Messianic Metals: Copper, Silver, & Gold

 

In our last article, we discussed the fact that though God required a significant offering to construct the Tabernacle, He had already planned hundreds of years previously to provide more than enough resources to be able to supply all the building materials. Three of the required resources, the Messianic Metals: Copper, Silver, and Gold, not only gave the Tabernacle an air of beauty and prestige, but held profoundly prophetic signs of Christ’s relationship with and future dwelling amongst humanity.

These metals are very special because they all share specific elemental properties due to being part of group 11 on the chemical periodic table.

One of the most interesting and important aspects of these metals is their antimicrobial properties, which helps inhibit the growth of infectious agents. This oligodynamic effect allows them to essentially self-sanitize themselves. Nano-particles of these metals are implemented in many health related applications such as doorknobs in hospitals, tooth fillings in dentistry, and coatings of implanted medical devices. The fact that these disease fighting metals were used extensively within the Holy of Holies, the Tabernacle, and its outer court heavily implies that there was a multi-tier system set up to ensure that disease and defilement was kept out of these sacred regions, starting at an atomic level.

Copper, Silver, and Gold are also the three most electrically conductive metals, and are used in applications such as electrical wiring, due to their ductility (ability to be drawn into a wire). This ability to allow energy to flow unhindered mirrors the ability of those closest to God to be able to experience His Spirit’s Presence and Energy.

Each metal’s significance is amplified by what items it covered, how it is used, and where it is located in the layout of the Tabernacle.

Copper was a symbol of judgement and was only found in the outer courts of the Tabernacle. The laver/basin of water, where the priests washed their hands and feet, before making sacrifices on the altar for burnt sin offerings, were both covered in copper (ref. Exodus 27:1-8; 30:17-21). Likewise, American judge’s gavels are typically fashioned with a copper or brass (an alloy of copper) band alluding to copper’s ancient connection with judgement.

Copper’s relationship with judgement is poignantly seen in its previously mentioned antimicrobial properties. The distinct “metallic” smell we associate with pennies and other copper items is not due to the metals being unclean, but is caused by the metals breaking down our skin oils and sweat creating strong “metallic” smelling chemicals. Similarly, human sin causes a lingering stench when confronted by God’s Judgement.

Copper for the water basin and sacrificial altar was specifically provided by donations of highly reflective copper mirrors from women who ministered outside the Tent of Meeting (ref. Exodus 38:8). God purifying and transforming mirrors, items for human based self-assessment and self-judgement, to create symbols of His Divine Judgement is both fitting and deeply ironic.

Copper’s association with judgement is later seen in Jeremiah 52:10-11, 17-23 where Copper is mentioned nine times, the Hebrew number for completeness, during the account of the Israelites’ exile and captivity by the Babylonians.

Many Bible translations incorrectly replace copper in the Tabernacle’s outer court furnishings with its alloys brass or bronze. This is due to the fact that pure copper was rarely used in manufacturing items, as mixing other more common elements, was typical throughout most of the ancient world. This intermixing of other impure elements to form a different metal alloy, is a powerful example of sin being melded within people’s lives and making them into something God did not set apart as pure and sacred.

Silver was seen as the transactional metal. It was linked with atonement and redemption and was the required form of paying off blood debts (ref. Exodus 21:32). Silver’s connotation to fulfilling obligations was so significant that it was the typical word for currency in the Bible and is also the Modern Hebrew word for money “keceph” (כֶּסֶף). When God asks Moses to take a census, every man over the age of twenty was required to provide a ransom of half a shekel of silver as a redemption price. Though silver was used extensively as a coinage metal, God required a specially issued pure silver shekel as a restoration unit (ref. Exodus 30:11-16), foreshadowing Christ’s role as the pure sacrifice which would redeem Humanity.

Silver’s parallels to Christ extend to its very elemental properties. Silver’s symbolism as the best method of transferring charges is seen perfectly in it being the most electroconductive metal. Silver is so electrically conductive that even the tarnish that forms on silver efficiently carries charges. Not only is silver best at transferring electricity, it is also the most thermally conductive element, transferring heat with ease and is also the most light reflecting element. Consequently, Christ was the only being who could carry all of our sins, suffer the heat of God’s Just Wrath, and still shine as the Light of the World. It was only fitting that silver was given during Christ’s betrayal.

Within the Tabernacle’s construction, silver served as the bases between the ground and the gold plated boards and pillars of the Tabernacle’s frame. Christ, similarly, would later serve as the intermediary between God’s Golden Purity and the Earth and its human inhabitants.

Gold’s association with purity is based on its high corrosion resistance, which makes it incredibly difficult to defile. Gold is the only metal mentioned before the Fall of Man and was heavily associated with the location of the Garden of Eden and the surrounding provinces, “where there is gold. And the gold of that land is pure” (Exodus 2:11-12). Gold coated every piece of sacred furniture, holy utensil, and the Tabernacle’s structural beams. It was the only metal found in the Holy of Holies and not only symbolized the purity of God and the coming Christ, but His Kingship.

Gold is also one of the softest metals, with pure gold being able to be easily etched. The golden chain-mail breastplate of the Levitical priest performing sacrifices in the Holy of Holies had the names of the associated Israelite tribe etched onto its accompanying precious stone as a sign of “continuing memorial before the Lord”. A golden plate with the words “Holy to the Lord” was also to be worn over the priest’s forehead when making offerings. These golden reminders to have a soft heart and moldable mind, willing to be shaped by God, stood in strong contrast to the hard-hearted and stiff necked Israelite people God is often frustrated by (ref. Exodus 28:15-29).

The metals God used in His Tabernacle were not chosen by accident but had deep symbolic value based on properties that scientists would not be able to understand till thousands of years later. These Messianic Metals are self-sanitizing and antimicrobial preventing the transmission of illnesses matching God’s insistence that His Dwelling Place be free from defilement, desecration, and disease. These metals have the greatest ability to conduct electricity signifying how the Tabernacle was the place of highest connectivity with God and His Spirit. But most importantly, they served as reminders of God’s Judgement, Christ’s Redemption, and the Golden Glory now available to us as believers. The PMT Campus will also be a place where spiritual and physical sicknesses will be removed, intensified connection is available for those who want to draw closer to His Spirit, and where malleable hearts and minds will be fashioned after His Plans.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

The Lord’s Burdens are Lite

 
While many of our recent articles have highlighted the extreme sacrifices made by some of the genealogy members of Bezalel, the Chief Architect of the Tabernacle, our last article touched on the weekly day of rest that God generously set aside for His People. While God expects us to be willing to give our all to Him, in return, we receive more rest and blessings than we could ever provide for ourselves. The building material requests God issued through Moses was greater than the wealth the previously enslaved Israelites could have ever produced during their time in bondage, but God made a way for them to not only willingly offer the required supplies, but also have enormous wealth left over for themselves and their families.

God recognized the bondage that the Israelites had been under for four centuries and did not want His People to be forcibly compelled to contribute to or participate in the grand construction project of building the Tabernacle. He wanted Willing Hearts gifting the construction materials and the Wise Hearted to be joyously fabricating its many components.

This is completely counter to the mentality we see in Pharaoh during Moses and Aaron’s first meeting with Egypt’s ruler. Moses and Aaron were not there to ask for Israelite freedom, but simply a week to travel to and celebrate a festival in the desert and offer sacrifices to God. Pharaoh did not recognize the Israelite’s True God, and in response, Pharaoh decided to no longer provide straw for the creation of bricks, and also forced the Israelites to provide their own straw to make them. While this dramatically increased their workload requirements, Pharaoh further punished them by refusing to decrease the number of mandated bricks, and also presses the slave drivers and task masters to increase their harassment of the enslaved Israelites.

Straw/hay served a tremendously fundamental role in the Israelite’s household economy. By requiring them to provide their own straw to produce bricks, it severely reduced the amount of extra feed for their herds. This would have cut off an extremely important source of additional fats and proteins from their domesticated animals’ milk and meat, which would have helped round out many nutritional limits they would have had on a meager slave’s diet. Needing to limit the size of their flocks also diminished wool production and made clothing manufacturing more costly. Straw was not only used to bake the bricks, but was most likely a standard source of fuel for cooking and keeping homes warm. Straw was also used in their own home building projects. Aside from using straw to strengthen clay bricks and prevent them from drying out and cracking, straw was used to layer thatched roofs and as bedding.

Pharaoh understood that by no longer providing straw for the production of bricks, and requiring it to be supplied by the Israelite slaves, it would financially devastate their families by compromising the most basic of essentials: food, fuel, clothing, and housing.

God, in contrast, asks for comparatively luxurious items for the construction of the Tabernacle. Precious metals, richly dyed yarns, fine linens, precious stones and gems (ref. Exodus 25:3-7; 35:5-9) especially stand out. While this might seem like an even larger burden, asking for lavish supplies as construction materials, God had already overwhelmingly provided the resources needed.

During Moses’ first interaction with God, as the voice in the burning bush, God promised that He would “grant [His] People such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when [they] leave, [they] will not go away empty-handed” (ref. Exodus 3:21-22). When preparing for the night of the plague on the firstborn, God instructs Moses to tell “men and woman alike [to] ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold” (ref. Exodus 11:2-30). “The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing” and since “the Lord had made the Egyptians so favorably disposed toward the [Israelites], they gave them what they asked for” (Exodus 12:35-36).

This moment of God’s Providence is immortalized in Psalm 105:37, when the Psalmist sings that “He brought Israel out with silver and gold, and none among His tribes stumbled”. God’s prosperity was not limited to material wealth but was also seen in the good favor that the Egyptians had regarding the Israelites, which made them inclined to liberally bless them as they left. Perhaps, even more astonishingly, even after the plagues that had damaged the entire country and years of backbreaking hard physical labor, none of the Israelites, who were part of the Exodus, were crippled with illness or other physical limitations, and instead left Egypt with strong and capable bodies.

In fact, God had already been planning for this rich abundance hundreds of years earlier, during His Covenant with Abraham. God informed Abraham that his “descendants [would] be strangers in a land that [was] not their own; [that] they [would] be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years,” but that God would “judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterwards [God’s People would] depart with many possessions” (ref. Genesis 15:14).

While the rulers of this world require tributes outside our capabilities, trying to force us to surrender our freedoms and basic living essentials, God instead offers regular rest and blessings which surpass what He requires of us. While the materials to build the Tabernacle were far beyond what they ever had as slaves, God lavished more than enough for the Israelites to willingly contribute as His Free People. Those who will be part of the PMT Campus will be underwriting a holy project that will pay back dividends through God’s Prosperity of Health, Wealth, and Favor.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

Observing the Sabbath-
First Building Ground Rule

 

Our last few articles covered Bezalel’s family background and the great men and women who used their individual gifts, talents, and courage to conquer the challenges God set before them. But, before we finally talk about Bezalel, the Chief Architect of the Tabernacle, and the many facets concerning the Tabernacle’s construction, we need to recognize one of the most important gifts God gave those who work for His Glory: the Sabbath.

The Israelites were first introduced to the Sabbath, as a weekly observance, when they had run out of food in the wilderness, after escaping Egypt. They cried out to Moses and he implored God, who sent manna from Heaven, with specific instructions. Each morning, the Israelites were supposed to collect enough manna for their household’s daily needs. If they had any leftovers, it would rot and be filled with worms. On the sixth day, they were to gather and prepare twice as much, because this special portion would not spoil, but instead would remain fresh on the seventh day when no manna was left on the ground to be harvested (ref. Exodus 16).

God wanted the Israelites to understand that their efforts would not be enough for them to survive in the wilderness and that they would need to wholly rely on Him for sustenance. They could not overwork and depend on what they stored up by their own hands. If the Israelites extended and intensified their daily grind, they would be disappointed to find that their extra efforts were not rewarded, but discovered that their labors spoiled and stunk. Of course, there would be times when they needed to work more intensely, but God provided extra blessings for their labors based on His schedule, not the Israelites. God set aside the Sabbath as a day of rest and remembrance of all He had created, and how, by His Hand, the Israelites were brought out of Egypt.

When God gave Moses the original set of Commandments, God again included the observation of the Sabbath as a holy day and highlighted its importance (ref. Exodus 20: 8-11).

The sanctification of the Sabbath is mentioned again two more times in the book of Exodus and each time is in direct relation to the construction of His Dwelling Place.

After spending six and half chapters (ref Exodus 25-31:11) giving precise details regarding the building of the arc of the covenant, the tabernacle’s materials and its construction layout, God again reminds Moses that the Israelites are to keep the Sabbath because it stands as a covenant between them and God (ref Exodus 31:12-17). This reiteration of the day of rest is directly connected to the building of the Tabernacle and the fact that God wants His People to understand that they are to rest, even from holy work.

This connection is intensified in Exodus 35:1-4 when Moses addresses the Israelite camp after receiving the second set of Commandments.

Moses does not start by reading the Ten Commandments or any of the hundreds of guidelines of Levitical law to them, as we would expect. Instead, he reminds the Israelites of the holy rule they were given regarding gathering manna for their daily bread. But this time, the Sabbath would be applied to work of any sort. Immediately afterwards, Moses begins to explain the details for erection of the Tabernacle.

Even before construction began, God intensely and repeatedly emphasized the importance of not only recognizing but sanctifying the Sabbath. The Tabernacle of Exodus had an overwhelming amount of things to worry about, but God understood that His People needed rest and made a point to stress the need to set aside and observe His Holy Day. God did not view the Israelites as replaceable slaves but as a people He wanted to love who would follow after His own Heart.

God also understood that, filled with zeal and fervor, His People would have diligently worked on the Tabernacle, every day, without rest, to the point of losing their love and passion for the project and eventually Him.

This over obsession with work to the point of disinterest and disengagement leading to a perpetual state of physical, emotion, and spiritual exhaustion, commonly known as “burnout” is becoming a more visible and accepted reality in many developed countries and especially within Christian communities. The Puritanical ideals of sacrifice and hard work that helped establish America in particular, have been divorced from God’s Day of Rest. He never intended for us to have the mentality that through enough hard work we could accomplish anything, but instead to trust in His Timing and in Him Who Can Do All Things.

This can be a hard lesson for many people to accept today, since we are inundated with messages that celebrate and worship a culture of workaholic tendencies.

His People needed to recognize that the Tabernacle was built by God’s Will, not exclusively their labors. Just as any extra gathering of manna would spoil, any additional construction on the Tabernacle outside of God’s Will would end in blunder at best. But if they were not sensitive to God’s timing of the Sabbath, they would miss out on the double portion of manna sent to them beforehand and the day of rest that awaited afterward.

God continually reminded the Israelites to observe the Sabbath not only to serve as a reminder of what He had already done, but to help them trust in the Lord for the things He would do in the future in His perfect Will and Timing. Before construction of the PMT Campus begins, we must recognize that it can only be accomplished through God’s Will, not our efforts, and in His Timing, not our own. Till then, we will be grateful that He has given us a sacred time to rest and remember the great things He has already done for us and eagerly await the miracles and blessings awaiting His Followers.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

Uri: Light in the Darkness

 

While cataloguing the genealogy of Bezalel, the Architect of the Tabernacle, we’ve exposed a stunning family history, filled with astoundingly audacious men and women.

His great great grandfather, Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, abandoned his household, history, and homeland to join the Israelite nation, before their freedom.

His great grandmother, Miriam and her mother, Yocheved, may have been the midwives who defied the Pharaoh of Egypt’s order to genocide the Israelite baby boys but instead spared and hid them like Moses.

Bezalel’s great grandfather, Caleb, overcame possible racial discrimination and served as the Tribe of Judah’s scout into the Promised Land, believing so intensely in God’s ability to help them overcome the giants that he challenged the ten fearful scouts and demanded they take the land immediately.

Bezalel’s grandfather, Hur, understood that daring stands are not limited to the battlefield, as the Battle of Rephidim would have been lost if Hur and Aaron had not supported Moses’ arms as he held the Staff of God. Hur also recognized that bravery is not only displayed against your enemies, but sometimes in opposition to your own people as we see in his attempt to stop the making of the golden calf, which led to his possible murder.

Bezalel’s father displayed a unique kind of valor, Uri was a shining light during one of the darkest moments of the young Israelite nation’s history.

Israel was at its lowest point after the creation of the golden calf and the murder of Hur (ref. [Midrash (Rabbinical commentary on the Old Testament): Tanchuma T’zaveh 10:10]). Moses prevented the obliteration of the entire Israelite population from God’s Righteous Wrath, but Moses still shattered the original set of Commandments when he reentered the camp. The Israelites were forced to drink the ash of the ground idol, subjected to a massacre by the Levites, and struck by a plague, decimating the people (ref. Exodus 32). God’s judgement was heavy upon them and there was still the lingering threat that God would “consume them” before they made it to the Promised Land.

It is during this episode we are introduced to Uri, as the father of Bezalel, and as the son of Hur.

Uri’s name is unique amongst the list of Bezalel’s ancestors as it is only mentioned five times (Exodus 31:2; 35:30; 38:22; 1 Chronicles 2:20; 2 Chronicles 1:5) and each time Hur is associated with his father’s name Hur.

As we’ve seen in previous articles, names were extremely culturally important as they marked how you were seen by the community and exemplified how you would be remembered. Constantly labeled “son of Hur” is important to understanding Uri and what his name means.

Hur’s name described a dark jagged hole where snakes liked to hide. Uri’s name is most often translated as “light” or “fire” and when coupled with his surname “ben-Hur” (meaning son of Hur in Hebrew) we begin to seen a poetic explanation of his role in the Exodus story.

Uri ben-Hur’s name meant light in the cave/pit/dark place.

Uri’s name is also prophetically symbolic of what happened next.

When Moses returned to Mount Sinai to engrave the second set of commandments, he made a special request from God: Moses wanted to see God’s Glory (Exodus 33:18).

Because not even Moses would be able to see God’s face and live, God devised a special plan in order to bless His Prophet. God would first place Moses in the cleft of the mountain, cover Moses with His hand as He passed, and then uncover Moses so he could see the trailing of God’s Glory.

In the pitch black darkness of a mountain cave, Moses was not frightened that God would abandon him permanently, but looked with anticipation, for the Glory, God would reveal, at the right moment.

Afterwards, Moses came down with the new tablets in hand and his face shined radiantly from even the limited exposure to God’s Glory.

It is right after this point that construction on the Tabernacle, by Uri’s son Bezalel, begins.

In many ways, Moses’ trust in God’s Promise, while in the cleft of the rock, pales in comparison to Bezalel’s previously listed ancestors. Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, left his free people and married an Israelite slave, praying for God’s Deliverance, during their harshest treatment by Egypt. Miriam and her mother defied Pharaoh, the most powerful person in the world, stopping Moses’ murder and possibly an infant genocide, at mortal danger to themselves. Caleb would later stand up against his fellow scouts to petition that Israel take the land from the giants, an unpopular position which would further isolate him from a population suspicious of his mixed-race background. Hur took on a supportive role to Moses when glory on the battlefield was available and may have lost his life challenging the creation of the golden calf.

All these characters feared God and trusted in Him when it was hardest, believing that His Promises would come to pass, knowing that God was on their side.

However, Uri’s promise that his son Bezalel would be the architect of the Tabernacle was now in question, as God was threatening to destroy Israel. After his father Hur’s murder, Uri could have doubted whether God was on his and his family’s side. With the deaths of thousands of people all around him from massacre and pestilence Uri could have thought his very survival was uncertain. But, like Moses in the blackness of the cleft of the mountain, Uri waited with readiness for God’s Glory to appear.

Because of the threatening shadow around him, Uri’s extraordinary fiery faith shines even brighter.

Through several successive generations, each step displaying their own daring devotion, despite the overwhelming circumstances they faced, God used His People’s unique talents and courage to establish the foundations for His Tabernacle as a place where His Spirit could dwell amongst them. The Holy Spirit’s Presence and Miracles will be seen in this new era and those who will be part of the PMT Campus, mirroring Uri, will serve as radiant lights contrasting the darkness.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

Hur: Supporting the Vision

 

Most people in the modern church have never heard the name Hur, outside of his namesake “Ben-Hur” (meaning Son of Hur in Hebrew), the titular character of the Lew Wallace novel and the cinematic epic starting Charleston Hesston. The 1880 book, whose full title is “Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ”, is considered to be the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century, and the movie adaption, critically praised as one of the greatest movies ever made, which won a record 11 prizes in the 1960 Academy Awards, both pale in comparison to the seemingly forgotten legend of Hur, Bezalel’s grandfather.

Hur’s saga opens on the scene of a massive battlefield, with the clamoring of shields and swords, and the shouts of warriors engaged in blood brawls.

The Israelites are fighting the Amalekites, who ambushed the Israelites while they were encamped at Rephidim, the site where the miracle of water flowing from the struck stone occurred.

Amongst all the chaos and calamity, we fail to find our hero, Hur.

He, along with the aged Moses and Aaron, are watching the battle from a nearby hill.

Hur’s grandfather, Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, had a long standing hunting heritage, and Hur’s father, Caleb, would later serve as one of the scouts in the Promised Land. They were both mighty men of action, and Hur undoubtedly felt he should have been in the frenzy and fray.

The humiliation and embarrassment of missing out on the glory of the battlefield as a young man (in his late teens or early twenties as his father Caleb was forty), and having to sit on the sidelines with two old men must have been crushing.

But, God had a greater role for Hur.

While watching the battle of Rephidim, Moses realized that the Israelites had the upper hand when his arms were raised and the Israelites began to lose when Moses dropped his arms. When Moses is overcome by exhaustion from holding the Staff of God above his head, Aaron and Hur sit Moses upon a stone to rest and they stood for hours supporting Moses’ arms till the sun set when the Israelites are able to repel the Amalekite attack (ref. Exodus 17:11-13).

After the battle, Moses built an altar at the site of the hill he watched the battle from. This monument was consecrated Yahweh-Nissi, which translates “The Lord is my Banner” (ref. Exodus 17:15).

The consequences of a raised or fallen flag, standard, or banner in warfare are so universal that its symbolic significance can be translated outside the battle’s boundaries. Stephen Crane’s classic war novel The Red Badge of Courage poetically details the valor required to keep the colors raised, especially while under fire, and the great sacrifices required to maintain it. America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is based on Francis Scott Key’s poem “Defense of Fort M’Henry” describing the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, with the momentous closing victoriously declaring “O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave”. The 1945 Pulitzer Prize winner for Photography, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, depicting the raising of the American flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima, is arguably the most iconic photograph taken during World War II.

While Hur may have desired to be part of the military force defending against the Amalekite attack, he sagely recognized the significance of sustaining the Staff of God. Not only did this “banner” inspire the Israelite troops in battle, but it served as the most recognizable reminder of God’s Power in Israel’s Exodus from Egypt and embodied the hope of an Israelite nation that would look first to God for guidance and direction.

It had to be supported at all costs.

After Hur’s role in the Battle of Rephidim, Hur is so trusted by Moses, that three months later, Hur is given authority, along with Moses’s brother Aaron, over the Israelite encampment while Moses goes up to Mount Sinai to receive the first set of Commandments (ref. Exodus 24:14).

Hur is never mentioned again.

Rabbinical commentary has several speculations as to why such an important and key character disappeared so suddenly. The most likely and popular theory is that Hur is murdered by the Israelites, trying to prevent the creation of the Golden Calf, which also explains why Aaron was compelled to create it.

This explanation perfectly fits Hur’s character as he understood more intensely than anyone else the importance of ensuring that God’s banner was the raised symbol of Israel.

Hur’s dedication to supporting this vision was not a single event seen from the relative safety of a hill outside the reach of enemy weaponry. Hur was willing to die, at the hands of his own people no less, defending and supporting the hope that Israel would be a nation wholly committed to the Invisible God.

History books are bursting with the bravery of people willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for their nation and its ideals and Hur rightly should be counted amongst these.

Not to be overshadowed by his courageous confrontation against the idolatrous Israelites, was Hur’s decision to support Moses, God’s Vision Bearer, during the Battle of Rephidim. While Hur could have sought personal glory on the battlefield, he understood that he could have a larger impact maintaining God’s Banner.

God’s Eyes do not overlook the supportive roles in His Army.

Hur, like his father Caleb before him, has an unflattering, if not out rightly insulting, name meaning “hole”, specifically a craggy crevice where vipers tend to hide. But, when we consider that the Staff of God was the very rod that was turned into a cobra and consumed the Egyptian magicians’ snakes during Moses’ confrontation with the Egyptian Pharaoh, we begin to get a more complete and complex picture of Hur’s name’s meaning. Rather than a dark pit filled with snakes, Hur’s heart serves as a deep secure cleft, where God’s banner can be confidently braced to be proudly displayed for all to see.

It was Moses’ sacred obligation to serve as God’s Standard-bearer, but this position’s responsibility was too great for him to carry alone, which is why God blessed Moses with Aaron and Hur to help raise The Staff of God. Had Aaron and Hur allowed Moses to drop The Staff of God, the Israelites would have been slaughtered by the Amelekites just days after they had crossed the Red Sea.

Like Moses thousands of year ago, we recognize that The Vision of the Tabernacle is not capable of being sustained by a single person. We need heroic men and women to step forward to help support the hope of the PMT Campus. God’s Army has many positions to be occupied and everyone has a role to realize in this Vision.

Will you do your part to see that the Vision of the Tabernacle is fulfilled?

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

Caleb: The Whole Hearted Half-breed

 
Some people may incorrectly interpret our recent articles focused on the genealogy of Bazelel, the Chief Architect of the Tabernacle, as arguing that bloodline is an all important aspect of spiritual heritages. While it was important to keep chronological records for evidence of Christ’s Messianic role, we need to remember that Christ’s own bloodline was not fully Jewish. God chose to include Gentiles of extraordinary faith to be a part of Christ’s lineage and the greater Israelite Nation. Israelites didn’t view this inconsistent pedigree kindly, but God was able to take someone seemingly broken and make him whole. We’ll be examining Bazelel’s great grandfather, Caleb, the half-breed.

As mentioned in a previous article, Caleb’s name is based on the Hebrew word kelev, which meant “dog” and may have subtly hinted at the Israelites’ negative perception of him being of mixed heritage. His father Jephunneh, who most likely came from a non-Israeli hunter clan, the Kenizzites, may have viewed dogs as loyal companions on his hunting excursions, which is why he lovingly named his son Caleb. But we need to remember that Jews thought of dogs as filthy and unclean creatures (Exodus 22:31; Deuteronomy 23:18; 1 Samuel 24:14; 2 Samuel 3:8; 2 Samuel 9:8; 2 Kings 8:13; Proverbs 26:11; Ecclesiastes 9:4) and Caleb may have been a nickname to denote their hostile opinions of him.

This mentality of foreigners being viewed as dogs was long standing and Jesus reminds us of this perception in Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-30 when the Canaanite woman with the demon possessed daughter asks for help was referred to and even self-described herself as a dog, who only deserved crumbs from her master’s table. Of course, Christ sees her faith and heals her daughter, despite her being a foreigner.

Jewish discrimination shows up again in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (ref. Luke 10:25-37). After a man was attacked and stripped of his belongings and clothes on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho, he is passed first by a priest and then a Levite, the highest religious positions in Jewish society, only to be helped by a Samaritan. Samaritans were Israelites who were not viewed as valuable, important, or skilled enough to be captured by and taken to the Babylonian Empire during the Babylonian Exile, who then mixed with the people of the Samarian region, which is why they were viewed by the Jews as a low status Gentile mixed race. It would have been considered scandalous at the time to make a Samaritan the hero of any story, especially one that reflected poorly on the Jewish priestly classes.

We see the disciples’ own homicidal hatred towards the Samaritans in Luke 9:51-56, when, while on their way to Jerusalem, the disciples are turned down accommodations in a Samaritan village. James and John, the Sons of Thunder, respond to the insult asking, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” Jesus rebuked them and the group was able to find lodging in another village.

This possible perception of Caleb being a “half-breed” in the eyes of the wandering Israelites is important to stress since it runs counter to how he is ultimately recorded and remembered.

When Caleb asks for Joshua for his allotment during the conquest of the Promised Land, Caleb recalls the faith he placed in God after exploring the territory despite coming across giants (ref. Joshua 14:6-15). “I brought…back a report according to my convictions, but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear”. Caleb challenges any assertions that he was an outsider, but has been completely grafted in with his “fellow Israelites”. Most importantly, Caleb recognized that blood purity was not what mattered to God, but a heart purely committed to Him, which is still true today, and will be a marker of those who will be a part of the PMT Campus.

Caleb sets himself apart from the fearful Israelites reminding Joshua that “I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.”

Because of Caleb’s full faith in God, “Moses swore to [him], ‘The land on which [his] feet walked on [would] be [his] inheritance and that of [his] children forever, because [he] followed the Lord [his] God wholeheartedly’”. It took forty-five years for Caleb to finally receive his reward, but because of his unfailing faith, “Joshua blessed Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and gave him Hebron as his inheritance… because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.”

Caleb’s passionate devotion to God is not boasted to Joshua to earn himself land, it is an all-encompassing sign to those around him and part of his testimony. Moses openly recognizes Caleb’s faith in following God unreserved after their reconnaissance of the Promised Land. Moses also testifies before the Gadites and the Reubenites (ref Numbers 32:9-13) that their fathers cowardly discouraged the conquering of the land after surveying it. For this, God promised that that generation would not see the Promised Land, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, “because they followed the Lord wholeheartedly”.

Caleb’s testimony is not just acknowledged by Moses, but God openly declares Caleb’s awe-inspiring commitment to Him. When God’s wrath burned against the unfaithful Israelites, He swore an oath to Moses, “Not one of the men of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your fathers, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land on which he has set foot, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly” (Deuteronomy 1:34-36). This promise is repeated again in Numbers 14:20-24, but God calls out something that made Caleb distinct amongst the Israelites: “My Servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly”.

There may be an aspect of word play in Caleb’s name, which was common in Ancient Hebrew. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, Sarai’s name to Sarah, and Jacob to Israel to denote the significance of their relationships with God. Due to his different spirit and extreme devotion, Caleb’s name, or at least its meaning or pronunciation may have also changed at some point. An alternate Hebrew meaning for Caleb comes from the words Col (לכ) which means “all” or “whole” and Lev (בל) which means “heart”. Calev, as it’s pronounced in Hebrew, can now also mean “whole hearted”.

Caleb was unconcerned with how the rest of the unbelieving Israelites thought of him. What was more important to Caleb was how godly men like Joshua and Moses perceived him and most significantly, how Caleb’s testimony was seen by God Himself. Caleb serves as a perfect example of the kind of people we will fill the PMT Campus with: those who are Spirit-filled and seek to follow Him wholeheartedly, despite the giants in the land.

We can’t wait to see how they are transformed by God, as a reward for their faith.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

Jephunneh, the Kenizzite: The First Grafted Gentile

 

There’s been a huge resurgence of interest in family history lately with millions of people ordering services from Ancestry.com, 23andMe, amongst dozens of others. People have been delighted and oftentimes astonished by what they find in their personalized reports. Whether it’s a cultural history they didn’t know about or discovering something new about a distant family member, these revelations can help people feel closer to their past and help them understand who they are today. In this article, we’ll be exploring Bazelel’s great great grandfather: Jephunneh, the Kenizzite.

Anyone who has read the books of Chronicles understands that some parts of the Bible are kind of like the family history websites previously mentioned, with hundreds of genealogical records going back, in the case of the Bible, thousands of years. Those who have been on said websites also know the frustration of coming across dead ends in a family history. There’s a name, but not much is known about the person except maybe birth, death, and maybe children if they had any. There’s no property listings, no occupation, no mentions in local papers, or any kind of distinguishing information about who they were or how they lived.

Jephunneh is kind of like that; a random branch that comes from out of nowhere.

It’s tempting to skip Jephunneh’s name entirely and move on to his more famous son Caleb, but we’d miss out on one of the most important and often overlooked characters in the Bible. Doing a little bit of modern genealogical exploration will help better understand more about him.

Many surnames hold key information about family histories. Smith, one of the most common American names, comes from the Old English word “smite”, as in to strike something, in reference to the metal work occupation the family may have been involved with. Some last names explain what country, province, or city families immigrated from. Alemán, which is the Spanish word for German, is also a surname and though it’s tempting to think it’s a description of what Spaniards thought of Germans (i.e. ale man: people who drank beer), it’s actually the name of the Germanic people, Alemanni, before Germany united as a country.

Jephunneh was called a Kenizzite, which were one of the tribes listed living in the Promised Land when God makes His Covenant with Abram (ref Genesis 15:19). Jephunneh was most likely not a recently freed slave, but a foreigner whose ancestors once lived in the lands that Israel would soon be conquering. The word kenaz, which is the likely root of Kenizzite, means hunter, so Jephunneh and his forefathers may have roamed the regions of the Promised Land, learning intimately the different regions’ terrains during their hunts.

It’s hard not to entertain the romantic notion that Jephunneh shared stories of his hunts with his son describing the beauty of the region and the fertile lands that the plentiful populations of wildlife thrived on, inspiring Caleb to excitedly volunteer as one of the first Israelites to explore the Promised Land as a scout. Perhaps Hebron, the region Caleb asked for as an inheritance for his part in the invasion of the Promised Land (ref Joshua 14:13-14), held distinctive significance to his father Jephunneh.

Hebron stood as one of the most indispensable sites for the Israelites, as the plain of Mamre, as Hebron had been previously called, was the first piece of land purchased by Abraham in the Promised Land. Abraham had also built an altar to God there and buried his wife Sarah in the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 23). The Tomb of the Patriarchs, which still stands in Hebron today, is believed to be the burial place of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as well as the Matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. Hebron remained the first foothold the Israelites had as a legitimate claim to the land and stood as the first root Abraham planted in the region.

Granting such a historically important location to the son of a foreigner would not have been done thoughtlessly.

At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, as just another name amongst hundreds. But his name’s meaning is significant. Translated as “nimble” or “beholder” by Easton’s Bible Dictionary, Jephunneh perfectly exemplifies someone who saw what God was doing and who quickly ran towards it. Smith’s Bible Dictionary translates his name as “for whom a way is prepared” which not only describes his pathway to joining the Israelite tribes, but also set the model for our joining God’s Family.

Jephunneh, the Kenizzite being accepted into the Israeli community, his son Caleb representing the royal tribe of Judah as a scout into the Promised Land, and Caleb receiving perhaps the most historically valuable piece of land all served as prophetic signs of Christ’s relationship with His future Church. Not only would Gentiles be accepted, but fully grafted onto the roots that God had already established with His People. Christ’s Followers would not be second rate citizens but totally integrated Sons and Daughters representing His Royal Lineage. And His Church would not be allocated table scraps, but first choice of the best aspects of His Inheritance.

It’s fun and exciting to look back at history and explore what happened in the past. It’s also extremely important to learn from, to be able to understand what is happening today. Jephunneh’s decision to follow God’s prompting was not only rewarded with his son Caleb claiming one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the Promised Land, but his great great grandson Bezalel would serve as the chief architect of the Sacred Tabernacle.

Jephunneh recognized that God was moving in a new direction and had the wisdom and courage to leave the life he knew and embrace the blessings God had for him and his family. His family’s constant support of God’s messenger from the beginning of their journey to the Promised Land granted them a far more exciting and prosperous life than they could have ever imagined and set the precedent for our future relationship with Christ. We pray there will be many others who follow Jephunneh’s example and recognize the way God is moving in this new era and head His Calling.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

Ripples through the Nile River

We need to bring up a possible concern that some of our more researched subscribers and readers might have had with our previous article regarding the genealogy of Bezalel, the chief architect of the Tabernacle: It is not fully clear that Moses’ sister Miriam and mother Yocheved are in fact the midwives Shiphrah and Puah who defied the Pharaohs’ order to murder the Israelite males by drowning them in the Nile as recorded in Exodus 1:15-22.

What’s really significant about all of this is that Shiphrah and Puah may not have been Israelites at all and may actually have been Egyptians who served the pregnant Israelite community. We are not certain if they were Israelites, converts, or simply regional midwives who were inspired by the faith of the Israelite mothers.

While some, though not all, Jewish traditions contend that they are Moses’ mother and sister, the possibility that these women were not related to Moses, had no real personal connection to the consequences of the Israelite genocide, and were motivated wholly because they “feared God, [so they] did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do” (Exodus 1:17) makes for a far more compelling and inspiring story.

Their fear of God is not based in self-interest, as they were defying the Pharaoh of Egypt, the most powerful leader in their country, exposing themselves to possible execution for treason. They realistically could have believed their obstacle was too large and their contribution was too small.

They had everything to lose.

These extreme consequences are the reason why Exodus 1:21 expounds that “because the midwives feared God, He (`asah bayith)”. This last part has been deciphered many different ways, with “built them houses”, “gave them their own families”, & “established their family dynasty” all being reputable translations. This relates to the true definition of prosperity, since they were not just blessed in a financial aspect, but more importantly, Pharaoh, with his zeal for murder, was unable to touch or harass them. In fact, even though they remained in Egypt, their names and families gained power and prestige because they carried the weight of God’s blessing.

This phrase (`asah bayith) is also seen in Psalm 127:1, “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain”. All our efforts to ensure the PMT Campus’ completion will fail if God is not in it. But because we have already seen His Hand moving mightily, our greater concern is that people will miss out on the blessings God has for those who fear Him and do as He wills. We need to remember that Shiphrah and Puah’s names could have been replaced by others who had the courage to claim the blessing.

We’ve had several God-fearing readers ask what they can do to help contribute to the Vision of the Tabernacle if they don’t feel called to make the PMT Campus their long-term homestead. Prayers and financial gifts are of course always needed, but sharing our articles, videos, and podcasts with your friends, family, and other networks helps us reach others that God may intend to be a part of this new move He has for the Church.

We’ve received many other relevant questions and will be addressing them in a weekly segment during our Sunday broadcasts.

God will bless you and your family for following His Voice. Your actions have a profound ripple effect that spreads out to the rest of your family, church, community, and the World as a whole as we see with the midwives’ decision to fear God more than man, leading to the emancipation of Israel. As we’ll see in our next few articles, regular people’s decision to trust God’s Voice not only lead to great blessing for themselves and their families, but caused tidal waves which shook the known world.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

Laying the Foundation

Our previous article touched on a special man mentioned in the Bible, who lacks a lot of modern recognition for the great things he accomplished.

(בְּצַלְאֵל), Bəṣalʼēl, or Bezalel in its Anglicized form, was the chief artisan of the Tabernacle, which seems fitting since his name translates to “in the shadow of the Lord“. He is also responsible for building the Ark of the Covenant, the consecrated utensils for worship, the sacred furniture, the priestly garments, and preparing the oil and incense for service.

In Exodus 31:1-5, God informs Moses that He has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, with Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding and the ability to be a skilled artisan crafting things out of gold, silver, and brass. Bezalel would be able to cut stone and set them, and carve wood with intricate detail.

Bezalel and his amazing talents follow a long line of accomplishment seen throughout his distinguished family tree.

He was the son of Uri, whose name means my light/my flame/illumination, which could be a reference to his upstanding ethics or possibly an extremely enlightened mind.

Bezalel’s grandfather was Hur, the companion of Moses who helped Aaron keep Moses’ hands up to win the battle of Rephidim against the Amelekites in Exodus 17:12. In 1 Chronicles 4:4, Hur is listed as the father of the town of Bethlehem. When Moses goes up to Mount Sinai, he tells the Israelites that “Aaron and Hur are with you; whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them ( Exodus 24:14)” indicating that Hur was a key right hand man to Moses and deeply trusted by him. Afterwards, Hur is no longer mentioned in Biblical account and Jewish Talmudic tradition holds that he was killed while trying to prevent the making of the Golden Calf.

Though not fully clear in Biblical text, rabbinic folklore holds that Bezalel’s great grandparents were Miriam and Caleb.

Most will remember Miriam as Moses’ sister, who helped Moses survive in the Nile and offered the Egyptian princess her family’s services to nurse him. Some Jewish scholars believe that Miriam and Moses’ mother Yocheved were actually the famous midwives Shiphrah and Puah. These are the women whom the Egyptian Pharaoh ordered to kill the Hebrew boys as they were being born, but instead saved them in Exodus 1:15-22. If Miriam and Yocheved were midwives, they would have possibly known that the Egyptian princess was open to adopting. It also makes more sense that the Egyptian princess would not trust some random girl to look after her newly embraced baby, but would recognize the midwife’s daughter who regularly visited the Pharaoh.

Puah (Miriam’s midwife name), comes from the root pa’ah which means ‘to cry out or scream” referring to the newborn child’s cries. It also translates as “cooing” which implies Miriam’s role in the midwifing process was looking after and comforting the baby after birth. This makes sense that, after years of singing lullabies after the birth of a baby, Miriam’s natural instinct after crossing the Red Sea, a symbolic birthing of Israel out of Egypt, is to lead the newly freed Israelite women to start singing Miriam’s Song recorded in Exodus 15:19-21. Miriam also served as a prophetess and the leader of the women during the 40 year march in the wilderness.

Caleb, Bezalel’s great grandfather, was one of twelve spies sent out into the Promised Land to scout the region and conduct reconnaissance. He, along with Joshua, were the only ones who brought back a positive report of the area, trusting, that with God’s help, they would be able to conquer the land (Numbers 14:6-9). Caleb’s name means “dog”, which has been interpreted different ways. His father Jephunneh (Numbers 32:12, Joshua 14:6, 14) was a Kenizzite (Genesis 15:19), which were a foreign Gentile tribe, so Caleb being a “dog” might refer to his mixed race heritage. Customary Jewish sources paint a more positive picture of Caleb as a man with a dog-like loyalty to Moses and most importantly, to God. Caleb’s voice was so booming and loud that in a Jewish legend, he rescues the other spies in the Promised Land with his shouts and “barks” by frightening away giants who had cornered them.

Caleb’s dog-like loyalty and courage are profoundly expressed when he confronts Joshua before the final invasion of the Promised Land. Caleb reminds Joshua of their Special Forces mission forty-five years earlier and how at “eighty-five years old, [Caleb was] still as strong as the day Moses sent [him] out“, and that after all this time Caleb still believes that with “God’s help, [he would] drive [the giants] out” (ref Joshua 14:6-15).

I hope you understand that I am not arguing that God’s spiritual gifts are genetic or that only special lineages helped complete His plans, but that His promises are accomplished by a long stream of people with different talents each deciding to be courageous and follow the role and path God had laid out for them, building upon the accomplishments of those who came before them.

Some are blessed with a myriad of spiritual gifts and huge public positions, like we see with Bezalel, the chief architect of the Tabernacle. Others may at first seem insignificant or un-profound like the father of Caleb, Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, until we consider that if it were not for his Faithful decision to bravely leave behind his family and homeland to convert and join the Israelite Nation, the rest of his family’s story wouldn’t have taken place. God did not overlook the sacrifices and choices of these characters and their legacies stand thousands of years later for us to learn from today. The decision to turn from the world by joining the Vision of the Tabernacle, living by God’s principles, and employing your spiritual gifts, may not seem profound in your lifetime but it has ripple effects for generations to come.

In the next articles, we’ll be exploring the parallels between the roles and gifts seen in the building of the Tabernacle and what God is constructing today.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator

 

The Shadow of the Lord

Recently, Prophet Kent Simpson sent out a challenge to our eldership and associated ministers asking them for advice and direction concerning their thoughts on our current and future steps towards making the PMT Campus a reality. We have been extremely grateful for their heart-filled responses, suggestions, and prayers. But one particular response rang intensely to me.

This elder’s response was filled with great wisdom and insight but it was their closing sentence that deeply spurred me to begin to write.

“I pray God will give you the words to activate your builders and resources and bring substance to that shadow you are building on earth as in heaven.”

First, I want to clarify any confusion someone might have over the word “shadow“.

While most Christians might automatically connect shadow with something terrible, dark or frightening, as seen in Psalms 23:4, which is most often quoted through its King James translation, with the line, “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death“, we need to remember that God’s Shadow is often described as a place of safety, calm, & rest.

Psalms 91:1 explains that “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty“. Psalms 36:7 shouts “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings“. Psalms 121:5 reminds us that “The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand“.

There are many more examples, but I just wanted to include a few verses from the book of Psalms where the “shadow of death” comes from.

Regarding our elder’s message, I was instantly reminded of a little known character from the Bible. This person activated his fellow builders and took the resources he was provided and built a shadow on Earth as in Heaven. In fact, his name actually meant “Shadow of the Lord“.

I’ll reveal who this mystery person is in my next article but I want to briefly explain that the PMT Campus is not something that can be created using only the efforts of those who received the challenge message. We need Christians of varied knowledge, talents, and spiritual gifts to be able to make the PMT campus a reality.

While I understand our elder’s words were initially meant for Prophet Kent Simpson, I know this elder is open to being used by God in whatever capacity He intends. God will direct His Team of Prophets, like a battalion of archers, quivers filled with prophetic words, to strike the heads, hearts, and hands of His people to redirect their focus, to drive their passions, and guide their actions.

This series will explore the different roles that God’s people serve in His Spiritual Military, how you can recognize and develop your spiritual gifts, how they can be used in your ministerial mission, and if God directs you, how you can help us realize the Vision of the Tabernacle.

 

Prepared by, Kent Simpson, Apostolic Prophet & Eric Sepulveda, PMT Administrator