This week in the Bible, we continue to read about…wait for it…the Temple in the Desert. Yes, I know we’ve been on this for quite some time BUT, there is a reason for this. The Israelites end up spending 40 years in the desert. After that Golden Calf incident, God isnt feeling like they are ready to go to Israel. Those Israelites involved in the Golden Calf situation must die off before Israel will be ready to go into the Promised Land. So, God must give the Israelites lots to do in the desert to make the 40 years pass. They must learn what is holy and what is not.
The priests have special jobs they must do inside the tabernacle. They must keep the fire going on the alter. They must wear special linen robes. But they must also do some dirty work: they must clean up the ashes from the alter and take them to a place away from the temple in the desert. Yes, even holy priests have to “take out the trash.” Perhaps this is supposed to teach them humility. Humility means that you understand that you are not above serving others. We serve God, of course. But we must also remember that serving our fellow man is part of God’s work. Serving mankind can be messy. A lot of clean up is sometimes involved.
As women, we read about this cleansing of the temple and know full well how it is to have to clean away things. We are often looked to clean up after a situation. And we know, for sure, that we are expected to serve others. Sometimes we have to “pull up our Big Girl panties” and just do the hard things: clean up vomit of a child in your home that has gotten sick, listen and respect adults even if they don’t seem to be making sense, and going outside to pull weeds or work in the garden. Sometimes, we just gotta get a little dirty in order to be a holy person.
So, this week in Sunday School, we are going to get a little dirty. This adult is going to take you outside and we are going to work on my herb garden. My Sunday School girls will each get to take some parsley home to use for your Seder plate. So get ready, to get really dirty!
That’s cool Prudence! In order to do this, you just need some seeds, (which you can probably find laying on the ground this time of year – seeds are everywhere. You’ll also need a little dirt. Be sure it doesn’t have too much clay or sand in it. You’ll need a spoon (ask Mom for an old one to dig with) and a place to put the plant that will get water and sunlight.