Musing 126
Read Exodus 20-22 today as the daily reading. One thing that struck me was 20:22-25, where it talks about how to build an altar.
Some of it is just strange to modern ears - what do you mean, it can’t be made of hewn stones? Why is it that having steps going up to an altar is like me being naked?
In both cases, I admit I’d have to do some study to fully account for what’s going on, and I’ve done a lot of studying in my life.
But there are a few things my mind immediately jumps to -
- the nearness of God. the altar is the place where God meets us. Steps increase that distance we must go, as if it’s on us to bridge the gap as we go up (and thus be exposed in our insufficiency). This misses that God is the One who has bridged that gap.
- the above is much the same reason as why hewn stones profane the altar. The earth, cursed though it may be, is not unclean like we are. There is no need for our hands to damage the earth to help us bridge the distance to God.
Ofc, these are just first impressions without study. But something I hope will make people think.