Cut and Uncut Stones

4    As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—

Peter’s use of the stone image should bring many Old Testament images to mind:

• the precious stones of Havilah, intended to be mined from the Land to glorify the sanctuary [1]
• the false stones of Babel (they had brick for stone)
• Jacob’s head on the altar stone, in a deep sleep
• Jacob’s raising of an altar stone in Bethel: “And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
• Zipporah’s sharp stone of circumcision
• Moses enthroned on a stone at the defeat of Amalek
• Israel’s altars of stone (one stone for each tribe) at Sinai and Carmel
• The precious stones on the breastplate of the High Priest
• The tablets of stone carrying the ten words
• The stones of the “Levitical” house in the city filled with plague
• The stones of judgment, the ground itself as a witness executing transgressors outside the camp
• The black and white stones in the ephod

We have two types of stones: uncut stones (altar, judgment – the Law) and cut, or precious, stones (glory and riches – Grace).

It was forbidden to use worked stones to build holy altars.

“If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.” (Exodus 20:25)

These raw stones represent Adam, drawn “raw” from the Land, before he was cut and bloodied under the “raw Law” (stoicheia). Worked stones are Adams prepared to construct the “bridal” Temple. They are not decorative gemstones, but they are indeed precious.

The Jews (“men”) misjudged Jesus and rejected Him as a rough stone, when in fact He was precious. They looked on His outward appearance and found nothing to esteem. But He was already cut, a worked stone, a circumcised heart, the founding work on a Temple for the Spirit.

5    you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus built a house for the Spirit, a “Mosaic Tabernacle” made of His disciples. He filled the house with fire at Pentecost, and it came alive. Once purified, it was ready to be decorated, robed as a bride.

Gemstones are also stones filled with fire — living stones — but they are not united by the mason. They are united on the body of the Bridegroom. These reflect the light of God, and so can enter into the tent, carried upon the High Priest. Adam was supposed to be robed in glory, not bloody skin.

The famous “gemstone” passage in Ezekiel 28 doesn’t refer to Satan. Nor does it refer precisely to the king of Tyre. It is prophetic sarcasm, aimed at the Edenic Sanctuary built by Solomon.

“You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.” Ezekiel 28:13

The precious materials for Solomon’s Temple were mined and carried from Tyre. The “king of Tyre” here was the corrupt High Priest, who had capitulated to the false gods of Tyre, reversing the influence of Solomon upon king Hiram. It was reverse evangelism, just as Satan promised a false glory to Adam and to Jesus if they would capitulate to him.

But we have a faithful High Priest, a stone not worked by lawless men but cut by the finger of a lawful God, an Adamic altar stone “cut out without hands,” and glorified with Evian gemstones, stones mined and cut from the Land of Israel — His glorious offspring. Unlike Adam, He has no need to cover Himself and hide.

“Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.” (Hebrews 2:13) [2]

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[1] See Worship as Commerce.
[2] See Pilgrim’s Egress for how this “corporate salvation” is overlooked in Bunyan’s allegory.

What do the Psalms mean when they speak of the Lord “bowing the heavens”?

“Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.” (Psalm 144:5)
“He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.” (Psalm 18:9)

The language is architectural, based on the original and greatest Temple of them all, the cosmic “house” constructed in Genesis 1.

This post has been slain and resurrected for inclusion in my 2015 book of essays, Inquietude.

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“And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying,
Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount,
or touch the border of it:
whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death.”
Exodus 19:12

The Bible beats blood and water into us over and over again. Blood is death. Water is resurrection. Blood is the Bridegroom and water is the Bride.

Blood is the split rock, the Adam ripped open. Water is the river of life, the Eve that flows from inside Him into the world to glorify it.

Blood is circumcision, the cutting of the flesh before it is put on the Bronze Altar below. Water is baptism, the washing of the flesh before it is offered to God as smoke on the Golden Altar above.

Blood is the husband willing to die in the desert. Water is the wife suddenly discovered by a well.

Blood is the Man or Beast speared through at the bottom of Sinai, the Old Jerusalem who is in bondage, tied up like Isaac. Water is the Laver tipped over on the top of Sinai, the New Jerusalem, the Mother of all the living, the Mother of us all.

So, blood was shed at the door to the mountain of God. The blood goes up in the Ascension of Christ and, like Moses, the Spirit descends as purifying fire upon the people. The mountain of death becomes a mountain of life.

The prohibition against touching the border of Sinai reminded me of the Israelite woman who touched the border of Jesus’ garment. (See Healing in His… Tassels?) Jesus’ form as an Adam robed in seamless white was a picture of His completed ministry, the bloodied Lamb at the centre of a purifying, bridal outflow.

Touching the border of Zion does not bring purifying Covenant death but purifying Covenant life. [1] However, it remains a process of purifying. The difference is the blood that went before us. The flaming mountain of death is swallowed up in the victory of the Crystal Sea (Revelation 8:8). As the gospel flows out, Jesus extends the borders of His robe, of His tent, His firmament, and all the nations are healed.

The cherubim and the Aaronic priests guarded the sanctuary with a sword. KEEP OUT. The Temple and the church are guarded, but there are water chariots. The message is different. It is COME IN and then GO OUT. And keep going out until there are no bounds, no bondage, and no borders, no seams.

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[1] The sharp rocks of the Law (cut out “without hands”) that execute the unfaithful Bride are now the five (bridal army) smooth stones from the brook that kill the false suitor.

Picture: Bridal Veil Falls by Ian Cameron.

Smoke and Mirrors

Instead of being qualified to carry the flaming sword and take dominion over the world,

“You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.” Leviticus 26:7

he moved outwards into the world, but without access to the mountain of God. Adam was still under the sword. He was outside the fruitful field of Covenant with God, and all other relationships were distorted. His Covenant with his wife, and his delegated Covenant with the Land.

I suppose I could be accused of eisegesis, (I don’t really care as long as this stuff gets you thinking!) but this basic structure gets replayed so many times throughout the Bible — and expanded upon every time — that it is clearly within the bounds of exegesis for those with eyes to see the purpose of the Old Testament. The later events demonstrate the profound and concentrated significance of all the strange details we are given in Genesis 1-3.

“I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you…” (Leviticus 26:33)

Like Deuteronomy 28, Leviticus 26 contains the Covenant blessings and curses. Leviticus is the Law spoken to the Covenant Head as new worship is established (Ascension). Deuteronomy is the Law, having been digested by the Covenant Head, and now spoken by him (not by God) to the Covenant body (Maturity). This is what Adam failed to do, so instead of scattering, he was scattered. Instead of chasing he was the chased.

Adam as Microcosmos

Day 5 filled the Sea and Sky with swarms, and Day 6 installed Adam and Eve as a “corporate mediator.” Adam’s Testing then follows the same pattern. At Maturity, Eve was to become fragrant “smoke” (Incense) and then Adam was to present her as a pure bride when the Lord turned up (the Laver) — smoke then mirrors (the Laver was made out of mirrors, picturing the crystal sea), [1] or the approach of the Covenant body and its induction into government.

Just as God brought Eve to Adam, (Division / Ascension) Adam was to bring Eve back to God (Conquest / Glorification). Delegation and accountability. To and fro. God sent Moses from the mountain to Israel, and Moses, the faithful Covenant Head, defeated the serpents of Egypt and brought Israel back to God on the mountain for a feast. Sacrifices were made (smoke) and they saw the Lord walking on the crystal sea (mirrors). Then they dined with Him.

This is the to and fro of the Covenant. Investment and return. God expects usury on all He gives us by Covenant. And yet it is He Himself that gives the increase when we faithfully plant and water. Adam failed to nurture Eve within the Covenant. In some sense he buried his talent in the ground. Yet God still gave an increase. How did He do this? Did He go back on the promised curse?

Still Breathing

Many Christians redefine the curse of this first Covenant. Doug Wilson writes:

When Adam sinned, and the human race fell into a condition of sin, the name of that condition was death. God had told Adam that the day he ate of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, he would surely die. But he didn’t die physically that very moment. So what did that warning mean then?

Death is not cessation. Death is not to be defined as an abrupt end. Rather, death is separation. Physical death is separation of the soul from the body. Spiritual death is the separation of fellowship between God and man. Death is separation. Because of sin, the world was shattered into a million pieces, and these fragmented pieces are all separated from one another—we live in the ways of death, as the first part of Ephesians 2 tells us. [2]

While I agree that Adam and Eve indeed suffered a spiritual death, it is not helpful to equate this with the curse promised to Adam. This redefines death. It is gnosticism, pure and simple. For sure, there are many different kinds of death in the Bible, symbolic, spiritual and physical, but the structural context of each must be maintained. Equating the curse with the judgment God actually meted out allows compromisers with evolution to support their theory that Adam was not the first man, just the first “Covenant” man. When God created Adam, He didn’t “create” him physically but “spiritually.” This is nonsense, and it makes a joke of the first Atonement. [3]

Sure, God withdrew, but not to the point where Adam was as he was before the Lord breathed into him. He was still breathing.

There are two kinds of breathing: natural and spiritual. The Covenant sanctions, and by implication all of life, for life is covenantal, will always take us either forwards or backwards. If Adam had obeyed, he would have been given the Spirit in a new way, not in the way in which he was brought to physical life. He disobeyed, and forfeited Pentecost. But God didn’t allow him to go all the way back into the dust.

Adam didn’t lose his breath. The curse was not applied in full. It was applied in full, however, upon the animals who provided their own nephesh as a substitute, and their skins, most likely a bull for Adam and goats for Eve (based on the requirements on the Day of Atonement). Snicker-snack. The flaming sword was inside them instead. These animals lost their breath, as Jesus did when He “gave up the ghost.” They were the innocent substitutes who died under the Law.

The flaming sword was to be inside Adam whether he obeyed or disobeyed. For disobedience it would bring physical death. For obedience it would bring more abundant life.

As the obedient Adam, Jesus breathed on His disciples (who were already breathing naturally) and said (only liturgically at that point) “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” So, the Lord would have breathed on Adam again. But this would have been a new kind of breathing, a kind that Adam knew nothing of. By obedience, he would have been not just a living sacrifice, but a living sacrifice filled with fire. It was “flaming sword” inside the Man which Adam forfeited, the image of the Father’s relationship with the Son. The final point of the Bible Matrix is Glorification. It is Shekinah in a Man. Smoke (pure bride) … mirrors (pure image) … rest. And the Obedient Man becomes the Light of Day 8, Day 1 of a New Covenant.

So, we must be careful not to limit the promised curse, despite the fact that God limited it with innocent blood. Of course, Ananias and Sapphira did suffer the full curse for their own conspiracy with the serpent, as an example to the church. Snicker-snack. Head-and-body-dislocated, dismembered from the Covenant. Such sins would no longer be overlooked. (Acts 17:30) [4] After Christ, there was no more sacrifice for sins, so they themselves were the atonement.

A Bitter Spring

The Laver is a mirror, but also a well. As James Jordan observes, the faithful Covenant brides are very often found by wells. The Garden was an oasis, but so was Eve. Adam’s faithfulness would make her into a spring that would flow as rivers into the world. The dominion intended for Adam was a dominion that brought more abundant life to the world — godly offspring.

Adam’s failure to avert her corruption made her a bitter spring instead, the source of corrupt offspring — Wormwood. Later, circumcision was the symbolic cutting off of the polluted offspring. And animal blood was shed as a substitute for the one who opened the womb, the firstborn, the Cain, of every Covenant family. Like Elisha, Jesus’ death healed the bitter spring and its spiritual miscarriages.

So, due to the Lord’s mercy, Adam didn’t die, and he did not become entirely barren. He did not stop multiplying. Instead, the blessing of abundance was the mutated multiplication of a cancer: plagues instead of plunder. The produce of the yet fruitful field, the sons of God, were not faithful children of the Covenant. Unlike the sons of Abraham, they were not dust become stars. The dust became men who were lice and locusts. There was a virus in the infinite room.

Next time: The Killing Field

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[1] See That Which Is Perfect.
[2] Doug Wilson, All of Christ for All of Life.
[3] A respected Sydney theologian wrote recently that the meaning of the Atonement of Christ requires further work by evangelicals. Yet these very evangelicals ignore the pounding drumbeat of types of the Atonement  throughout the Old Testament. I suspect what they mean is books full of abstract nouns rather than biblical exegesis. Of course, the answers are right under their noses. This first Atonement in Genesis 3 is perhaps the most important. It’s a pity many of them don’t think it’s a literal event.
[4] For more on Ananias and Sapphire, see Signs.

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The Tabernacle was not only a “portable Sinai”, the mountain of God laid out across the ground, it was the cruciform Man. We see Jesus, with the Throne of God on His shoulders (the Ark – government), bread and wine in His left hand (the Table - servanthood), the ‘seven stars’ of the Lampstand in His right (dominion), and His feet on the crystal sea (the Laver – resurrection). And He is lifted up “in the air” between heaven and earth (the Altar-Land) as the Mediator Who unites God and man.

As the Ark (Moses), with arms outstretched (Bread – Aaron, and Ruling Lights – Hur), He is the prophet, priest and king Who defeated Greater Amalek at Sinai.