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| You shall kindle no fire | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 26 2011, 07:17 AM (125 Views) | |
| MarkStaneart | Feb 26 2011, 07:17 AM Post #1 |
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Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day. (Exodus 35:3 KJV) This passage has been interpreted in a number of different ways and applied with far greater latitude. It is only given here and will not be referenced later in the Tanakh even once. One Messianic teacher declared that this is an idiom for creating strife or arguing ( if so the Jewish process of worship is intrinsically flawed, that, this is the only idiomatic phrase (not meaning what it is actually saying) found in Torah). Many view this as a simple command to neither create or destroy (since the act of kindling a fire does both). This can be taken to such an extreme as to not eat on the Sabbath because such is destruction. Many do not use electricity or participate in any activity that consumes resources. Still others consider this to be only a prohibition against striking a flame. A fire that is still burning may be maintained; but not started if it has gone out. Some families, who have to travel some distance for their Sabbath worship, even start their cars on erev Shabbat (the evening before) and let it run all night so as not to desecrate this command. There are a few factors we may consider when determining how Adonai may lead us according to this worship. The first is to remember that this command is given in context of the erection of the Tabernacle: that the elements of the Tabernacle are forefront in our interpretation. The second factor is to understand the use of fire in a Bedouin culture. We know that fire is used for light and heat. However, the Bedouins did not heat their tents with fire. They built a platform in the center of the tent for their families, then brought animals into the structure to keep them warm. The purposes of fire would be for light and for cooking. We already know that they were not to cook on the Sabbath day, that the food for Sabbath was to be prepared in advance (Exodus 16:23). The practical absence that would be found lacking on the Sabbath day is light. However, understanding that the Tabernacle is the focus of this context, there would be one light still shining brightly, around which the nation of Israel was congregated: the Light of the altar in the Tabernacle would continue to burn: thus making the Tabernacle the single focus of attention, the source of light, for the Sabbath day. |
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5:22 PM Jul 10