April 4, 2009
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The Book of Isaiah Chapter 1 V.12 pt. 2
Isa 1:12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
Considering the definitions I found in the last section, there were a few of these words that stood out, and I was puzzled, so I looked them up.
Tenon – ten’-un (yadh): This word, occurring in Ex 26 and 36, is used in the account of the tabernacle to describe the “hand” or yadh by which its 48 boards were kept in place. Each board had two tenons which were mortised into it (Ex 36:22 margin). These tenons would be made of harder wood than the acacia, so as better to stand the strain of wind and weather.
Axle-trees – A crossbar or rod supporting a vehicle, such as a cart, that has terminal spindles on which the wheels revolve.
A phallus – The emblem of the generative power in nature, carried in procession in the Bacchic orgies, or worshiped in various ways.
The fractional part of a nonnegative real number is the part of the number that appears after the decimal point.
After looking these words up, what I see is more of a picture of strength and even support. In the context of the verse, it looks like “who strong-armed you into this?”
“To tread” in this verse is indicative of “to trample.” My courts refers to court, enclosure, settled abode, settlement, village, and town.
This was the cross reference to the verse.
Exd 23:17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
So basically, they were fulfilling an obligation required by God, and there was no love in this…their duty.
Let me see if I can sum this up in a way most people would get. Let’s look at whatever it is that one might aspire to do…their dream job or career. What if all it took for you to achieve your dream was to show a bit of respect to someone like Donald Trump, who certain has the money and access to get pretty much anywhere, and virtually anything.
If you were required to appear before the Donald three times a year and impress him with your respect, how would you approach him? What would your motivation be? How would you appear before him…in his boardroom (court)? How would you address him? What would you wear, and how would you speak and present yourself?
Would you resent the fact that you were required to appear before him? Would it be the formality that you’d get sick of? Would you come in with a nonchalant, arrogant attitude, like you are owed something, and just treat the Donald like one of your boys? Would you come into his boardroom in street clothes because everyone is more relaxed these days, and no one really dresses up anymore?
Does the Donald have to just accept your cultural quirkiness; your natural hair, or dress, or other cultural oddities? Would some of you speak in street slang or ebonics because the Donald just has to understand where you’re coming from, so he just needs to adjust to your language and cultural choices? If you wanted to incur the Donald’s favor, would you present yourself in the style and the professionalism of his choice or your choice?
Knowing how smart the Donald is, most people know he can read people well. He would fully inspect you and your game, and see how you distinguish yourself in your presentation, from everyone else, particularly if you were chosen by him. Would he think someone put you up to approaching him for some shallow purpose; would he think you weren’t serious enough or devoted enough to your heart’s desire, or would you be able to convince him of your sincerity?
Remember, the reference from the prior verse is concerning offerings. I realize that the Donald would be a poor comparison to God, but I’m just trying to put this in a more familiar arena…and put it on a more understandable level.
Check your answers in the Donald scenario, and then amp it up about 1 million times. Put God in the seat of respect and honor, and then make your heart’s desire your offering to Him. How would it be then? Would you trample into his household in disrespect, failing to recognize how closely He’s watching you, and failing to distinguish yourself before Him? Would He think that someone put you up to this appearance in His presence because you were as phony as a two dollar bill? This is the essence of how the people of Israel approached God. They failed to show proper respect, and in essence, tried to manipulate God with a façade of tradition. Have you approached God with a sincere offering…your heart? It’s something to think about.
