Your truth pierces my soul
And binds me to Your loving heart.
Your teaching moments
Find my hungry mind
And feed me like a bird in flight
Searching for a morsel
That gladdens its hungry heart.
Your mysteries are laid at my feet
And I, when I come home, will be
Clutching these riches that are mine to
keep.
- CATRYNE ALLEN
(Artist Unknown)
I love
symbolism in the Old Testament. Reading about the ritualistic administration of
the priesthood in the wilderness of the Israelites’ journey toward the promised
land convinces me how essential that was to keep them focused on the God who
led them because every minute detail was highly symbolic of Him. Consider just
a few such symbols:
-
EPHOD: sacred garment akin to an apron that was worn
by the high priest had gold settings on each shoulder where onyx stones
engraved with the names of 12 tribes of Israel were placed. These stones fastened
the ephod on the priest’s shoulders symbolizing that he as a representative of
the Lord, carried Israel on his shoulders (see Exodus 28:12);
-
THE BREASTPLATE: made of fabric and attached to the
ephod with golden chains and fasteners, it served as a pocket in which were
placed precious stones inscribed with the names of each of the tribes of
Israel. “Thus, the high priest bore ‘the names of the children of Israel in the
breastplate of judgment upon his heart….for a memorial before the Lord
continually’ (ibid v 29).
-
THE GOLDEN DIADEM AND THE MITRE: The mitre (or hat)
was made of fine linen and each priest wore one. The high priest wore a golden
band on the front of his mitre on the forehead. Engraved on the band were the
words “Holiness to the Lord” (ibid v 36-38)
-
THE ALTAR OF INCENSE: “Hot coals were placed on the
altar and each morning and evening the high priest would burn incense. This
ritual seems to signify that one can approach the presence of God only through
prayer, for scriptures elsewhere indicate that incense is a symbol of prayer”
(see Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4; Psalm 141:2; The Old Testament Student Manual Book
1 p 153)
We also
have a place designated which symbolically points to the foundation of our
salvation. It also reminds us that holiness belongs to the Lord and that He
leads us to OUR promised land. The more we can enter its doors the more
symbolism of the power of His salvation will become imbedded in our minds and
hearts.
Consider
this privilege that the rest of the world has no access to. Our temples are
beacons of hope, knowledge and endowment of His grace for His spiritually
begotten children, the ‘apple of His eye’ (Deut 32:9,10), the rubies in His
diadem (Exodus 28:17-21; Malachi 3:17; D&C 60:4; 101:3)….His people Israel.
How great our
God of Israel
Who carries us
on His shoulders
And in His
godly heart;
We are the
rubies in His diadem
We are Israel,
children of light.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Holy One of Israel by LDS Art)
I used to skim over the four chapters of highly detailed instructions given to Moses regarding the building of the tabernacle and priestly robes during Israel’s journeying. I didn’t think it was so relevant to us in our day. I was amazed though at the workmanship required of ancient Israel and wondered how did they know how to accomplish what was commanded them to do without highly skilled labour. This is what happens when you skim…..you miss something important.
Last time we studied the Old Testament I read the abovementioned chapters in depth and I was given not only understanding but an insight I was sorry I had missed in the years past. After four chapters of explicit instructions, Jehovah tells Moses the names of the men and what tribe they are in Israel’s congregation that can do the work needed and adds that HE has ‘filled’ them with wisdom and knowledge and understanding ‘in all manner of workmanship……that they may make all that He has commanded’ (Exodus 31:1-6).
No doubt these men were inspired from birth to have an interest in specific skills that were needed for an important work they would one day do. Such is the wisdom, power and foreknowledge of our God.
This has made me reflect on two things. Firstly, God’s house is a house of order. We are all born in appointed time that is best suited for what we can achieve in this life: “When we say God has a plan, he truly has a plan – not simply a grand scale, but for each of us as individuals, allocating some special talent to this dispensation and some to another.
“I regard God as the perfect personnel manager, even though He must work with and through all of us who are so imperfect. I assume, gladly, that in the allocation to America of remarkable leaders like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, the Lord was just as careful. After all, if you’ve got only one Abraham Lincoln, you’d better put him in that part of history when he’s most needed….” (Neal A. Maxwell, “Deposition of a Disciple”, p 46)
Secondly, we who are of the house of Israel, particularly us Ephraimites who are responsible for blessing the nations of the earth with the truth, are harnessed with the Saviour in the work of salvation. Like Esther of old who saved her people from extinction, we were born ‘for such a time as this’ (Esther 4:14).
And like the ancient men of Israel’s camp, we have been imbued with wisdom, understanding and knowledge to achieve what is expected of us. In God’s great wisdom He has reserved His most valiant, the strongest, the most dependable servants to be born when evil abounds upon the earth in unequalled measure. We are the ones who can withstand the onslaught and who have covenanted long before this earth began that we would uphold the ensign of truth and proclaim to the earth that the God of our fathers is with us still.
Do
you know how important you are in ‘such a time as this’???
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Jehovah Shalom by LDS Art)
Should the stars fall
from heaven,
And the sun refuse
to give its light;
Should the earth become
the darkest night,
You will ever be
My only guiding light.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Guiding Light by Annie Henrie Nader)
My life is a bag of choices I dare to make,
A dream of perfection eluding me still.
I grope in darkness
Hoping my choices are pleasing to Thee;
And when I leave this weak and mortal
shell
And kneel on hallowed ground at Thy feet,
Then will I cry, my Lord and my God,
Forgive my reckless sins a thousand tears
deep.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Divine Faith by Greg Collins)
The value
of the Ten Commandments cannot be overstated. I have heard it said in the
Church that the Commandments were given us for our protection and I cannot
agree more. The commandments are our most valuable asset in this life and the
second is our moral agency to choose to obey. If it wasn’t for our agency we
would be subject to this world of sin and corruption and would naturally cleave
to evil.
Consider
the pull of sin and how devastating it is to our spiritual well-being:
“Whoever
said that sin was not fun? Whoever claimed that Lucifer was not handsome,
persuasive, easy, and friendly? Sin is attractive and desirable. Transgression
wears elegant gowns and sparkling apparel. It is highly perfumed; it has
attractive features, and a soft voice.
“It is
found in educated circles and sophisticated groups. It provides sweet and
comfortable luxuries. Sin is easy and has a big company of pleasant companions.
It promises immunity from restrictions and temporary freedoms. It can
momentarily satisfy hunger, thirst, desire, urges, passions, wants, without
immediately paying the price. But, it begins tiny and grows to monumental
proportions – drop by drop, inch by inch.”
-
President Spencer W. Kimball, “Faith Precedes The
Miracle” p 229)
“It is true
that the great principle of repentance is always available, but for the wicked
and rebellious there are serious reservations to this statement. For instance,
sin is intensely habit-forming and sometimes moves men to the tragic point of
no return…As the transgressor moves deeper and deeper in his sin, and the error
is entrenched more deeply and the will to change is weakened, it becomes increasingly
near-hopeless, and he skids down and down until either he does not want to
climb back or he has lost the power to do so.”
-
President Spencer W. Kimball, “The Miracle of
Forgiveness [1969] p 117)
We fought for
our spiritual freedom in pre-mortal life (Rev 12:7-11; Moses 4:1-4). It is interesting to observe the
world today and see how we have convoluted the meaning of this principle. It is
most obvious in the way people are not willing to obey the laws of the land.
The cry seems to be, “I have my rights, I can do whatever I want”. This is the
world’s definition of freedom. Pride is
corrupting us as we reject correction from any source and insist on a ‘me’
society. This is Satan’s doctrine and his path to eventual destruction.
The Ten
Commandments are as relative today as they were when they were first given and
never more needed than today. They not only offer personal freedom but they
also bring order to a society. I cannot look at one and think it is not needed.
Our obedience to them brings honour, self-respect and spiritual strength beyond
our own. The wisdom of our God is beyond understanding.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Keep My Commandments by B. Laura Wilson)
Some
days, Father, I cannot bear,
The
absence of Your touch.
I
cannot wait for Your embrace
That
I have missed so very much.
In
this abyss of worldly darkness
I
stumble but I fall into the arms of Him
Who
lifts me higher than I can go.
I
fly to You, Father, on my wings of faith,
I
sail through stormy skies,
Seeking
for Thy face.
Look
Father, no hands!
Only
trust in these strong arms
Of
my Saviour’s loving grace.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Arms of Faith by Yongsung Kim)
