Sing Praises With Gladness

Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. 2 Chronicles 29:30

"Although the Levites sang upon many occasions in the Holy Temple, one of their most important and basic musical tasks was the daily song. Each day, the Levite choir stood atop the platform located in the Court of Israel facing the outer altar, just inside the Nicanor Gates, and sang a special song for that particular day. On the Festivals and New Moon, different songs were sung. All of these songs, with their instrumental arrangements, were performed while the morning and evening wine libations were poured out on the altar by the officiating priests.

Thus the Levites accompanied the Divine service of the priests with a service of their own. They complimented each other; in many ways, the Levitical songs were as important a Temple function as the priestly service of the sacrifices itself, for the one could not function without the other. Each day, during the wine libation, the overseer of the choir stood atop one of the horns of the altar and signaled to the Levites “with a kerchief in his hand” to begin their song. At three points in their song, they would pause, when the priests would sound the silver trumpets and all the people in the court prostrated themselves before the Presence of G-d.

... According to tradition, the Second Holy Temple, like the first, was destroyed at the conclusion of the Shabbat — on Saturday night. Both Josephus and the Midrashic writings describe how even though the flames of destruction raged all around, and the blood of the slain flowed through the Temple, the priests nevertheless continued to serve atop the altar, and the Levites did not cease to sing, right up until the very end."

(http://www.lttn.org/R5_Article3_LeviticalChoir.htm)

The Nail Fastened in a Sure Place

In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it. Isaiah 22:25


" I discovered an even older custom when I realized that hundreds, if not thousands, of nails were pounded into the Western Wall. Older texts reveal a now-forgotten custom of the “sure nails.” This was the practice of bringing one’s sins, grief, or the tragedies of life to the remains of the Temple wall and “nailing” them in a sure place. The nails are a reminder of Isaiah’s prophecy that man’s burden will be removed when the nail in the sure place is taken down."

Daniel Rona- given in a presentation about Israel.

The True Vine

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. John 15:1

"An interesting Jewish concept can be seen in the illustration of the True Vine in John 15:1. Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser." At the time of Jesus, a golden grapevine was draped across the four columns at the entrance to the Temple. Josephus records that its beauty was such that it was known as a marvel of size and artistry to all who saw with what costliness of material it had been constructed. [Jewish writings] say that people would sometimes make a freewill offering by purchasing a golden leaf, berry, or cluster which the priests would then attach to this vine. Often those who gave generously to the Temple had their names inscribed on the golden leaves. This was a custom that all were familiar with in Jerusalem.

When Jesus depicted Himself as the True Vine, He was undoubtedly contrasting Himself with this artificial vine, suggesting that if the disciples would offer themselves to Him to the degree that people offered their substance to this golden symbol, the result would be abundant spiritual fruit."

http://www.rbooker.com/articles/GoldenVine.PDF

The Great Commandment

Ancient Temple postings begin on Monday.

I love this poem written by my dear friend Lisa. It was inspired by her ponderings on the first and great commandment.

I had to learn to love the Lord –
My will fought long His great command.
Though I saw merit in His word,
I felt abandoned by His hand.

My pouting soul, by grace, is free;
For Truth revealed Love’s selfless length
And spoke that Christ is loving me
With all His heart, might, mind, and strength.

Lisa K. Phan

The Pinnacle of the Temple

The information below helped me to more easily picture the context of this scripture quote.

Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, Matthew 4:5

"In the second temptation Jesus... saw himself on “the pinnacle of the Temple,” and the temptation was to leap down, and to land at the foot of it unharmed (Luke 4:9-12; Matt. 4:5-7). “The pinnacle of the Temple” may be either of two places. On the south side of the Temple rose the Royal Porch. The outer wall of the Royal Porch rose straight up from the side of the hill on which Jerusalem and the Temple were built. There was a sheer drop of 450 feet to the Kidron valley below, a drop so famous and notorious that Josephus tells us that no one could look down it without being overcome with dizziness (Antiquities 15.11.5).

Edersheim has another suggestion to make. The first great event of the Temple day was the morning sacrifice which had to be made as soon as dawn came. There was a tall tower in the Temple, on the top of which a priest was stationed with a silver trumpet to sound the blast upon it when the first streaks of dawn came across the hills, and so to tell all men that the time of sacrifice had come. At such a time the Temple court would be thronged with expectant worshippers, with their eyes fixed on the priest who waited to give the signal that the dawn had come. If Jesus chose to leap down from the top of that tower at that moment he would indeed have an audience for his miracle of sensation."

(Barclay, William., The Mind of Jesus, HarperSanFrancisco, United States of America, 1960, pg 36)

Request from Donna--I don't know if the readers of this blog prefer the random nature of my posts, or if they would like some postings about aspects of the same topic for a while. I have 15 postings ready relating to some of my ancient Temple information and I thought I'd go with that theme for a while. If you think it would be better or more interesting to mix them up with other topics, will you let me know?

Ancient Covenant Formula

This article by Richard Booker is a good abbreviated summary of ancient covenant practices. These practices were also used when business partnerships were established. There is much more that could be written, but this short simplified outline is useful to increase our understanding.


"What is a Covenant?
From the beginning of time, people have understood a covenant to be a binding agreement between two parties. The word "covenant" actually means to "cut a covenant by the shedding of blood." A blood covenant has always been considered the most sacred of all compacts. When you enter into blood covenant with someone, you promise to give him or her your life, your love and your protection forever.

The Covenant Ritual
In ancient times, people expressed their covenant relationship in a dramatic way. they would exchange their coat or robe, which represented themselves, as a means of mutually committing their lives to one another. Then they would exchange their belts. Because the belt held their weapons in place, it symbolized their power. By exchanging it, they were pledging their strength, support, protection and ability to fight for and defend one another.

Next, the two parties would actually "cut the covenant" by killing an animal and splitting it down the middle. the bloody halves of the animal represented the two people making the covenant. They would then make the covenant walk between the pieces of flesh. by this act, they were showing their willingness to give up the rights to their own lives and begin a new walk with their covenant partner unto death.

After cutting the covenant, they would raise their right arms, cut their palms, and bring them together to intermingle their blood [Example: blood brothers]. As their blood intermingled, they believed their lives were intermingling and becoming one, taking on the nature of their blood covenant partner.

Following this, they would exchange names as a means of identifying with one another. As they were now known by each others name, the would be expected to think, talk, and act like their blood covenant partner.

The next step was to make a scar over the cut as a permanent testimony to the covenant. It would always be there as a guarantee, reminding the two parties of their covenant rights and responsibilities.

They would then give the terms of the covenant, pledging to commit their assists to one another and taking responsibility for the other's liabilities.

Next, they would have a memorial meal to symbolize their covenant union. They would take a loaf of bread and break it in two and feed it to each other. Then they would serve each other wine. The bread and wine represented their lives. By exchanging them, the two parties were expressing their desire to become one with each other.

Finally, they would leave a memorial to the covenant by planting a tree which they sprinkled with the blood of the animal. The blood-sprinkled tree, along with the scar, was a lasting testimony to their sacred covenant relationship."

Hidden Witnesses

Amos was a reluctant prophet who was called to warn the surrounding nations that their unrepented sins were the cause of the destruction soon to fall upon them.

Jennifer Orten made a list of the nations that were warned and found a profound message encoded. Here is what she discovered. It reminds me of the message hidden in Genesis about Noah's genealogy.


Amos = burden bearer, to lift up
Damascus = Moist with blood
Gaza = fortified, strong
Tyre = the rock
Edom = red, of blood, an idiom for the Gentile nations
Ammon = son of my people, a great people; pertaining to a nation
Moab = fruitful, seed of the father
Judah = praise the Lord
Israel = prince with God


"The burden bearer, lifted up, is moist with blood. [He] fortifies and strengthens as the Rock. [Through his] red blood the Gentiles, a great people and nation, the seed of the Father, are fruitful and shall praise the God of Israel, [becoming] princes with God."

This is wonderful! Thanks, Jennifer!