READING FOR JULY 18, 2024: EXODUS 27, 1 TIMOTHY 2, PSALM 69:14-24                              EXODUS 27    GOD’S DIRECTIONS FOR CONSTRUCTING THE ALTAR AND THE COURTYARD God’s presence, showing His love, can remain only when payment for sin is made, showing His holiness.

“Make the altar of acacia wood,five cubits long and five *cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.You shall make its horns on its four corners” (27:1-2).	“Overlay it with bronze. And you shall make its pails for removing its ashes, and its shovels, its basins, its forks, and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze” (27:2-3).	“Make for it a grating, a netting of bronze, and on the netting, you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners... the netting will reach halfway up the altar” (27:4-5).
“Make carrying poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood and overlay them with bronze. Its poles shall be inserted into the rings, so that the poles will be on the two sides of the altar”(27:6-7).	“Make the courtyard of the tabernacle. the south side there shall be hangings for the court-yard of fine twisted linen, ahundred cubits* long for one side” (27:9). *1 cubit=~1.5 feet	“The north side in length there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, and its twenty pillars with their twenty bases of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver” (27:11).
“For the width of the courtyard onthe west side shall be hangings offifty cubits with their ten pillarsand their ten bases” (27:12).	“For the gate of the courtyard there shall be a curtain of twenty cubits of violet, purple, and scarlet material” (27:16).	“The length of the courtyard shallbe a hundred cubits, and the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits” (27:18).

READING FOR JULY 18, 2024 CONTINUED: 1 TIMOTHY 2, PSALM 69:14-24                                  1 TIMOTHY 2 Paul tells us to pray for ALL people. Maybe that’s not all 8 billion people on earth, but certainly it includes all those whom we know personally. That’s not an insignificant list. Then he tells us to pray for kings and other authority figures. The fact that the word “kings” is plural means it is not for just the leader of our country, but other countries also. This becomes apparent when he tells us why: so that we can live in peace. He says God wants us to live in peace. And why is that? Because then we can share the gospel to ALL countries so that ALL people can be saved. Paul says there is only one God and one way to the Father: Jesus. Everyone deserves to hear this message and God has given us the job to convey it. To thatend, He wants ALL men to pray with no disputes but lifting uphands. ALL men should do this!

Since the beginning of the women’s movement in the 1960’s, verses 9-15 have become the most controversial passage in the Bible. Those who interpret the Bible as needing to adjust to the present culture rather than the culture adjusting to the Biblesimply disregard this passage. Some who believe the Bible is applicable today but also support women’s equal participationin the church say these verses only apply to this local situation in Ephesus at this one historical moment due to the prevailinginfluence of Artemus, Ephesus’s resident woman goddess.

The historical position notices that the verses preceding this passage are applied universally, as signified by the repeated use of the word “all.” It notes that Paul’s forbidding women fromexercising authority over men and teaching men in the church was tied to the created order and to the fall. Jesus likewise tied His teaching on marriage (Matt 19:4) to the created order as a way to universalize His teaching over what had become common practice in His day. Also, it’s interesting that John Wesley’s teaching on these verses follows this historicalposition.

PSALM 69:14-24 David pleads with God for rescue, which we all must do from time to time, especially in seeking the rescuefrom sin that is now possible through Jesus. David bases this request on two unchanging attributes of God: mercy and compassion. His wording about his current need foreshadows all humanity’s need of ransom and redemption, which is the message of the Gospel. Verse 20 reminds us of Job’s miserable friends and also the wholesale desertion of Jesus’s disciples. Verse 21 is clearly prophetic of Jesus’s agony on the cross:“They offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall” (Matt. 27:34). Verse 22 starts a section praying curses upon David’s enemies. There are two main approaches to these kinds of passages:

1. Not appropriate to pray today: “the Psalmists did not have the justice of God completely satisfied in Christ. Thus, we pray for our enemies, not wish them ill.” (Tim Keller)

2. Part of God’s perfect word: Peter quoted Psalm 69:25 in Act 1:20 regarding Judas: “For, said Peter, it is written in the Book of Psalms: 'May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it.’” (Rhys Laverty)   Note: the writer leans toward the first approach, praying curses on evil forces, not people.