Towards, unto, into and in Theos

As we saw in ‘Exploring the kaporeth X’, the journeyings of the camp are punctuated by setting out and pitching. In the pitched state (of grace) the camp is in its settled state of having the cloud, representing the glory of Yahweh, there above the ark and kaporeth while they reside in the holy of holies in the tabernacle in the midst of the camp. In such a state the kaporeth functions as a representation of the revelation of ‘elohym to man and the reciprocation of that manifestation. It is there to show the preeminence of that manifestation as the basis for sacrifice and forgiveness of sins. This ongoing mediation of the will of Yahweh to his people is contingent upon this settled state being achieved. It points, in miniature, to the overall journey in which the final settled state of rest in the favour of Yahweh’s sight is seen, in prospect, in the movement into the land. Each one of these stages, therefore, is a microcosm, a figurative enactment of the bigger journey. As such it shows the requirement for revelation and reciprocation to be both a prerequisite for the advancement of the journey and an end to the journey itself. Between these two settled states is the disruptive progress of the journey, fuelled by the first and incentivised by the second. These step changes are a stage by stage progression to the final goal. They have a beginning and a destination themselves but are set within the greater vision of a fundamental beginning and ending. One which is alluded to in Revelation 1:

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the pantokrator. (Revelation 1.8)

The beginning and the ending is framed in the terms of the Greek alphabet, showing that the journey is an outcome of the utterance of the spirit. Furthermore, the journey is also linked to tenses of time. The verb ‘to be’ being expressed in the past and present tenses and the verb ‘to come’ expressed in the future. The destination is achieved at a future time when those pursuing that trajectory achieve the place where he, the Lord, is. That is, they come unto him.

These are the journeys of the children of Yisra’el, which went forth out of the land of Mitsraym with their hosts under the hand of Mosheh and ‘Aharon. (Numbers 33.1)

We have seen this passage when looking at ‘comings’ and ‘goings’. This chapter presents a list of places where the children of Yisra’el encamped after journeying and from whence they set off on the next stage of the pilgrimage. As we have seen, the first verb, often translated ‘removed’ or ‘departed’ is from the same family of Hebrew words as the noun ‘journeys’, which is highlighted in the above passage. The word translated ‘encamped’ or ‘pitched’ is from the family of words which includes ‘grace’. The journeys mentioned up until, and including, verse 15 of this chapter are journeys executed without the presence of the tabernacle, or the ark and kaporeth. From the point of leaving Sinay the journeys are effected with the ark, and the kaporeth on top of it, leading the camp, after the cloud has removed and indicated the direction of travel.

The first journey of the children of Yisra’el is the departure of the people from Mitsraym following the passover night:

And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Yisra’el went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Mitsraym. (Numbers 33.3)

As we have seen, the ark and kaporeth are not in existence yet. However, the same phenomenon which is represented in the ark and kaporeth has also become the impetus for this journeying. As we have seen in previous posts, the narrative of the exodus from Mitsraym begins with the revelation of the name of Yahweh at the burning bush to Mosheh. The kaporeth displays the figure of the glory of Yahweh which is synonymous with the meaning of the name, that is, the transformation of the identity of those who receive and reciprocate into that of the one who mediates, leading to a similarity of image.

Exodus 3 provides this fuel that pushes the people forward and gets them from the revelation of the name at Horeb until they accomplish the return journey to that mountain and can receive the covenant, the tables of stone and the pattern of the tabernacle, including the ark and the kaporeth.

The use of the homographic אל is prevalent in Exodus 3, giving us an insight into the direction that Yahweh will take with respect to Mosheh:

Now Mosheh kept the flock of Yethro his father in law, the priest of Midyan: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came unto the mountain of the ‘elohym, even to Horeb (Horebah). (Exodus 3.1)

Mosheh ‘came’ unto the mountain. This, presumably, was not an accident. He was aware of his destination, he approached unto a place where revelation from ‘elohym was possible. Notice that the mountain’s name is feminised to denote direction towards it, as we saw in a previous post. Mosheh is on a three stage journey in his own wanderings. He became the child of the daughter of Phar’oh before having to flee after killing a Mitsraym. He was forty years old at the time. Becoming the son in law of the priest of Midyan he became a shepherd leading his flock. At the point of encountering ‘elohym at Horeb he is now 80 years old. After the wanderings in the wilderness with the children of Yisra’el and seemingly being on the cusp of entering into the inheritance he dies, aged 120 years old. His life has been subdivided into three parts which have seen two particular intervals of wandering. At the end of the first and the beginning of the second he comes unto Horeb when and where he is ready to receive this revelation.

And the angel of Yahweh appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (Exodus 3.2)

So the angel of Yahweh manifests/reveals himself unto Mosheh. This is the first stage of the kaporeth phenomenon, the kerubic giving of speech from one unto the other. The direction is one of revelation.

And when Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, ‘elohym called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Mosheh, Mosheh. And he said, Here am I. (Exodus 3.4)

This giving of speech from one to the other is seen in this verse as ‘elohym calls unto Mosheh. We also see the reciprocal element of the kaporeth relationship when Mosheh replies, Here I.

And he said, Draw not nigh here: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou stand is holy ground. (Exodus 3.5)

The homographic אל is used here in its negative form, as well as the presence of the ‘here’ we looked at in the section on ‘here and there’. Direction is an outcome of positive and negative propositions, as we see in the ten commandments. The direction towards the ‘here’ where Yahweh is/will be is determined by being unshod and shod upon by ‘elohym’s revelation. It is prohibited unless the people are shod with Yahweh’s covering.

Moreover he said, I am the ‘elohym of thy father, the ‘elohym of ‘Abraham, the ‘elohym of Yitshaq, and the ‘elohym of Ya’aqob. And Mosheh hid his face; for he was afraid to look unto the ‘elohym. (Exodus 3.6)

We begin to see the strong link with the patriarchs, with whom Yahweh made covenant in their wanderings, and to whom he promised an ‘olam inheritance in the land which is seen here as the destination of the children of Yisra’el’s journey.

And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Mitsraym, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Kana’any, and the Hitty, and the ‘Amory, and the Perizzy, and the Hiwy, and the Yebusy. (Exodus 3.8)

The destination of the journey associated with this revelation of his covenantal name is clearly being described here as ‘good’ (feminised by direction in the Hebrew) and ‘large’ (again feminised), a land flowing with milk and honey and a place presently occupied by a number of named nations, which they will expel. It is not only a geographical territory, as seen by referencing who currently occupies it, but by a moral dimension (good) and an expansiveness (large) and a fruitfulness of the word – the milk and the honey. It is a place, when attained, in which people can be good and fruitful, as their creator.

Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Yisra’el is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Mitsraym oppress them. (Exodus 3.9)

In contrast to the place where they are going, with its fruitfulness and morality, the place where they are coming out of is oppressive and dark. It is a place where they are in servitude. They have cried unto him because of this oppression and this servitude so that he wishes to take them from it and lead them unto the antithesis of Mitsraym.

Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Phar’oh, that thou may bring forth my people the children of Yisra’el out of Mitsraym. (Exodus 3.10)

The first impetus of direction has been the revelation of ‘elohym to Mosheh. Here, we see the outcome of the revelation which he is in the middle of receiving, that is, the impetus and direction towards Phar’oh. It is the journey unto Mitsraym to speak with Phar’oh.

And Mosheh said unto the ‘elohym, Who am I, that I should go unto Phar’oh, and that I should bring forth the children of Yisra’el out of Mitsraym? (Exodus 3.11)

Here, Mosheh’s reciprocity is not what we might expect. However, interaction with ‘elohym may sometimes be seen as a form of conflict before reconciliation. It is the obvious outcome of being face to face with someone. That which comes to us must first be questioned and tested before being acquiesced to. We see this figure in the wrestling of Ya’aqob with ‘elohym before he meets his brother again. Mosheh is, reasonably, asking who is the ‘I’ that must go, as he is clearly incapable, in his eyes, of going before Phar’oh. It requires further revelation ‘unto’ him to cause him to see that it is not the ‘I’ of Mosheh that will go but the ‘I’ of ‘elohym that will be going in Mosheh:

And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token to thee, that I have sent thee: When thou has brought forth the people out of Mitsraym, you shall serve ‘elohym upon this mountain. (Exodus 3.12)

This verse does not include the directional אל but rather the truncated ל in the phrase ‘to thee’. The relevance here is the impetus for the direction into Mitsraym and unto Phar’oh is the ‘I will be’. It is ‘elohym that will be the driving force behind Mosheh’s appearance before Phar’oh and, indeed, all that Mosheh will accomplish with Yisra’el, particularly in bringing them back to this mountain. The impetus, the fuel for the circular journey, is this revelation of the ‘I will be’ name that will bring them back to the place where they will then receive the revelation of the covenant, its embodiment in the ten commandments on the tables of stone and the building of the dwelling of ‘elohym with man and its focus, the ark and kaporeth, all at the hand of Mosheh.

And Mosheh said unto the ‘elohym, Behold, when I come unto the children of Yisra’el, and shall say to them, The ‘elohym of your fathers has sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? (Exodus 3.13)

Mosheh has made a connection between direction and name. Yahweh has already used the ‘I will be’ in the previous verse and this will provide the basis for the answer to the question of ‘what is his name?’ Mosheh, however, has identified, through his and ‘elohym’s reciprocal interaction, that ‘unto’, as a direction, is inextricably linked with that name. If Mosheh has been sent unto the children of Yisra’el by being directed to do so by ‘elohym then it is ‘elohym, in the person of Mosheh, who is appearing before the people. ‘Name’ is clearly linked to this idea of one person appearing ‘in the name of’ another. This cannot be achieved unless the messenger that bears those instructions has been told what those instructions are first. ‘elohym speaks unto Mosheh, Mosheh goes unto the children of Yisra’el, Mosheh speaks unto the children of Yisra’el what ‘elohym first told him. Mosheh has become ‘elohym with the intent that, on their realising the destination of Horeb, the people might also become ‘elohym.

And ‘elohym said unto Mosheh, I will be who I will be: and he said, Thus shall thou say to the children of Yisra’el, I will be has sent me unto you. (Exodus 3.14)

Yahweh’s name is set in the future tense, because it is a promise of what (or who) shall be. Mosheh becomes him by willing obedience to the word. The people can achieve the same through Mosheh’s mediatory work. Clearly, the future lies beyond these temporal fulfilments of becoming him.

And ‘elohym said moreover unto Mosheh, Thus shall thou say unto the children of Yisra’el, Yahweh ‘elohym of your fathers, the ‘elohym of ‘Abraham, the ‘elohym of Yitshaq, and the ‘elohym of Ya’aqob, has sent me unto you: this is my name for ‘olam, and this is my memorial unto all generations. (Exodus 3.15)

As we have seen in past blog posts, the ‘I’ of the ‘I will be’ has now moved into the ‘he’ of the name Yahweh. The name meaning ‘he will (cause to) be’. The meaning remains the same: Yahweh is the name which occurs when he will be in the people through the work of his mediator. We see this in Mosheh and we see this in Iesous. Clearly, the fulfilment of that name can only occur when all the people have become him. When this happens, the covenants made unto the patriarchs will come to pass.

Go, and gather the elders of Yisra’el together, and say unto them, Yahweh ‘elohym of your fathers, the ‘elohym of ‘Abraham, of Yitshaq, and of Ya’aqob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Mitsraym: And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Mitsraym unto the land of the Kana’any, and the Hitty, and the ‘Amory, and the Perizzy, and the Hiwy, and the Yebusy, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shall come, thou and the elders of Yisra’el, unto the king of Mitsraym, and you shall say unto him, Yahweh ‘elohym of the Hebrews has met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our ‘elohym.

The direction is clear: Yahweh has spoken unto Mosheh who speaks unto the people with the intent to bring them up out of the affliction of Mitsraym and take them unto the land of promise. The impetus for this journey out of Mitsraym and back unto Horeb is this initial revelation of the name unto Mosheh and, subsequently, the people. It is a direction of speech and it is a direction of journey on foot. The two are interconnected. This is the impetus for the first and fundamental stage of the journey which will take them through the ten plagues and up to the passover night and the exodus from Mitsraym. Without this fuel for the journey the initial exodus and stages of the journey mentioned in Numbers 33 become impossible. From the arrival at Horeb to the entering into the land the impetus for those stages of the journey is provided by the kerubic relationship enshrined in the kaporeth, which follows the pillar of cloud or fire.

It is imperative to see the background to the passover night and the impetus towards that deliverance before we come to the first stage of the journey mentioned in Numbers 33.5 – the stage from Rameses to Sukkoth.

And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Yisra’el went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Mitsraym. For the Mitsraym buried all their firstborn, which Yahweh had smitten among them: upon their ‘elohym also Yahweh executed judgments. (Numbers 33.3,4)

The passover night is that which expels them from Mitsraym because it is the death of the firstborn which causes Phar’oh to send them out of the land. The ten plagues, of which the death of the firstborn is the last, are seen, in Numbers 33, as being aimed at the ‘elohym of Mitsraym in order to execute judgment upon them. The passover night is also clearly linked with the sacrificial work of the Lord Iesous also, as indeed the day of the atonements was, being the actual feast when Iesous was crucified and the supper of which he kept with his disciples. It is this sacrificial work of Iesous, which sees the firstborn of Yahweh’s inheritance redeemed but the firstborn of the Mitsraym slain, which is the impetus for the journey which will lead them out of Mitsraym unto the Red Sea, on to Horeb and, from thence, unto the land of promise.

The homographic ‘el (אל) occurs in nine verses in Exodus 12 of which eight are translated ‘unto’ and one as ‘not’.

And Yahweh spoke unto Mosheh and unto ‘Aharon in the land of Mitsraym, saying, This month shall be to you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak unto all the congregation of Yisra’el, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: (Exodus 12.1-3)

The directional revelation commences, as in Exodus 3, with speech unto Mosheh, and then unto ‘Aharon, resulting in their speech unto the congregation. This is the revelation of the name whereby the words of Yahweh are directed into the mouth of Mosheh and from him unto ‘Aharon, finding their destination in the ears of the children of Yisra’el so that the identity of Yahweh is transmitted directionally with the intent that the recipients become him. Furthermore, we see the beginning of the journey linked to time. This beginning of the way unto the land is fixed at a point in time that will be the beginning of months, the beginning of the year, to them. The beginning of this journey is marked by the slaughter of a lamb.

And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. (Exodus 12.4)

Here we have two households next ‘unto’ each other partaking of the one lamb, effectively becoming one house. Interestingly, the first occurrence of the word ‘lamb’ here takes a form which is a homograph of the name Mosheh (משה). Mosheh is a shepherd, both in his dealings with his flock of sheep which he first brought to Horeb, and also in his dealings with the flock of Yisra’el which he led out and brought in on the journey unto the land. Here Mosheh is, as it were, the lamb also. The figurative Mosheh is the one who is slain to save the people. The two houses partake of the one Mosheh in an unto/unto relationship, man unto his neighbour. The Mosheh, whether figurative or true, that has come unto the people to redeem them from Mitsraym has come in the name of Yahweh in order to effect that deliverance.

Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. (Exodus 12.9)

Here the homographic אל is used as a negative. The commandment to ‘not’ eat of the flesh raw is clear. This would have been to partake of the flesh untried and unconsumed by fire. The offering of the Lord was one in which the flesh, the carnal mind, was tried and transformed by the fire of the spirit contending with such flesh. This fulfilled and slain lamb was to be partaken of in its state after trying and satisfaction in the eyes of Yahweh. We do not partake of the natural man but the tried and consumed one. That is where we are aiming to be, aiming to share in, to be able to make that journey. The children of Yisra’el were to be clothed and shod and ready to make that journey as they ate.

Then Mosheh called for all the elders of Yisra’el, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. (Exodus 12.21)

Again, the presence of ‘unto’ is part of the directional element of speech. The command is to kill the passover where the Hebrew for ‘kill’ is shahat (שחט). This word is related to the word for ‘destroyer’ which we will see occurring in verse 23.

And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike unto the lintel and unto the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For Yahweh will pass through to smite the Mitsraym; and when he sees the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, Yahweh will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite. (Exodus 12.22,23)

Yahweh passes through (‘abar עבר) and passes over (pasah פסח). The second word is the word from which we get ‘passover’. The feast is named after the fact that Yahweh, as a destroyer, does not enter into the houses of those who have placed the blood of the slain lamb unto the two sides and the lintel of the door. The first word ‘to pass through’ is from a family of words from which we get the word ‘Hebrew’. It is used in Exodus 34 to describe the angel of Yahweh passing by Mosheh and calling the name.

The act of slaying the firstborn of the enemies of Yahweh is done by a ‘slayer’ just as the lambs have been ‘slain’ by the children of Yisra’el. The blood of the slain lamb prevents the entry of the ‘slayer’ into the house to kill the firstborn of those obedient in Yisra’el to the commandment of Yahweh.

Again we see, as in the day of the atonements, the importance of sacrifice and manifestation of the name coming together. It is the angel of Yahweh, bearing the name of Yahweh, that passes by Mosheh in Exodus 34, that declares the name of Yahweh. It is, similarly, Yahweh who passes by to destroy the beginning of the strength of Mitsraym (the firstborn) and passes over to redeem the firstborn of his own creation, saved by the blood of the lamb, figuratively his true firstborn. It is the declaration of the name in one who is called by that name that delivers destruction to the adversary of Yahweh and salvation to his sons.

And it shall be, when you are come into the land which Yahweh will give you, according as he has promised, that you shall keep this service. And it shall be, when your children shall say unto you, What mean you by this service? (Exodus 12.25,26)

As we saw in Deuteronomy, the words are given to be performed in the inheritance. That which is done now anticipates that which is to come, in the inheritance. Once in the inheritance the memorial of this beginning of the journey of leaving Mitsraym is rehearsed unto the children.

As the children of Yisra’el are about to make those first steps on that journey, in distance and in time, we can recap on what has led them there. The revelation of the name unto Mosheh is a fundamental impetus of the preparations for the salvation of the passover. The meaning of that name in how the children of Yisra’el can become Yahweh by the transference of words, and with them the mind, of Yahweh impels them on that journey unto the place which represents their inheritance of him. This is what it is to be ‘elohym. We see in Iesous’ words in Iohannes 10 the meaning of ‘elohym:

If he called them theoi, unto whom the word of Theos came, and the scripture cannot be broken…(Ioh.10.35)

Here Iesous is quoting Psalm 82.6 where the Hebrew is ‘elohym where the New Testament Greek uses theoi. The message is clear, the psalmist is referring, according to Iesous, to those who receive the word of Theos, just as he had. ‘elohym describes the children of Yisra’el at some level as they have received the word of Yahweh. ‘elohym is a manifestational term. It depicts those agencies who, having received his word, then speak it and, in so doing, become him. This is true of those heavenly messengers we often refer to as ‘angels’. It is true of Mosheh, it is true of ‘Aharon, it is true of the children of Yisra’el. The better fulfilment of ‘elohym is those who receive and reciprocate, rather than just receive.

We are told that the plagues, of which the passover was the fulfilment were an execution of judgment upon the ‘elohym of Mitsraym. This execution of judgment on the ‘elohym of Mitsraym was to elevate the name of Yahweh while casting the antithesis of this name down to the ground. We can see from this that there are true ‘elohym and false ‘elohym. ‘elohym which are the outcome of the receipt, and preferably reciprocation, of the mind of Yahweh are true, whereas those that are the product of a reciprocal relationship with the flesh are false. Receipt and reciprocation can be carnal as much as spiritual. ‘elohym can be created in the image of man, and his thinking, just as ‘elohym can be in the image of he who made them, where it is the creator of the heavens and earth, both in form and in mind. The ‘elohym of Mitsraym were the former and were thus destroyed as man’s mind will be destroyed in the end. Indeed, as the mind of man was destroyed in the true passover lamb, the Lord Iesous anointed.

We noted, when looking at the ten commandments, that the number ten can be indicative of reciprocation. The tithes were tenths, one in ten of the lepers returned to give glory to Theos after Iesous had healed them all. The ten commandments are like this. They create the image of ‘elohym in the obedient children of Yisra’el if they are observed and, in particular, the one overarching value seen through them all, the observance of the name of Yahweh. The ten plagues are the destruction of those elements of false reciprocal observance of the thinking of the flesh. They culminate in one plague, the death of the beginning of the strength of Mitsraym, the firstborn, and, most poignantly, in the death of the firstborn of Phar’oh, who was worshipped as a deity. The death of Phar’oh being ultimately accomplished when he and his mighty men were overthrown in the sea.

It is the impetus of the declaration of Yahweh’s name in overwhelming the ‘elohym of Mitsraym; it is the impetus of the slain lamb and the hope for the creation of ‘elohym in his sons that pushes the children of Yisra’el from Mitsraym.

Mitsraym (and its values), seen in its ‘elohym, is the ultimate ‘from’/’out of’. The land of promise is the ultimate ‘unto’. However, as we have seen, it is what the land represents which is the ultimate ‘unto’. The land represents a place and time when/where the patriarchs are. It is a place and time where/when only the willingly obedient are there, particularly the son of Theos. It is a place and time which is Yahweh, the true inheritance. It is Yahweh shamah.