxen. As the oxen stumbled, and the cart shifted, the Ark began to slide off the back of the cart. Uzziah (meaning "strength") put his hand forward to steady the Ark. God struck Uzziah there, and he died by the Ark of God. David was angry at the death of Uzziah (v. 1-8). Later, David would make a second attempt to bring up the Ark to Jerusalem, but this time, they would do so according to the Word that the LORD had commanded Moses: "And so it was, when those bearing the Ark of the LORD had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep." (v. 13). This time, the Ark was carried, as it was commanded by God generations before. "New" ideas, like new carts, and the strength of men, if they break the Word of God, will not result in the blessings and life of the Spirit, but in the death found in the flesh. In another portion from this Sabbath's reading, King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes: "All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied." (Eccl. 6:7). He wrote that if a man seems to have everything, "but his soul is not satisfied with (he-behold) goodness (he-behold)...I say that a stillborn child is better than he...Though it has not seen the sun or known anything, this has more rest than that man, even if he lives a thousand years twice - but has not seen (vawhe - behold)..." (v. 3-6). In these verses, "goodness" is greatly emphasied by the addition of Hebrew letters not normally part of the word "goodness" that translate to "behold!" and "nail". This emphatic goodness required by the soul of men cannot be satisfied by the desires or comfort of the flesh, as Solomon wrote. As mentioned earlier, there is a ministering priesthood connected to the obedience and sacrifice of the Messiah, our Savior Jesus, revealed openly in the New Testament (1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10, Rev. 1:5-6). There is also a connection to Messiah, the Son of David, Jesus, mentioned in this week's Sabbath reading portion which deals with the ministry of the priests. In 1 Chron. 17, David was given a promise from God, later called the Davidic Covenant, in which the LORD promised that David's Son would rule on the throne forever: "He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I shall be his Father, and he shall be My son...and I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever." (v. 12-14). David understood very well what God had just promised him - that the Messiah would come from David's house, and would rule on an eternal throne. Because of this understanding, David was overwhelmed and humbled exceedingly (v. 16-20). Now knowing all of these things, what does the Sabbath title Sh'mini, or "Eighth", have to do with this? The eighth day in this Sabbath portion from which we get the title, marks the end of the seven day sanctification period of the priests, and the beginning of their ministry in the tabernacle before God on behalf of themselves and the people. The eighth day also memorializes the end of one day of Passover plus the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and it is a special Sabbath commanded by God (see Lev. 23:5-8). The meaning of the "Eighth Day" in rabbinical teaching is expressed this way: seven days mark the completion of the natural order, but the eighth day signifies a step above/beyond the natural order. The priesthood of God in Christ is to bring all of the people up to a higher level, beyond the natural realm and into the spiritual realm of God. This is not done by ruling over the people by natural understanding and strength, nor by approaching God in any way we please, but in leading the people into the way of the sacrificial atonement of Christ, and God's forgiveness (Lev. 4:26,31, 35). Jesus, our great High Priest who has passed through the heavens (Heb. 4:14-16), is also the atoning sacrifice that we minister to all people as God's priests: "...these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate (parakletos - comforter, advocate, one who pleads another's cause before a judge, an intercessor) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." (1 Jn. 2:1-2). If you would like to learn more about this special priesthood in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, you can pray with me: Dear Father, You established a priesthood that followed a specific pattern of atonement and forgiveness. You fulfilled that pattern through Your dear Son, Jesus, and You have made us priests and kings before You on behalf of all people through Him. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can minister the atonement and forgiveness in a manner that upholds Your holiness and glory before the people. Help me to walk in obedience to Your Word and Spirit, and not in my own flesh. Forgive me for those occasions when I have relied on my own understanding and strength, rather than Your hadabar commands. Let my life glorify You, and lift all people into the heavenly realm of Your presence. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Reverence

Our society in general has lost a sense of reverence towards God, and the things of God. If society reflects a lack of reverence, it is likely, as we will see, that it is the people of God who failed to reverence the Lord first. This week's Sabbath reading brings up this question to us, the believers. The title of this Sabbath's reading is sh'mini, meaning "8th". According to Jewish teaching, the "8th" represents a step above and beyond the perfection of the number "7", which refers to the perfection of the natural creation as written in Genesis. The 8th also symbolizes resurrection and spiritual regeneration and renewal. Eight/eighth is represented by the Hebrew letter cheth which means "inner room or chamber, to separate, to cut off, to protect". So we can say that the term 8th represents God's desire to bring us to the next step in supernatural perfection, deeper and closer to Him. "The 8th day" is mentioned often in scripture. There is also a change involved in the concept of 8th, the same change that is found in resurrection and renewal, as a result of this next step in progressing perfection. The Sabbath reading starts in Leviticus 9, where God is about to bring His people into that next level. God commanded that there be seven days of consecration of the tabernacle and the priests, Aaron and his four sons, "...that you may not die." (Lev. 8:33-35). Moses had just received these commands from God on the mountain. On the 8th day, the priests were commanded by the LORD through Moses to prepare specific sacrifices "for today the LORD will appear to you...and the glory of the LORD will appear to you." (Lev. 9:4-6)). The priests were to make sacrifices of atonement for themselves and the people (v. 7). The presence of the LORD, therefore, was to be ushered in with sacrifice and reverence so that they might live. Moses and Aaron blessed the people: "Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces." (v. 23-24). However, the reverence and awe of the LORD experienced on that day did not last long. Immediately afterward, two of Aaron's sons burned incense in their censers that had been ignited by "profane/strange fire" (zur - strange, of an enemy, a foreigner, of one alienated, turned from the way). The fire that they used was not holy to the LORD. As a result, fire went out from the LORD and killed the two priests (Lev. 10:1-2). This is the explanation that the LORD gave to Moses and Aaron: "By those who come near Me, I must be regarded as holy. And before all the people, I must be glorified." (v. 3). We must approach the LORD with reverence, and glorify Him before the people, not for His benefit, but for our benefit, and the benefit of the people. He said that His priests must "distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them by the hand of Moses." (v. 10-11). We cannot expect the people to reverence the LORD, or the things of the LORD, if we do not reverence Him. Those who believe in Christ are also considered priests before Him (1 Peter 2:9-10, Rev. 1:6, 5:10), who offer spiritual sacrifices in His spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). The Apostle Paul also warned us against an attitude of irreverence concerning the things of the Lord. He was correcting the Church at Corinth regarding their irreverent attitude and actions involving The Holy Communion, or Eucharist (1 Cor. 11:17-26). He told them the revelation that He received directly from the Lord regarding this remembrance of the Last Supper, which was a Passover Seder, that Jesus had with His disciples. At that time, Jesus revealed the necessity of His body and His blood, represented by the bread and the wine, as a sacrifice, and as a new covenant for them. The Church at Corinth was treating the Communion as if it were an occasion for food and drink. Then Paul gave us this warning that brings to mind the deaths of the two sons of Aaron, which we read above: "Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup in an unworthy manner (anaxios - "irreverently") will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself...For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner (irreverently) eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep (are dead). (v. 27-30). As the LORD told Moses and Aaron, when His priests are not reverent in their ways before Him, they rob the LORD of His glory before the eyes of the people. Paul wrote, "...whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31). In another example from this week's Sabbath reading, David and many from Judah, were attempting to bring the ark of the covenant into the City of David, or Jerusalem, in 2 Samuel 6. Although this account does not mention an "8th day", if we look at the Hebrew key words used in verses 1 and 2, there is an underlying meaning of resurrection, and even the Rapture, the catching away of the living believers (see 1 Thess. 5:14-18 for a description). If you wish to see a breakdown of these Hebrew words and their meanings, I will add them to the bottom of this entry*. We find out in this account from 2 Sam. 6, that the ark of the covenant has a name: "...the ark of God whose name is called by the Name, the LORD of hosts, who dwells (between) the cherubim" (v. 2). The ark was moved on a cart, which is against the command of the LORD that it must only be carried on poles. One of the movers, Uzzah (meaning "strength, power, might"), reached out with his hand to steady the ark when the oxen pulling the cart stumbled (v. 6). He died immediately. David became angry, and was afraid (yare - "fear, reverence, honor, respect, awe") of the LORD that day, and then asked, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?" (v. 8-9). Now David sought the proper way to handle the holy thing of God that bears His Name. On the second attempt, men, not a cart, bore the ark. Not only did David bring up the ark with joy and praise, as he had done the first time, but David now also wore a linen effod (a change of clothes to white linen, which symbolizes the LORD's righteousness), but also had sacrifices made every six (the Hebrew letter vaw, meaning "nail, nailed to, joined") paces. "So David, and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and the sound of the trumpet." (v. 13-15, see also 1 Thess. 4:16-17). David's wife, who was the previous king's daughter, had contempt for David and the manner by which he brought up the ark, and because of that, she was barren for the rest of her life (v. 16, 20-23). So David, who loved the LORD and was already familiar with the power of praise, learned the power of reverence also, and the danger of neglecting it. He successfully brought the ark into the city of Jerusalem. God's people were brought a step above and beyond in perfection, and it was accomplished through reverence. The author of the Book of Hebrews wrote: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire." (Heb. 12:28-29). We can see that there is a connection to being taken above and beyond the natural perfection into the supernatural perfection of God, and our continued reverence for Him, and the things that are called after His Name. Our reverence also glorifies God before the people. Perhaps there are holy things that we have begun to take for granted in our faith, such as the name of God, the Word of God, Communion, and the resurrection and rapture of the believers. All of these things incorporate the principles of the 8th day, which include change, resurrection, renewal and regeneration. However, there is also the necessary ingredient of reverence that must accompany these things. If you would like to know more about reverence toward the LORD, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You are great, and holy, and worthy of our praise and reverence. You desire to bring us into Your inner chamber, and to a higher level of perfection in You, and into the exact image of Your Son, Jesus. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I can walk in reverence before You always, as You change and perfect me. I ask these things in Jesus' Name, AMEN." *An addendum to this entry: First we will read 2 Sam. 6:1-2, and then the meaning from the key Hebrew words: "Again, David gathered all the choice men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale Judah to bring up from there the ark of God...". One meaning of these two verses might also be: "Again the Beloved (denotes the Messiah) assembled, collected, took away, harvested, received the company or family which is under a leader, of the taught, yoked, and lifted up, the elect, the selected, the tried, the examined, the proven, that which is the same as, or an exact copy. The Beloved was raised up and caused to come forth, and carried away, led forth, the lords or citizens of praise, the flock, the kindred, the attendants who were with Him, in order to bring up, ascend, take up, carry away and fetch up the chest, especially a coffin, of the Lion, pierced, piercing."