#it's giving idolatry... it's giving golden calf...

[pipiteer]

looking at such potent images of charles leclerc on getty images dot com right now...

[psalmonesermons]

Dealing with fear Part 4

Four more types of fear

In this part of our study we consider a further 4 types of fear that are experienced by people in general, but also includes believers.

5. Fear of circumstances or consequences

An example of this type of fear is found with the prophet Elijah who after having destroyed the prophets of Baal, heard that the wicked Queen Jezebel was seeking revenge on Elijah. This produced fear and worry, and Elijah ended up hiding in a cave. At this point God gave Elijah various tasks to keep his mind off the threat of Jezebel. So when you experience this type of fear try to keep busy and remember to rehearse all the promises God has made to you in his word.

The enemy says no good deed goes unpunished; the Lord says no good deed goes unrewarded!

Scripture Antidote

Matthew 6:25 (Jesus speaking) Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

6. Fear of the unknown or future

This is a common type of fear, and a biblical example is that of Gideon. Gideon needed extra assurances from the Lord demonstrated by his laying out a fleece on more than one occasion which surprisingly God honoured. At the end of his career Gideon because he needed to know the future took the gold earrings of the Amalekites and melted them and fashioned the gold into a golden ephod (only the high priest was allowed to do this to get the word of the Lord for the future). So Gideon because of his fears for the future led Israel astray into idolatry[1].

We must realise 3 things about the future

a. God has a plan for your life

b. God’s grace is sufficient for you

c. God will provide exactly what you need at the point it is needed (not before).

7. Fear caused by sin

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Fear can grip wicked people to the extent they run away even when no one is chasing them!

Isaiah 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites.

Sin produces fear, but righteous living produces peace.

We all need to keep short accounts with the Lord using where relevant 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

8. Irrational fears (phobias)

These fears are common even amongst believers and include fear of mice, spiders, snakes, and moths etc etc. These phobias are quite lightweight and usually can be removed by believing prayer.

Such fears can be like inherited fears where a child sees a parent overreacting to for example a mouse or other creature. It is as though the fear is transmitted from adult to child.

Scripture vs Fear

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Perfect love casts out fear, as we deal with fear in our lives the fear demons leave.

The more filled we are with his love the less room for fear to enter.

The more aware we are of God’s love for us the more confident we are he will help us

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

So where did the fear come from?

Prayer, Lord, we thank you for your keys for us to walk free from all ungodly fear.

Please give us a revelation of who we are in Christ.

Amen

[1] The Ephod that Gideon built was his own personal idol; perhaps a golden calf made from the gold he plundered in the battle, which became a stumbling block to his own household and all of Israel. This is the final downturn of his character and falling away of the one true God (see Judges 8:22-27).

[bernardo1969]

The First Book of Kings recounts the historical period from the arrival of King Solomon to the throne of Israel until the reign of Jehoshaphat in Judah and Ahaziah in Israel, a period in the history of God's people that lasted almost 150 years. The book begins by recounting the most glorious era in the history of Israel, but then exposes the beginning of the progressive decline by recounting how the Kingdom of Solomon was divided into two; the Kingdom of Judah where Solomon's son, Rehoboam, ruled, and the Kingdom of Israel where Jeroboam, an officer of Solomon, governed. But it happened that Jeroboam did what is evil in the eyes of God by imposing in Israel the cult of the Golden Calf, and thus, in addition to the political schism, a religious schism occurred. And it was for this reason that God admonished Jeroboam's wife through the prophet Ahijah when she went to visit him, warning her that not only would the duration of his dynasty be short, but also that this would also bring about, as a consequence of Israel's idolatry, the destruction of the entire kingdom, and so Ahijah prophesied: "The LORD will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from his good land that he gave to their ancestors and scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they aroused the LORD's anger by making Asherah poles. And he will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit" 1 Kings 14:15-16. The prediction of Ahijah is a reminder that the peace and the secure life are not blessings for fools but for God-fearing men, because there is a teaching in the Bible that has always been fulfilled unfailingly: "For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction" Psalm 1:6.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

I believe the poor election results are a chastisement from God. In the run up to the election and on election day itself, far too many Christians were treating partisan politics like a golden calf, placing all of their hope in men to do a job only God can do. Heal our nation. God is a jealous God and He will not abide idols sitting upon His throne in our hearts.

I witnessed Christian leaders from seminary professors to pastors - all men I admire, behaving shamefully on social media and attacking fellow Christians for stating a desire to vote for candidates who openly confessed Christ and advocated for Christian values rather than the most popular candidates from any political party.

Professor Owen Strachan went as far as slurring Christians (including myself directly) as 'winsome' Christians without substance because we said we wanted genuine Christians in our state houses and in Washington while he wanted people from his party of choice irregardless of their beliefs, saying that (I’m paraphrasing here) "all men are sinners, so looking for the most Christian candidate is burdensome and absurd". By that logic why not vote for anyone? After all, everyone is a sinner! So vote for the transgender candidate! Vote for the militant atheist who happens to be a Republican. Vote for the Islamist who hates Israel and (secretly) America. Why waste time researching the candidates when all you need to see is the correct party affiliation beside the name? Now that's absurd.

Can you imagine being a tenured professor at a large seminary, a prolific  writer of theology books and a man Christians look up to, becoming enraged because another Christian says, “y’know, I’d like a Christian candidate and I don’t mind doing the work to find one.”

John Calvin famously said, “When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers.” And this is what has been happening in the United States and continues to happen. We're not going to fix our nation by lapsing into idolatry and placing all of our hopes in the right political party. We can only do it through repentance, prayer and diligently seeking out men and women of God to represent Christ in political office.

[mrsjdavis]

Bible in a Year thoughts:

Moses to God on Mt Sinai: "No, don't kill the people of Israel in anger!"

Moses, pissed off at idolatry,to the sons of Levi: "Kill all these people!"

God (probably):👀

Also

Aaron to the people, while Moses is gone: "Alright, give me your gold." *works the gold and takes an engraving tool and makes the golden calf* "Isreal, here is your god!"

Aaron to Moses, once he comes down from Mt Sinai: "I dunno, they gave me the gold and I threw it in the fire, and this calf just came out..."

[dailyaudiobible]

03/30/2023 DAB Transcript

Deuteronomy 13:1-15:23, Luke 8:40-9:6, Psalms 71:1-24, Proverbs 12:5-7

Today is the 30th day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today and every day as we gather around the Global Campfire and take the next step forward together in life in this year and in the Scriptures. And, so, our next step forward, as always…always leads us to right where we left off. And, so, that's where we’re going today and that will lead us back into the book of Deuteronomy and all of the last things that Moses has to say. And today we will read chapters 13, 14 and 15.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of Deuteronomy today we read, “if a prophet or an interpreter of dreams arises among you, and he predicts a sign or wonder for you and the sign or wonder that he promised you comes true” Like I'm putting a dot dot dot right there so we pause for a second. Let's imagine that that happens. Typically, we might find ourselves compelled to hear more, and maybe even to…to follow this person who has these gifts. And we might begin to follow them because of the gift, or because of the sign without even considering where the road may be leading us to, where the path will go if we…if we do this. But as we will see, blindly following a sign or wonder or a person who claims to be a prophet, and then following them on a path that leads us away from God, that's not gonna work. And, so, rereading what I just read in its entirety, “f a prophet”, Moses is saying this, “if a prophet or an interpreter of dreams arises among you and he predicts a sign or wonder for you and the sign or wonder that he promised you comes true and then he says let's go after other gods that you do not know, let’s serve them do not listen to the words of that Prophet or that interpreter of dreams because the Lord your God is testing you to see whether you really love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Follow the Lord your God. Fear Him. Keep His commandments. Listen to His voice. Serve Him and cling to Him.” I mean, Moses goes on to say that, even if it's a family member that is enticing us toward idolatry then we should be very intentional about getting them out of our lives. That is…like this is a big deal what's being said here. And, so, if this is such a big deal, then we need to probably understand what idolatry is. We have already seen it in the Scriptures. We will see it throughout the rest of our journey. And, so, it's important for us to understand what we dealing with here. In the time of Moses in the surrounding cultures and nations around the children of Israel, they…well…they literally made images that they indeed bowed down and worshiped and sacrificed and even sacrificing their children to these statues. They performed all kinds of acts of devotion that God hated as we learned from our reading today. And we should remember back at the mountain of God, right? The golden calf that the children of Israel created and bowed down and worshiped and said this is the god who brought you out of Egypt. This was a normal thing at that time. Like, if an enemy attacked the land or the crops didn't come in and famine came the peoples of that day believed that the local gods weren't pleased. And if there was a battle or something then the strongest god was the victorious one. Whoever won the battle, it's that god that's more powerful. And we might think that's weird. That's odd because that's not a normal practice for most of us in the world today. Although idol worship still certainly does exist in the world today. But idolatry is more than kind of creating a piece of art and then deifying the piece of art, and believing the…the craftsmanship is a god and worshiping the god. Idolatry is essentially submitting ourselves and offering our heart and offering our hope to a person or a thing with the expectation that that person or thing will give us life, will give us what we want. And, so, if we take a step back and just think about it in those terms it's not hard to find idolatry, even in a modern western world. An idol can be anything - money, sex, power, stuff, control. You name it. Whatever we turn to and offer ourselves to and place our hope in hoping that this thing will bring us life and that we put our hope in this thing then we have an idol and anything that we offer our hearts devotion to in our allegiance to, our loyalty to, our reverence to and place our hope in that is not God will lead us away from God and toward destruction. And this is why it's such a big deal. Moses is commanding the people specific to his time, specific to the culture that exists and specific to the culture that is being created, a new culture, a new way of being among the Israelites. And idolatry was a huge piece that needed to be absent from this new culture in this new way being formed in the wilderness. In fact it was such a big deal that it carries the death penalty for the children of Israel, But we don't…we don't live in nations now likely, none of us live in nations now where somebody would be executed for their religious beliefs, although believe me, it's in the world today and we all know it. But why is this such a severe threat that it has to carry with it a capital offense in ancient Israel. It's for all the things we just talked about. There is a newly forming culture, one that is intended and designed to reveal the one most-high God to the rest of the world. If they just deviate and begin to worship the local gods of the region, they're not revealing the only most-high God. And if this gets into the people it will become cancer in this new culture that is being formed. It would destroy them from within and would make them forget the message of the wilderness, that they are utterly dependent upon God. It would make them forget what they were, it would make them forget how they got where they are, where they came from, and who their source of life actually is. And that gives us pause and opportunity. What are we giving our life to? What have we placed our hope in expecting that that rescue and life is the result? If…if we have things that begin to bubble up and come to mind and they're not God alone then we may be looking at an idol in our lives and we should pause. We’re not going to get away from idolatry in the Bible. And we’re going to be able to see clearly what the repercussions of idolatry in the Scriptures are. But we already know that anything that will lead us away from God will lead us on the pathway of destruction. We’ll forget who we are. We’ll forget the lessons of the wilderness. We’ll forget our identity. We’ll be seduced into darkness. It was a big deal for God and the children of Israel in the wilderness as they prepared to go into the promised land. It should be a big deal to us as well.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, we invite you into that. It’s unlikely any of us are gonna bow our knee to a statue of some sort today but we are seduced into all kinds of things that promise us relief and release and life and happiness and when we have placed our hope in those things and you have not led us to follow that path then we are willfully walking away from you watching the blinking lights. But behind all that we’ll find ourselves in the darkness once again. So, Holy Spirit come. What are the things that we are elevating in our lives and putting our faith and hope and trust in that are not you. Reveal these things to us we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, that is indeed where you can find out what's going on around here. So, check it out. And the Daily Audio Bible app will put that in the palm of your hand as well as bunch of other things. So, check that out.

Check out the different sections like the Community section. This is where to get connected.

Check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop. This is where resources are available in a number of different categories for the journey that we are on through the Bible in community this year. So, check that out.

And if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you. We couldn't…we couldn't…we couldn't and we wouldn't be here if we weren't in this together. And, so, thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app. That's the little red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Coming soon…

[justbreatheincsblog]

“These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.” 1 Corinthians 10:11 Of the two to three million Israelites who left Egypt with Moses, only two of the original adults made it to the Promised Land. What caused them to finish well while so many others got lost in the wilderness? Idolatry was one of the pitfalls of the Israelites who got lost in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. At the root of their problems was a lack of relationship with God, a lack of intimacy with Him. Interestingly, their first idol was Moses. When he was away receiving the commandments of God, they turned to worship a golden calf. They remade God in their image, rationalizing their blatant idol worship by saying it was a feast to the Lord. People do the same thing today. They give God a makeover, looking to conform Him to our perverse society instead of the other way around. But once we lose that set of absolutes in our lives, all kinds of problems will develop. Most people today who have fallen away from the Lord and into various problems and sins would be able to trace this to a point in their lives when they began to let go of the Lord. They were no longer walking as closely with Him as they should have been. The same thing happened to the Israelites. Because God was not on the throne of their hearts and lives, they needed something or someone to take His place. Then they tested God and complained. They exploited His goodness, pushed Him to the limit, and griped about His provision. As a result, they never made it to what God had prepared for them. They had so much potential and possibility, yet it never came to fruition in their lives. The Christian life is not a sprint; it’s a long-distance run. We are in it for the long haul. So we need to pace ourselves and persevere. We are in a battle for the soul of our nation. We MUST keep moving forward. So, JUST BREATHE and keep running the race. https://www.instagram.com/p/CnVFzMYOq0r/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[yeslordmyking]

May, 4 (Morning) Devotion

“Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods.”

Jeremiah 16:20

One great besetting sin of ancient Israel was idolatry, and the spiritual Israel are vexed with a tendency to the same folly. Remphan’s star shines no longer, and the women weep no more for Tammuz, but Mammon still intrudes his golden calf, and the shrines of pride are not forsaken. Self in various forms struggles to subdue the chosen ones under its dominion, and the flesh sets up its altars wherever it can find space for them. Favourite children are often the cause of much sin in believers; the Lord is grieved when he sees us doting upon them above measure; they will live to be as great a curse to us as Absalom was to David, or they will be taken from us to leave our homes desolate. If Christians desire to grow thorns to stuff their sleepless pillows, let them dote on their dear ones.

It is truly said that “they are no gods,” for the objects of our foolish love are very doubtful blessings, the solace which they yield us now is dangerous, and the help which they can give us in the hour of trouble is little indeed. Why, then, are we so bewitched with vanities? We pity the poor heathen who adore a god of stone, and yet worship a god of gold. Where is the vast superiority between a god of flesh and one of wood? The principle, the sin, the folly is the same in either case, only that in ours the crime is more aggravated because we have more light, and sin in the face of it. The heathen bows to a false deity, but the true God he has never known; we commit two evils, inasmuch as we forsake the living God and turn unto idols. May the Lord purge us all from this grievous iniquity!

“The dearest idol I have known,

Whate'er that idol be;

Help me to tear it from thy throne,

And worship only thee.”

Daily Bible and Devotional for Women - http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=daily.bible.for.woman

[hislittleflower-throughconcrete]

I posted 3,588 times in 2021

230 posts created (6%)

3358 posts reblogged (94%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 14.6 posts.

I added 1,067 tags in 2021

#quote - 296 posts

#catholic humor - 248 posts

#important - 182 posts

#prayer - 137 posts

#catholic - 86 posts

#prayer request - 43 posts

#christian - 28 posts

#anonymous - 18 posts

#adventures of a catholic prospective child life specialist - 16 posts

#tolkein - 13 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#but a friend wants me to help lead a virtual retreat that weekend and at first i thought it was a different weekend so i thought i'd be fre

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

I need a book entitled “Lent for the Wounded: A Guide to a Gentle, Holy Lent for those who have experienced trauma, struggle with scrupulosity, have mental illness, eating disorders, or have a tendency to damage themselves trying to be absolutely perfect for God.”

Most lenten books, quotes, retreats, etc.  are trying to reach a lax conscience. "Examine your conscience minutely, root out even the tiniest sin, because you are worse than you realize. Don’t be complacent in your sin, you have to strive for sainthood and holy perfection and don’t stop fighting until you get there, meditate on the sorrow your sins cause God, give up big things this year, and just do better.”

That isn’t helpful or my holiness. To a person like me, that is the voice in my head nonstop. It just tacks on at the end “You’re a worthless failure if you can’t stick to your fast and each time you fail is another thorn you are piercing Jesus with.” 

319 notes • Posted 2021-02-11 23:09:12 GMT

#4

"Inauguration day is as sacred a sacrament that exists on our secular calendar"

A sentence I had to hear with my own two ears from NBC when recapping the inauguration day when my mom watched the news this morning. They were remarking why “Amazing Grace” was a fitting tribute at the ceremony.

I honestly have no words because I’ve never seen the idolatry of politics and politicians so blatantly stated. And I thought the people reacting to the capital riot stating talking about how it is a “sacred place” with “hallowed halls” that deserves “reverence” were bad.

We were created to worship, and if we choose something or someone other than God, this is what happens. Enjoy taking selfies with your golden calf.

329 notes • Posted 2021-01-21 16:58:11 GMT

#3

Most Christians think they care about the poor and care about helping the poor.

Do you really?

Most people picture the poor as someone who is kind, humble, and grateful for help, really similar to themselves, just down on their luck trying to feed their families.

What about the smelly poor? The poor who you offer to carry their bag and your arm becomes engulfed in bugs? The rude poor? The poor that believes in “backwards” things? Poor who have voted for someone you despise? The drug-addicted, belligerent poor? The poor who turn to crime? The poor who may yell obscenities at you as you try to help them and love them? If you do not wish to serve “those” poor, your love for the poor is conditional. And that’s something you need to pray about.

541 notes • Posted 2021-07-09 23:52:23 GMT

#2

Lord, please save the souls who dismiss you due to pain rather than pride, 

Souls who hate you because of wounds rather than wrath, 

Souls who write you off because they have a false image of who you really are, 

and souls who feel the brokenness of the world means you cannot exist. 

The road to heaven of narrow, but let your mercy be wide,

Let it open the door of heaven for those beaten down by the world 

And let it heal the wounds that cloud their perception of you. 

787 notes • Posted 2021-08-03 22:25:43 GMT

#1

THIS IS YOUR YEARLY LENTEN REMINDER

If you have an eating disorder, GOD DOES NOT WANT you to fast from food on days of of fasting or avoid meat on days of abstinence. In your circumstance, it is NOT a path to holiness and God actively wills you to continue eating food in a healthy manner. God does not want you to risk your mental and physical health. This is your permission to eat because in your case, fasting is moving away from holiness. 

If you have mental health issues or scrupulosity, GOD DOES NOT WANT you to impose unduly harsh or strict restrictions and penances on yourself. In your circumstance, it is NOT a path to holiness and God actively wills you to be gentle to yourself and focus on rekindling your love for Him in simple, natural ways - not getting hung up on self-imposed rules. God does not want you to risk your mental and physical health. This is your permission to be gentle on yourself because in your case, strictness and focusing on rules is moving away from holiness.

1010 notes • Posted 2021-02-15 23:32:50 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[beguines]

The inviolability, wildness, invisibility, prodigality, and indiscriminate bestowal of our in-Christ-ness by the Holy Geist (the German word has a sense of wildness, the Spirit blowing where it will) is a scandal to the churches because of the human tendency to want to have a tangible point of focus around which to build a closed mythology, the kind of idolatry exemplified in the story of the golden calf. The risen Christ is only too aware of this lust for idolatry, which is why the divine life disappears and leaves the life-giving but invisible Paraclete active within the creation . . . We see this wisdom of God most clearly in God's insistence on self-effacement in the bestowal of the Holy Ghost. Yet we have made a golden calf out of both the Holy Ghost and ordained ministry.

Maggie Ross, Pillars of Flame: Power, Priesthood, and Spiritual Maturity

[thedalatribune]

© Paolo Dala

Buddha Head of Eastern Wei From Qingzhou, Shandong, China (530 - 580) Louvre (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)

Idols

...Let’s start with a definition. I think to cover all the cases, we should probably define an idol (and I think this is a biblical definition) as anything that we come to rely on for some blessing, or help, or guidance in the place of a wholehearted reliance on the true and living God. That’s my working definition of idol. So you can see that would cover, for example, a rabbit’s foot in your pocket, or a picture of a saint hanging on your wall, or a relic from some sacred shrine sitting on your mantle, or the more forthright images taken from Hindu or Buddhist temples, or the golden calf that Aaron made while Moses was on the mountain.

What makes all of those idols is that we are looking away from a wholehearted reliance upon the true and living God through Jesus Christ, and we are looking at the rabbit’s foot, or the relic, or the picture for some special protection, or blessing, or guidance, or help that we don’t think we could get by just looking to God.

...If we come to crave, love, depend upon, and trust for a blessing people’s praise to enhance our self-exaltation, or money, or power, or sex, or family, or productivity, or anything else besides God himself for the greatest blessing, help, guidance, and satisfaction, then in essence we are doing what idolatry has always done.

...“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (I John 2:15,16)” Why does John in his letter end that way? He had never even referred to idols in the whole book. He never referred to idols in his whole Gospel. Out of the blue comes this closing sentence with the very word idol that ordinarily means a statue of something that we use to replace God with. “Don’t give in to idols; keep yourselves from idols.”

So why did he end that way? Here’s my closing suggestion. He had said in I John 2:15,16: 

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life - is not from the Father but is from the world.”

Now, John the apostle may have had literal material images in mind when he said, “Keep yourselves from idols.” But I think he is also thinking of the more general deadly problem that anything in the world that successfully competes with our love for God is an idol. So keep yourselves from idols - that is, love God and all that he is for us in Christ more than you love anything.

John Piper What Is An Idol?

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

3/16/2021 DAB Chronological Transcription

Deuteronomy 14 - 16

Welcome to the DABC Daily Audio Bible Chronological. It's the 16th day of March. I'm Jill. We have turned the page together. It is truly a blessing and an honor to be on this journey with you together as we read through the Bible every single day chronologically until we get to a year. We are in the book of Deuteronomy and we're reading chapters 14, 15 and 16 today, there's the music and we're reading in God's Word Translation Deuteronomy 14.

Commentary

I'm going to once again, glean from the wisdom of the founder of Daily Audio Bible, which just so happens to be my husband in this wonderful tool, fascinating summarization of daily readings, this book called The God of Your Story, I've referenced it several times, and I hope you don't see it as a cop-out that I'm referencing it. There are just times when I read it that I think there's nothing that I could say any differently or better than what he has already said. So we're going to go back just a day or two, in yesterday's reading to reference that as well. In Deuteronomy today, Moses discussed the stark seriousness of idolatry. Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future and they promise you signs or miracles and the predicted signs or miracles occur. Let's do that. Let's suppose if we saw this happen, we would likely be compelled to hear more and perhaps even to follow a person with these gifts without necessarily considering where they might be leading. Moses council was to not be overwhelmed by the magic, but to consider where the path was going, toward God or away. If they then say, come, let us worship other gods, gods you have not known before, do not listen to them. He went on to say that if even a family member entices us toward idolatry, we should intentionally get them out of our lives. That's a pretty big deal. If this is such a serious thing, what exactly is idolatry? The cultures of Moses' time literally made images before, which they bowed in worship, sacrificed and performed all sorts of acts of devotion. Remember the golden calf incident that we read about in Exodus 32 when enemies attacked or when famine came? The people of that day thought that the local gods were not pleased. The strongest God was always the victorious God. This sounds bizarre to us today because most of us live in cultures that do not widely affirm such religious practices. But actual idol worship does still exist in this world. Idolatry goes much deeper than making a statue and then sacrificing an animal to it, though. Idolatry is essentially the act of giving our hearts and hope to a person or thing, expecting that it will give us life in return. Put it in those terms. It's not so hard to find idolatry in our modern world. Idols can be anything money, control, possessions, power, sex, information or any of a long list of things we might turn to for life. Moses' council was specific to his time and the culture being created among the Israelites. Idolatry was huge and it carried the death penalty for the children of Israel. Obviously, our systems of justice no longer execute people for idolatry. But why was it such a severe threat that it was considered a capital offense? Because it would become cancerous to the people and destroy them from the inside out. It would make them forget who they were, where they'd come from and who their source of life really was. Let's examine our lives today. What are we giving our heart and hope to, in expectation that it will bring life and rescue? If things come to mind that are not God, they may be idols in our lives and will become cancerous to our souls. They will make us lose our identity and seduce us into darkness. That's a pretty big deal. Then in today's reading, we just have some reminders of clean and unclean animals. We have the reminder of giving one tenth to God but one tenth of everything. It can be difficult to pull scriptures like this during tithe and offering at church when God is asking for one tenth of everything. Now, obviously, we don't live in a day where we've got the altars right off the back door next to the mudroom for animal sacrifice. That's really not a part of our culture any longer. But I heard a pastor, my pastor years ago talk about it in terms of giving your time, talent and treasure. Now, what does that even mean? If we go down just a little bit further in the reading, we learn about seven year cancelation of debt and then right after that, God speaks of the poor and the needy being among you? Well, what if we gave 10 percent of our time, our talent and our treasure? What if we used ten percent of the yard that we have to grow food and to feed the hungry? What have we thought about our tenth in those terms of what we can give back to? What if it's just more than our tithing check in church? And I truly believe that with everything that we've read so far, that's exactly what God is saying. It goes beyond money. It goes beyond the check box of, "oh, yeah, I gave to the church this week", but what are we really giving ourselves to? Listen in my mind, I am an untrained, professional chef, I love to cook, I love to feed people, I love to grow food from the ground and pick it and clean it and chop it and cook it. And it's just my way of telling people that I love you. I see you, I, I have cared enough about you to invite you to the table and feed you and feed you premium ingredients. I'm not giving you the leftover day old bakery stuff and there's a rightful place for that. But I am giving you the best. I'm giving you my most excellence as a way to say I love you. I see you, I'm grateful for you. Let's sit and partake together. What if this was our posture, our heart towards God and towards the people that are hurting? What if we just did a quick self-examination of the heart and saw where we were giving ourselves our time, our talent, our treasure to things that are worthless, things that will fall away, things that are meaningless in the sight of the king and the kingdom of God.

Prayer

Father, thank you for these reminders today. Thank you for a moment just to reflect on what are we giving ourselves to? What does it mean? Where is our offering? Where is our offering going? What is it producing? Where could we give more of ourselves to further your kingdom? And what could we give less of ourselves to further your kingdom? A fair question today. A worthy examination of our hearts, of our minds, of our selves. We so, long to give you glory and honor in our lives to be a reflection of your glory and your honor. And yet sometimes we just miss the mark. Sometimes we just. Have missed what you've really asked of us. Father, forgive us where our approach to you has been nothing more than just a check mark off of the box of today, but rather could our lives be a constant conversation with our creator as we commune with you daily. We thank you so much for these reiterations, for these reminders, for these re-membrances. Because when we remember, we just don't forget. Today, we re remember. Today we re rededicate ourselves to the king, to the kingdom and to the cause of Christ in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.

Announcements

Daily Audio Bible, it is the Web page, it's the free app, you can tell a friend I don't know about you, but I think the more people that go through the Bible together, the better. So you could let a friend know that someone will read the Bible to you every single day. And in case you're not aware, there are several different translations for people who might be fluent in a particular different language that is available. You can check that out on the app as well. If you'd like to partner with the Daily Audio Bible. We thank you so much for your partnership. Truly could not do this without you. You can hit the Give icon up at the top right hand corner of your app, on your mobile phone, on your tablet. Look for the Give icon on the Web page, or if you're giving by mail, it's DAB PO Box 1996  Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174. If you have a prayer request, if you're calling it a prayer to pray for somebody else that has already called in requesting prayer, you can do that by hitting the red button up at the top right hand corner of your mobile phone, tablet or whatever other electronic devices they have out there. I'm so behind the times electronically. Hit submit, turn the dial to Chronological to make sure it goes to the right channel. If you're calling my mobile phone 800 583-2164. We are counting down. We are just several weeks within Easter. We always look forward to that season around here and I look forward to another day with you tomorrow as we turn the page together every single day. that it for me today. I'm Jill, love you and until then, love one another.

[psalmonesermons]

Dealing with fear Part 4: Four more types of fear

In this part of our study we consider a further 4 types of fear that are experienced by people in general, but also includes believers.

5. Fear of circumstances or consequences

An example of this type of fear is found with the prophet Elijah who after having destroyed the prophets of Baal, heard that the wicked Queen Jezebel was seeking revenge on Elijah. This produced fear and worry, and Elijah ended up hiding in a cave. At this point God gave Elijah various tasks to keep his mind off the threat of Jezebel. So when you experience this type of fear try to keep busy and remember to rehearse all the promises God has made to you in his word.

The enemy says no good deed goes unpunished; the Lord says no good deed goes unrewarded!

Scripture Antidote

Matthew 6:25 (Jesus speaking) Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

6. Fear of the unknown or future

This is a common type of fear, and a biblical example is that of Gideon. Gideon needed extra assurances from the Lord demonstrated by his laying out a fleece on more than one occasion which surprisingly God honoured. At the end of his career Gideon because he needed to know the future took the gold earrings of the Amalekites and melted them and fashioned the gold into a golden ephod (only the high priest was allowed to do this to get the word of the Lord for the future). So Gideon because of his fears for the future led Israel astray into idolatry[1].

We must realise 3 things about the future

a. God has a plan for your life

b. God’s grace is sufficient for you

c. God will provide exactly what you need at the point it is needed (not before).

7. Fear caused by sin

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

Fear can grip wicked people to the extent they run away even when no one is chasing them!

Isaiah 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites.

Sin produces fear, but righteous living produces peace.

We all need to keep short accounts with the Lord using where relevant 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

8. Irrational fears (phobias)

These fears are common even amongst believers and include fear of mice, spiders, snakes, and moths etc etc. These phobias are quite lightweight and usually can be removed by believing prayer.

Such fears can be like inherited fears where a child sees a parent overreacting to for example a mouse or other creature. It is as though the fear is transmitted from adult to child.

Scripture vs Fear

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Perfect love casts out fear, as we deal with fear in our lives the fear demons leave.

The more filled we are with his love the less room for fear to enter.

The more aware we are of God’s love for us the more confident we are he will help us

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

So where did the fear come from?

Prayer, Lord, we thank you for your keys for us to walk free from all ungodly fear.

Please give us a revelation of who we are in Christ.

Amen

[1] The Ephod that Gideon built was his own personal idol; perhaps a golden calf made from the gold he plundered in the battle, which became a stumbling block to his own household and all of Israel. This is the final downturn of his character and falling away of the one true God (see Judges 8:22-27).

[pope-francis-quotes]

26th March >> (@ZenitEnglish By Deborah Castellano Lubov) #PopeFrancis #Pope Francis’ Homily during the celebration of Holy Mass At Casa Santa Marta, on Thursday, Fourth Week of Lent: ‘Trust in God to Conquer Your Fear’ – #PopeFrancis’ Advice at Frightening Times (Full Text of Morning Homily)

At Casa Santa Marta, Also Warns Against Idolatry Which Leaves Us Empty & Yearning for God

As the news of what is going on in the world, leaves us sad and scared, Pope Francis says we must turn to God to help us conquer our fear.

Pope Francis gave this reminder today, March 26, as he offered his private daily Mass at his residence Casa Santa Marta for the victims of Coronavirus, which so far has claimed over 7500 lives in Italy.

In today’s homily, the Holy Father reflected on today’s first reading from Exodus 32:7-14, in order to demonstrate how idols can disrupt our lives, especially when our trust and priorities should instead be with God, reported Vatican News.

As the Pontiff acknowledged a sad reality, Francis observed: “In these days there’s so much suffering. There’s a lot of fear.”

This fear, he recognized, includes that “of the elderly who are alone in nursing homes, or hospitals, or in their own homes, and don’t know what will happen. The fear of those who don’t have regular jobs and are thinking about how to feed their children. They foresee they may go hungry. The fear of many civil servants. At this moment they’re working to keep society functioning and they might get sick.”

Francis then recognized “there’s also the fear, the fears, of each one of us.”

“Each one,” he said, “knows what their own fears are.”

After also in his homily warning against idols which only further distance us from God and His help and closeness, he prayed: “We pray to the Lord that He might help us to trust, and to tolerate and conquer these fears.”

Before concluding the Mass, the Pope exhorted faithful to partake in Spiritual Communion in this difficult time, and ended the celebration with Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction.

Here are the Holy Father’s words, followed by the prayer for Spiritual Communion:

I prostrate myself at your feet, O my Jesus, and I offer you the repentance of my contrite heart, which abases itself in its nothingness in Your Holy Presence. I adore you in the Sacrament of Your Love; I desire to receive You in the poor abode that my heart offers You. While waiting for the happiness of a Sacramental Communion, I want to possess You in spirit. Come to me, O my Jesus, that I may come to You. May Your Love inflame my whole being, in life and in death. I believe in You, I hope in You, I love You. Amen.

The Masses in Francis’ chapel normally welcome a small group of faithful, but due to recent measures’ taken by the Vatican, are now being kept private, without their participation.

It was announced in recent days that the Pope would have these Masses, in this period, be available to all the world’s faithful, via streaming on Vatican Media, on weekdays, at 7 am Rome time.

This comes at a time too when the Italian bishops’ conference has canceled public Masses throughout the nation, until at least April 3rd, following guidelines put out by Italian authorities.

In addition to Santa Marta, the Vatican has taken other steps to keep people safe and to stay close to the Pope, even if from a distance. They are televising the Pope giving privately, from the papal library, his weekly Angelus and General Audience addresses.

The Vatican Museums are now closed, along with the Vatican’s other similar museums. There have also been various guidelines implemented throughout the Vatican, to prevent the spread of the virus.

To date, the Vatican has confirmed that four people have been tested positive for Coronavirus in the Vatican, and those who were in close contact with them are all being quarantined at home. Recent reports, not confirmed yet by the Holy See, note there is an Italian monsignor who works at the Italian section of the Vatican Secretariat for State, and lives the Pope’s residence, Santa Marta, has also tested positive and is being hospitalized for COVID19.

The Vatican has neither confirmed nor denied reports which say the Pope was tested since then for COVID19.

By this evening in Rome, Italy’s civil protection agency will confirm that more than 7,000 Italians have died from the virus.

For anyone interested, the Pope’s Masses at Santa Marta can be watched live and can be watched afterward on Vatican YouTube. Below is a link to today’s Mass. Also, a ZENIT English translation of the Pope’s full homily can be read below:

***

FULL HOMILY

In the first Reading is the scene of the people’s mutiny. Moses had gone up to the mountain to receive the Law, which God gave to him in stone, written by His finger. But the people got bored and gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him: “But this Moses, for sometime we haven’t known where he is, where he has gone and we are without a guide. Make us a god that will help us to go on.” And Aaron, who later would be a priest of God, but there he was the priest of the stupidity of the idols, said: “But yes, give me all the gold and silver you have,” and they gave it all and made that golden calf (Cf. Exodus 32:1ff).

In the Psalm we heard God’s lament: “They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a molten image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.” And here, at this moment, when the Reading begins: “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down; for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves; they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’” — a true apostasy! — from the living God to idolatry. They didn’t have the patience to wait for Moses to return: they wanted novelties; they wanted something, a liturgical show, something . . .

I would like to refer to some things <in regard to> this. First of all, that idolatrous nostalgia in the people: in this case, they thought of Egypt’s idols, but <it was> the nostalgia to return to the idols, to return, to go back to the worst, being unable to wait for the living God. This nostalgia is an illness that is also ours. One begins to walk with the enthusiasm of being free, but then the complaints begin. “But yes, this is a hard moment, the desert, I’m thirsty, I want water, I want meat . . . but in Egypt they ate onions, good things, and here there aren’t any . . . “Idolatry is always selective: it makes you think of the good things it gives you but it doesn’t make you see the bad things. In this case, they were thinking of how they were at table, with these very good meals that pleased them so much, but they were forgetting that that was the table of slavery. Idolatry is selective.

Then, something else: idolatry makes you lose everything. To fashion the calf, Aaron asks them: “Give me <your> gold and silver,” but it was the gold and silver that the Lord had given them, when He said to them: “Ask the Egyptians to lend you gold,” and then they went with them; it was a gift of the Lord and, with the Lord’s gift, they made the idol. And this is really awful. However, this mechanism also happens to us, when we have attitudes that lead us to idolatry, we are attached to things that distance us from God, because we make another god and we make it with the gifts that the Lord has given us — with the intelligence, with the will, with the love, with the heart . . . they are gifts proper of the Lord, which we use to engage in idolatry.

Yes, one of you might say to me: “But I don’t have idols at home. I have a Crucifix, Our Lady’s image, which aren’t idols. . .:” No, no, in your heart. And the question we must ask today is: what is the idol you have in your heart, in my heart — the hidden way out where I feel well, which moves me away from the living God. And we also have an attitude, with idolatry, that is very clever: we know how to hide the idols, as Rachel did when she ran away from her father and hid <the household idols> in the camel’s saddle and among clothes. Among our clothes of the heart, we too have hidden many idols.

The question I would like to ask today is: what is my idol? That idol of mine of worldliness . . . and idolatry also touches piety because they wanted the golden calf, not <for> a circus, no, but to do adoration. “They prostrated themselves before it.” Idolatry leads you to a mistaken religiosity, rather: so many times, worldliness, which is idolatry, makes you change the celebration of a Sacrament into a worldly feast. An example, I don’t know, I think, we think, I don’ know, let us imagine a wedding celebration. One doesn’t know if it’s a Sacrament, where the newlyweds truly give all and love one another before God, and promise to be faithful before God and receive God’s grace, or if it’s a fashion show, how this one and that one and the other are dressed . . . <it’s> worldliness; it’s idolatry. This is an example. Because idolatry doesn’t stop; it always goes on.

The question I would like to ask all of us today is: what are my idols? Each one has his own. What are my idols? Where do I hide them? — so that the Lord won’t find them? And at the end of <our> life He says to each one of us: “You are corrupted. You moved away from the way I indicated to you. You prostrated yourself before an idol.”

Let us ask the Lord the grace to know our idols. And if we can’t throw them out, at least have them in the corner . . .

Finally, the Pope ended the celebration with Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction, inviting <the faithful> to make a Spiritual Communion.

Here Is the Prayer Recited by the Pope

My Jesus, I believe you are really present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire You in my soul. As I cannot receive you sacramentally now, at least come spiritually into my hearty. As You have already come, I embrace You and unite myself wholly to You. Do not let me ever be separated from You.

Before leaving the Chapel dedicated to the Holy Spirit, the ancient Marian antiphon Ave Regina Cael rum (“Hail Queen of Heaven”) was intoned.

[ZENIT translation of Pope Francis’ full homily at Santa Marta]

26th MARCH 2020 14:56POPE'S MORNING HOMILY

[matt-in-the-hat]

ok as @gingerhaole suggested I'm going to rant about Good Omens from my Jewish perspective. If I get anything wrong please correct me, I'm not the Ultimate Expert on Jewish stuff. I'm just a Jew who studies Tanakh regularly.

so first of all the story is verryyy Christian. like aside from the Jesus scene, the whole concept of hell and Satan and Armageddon is based on the Christian New Testament (Revelations, for example, is where the Horsemen are introduced.)

but furthermore I'd like to interpret the main characters as Jewish bc even though it's set in a pretty Christian area (England) I'm Jewish and I do what I like. I'm just going to talk about Aziraphale, Crowley, Agnes, Anathema, Madam Tracy, Adam, and the Them, though. I don't give a rat's ass about Newt or Shadwell. I digress.

now, Crowley is a demon who isn't really evil. He says he fell because he asked questions. But for Jews, that's expected and encouraged. It's not actually a universal thing to expect unquestioning faith from your religious followers. Seems like it's just a Christian thing.

so from a Jewish perspective. The unending pattern in the Tanakh is that Gd says to do x things and for a while the Jews do them and prosper and then somehow we fall off the wagon and start up idolatry or disobedience or go against Gds orders in some way. And then we're punished.

looking at it from that perspective, I'd like to propose the idea that maybe Crowley's crime was actually disobeying. The reason why David got anointed to replace Saul the first king of the Jews was because Saul refused to kill the Philistines even though he was told to. Maybe Crowley had been instructed to do something cruel- the Jewish Gd in the Tanakh had cruel moments!- and refused and that's why he fell.

now, that brings up a whole nother can of worms when you consider Aziraphale. The least obedient angel ever. Why doesn't he fall too? He literally disobeys direct orders from Heaven, he lies to Gd Herself, etc. Well, maybe Heaven is in the wrong in this case, from Gds perspective. Maybe Aziraphale is the Miriam to Heaven's "Golden Calf" Great Plan.

and as far as lying to Gd? Well, there's no way She bought it. Gd knows everything, after all. But maybe after the whole mess with Satan and then humans falling from grace, Gd decided to reconsider a little bit. Be a little more forgiving.

later, after the flood, Gd will create a covenant with the Jews. The implicit understanding in it is that Gd has just as much of a responsibility to the Jews as the Jews have to Gd. Maybe this is where that understanding started.

when it comes to the witches (Agnes, Anathema, and Madam Tracy) magic is generally considered idolatry in the Tanakh. Saul outlaws fortune-tellers, for example. But "magic" could be allowed if it came directly from Gd.

I'm going to say that Agnes is a sort-of prophet- she doesn't save the Jewish people, but she does in the long term save the world so I think it counts. Jews are included in that group.

Anathema isn't maybe a prophet in the same way but since she is raised in a very specific way and given special gifts like aura reading I could see her as something like a Nazirite (think Samson with his super strength.)

Madame Tracy might also count as a prophet or not, depending on whether you count her interactions with an angel to be 1. prophetic in nature or 2. leading to her helping the Jews. Personally I'd count her because she had a big role in stopping the end of the world,and that's very helpful to the Jews of the world.

finally, when it comes to the Jewish idea of moshiach and stuff, obviously we don't see Jesus as the guy. He isn't born to the right bloodline and he doesn't establish a kingdom upholding Jewish law.

but I'd like to think that the Youngs are the right bloodline. And when Adam becomes their real son, he gains that bloodline. And while it's true that Adam doesn't establish a kingdom of Jewish law (yet,) but he does rewrite a lot of the world that was breaking Jewish law. Getting rid of nuclear plants = tikkun olam, for example. I'd say he could be the closest thing to a moshiach we've seen.

and to clarify for goyim reading this, the Jewish moshiach doesn't cause the end of the world, where we all ascend to Heaven or something. In the Tanakh, every time we get a cool new leader, they fall to despotism or idolatry or in some way get corrupted. The moshiach is just the predicted future leader who WONT get corrupted and will create a prosperous, faithful, united kingdom of the Jews.

and I think Adam could do quite nicely, especially if he upped his Jewishness. I think if the Youngs are even Jewish they're probably Reform, so he might (and I'm speaking as a Reform Jew myself) want to convert to Orthodoxy and then he could really be the moshiach. Especially with the Them as his advisors, he could do a very good job of fending off corruption (Pepper is definitely the Yitro of my heart.)

and wouldn't it be quite nice if the fabled moshiach were named after the first human? In gematria, the Hebrew numerology, the word אמת (truth) is special because it starts with the first letter of the alefbet א and ends with the last letter ת. In the same way, to have the story of the Jews according to the Tanakh begin and end with Adam would be really cool and special. One might almost say it was Gds plan. Ineffable, maybe.

ok that's all I have for today. Good Omens is Jewish. Thanks for coming to my Tedtalk.

[oneshul]

Vayakhel: Putting God into a Box

(Scene: An open, bare field in the middle of the Israelite Camp, blocked off from the rest of the camp by an elaborate fence, consisting of wooden pillars fitted into brass sockets, ringed and crowned with silver hooks. These hold white linen sheet-curtains, designed to conceal the construction activities within. There is also a half-built tent, covered with cloths of goats’ hair, wool dyed blue, scarlet, and purple, and the skins of both rams and dugongs. The foundation of an unfinished brass altar stands before the tent.

Sitting on the ground, taking a break, are the two builders: Bezalel ben Uri and Oholiav ben Achisamach. They are sipping at clay water-jugs, and mopping the sweat off their foreheads—it is thirsty work, indeed. But they are proud to gaze upon the median stage of their labors: this is soon to be the Mishkan, or the Shrine of their LORD GOD.)

 Bezalel: Another day of successful planning, building, sawing and casting metal, hey, Oholiav?

Oholiav: Weren’t those Danites supposed to come help us, today? Why haven’t they shown up?

Bez: As much as the Zebulunites showed, yesterday.

Oho: ‘Tis clear, my comrade-in-architecture: these Israelites lack the skills and patience to build.

Bez: Ironic, isn’t it? What, after all, were they doing in Egypt for four hundred years, if not building?

Oho: Well, there’s a difference between building a Shrine to God, and being whipped into hauling great blocks of sun-dried mud, or sandstone.

Bez: Never mind: I will speak to the head of the Danites—what’s his name?

Oho: Oh—I must remember: Amiel ben—ben—

Bez: Gemali. Well, Mr. Amiel will have my temper and my strong right arm to answer to, he will.

Oho: Oh, what’s the use? The most one can expect of these Israelites is complaining, stuffing their faces with Manna, and bragging about how religious they are, or learned—not that I ever see any of them actually studying the Torah.

Bez (soothingly): Calm yourself, Avi. I will speak to the Prince of the Danites. I may even push  him around—just a little, for breaking his promise.

Oho: Only, don’t hurt him. We must not, as builders of the Tabernacle, permit innocent blood on our hands, even if the tribesman was supposed to be here, to help. And the truth is, we do better when it’s just you and me: these others tend to be bossy, especially when it’s something about which they know nothing. Really and truly, these Israelite men, by and large, know nothing about fixing things around their tents, let alone construction.

(There is a knock on the pillar nearest the two.)

Bez: What’s that? Who’s there?(Upon seeing who it is, he snaps to attention, as does Oho) Sir, yes Sir, Major Joshua!

Joshua: At ease, Holy Architects of the Lord God. Ahem. Pleasure to be here, in our soon-to-be dedicated Shrine. Well. May I enter?

Oho: If the Danite volunteers, had they shown up, were to be permitted to enter our Sacred Precincts, how much moreso may an Officer of the One True God?

Joshua (squeezing between the barrier-poles): Yes, yes. I was sent by Rabbi Moses to ask you when the Shrine will be ready for both sacrifice and worship. After that—um—unfortunate incident with the Golden Calf, Moses thinks a Shrine would be an excellent preventative to idolatry; it would give the People of Israel some focus.

Bez: Um—two weeks.

Oho: Or four. At most, five weeks.

Joshua (disappointedly): Can you not speed things up, a little?

Bez: Well, there are only the two of us. If the various work-parties promised to us on a daily basis were to actually show up to help, it would speed things up.

Joshua (frowning): Let me understand this. You have been building, crafting, smelting, and designing this entire complex—by yourselves?

Bez & Oho (proudly): Yes, Sir; so we did.

Joshua (shaking his head): That’s not the way it’s supposed to be, at all. Let me look into this. There must be a better way (Saluting, he exits by squeezing between the poles).

Oho (to Bez): Think that anything will change?

Bez: Doubt that. You know these bureaucrats: Promise much, but Deliver nothing.

Oho (sighs): Well, break’s over: let’s get back to work. Where is that brush and pot of golden paint that I was using before?

Bez: Wasn’t it—over by the south side of the Altar?

Oho: Can’t find it, now—and I really, really wanted to get that gold trim on the edges of the Altar by end of work, today.

Bez: Avi, look over there!

Oho: Where?

Bez: That same corner you just told me was wanting gold paint. There is a fresh coat, right where you were going to paint it!

Oho: Why, so there is! Did you paint it, Bezalel?

Bez: Not I.

Oho: Nor I.

Bez: Do you know what this means?

Oho: What?

Bez: There are Invisible Assistants helping us, that’s what. Angels. Spirits.

Oho: If that’s true—and I have never before witnessed such a miracle—it means that God Himself is eager to complete the work, and has sent Angelic Messengers to assist. A miracle! And you can—

Bez (finishing his sentence): Send to Major Joshua, and assure him that we will make that two-week window. Praise the Lord, from Whom all Builders benefit!

(They fall to their knees and worship)

Rabbi David Hartley Mark is from New York City’s Lower East Side. He attended Yeshiva University, the City University of NY Graduate Center for English Literature, and received semicha at the Academy for Jewish Religion. He currently teaches English at Everglades University in Boca Raton, FL, and has a Shabbat pulpit at Temple Sholom of Pompano Beach. His literary tastes run to Isaac Bashevis Singer, Stephen King, King David, Kohelet, Christopher Marlowe, and the Harlem Renaissance.