Chapters 8-10: Priesthood, Part 1

The heavens themselves, the planets and this centre, 

Observe degree, priority and place,

Insisture, course, proportion, season, form,

Office and custom, in all line of order.

Take but degree away, untune that string,

And hark, what discord follows!

Troilus and Cressida, Act I, scene 3

...And YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying:
Take Aharon and his sons with him,
the garments and the oil for anointing, 
the bull for the hattat-offering, the two rams and the basket of matzot;
and the entire community, assemble at the entrance to the Tent of Appointment.
Moshe did as YHWH had commanded him...


...Now Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu, took each-man his pan,
and, placing fire in them, put smoking-incense on it, 
and brought-near, before the presence of YHWH, outside fire,


such as he had not commanded them.


And fire went out from the presence of YHWH
and consumed them, so that they died,
before the presence of YHWH.

.............................................................................................................................

"Take but degree away, untune that string, and hark, what discord follows..."  Our text for today has some hard words.  This has been the most difficult lesson for me to prepare so far, and I can't quite put my finger on why - it's not for lack of subject matter, or time, or interest, but every time I thought about sitting down to work on it I had this feeling like I was facing a wall I was supposed to figure out how to scale, or catching fireflies and trying to make them into a Lite Brite. So naturally, I put it off all week until it was the night before our study and couldn't possibly be avoided any longer.

I think maybe the reason for my procrastination is the great looming WHY?? of chapter 10 - why do these guys get annihilated and we only get three verses to read about it?  I felt like I had to come up with an answer, but the deeper I dug the more I realized that no one who has asked this question has really found an answer.  What's more, it's not particularly bothersome to me that they get killed - full disclosure about my basic lack of pity here.  They must have deserved it, right?!  It's good enough for me that God knows what they did, and there must have been a reason for their deaths.  Unfortunately, I knew that wasn't going to be considered a satisfactory answer in a room full of people with more refined moral sensitivity and compassion than I have.  I knew the kinds of questions that would be coming my way - "So is God not all-forgiving?  What did they do that was so bad?  God sure must be full of himself.  Some kind of career incentive that is!"

So here is what I argued (if there's anything we've learned at Duke, it's that everything is an argument - ahem - "thesis"): chapter 10 comes in a block of material that belongs with chapters 8 and 9.  Chapters 8 and 9 have to deal with consecrating the priests and preparing them for their service before the Lord.  We might expect, then, to at least find some clues in chapters 8 and 9 that can help us make some sense out of what happens in chapter 10.  Bingo!  Those clues are what I have to offer you.  Fireflies though they may be, it's a start.

I. Guiding Observations
      a.  These chapters introduce a shift from the prescriptive legal formulations you've been reading for the past seven chapters - what to do - to descriptive narratives of certain ritual events - what was done.  On the surface, this material about the installation of priests seems as though it would fit better at the end of Exodus since the content slightly overlaps and describes the fulfillment of what was ordained in Exodus 29.1-37 (the ritual through which priests are installed).  Why do you think it is here instead - after the consecration of the Tabernacle, after the introduction of the sacrificial rituals?

      c.  Note the parallel between Moshe in ch 8 and Aharon in ch 9 - Moshe, acting on behalf of YHWH, consecrates Aharon and the priests, then the priests put their new role into action by officiating a dedicatory rite on behalf of all the people, consecrating the Tabernacle and celebrating the entry of God's presence, kavod Adonai.  There's another parallel comin'.  

      b.  With an ear to what will come in ch 10, pay attention to refrains/similarities/repetition in the wording of the text, specifically these:

• "As YHWH had commanded Moshe" (8.9, 13, 17, 21, 29; 9.10, etc.)
• "Brought near (to be seen by YHWH)" and "Before the presence of YHWH" (8.26ff), which becomes "YHWH will make himself seen by you" (9.4, 6) and "before all the people" (10.1-3)
• "And fire went out from the presence of YHWH" (9.24; 10.1)

II. The Tabernacle

      I've been itching for the right time to talk about this, and I think it's finally arrived (although I couldn't keep from hinting at it here and there...).  Although this is largely the business of Exodus and therefore not the focus of our subject matter, to rightly understand the role of the priesthood there are a few things you need to know about the Tabernacle.  Actually, one thing you really need to know: The Tabernacle is a visual/ritual representation ordering space, time, and life, as a microcosm - a mini-cosmos - of the world, echoing the divine order portrayed in the Creation story.  There are three ways this ordering takes place (Leviticus likes threes):    

• Space is ordered through the construction of the Tabernacle in Exodus
• Time is ordered through the festivals and yearly structure outlined primarily in Leviticus 23
• Life is ordered through the hierarchies of priests/common folk, Israel/outsiders, dietary rules/regulations, etc.

The Tabernacle is where stuff happens.  But more than that, it's where the stuff that happens takes on meaning that is greater than the actual event itself; everything that happens in the Tabernacle means something having to do with God's vision for being present with his people.  Somehow, through this one place, we're supposed to be able to see back all the way to the Garden where YHWH was present and separated the day from the night, the water from the dry land, the greater lights from the lesser lights; to see forward all the way to the holy city which "has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives its light ... and nothing unclean will ever enter it."  

      So in Leviticus, the Tabernacle stands at the front and center of keeping things separate.  These separations somehow are to mirror Creation, to mirror divine order, and therefore to mirror YHWH himself "before all the people."  And guess who was in charge of keeping things in their proper order?  Yep. You've got it.

I'll leave you to think about what might be at stake if the priests choose not to maintain these divine boundaries as they go about their business.  We'll continue the conversation next time by probing a bit deeper into The Function of the Priesthood and Chapter 10: Biblical Leadership.