Burning Down the Temple

July 27, 2009, 7:48 am by dc-agape.

Exodus 27

This describes three of the parts to the worship of YHWH required by the Israelites for a “lasting ordinance for generations to come (Exodus 27:21)”.  This would mean that YHWH would have to change for this to change.  Since this has changed it means that YHWH also has changed.  As I continue to prove that YHWH has changed, when clearly he is supposed to never change, YHWH is a creation of man…not man a creation of YHWH!

The Alter of Burnt Offering has now changed from an un-worked stone pedestal to an acacia wood box overlaid with bronze.  Oddly this new alter is three cubits high (52.8in or 134.1cm) yet the entire tent is only 5 cubits high (88in or 223.5cm).  The reason for the bronze overlay is obvious; this is where a fire will be built to burn the flesh of an animal and create a “pleasing aroma” to YHWH.  I can almost guarantee that they never burnt the offering; burning flesh does not make a pleasing aroma to the people near it!  The fire was to be in the middle of the Alter 1.5 cubits (26.4in or 67cm) off the ground.  For a modern day equivalent: my couch is 26 in tall.  Since I am 5’8” (104.7cm) tall, even I would have to bend over to work on the surface.  In today’s world 36in is a much more common and comfortable height for cooking.  But what is even more odd is the overhead distance for the flaming alter: 5 cubits – 1.5 cubits = 3.5 cubits (61.6in or 156.4cm).  I wonder how many times they burnt down the tent due to this very short distance!  In fact, burning fat and breads on this alter would cause embers to spark and other flaming debris to float anywhere in the tent.  I would bet they quickly learned to have extra water available to put out the unwanted flames. 

The court yard would have two layers the inner curtain layer was described in chapter 26 (verses 1-6) – 280 cubits of purple cloth.  The curtain for the outer layer was described also in chapter 26 (verse 7-14) – 330 cubits of goat hair.  BTW, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place are only described once the description of the frames are introduced (verse 15-37).  We also know from those verses that the inner curtain was 4 cubits high where as the outer curtain was 5 cubits high.  We know from this chapter that the supports for the entire tent was space every 5 cubits – modern building codes (here in the US) require supports every 16 inches.  I certainly hope this tent was never used during high winds!  Or I wonder if the Israelites found out that YHWH was an idiot and added extra supports to keep the tent from becoming a sail boat.

The last item described here is the oil that would be used to keep the lamps burning over night.  They did not have to burn during the day, but at twilight they were to be lit and put out in the morning.  I guess YHWH was afraid of the dark! 

Posted in Exodus, Readings | Print | 6 Comments »