Old, New or Aberration?
Having established a fair basis for renewal we suddenly find ourselves with fresh Focal Points on the scene, almost certainly from a later period and raising important questions. Are they genuinely new, refinements of the old, or ‘borrowed’ from another tradition? And why? Was it the failure or inadequacy of the established patterns or simply a weariness always looking for something different? All questions we need to ask ourselves when confronted with new Focal Points of Faith in our own experience. We need to look more closely.
The Altar of Incense is hardly new. On the surface it may look like something old that had been overlooked, but is it an ‘old’ you want to be associated with? It goes back to prehistoric times (3rd millennium BCE in Mesopotamia) and was not unknown among the Canaanites, but apart from a possible reference under Solomon around 1100 BCE was never part of the Israelite tradition; it was frowned upon by the prophets whenever it raised its head, and was not even mentioned in Ezekiel years later. So was it a good new Focal Point or somebody’s aberration? And why was it sufficiently important to those who compiled this text of Exodus to ensure that it was there?
Similarly, incense. Unction goes back to the 2nd millennium BCE, and is usually associated with consecration, healing and adornment. An early interpretation was that the aroma which went up from the sacrifice enabled the Deity to participate in the offering, but now with such detailed instructions for production this could hardly be the case here. In pre-exilic times it was usually associated with idolatry but here it is reserved ‘For Priests only’ while the location of ‘the tent’ seems to put the emphasis more on ‘separation’ than ‘authorisation’. So, once again, was ‘separation ‘ what they wanted? And if so, who wanted it, and why?
Focal Points of Faith play a significant role in all traditions, vary over the years, and are always subject to some extent to time and circumstance. In one sense they are our creation, but then (as with buildings) we may design and shape them but once established they shape us.