In the Old Testament, God’s presence was symbolised by the ark of the covenant, that wooden chest, covered in gold, which contained the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments as well as Aaron’s rod (Numbers 17:1-13) and a pot of manna (Ex 16:4), and which featured so prominently in the history of Israel. The ark of the covenant (which has featured in many different fictional films, my favourite being the Indiana Jones film ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’) may have been a simple chest, but the things it contained and, above all, the things it symbolised – chiefly the presence of God – became extremely important to God’s people. According to the book of Exodus, while Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days receiving the Ten Commandments, God showed him the pattern for the tabernacle which would house the ark of the covenant and all the furnishings which would go into the tabernacle and Moses instructed Bezalel and Oholiab to build these things (see Ex 31:1-11). Ex 25:10-22 gives us a detailed description of the ark: it was to be approximately 131 cm x 79 cm x 79 cm (52 x 31 x 31 inches), made of acacia wood, covered entirely with gold, with four gold rings to be attached to its four corners, two on each side so that poles could be inserted through these to carry the ark. A golden lid or ‘atonement cover’ was on top (this is often known as the ‘mercy seat’ because the cloud which represented the presence of God would rest on this cover and from that place He would dispense mercy to man when the blood of the atonement was sprinkled there.) Gold cherubim were put above the lid.

The ark of the covenant was the place where God’s holy presence would dwell; it came to symbolise not only all that God had already done for His people through the things it contained, but the very presence of God Himself. It was situated in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and only the high priest could enter that place, and even then only once a year. When the Israelites were in the wilderness and travelling on only when the cloud by day or pillar of fire by night moved, the ark was transported by the Levites who carried it on the poles; because the ark symbolised God’s presence, no one was allowed to touch it. God was so holy, so utterly different from sinful mankind, that no person could touch the ark and live; there was to be reverence, awe and obedience in how the ark was handled.

The ark played an important role as the Israelites crossed the River Jordan to possess the land of Canaan. During the crossing, the river grew dry as soon as the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched its waters and it remained dry until the priests left the river with the ark after the people had passed over (Josh 3:15-17, Josh 4:10, 11, 18). In the Battle of Jericho, the ark was carried around the city once a day for seven days, preceded by the armed men and seven priests sounding seven trumpets of rams’ horns (Josh 6:4-15). On the seventh day, the seven priests sounding the trumpets before the ark went round the city seven times and this time they gave a great shout and the walls of Jericho fell down flat (Josh 6:19-20). Later on, we see Joshua praying and lamenting before the ark (Josh 7:6-9); we see him reading the law to the people at the site where the ark was situated (Josh 8:33). Later, God’s people consulted the ark for guidance (Judges 20:26-28). One of the darkest periods of Israel’s history was when the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant and took it back with them (1 Sam 4-5).

Ps 132 looks back at the rescue of the ark of the covenant (see 2 Sam 6) and remembers God’s faithfulness and help. We do well to look back at history and remember the abiding presence of God, resting on the promise He has given us that He will never leave us or forsake us. (Heb 13:5)

Igor enjoyed his first trip out in 2016 yesterday, visiting Aston Springs Farm. He got to see sheep:

… and pigs:

… and chickens (with a friend):

The alpacas were a bit shy, though:

In the Old Testament, prophets were seen as important people who brought a message from God to people. They did not speak on their own authority, but spoke the very words of God (Jer 1:9, Num 22:38, Ezek 2:7-8), which was why it was so important to obey their commands. To speak falsely in the name of God was a terrible sin, punishable by death (see Deut 18:15-22), and prophets were clearly called by God to speak His words (Jer 1:5). Theirs was no easy life, for so often, their words were rejected and they were treated badly (see Acts 7:52), but they provided God’s people with comfort, warning, challenge, guidance and insight into God’s ways.

The content of prophecy could be varied, including:

1. revelation about the nature of God (e.g. Isaiah 55:8-11, Num 23:19)
2. a calling to God’s people to honour the covenant God made with them (Jer 3)
3. guidance in specific areas (e.g. choosing a king or personal guidance such as Samuel gave to Saul)
4. rebuke (e.g. Nathan’s message to David after David had committed adultery)
5. prediction (with many Old Testament prophecies looking ahead to the coming of the Messiah – see Isaiah 53, for example)

Prophecy was often connected to praise and worship (see 1 Chron 25:1) and to intercessory prayer (see 2 Kings 20:1-11) and to miraculous powers (Elijah and Elisha seeing miracles with food, healings and other answers to prayer and prophecy, for example.)

Prophets gave their messages in a number of ways. The most obvious was through a spoken message (‘This is what the Lord God says’ being a common introduction to Old Testament prophecy), but often prophets combined dramatic physical symbolism with their message to reinforce what they were saying:

• • Abijah tearing new garment into 12 pieces and giving 10 to Jeroboam to symbolise the division of the kingdom (1 Ki 11:30-31)
  • Elisha had King Joash shoot an arrow symbolising victory over the Syrians (1 Kings 13:15-18)
  • Jeremiah smashed the potter’s vessel to symbolise judgment (Jer 19:10-13)
  • Ezekiel lay on one side for over a year to symbolise the siege of Jerusalem (Ezek 4)
  • Ezekiel dug through the city wall and carried baggage out, symbolising exile (Ezek 12:3-6)

It’s obvious from the above examples that prophets were not ‘comfortable’ people to be around. They were people who saw strange visions, who dreamed bizarre dreams or could interpret dreams; they were people who heard the audible voice of God (1 Sam 3:1), who maintained such a close relationship with God that they could write about their conversations with God with first-hand experience. They challenged the status quo and were unequivocal in their pursuit of God. Their very existence was a vivid reminder of God’s passionate love for His people: as Wayne Grudem says, ‘The existence of prophecy among the people of Israel was a great blessing, for it indicated that God cared about them enough, even in their sins, to speak personally to them.’ (‘The Gift of Prophecy in the NT & Today’, P 282)

It’s impossible to read the Old Testament without being struck by the fervour and authenticity of these accounts of prophecy. We might not know how the prophets received every message from God (with beautiful understatement Wayne Grudem reminds us ‘in the long sections in the writing prophets, we are simply presented with the content of the prophet’s message with no indication as to how the prophet received it.’ (‘The Gift of Prophecy in the NT & Today’, P 277)), but it’s clear, as Peter reminds us later, ‘no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.’ (2 Pet 1:20-21)

In our Bible studies, we have reached 1 Corinthians 14, a chapter which gives practical advice on using the gifts of the Spirit in church meetings, in particular looking at the gifts of speaking in tongues, interpretation and prophecy. These are vast topics (whole books have been written on them!), but we began with an introduction to the topic of prophecy.

Prophecy could be defined as the revelation of God given to human messengers who communicate this message to other people. Max Turner defines it as ‘a type of oracular speech (i.e. an intelligible verbal message) believed to originate with God and to be communicated through an inspired human intermediary.’ (‘The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts’, P 184) Without this revelation of God and from God, given to us through a variety of means (including nature, through the Bible, through experience, through natural means and supernatural means), we would not have the opportunity to know God, for Christianity is explicitly a religion based on revelation, with Jesus God’s clearest revelation of His nature (see Jn 1:18, Heb 1:1-3). ‘Prophecy is the most common means God used to communicate with people throughout Biblical history. The story of prophecy is the story of God speaking to people through human messengers from Genesis to Revelation.’ (Wayne Grudem, ‘The Gift of Prophecy in the NT and Today’, P271)

The Old Testament gives us many examples of prophecy, with God revealing His love for people and the laws needed to live in right relationship with Him. Many prophets (or ‘seers’) are named in the Old Testament, including Abraham, Moses, Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Gad, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah and Elisha, not to mention the ‘Major Prophets’ (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel) or the ‘Minor Prophets’ (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.) There are over 320 references to ‘prophet’ or ‘prophets’ in the Old Testament, their contribution giving us revelation about the nature of God, the covenant He made with Israel and glimpses into the ‘new covenant’ which would come through Jesus.

It has been a busy week for missionary news: a letter from Steve & Katuska has arrived and a photo book from the January 2016 tailoring graduation from Reeba and Fredrick.

Steve & Katuska

Steve & Katuska have taken the decision to remain in the UK and not return to Mozambique for the foreseeable future, largely because of the needs of their three sons regarding education. They write ‘This isn’t a decision that we take lightly, and it comes after much thought and prayer as well as discussion with both OMS and our own church. Among the mixture of factors involved in the equation, probably what weights the most is the need to get the boys settled into school. They have coped with more than enough changes in the last few years!.. What they need most, right now, is stability.’

The needs of our children must always be weighed when we consider our calling and it can be difficult to know how best to balance the two things. Please pray for Steve & Katuska as they seek God’s guidance for their future ministry, for the right schools for the boys and for the ongoing work of the Bible seminary in Mozambique. At the moment, they are in Ecuador, visiting Katuska’s family, and hope to be able to provide help and relief to friends in Pedernoles, just 25 miles from the epicentre of the earthquake which struck in April this year while they are in the country.

Fredrick & Reeba

As a church, we were blessed to be able to support the tailoring programme run by Reeba and Fredrick in three locations in India and have just received a beautiful photo album marking the graduation ceremony in January 2016:

Please continue to pray for this vital ministry which helps women to find the skills needed to earn their own living and pray as we continue to prepare for our missions’ trip to India to see this work for ourselves next year.

In the 1978 romantic film ‘Grease’, Sandy (a young prim and proper teenager in the throes of first love) sings of ‘bad boy’ Danny, ‘I’m hopelessly devoted to you.’ The film charts the ups and downs of young love, capturing something of the awkwardness and passion of love and ends, in true Hollywood style, with the couple driving off to their ‘happily ever after.’

God’s love for us is far more devoted than the most devoted human love and He is looking for an equally passionate response from us. Francis Chan, in his book ‘Crazy Love’, says ‘it’s probably the most insane statement that you could make to say that the eternal Creator of this universe is in love with me. There is a response that ought to take place in believers, a crazy reaction to that love. Do you really understand what God has done for you? If so, why is your response so lukewarm?’

God’s love for us is fervent, passionate, unrelenting and unfailing. As we meditate on that love, it evokes within us an equally fervent, passionate, unrelenting and unfailing love in us: ‘we love, because He first loved us.’ (1 Jn 4:19) David spoke of this love: ‘I loveYou more than I can say… I’m madly in love with You.’ (Ps 69:9, The Message)

Phil Wickham’s song ‘Wide Awake’ captures something of this love:

‘Through the veil, we have come

You’ve paid the price, a sacrifice, of flesh and blood.

Hearts ablaze, drawing close

The holy place now invades the human soul.’

As we meditate on the fact that we can approach a holy God through the sacrifice of His beloved Son and now the presence of God can live within us, our hearts are ablaze.

‘Hope is here, love has won

With burning hearts, into Your arms

Oh God, we run

All my life and all my days

Holding nothing back, giving all I am

For Your great name.’

God’s love sets a burning love within our heart (the word ‘zeal’ could be translated as ‘burning love’, ‘crazy love’, to quote Francis Chan) and we long to run to God and to hold nothing back from Him, just as a lover longs to give himself or herself utterly to the beloved.

‘Wide awake, unashamed, in Your light

By Your grace, boldly running to Your side

Captivated, oh I am taken by everything You are

I want to be closer and closer and closer to Your heart

I want to be closer and closer and closer to Your heart.‘

One of the most precious things about God’s love is how it banishes shame, casts our unworthiness to one side as we clothe ourselves in Christ’s righteousness. We are captivated by God, held to Him as iron filings cling to a magnet, drawn by His love.

The Psalms frequently talk of this desire to be close to God (see Ps 91:1-2, Ps 73:28, Ps 42:1-2, Ps 63:1-2), describing the ache and longing of love and the satisfaction found only in the presence of God (see also Song of Songs 5:8). May we all be drawn closer and closer to God’s heart, allowing His heart of love to fill us, allowing His presence to invade our souls and lead us to the place of satisfaction in Him, for truly, nothing else can satisfy. Francis Chan says ‘God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself, because the answer to religious complacency isn’t working harder at a list of dos and don’ts; it’s falling in love with God.’ Only God can satisfy.