The Forty-Year Thin Place

The Forty-Year Thin Place.

“ The thin place is where the veil between this world and the next is so sheer that it is easy to step through.” (Barbara Brown Taylor, Home By Another Way).

This term from an ancient Celtic tradition has stood the test of time. The idea of a thin place between heaven and earth has captured our imaginations, and yet is not just a metaphor.  Thin places are literal as well.

The traditional thin place as the Irish understood it has been described in many ways:  where the veil between heaven and earth is so thin as to be porous, permeable, practically transparent; where the space between the divine and the human has narrowed; where eternity and time intersect; where the boundary between heaven and earth has collapsed; where the wall between heaven and earth have made them indistinguishable; where the doors between heaven and earth have cracked open enough to walk through, if only temporarily; the place where eternity and time seem to join together.

Those descriptions of thin places have recently been expanded to include… wherever God has chosen to reveal Himself and make Himself known with unusual intimacy; wherever the sacred interaction with God’s presence is more pronounced and accessible; wherever the Holy Spirit is released in a particularly powerful way; a physical space where one can more directly and intensely experience God’s presence. A thin place is when the Spirit of God opens the skylight of the earth’s roof and provides easy access to and from heaven. A thin place allows traffic between heaven and earth.

“And the Lord Adonai said to Moses, ‘I have seen how my people ae being oppressed in Egypt and heard their cry for release from their slavemasters… Yes, the cry of the people of Israel has come to Me, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you can lead My people, the descendants of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7-9).

From a Thick Wall to a Thin Veil. A thick wall of silence between God and His people was in place for 400 long years of slavery in Egypt. God (finally) intervened, the impenetrable wall became a porous veil, and heaven made appearances around every corner. First, God assigned heavenly escorts for the Israelites in their journey… the pillar of fire, the pillar of cloud, and the Angel of Yahweh. Then heaven broke through at every turn, from the parted Red Sea to the inspired Song of Moses and Miriam soon after; from the rock which became a fountain of water to the heavenly food of manna and quail; from the mass healing of snake bites to the mind-boggling presence of Yahweh on Mt. Sinai. From the marriage ceremony of God and the Hebrews at Mt. Sinai to the heavenly Tabernacle, God’s dwelling place on earth. Heaven and earth seemed to be in close proximity throughout the wilderness journey. Without this intimate contact between the divine and the earthly, without this heavy traffic between heaven’s God and His people for forty years, the Israelites would not have survived.

The Thin Place Before the Red Sea. God provided a tangible sign of His presence to the Hebrews right from the start of their escape from Egypt, as they were attempting to escape from the Egyptian army. God gave them a pillar of cloud and fire to protect them when the Israelites found themselves at a dead end at the Red Sea. The heavenly pillar was placed between the army and the runaway slaves and kept the Egyptians from attacking them. The fire gave light to the Hebrews, but somehow the accompanying cloud kept the Egyptians in the dark (Ex. 14:20). The fearsome pillar allowed the Hebrews to cross the Red Sea into freedom. That wasn’t the last they would see of that pillar… that was only the beginning of the celestial pillar of cloud and fire. “The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire did not depart from before the people.” (Ex. 13:21-22). This pillar that seemed to change when day gave way to night, from cloud to fire, was a gift of Almighty God. The pillar was a constant reminder of God’s presence with them, His direct aid to guide and to reassure them of His help in the wilderness. Many have said that this fire was an angel revealing the fire of heaven. Others have said the fire was God’s Shekinah presence. Others say this fire was a clear display of the Holy Spirit, a flame from the consuming fire of God’s glory. This particular fire didn’t consume anything, but instead it illuminated, guided, and spoke of God’s loving power. The Hebrews learned to trust this pillar, God’s gift to them, as they wandered in unknown territory. And this powerful pillar never left them during their forty-year journey, which means God never left them either.

The Backstory. To say that there was a huge backstory leading up to the Red Sea would be quite the understatement. 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Moses and the Call at the burning bush to liberate the Hebrew slaves; the ten plagues, which was the Lord’s direct challenge to the Egyptian deities; the miraculous Passover with the lamb’s blood; Pharaoh’s release of the Hebrews, and then his abrupt change of heart; the Egyptian army’s chasing of the Hebrews in order to recapture them. And finally, the culminating event that completed the Hebrew liberation from Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea (also called the Sea of Reeds) and the drowning of the Egyptian army. The Red Sea was a landmark in Biblical history, a signature moment in the Jewish faith, as well as Christian. The Red Sea miracle is a defining event in Judeo-Christian belief, and is an illustration of redemption, of salvation and deliverance, of a people being “redeemed” and “purchased” by God, as Moses sang in his song (Ex. 15).

The Holy Ground at the Red Sea. In Exodus 14, the Israelites were on the run in the wilderness on the outskirts of Egypt. The sophisticated war machine of Egypt, complete with horses and chariots, were in full pursuit. The Israelites were no match, for they had no weapons, were not soldiers, and were on foot. As the Israelites were leaving Egypt, the Angel of God was before them, showing the way and defending them from danger. But now the Israelites are boxed in… the Red Sea on one side, and the powerful Egyptian army on the other side. There was much fearful complaining and grumbling from Israelites, of course. Who wouldn’t be afraid at this point? But Moses came right back at them with this… Quit your crying out to God in complaint! Stand still and see Yahweh win the day for you! (14:13-14). The Messenger of God, the Angel of Yahweh, then shifted from the front of the Israelites to the rear of them, standing between the escaping slaves and the fearsome army. (14:19). The pillar of cloud also shifted with Him to add to the protective barrier. The Angel remained at His post, holding off the army. And as darkness fell, the pillar of cloud turned into a pillar of fire. Yahweh then instructed Moses to raise his hand over the sea. Then the wind blew, and a pathway of escape was miraculously provided right through the Red Sea. There was a way when there was no way. Once the Israelites were across the Sea to the other side, Moses raised his hand with his staff once again, and the Egyptian army with all its chariots and horses were drowned as the sea returned to its normal height. The Angel, the incomparable Messenger of Yahweh, provided His presence to defend the Israelites. Jesus Himself stood between two opposing camps, and protected the Israelites from the Egyptians. The Messenger from heaven had a direct hand in the deliverance of God’s chosen people.

Divine Deliverance at the Red Sea. So there stand the Israelites on the far side of the Red Sea, huffing and puffing after a 300-yard dash on dry, holy ground through roiling walls of water on both sides, finally breathing deep sighs of relief, watching as the dreaded Egyptian army, complete with its 600 horses and chariots, drown in the sea. Fearfulness and dread had turned to awe and wonder. Finally the Hebrews believe in the Lord Yahweh and in “Moses, His servant.” (14:31). The people for the first time are finally willing to trust in Moses’ leadership. They realize now that they are saved, they are delivered from slavery. God has achieved a miraculous victory for the Hebrew people. And what do they do first? Slap each other on the back, give each other high-fives, and chant “We’re number one! We’re number one!”? No, the first thing they do is they sing a song of worship and praise. They realize that they did absolutely nothing to bring about this victory. The earlier words of Moses are fresh in their minds… “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Lord Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (Ex. 14:13). And then the people obeyed, watching as God does all the heavy-lifting. The Red Sea had miraculously parted, they are on the other side, and led by Moses and Miriam, they sing the lyrics to their famous song of deliverance that has come down through the ages. We still know the lyrics to this ancient song, even though it was the first collective song the Jews ever sang.  

“Any approach to salvation that does not eventually become worship reduces salvation to a concept or a program or a technique that we can master and therefore control. Song has always been basic to the act of worship… Salvation is the source of our song. Without the experience of God’s saving grace in our day-to-day lives, we are left with little to sing about.” (Eugene Peterson).

Inspired Singing in the Thin Place. How did this huge congregation of people sing the same song, all at the same time? We’re not sure how they managed this makeshift choir. Some rabbis believe that Moses sung a line, then the people repeated the line, through the whole song. Others think that Moses sung it phrase by phrase, and the people repeated each phrase until the song was done. Some believe that Miriam led the women to sing the refrain after each section of the song was sung by the men, based on 15:20-21. Rabbi Nehemiah believed that the whole song was sung in unison without the need for repetition or call-response. He thought that all the people “were seized by divine inspiration and miraculously the same words came into their minds at the same time.” We will never know exactly how the song was sung, but thankfully we know what was sung. The Song of Moses is quoted in the Psalms, in Isaiah, and is referred to throughout Scripture. Israel’s descendants recalled this event through the generations (eg, II Kings 17; II Chronicles 6). And even the Canaanites remembered this demonstration of God’s power and were fearful (Joshua 2). Time and again, God called on Israel to remember His work of salvation at the Red Sea, and to be faithful to Him.

“Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them: ‘Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!’”  (Acts 15:20-21).

Miriam in the Thin Place. Her name means bitter waters, or perhaps waters of strength. Her life span was approximately from around 1400 – 1300 BC. The Greek version of the Hebrew name Miriam is Mary. The root word for myrrh is used in the name, a bitter and fragrant spice used for anointing oil or for embalming. Sheridan Larson noted that when Miriam was named, she was born during a time when the children of Israel were in bondage to Egypt. Her parents were making a statement about the bitterness of life in captivity. It is ironic that Miriam, known in history for her uplifting praise and worship, did not spread bitterness associated with her name. There are two rabbinic traditions regarding Miriam during the wilderness journey. One tradition maintains that, because of Miriam’s righteousness, and so due to her merit, a miraculous water well accompanied the wanderers all the while she lived in order to provide water for drinking. Thus when she died, this well dried up (Numbers 20:1-2). The other tradition noted by Larson is that Miriam’s role during that long journey was to lead the people in praise, just as she did during that victorious Song of Moses at the Red Sea. Like water itself, she was a continual source of refreshing praise. So when Miriam died, no one was there to lead the people in praise to God. When Miriam died, her well of praise died with her. Tradition states that Miriam died at the age of 126, a year before the Israelites entered the Promised Land.

The Heavenly Rock. “… They all drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:4). There is no doubt that St. Paul was talking about a divine rock that accompanied the Israelites on their wilderness journey, and it seems that somehow God was directly involved with this miraculous Rock. But what is the reader to make of this rather mysterious reference to a “spiritual rock,” and that Christ Himself was the rock? Some points to consider:

(1.) Some Jewish authorities see the Rock as representing Wisdom. And that water was a metaphor for Torah, which sustained them spiritually during their journey.

(2.) Rabbinic tradition said that the rock that miraculously produced water in the wilderness two different times was literally the same rock. The belief is that this miraculous rock followed the Israelites throughout their journey and continued giving them water. This rock produced water at the beginning of their journey (Ex. 17), and at the end of their journey (Nu. 20). And Moses gave the same name to this rock both times, “Meribah,” which means contention, since the people were contending with God. So… the same name, the same rock, in the beginning of their journey and at the end.

(3.) Paul evidently accepted the Jewish tradition and assumed that the rock did indeed accompany the Israelites throughout their journey. Paul seemed to believe that Jesus Christ was a spiritual presence in the wilderness. Because he said, “spiritual rock,” maybe it can be assumed that Paul didn’t take the rock of Jesus literally, but figuratively. Perhaps Paul meant that Jesus Himself spiritually sustained the Israelites during their journey, and the rock is a physical picture of a spiritual reality.

(4.) Biblical scholar Dr. David Stern translated 1 Corinthians 10:4 this way: “They all drank the same drink from the Spirit – for they drank from a Spirit-sent Rock which followed them, and that Rock was the Messiah.” Dr. Stern seems to believe that the “spiritual rock” means a Rock that was sent by the Spirit of God, and that Spirit-sent Rock was Jesus Christ.

(5.) The Christian Orthodox scholars assert that the spiritual rock was a type of the Son of God. The Rock prefigures the body of Christ, and His earthly humanity. And the spiritual drink was a picture of Christ’s blood that flowed out of Him after being “struck” on the Cross like the rock in the wilderness was struck by Moses. The spiritual rock is not to be taken literally, but figuratively. Christ was not in the form of rock.

The Angel of Yahweh. It seems to be true, and many Biblical scholars agree, that the preincarnate Christ was active in Israel’s history, including the wilderness journey. There was so many verified Christophanies in the Hebrew Bible in which the preincarnate Christ was called the unique “Angel of Yahweh,” that it’s more or less beyond doubt. Jesus was called upon to make an appearance before His earthly existence many times. He showed Himself to Adam in the Garden (Genesis 3); Hagar (Genesis 16); Abraham (Genesis 18); Isaac (Genesis 22); Jacob (Genesis 32); Moses (Exodus 3, 14, and 23); Balaam (Numbers 22); Joshua (Josh. 5); Gideon (Judges 6); Samson (Judges 13); Elijah (1 Kings 19); Isaiah (Is. 63); Daniel (Dan. 10). “The Angel of Yahweh is the visible Lord God in the Old Testament, as Jesus Christ was in the New Testament. Thus His deity is clearly portrayed in the Hebrew Bible.” (Notes in Amplified Bible).

The Angel of Yahweh in the Wilderness. With the active involvement of the preincarnate Jesus in mind, let us turn to His presence with the Israelites on their journey. In Exodus 23, the Israelites have already been camped at Mt. Sinai, and Moses has received the words of instruction directly from Yahweh. The Ten Commandments have been declared, as well as much of the Law. The awesome majesty and power of Yahweh has been on full display to the Israelites, complete with a fire on the mountaintop, a loud heavenly shofar blast, flashes of lightning, billowing smoke, claps of thunder, and the very earth shaking underneath them. The people have agreed to follow the Lord’s commands, but they don’t want to hear the voice of Yahweh. They are panicked with fear, they are terrified, and they want Moses to be the intermediary. Yahweh now makes an astounding promise to the Israelites. He is sending a special Messenger, the Angel of Yahweh, to walk before them on their journey, to bring them into the Promised Land. Yahweh referred to this Angel when He said, “My name is in Him.” (23:21). This Messenger is to be obeyed, they are to follow His guidelines and direction. They are not to provoke the Angel in any way. “So you shall serve Yahweh your God, and He will bless your bread and your water.” (23:25). In other words, the Israelites will be serving Yahweh by obeying the Angel of Yahweh. This Angel is God’s representative throughout their journey. The Angel is acting on God’s authority. This Messenger is Jesus Christ, for He bears the name of Yahweh, the Great I Am. His role with us remains the same as it did with the Israelites… If we want to safely reach the Promised Land, we must learn to follow Him in our journey.

Manna. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day… Each morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because He has heard your grumbling against Him…The people of Israel called the bread ‘manna.’ It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.” (Ex. 16:4, 7, 31). Jesus talked about bread in the context of manna. He even compared Himself to that food provided in the desert. He came down from heaven, just like manna. He is to be eaten, just like manna. And He like manna was a gift from the hand of God. Manna was eaten in order to be sustained physically. Jesus is Bread that is eaten to be sustained spiritually. Manna is a bread of mystery that appeared every morning, the word manna meaning “What is it?” Jesus is another bread of mystery to many who misunderstood and rejected Him. Wilderness manna was openly revealed for all to see every day. Likewise, Jesus was walking and teaching and healing for all to see, out in the open. All who wanted manna had free and easy access. All who sought Jesus could easily find Him. All who ate manna had their hunger satisfied. All who partake of Jesus have their spiritual hunger satisfied, forever. Jesus gives the soul true nourishment, and only those with faith can truly receive it. “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Ps. 34:8).

Quail. “The Israelites asked, and He brought them quail.” (Psalm 105:40). Quail is a choice game bird that has blessed Sinai residents for over 3,500 years, and was an unexpected sign of God’s presence and care during the wilderness journey. The provision of quail was an example of God’s lowliness, lowering Himself to fulfill the requests of a wandering, bickering, griping pack of malcontents. The Exodus account of quail (Exodus 16) indeed seems to be all about mercy. But the Numbers account (Numbers 11) adds a frightening twist to the quail story. The Lord became impatient with the constant complaining about the lack of meat, so He basically told them, “You want meat? I’ll give you meat!” So the Lord, in an almost comical fashion, sent so much quail that they stacked up three feet deep on the ground, and quail were found as far as a day’s walk from the camp. The whining Israelites were literally tripping over all the quail sent by the Lord. In fact, the people gathered so much quail that they each collected the equivalent of 60 bushels full of quail meat. By the end of the month, they were sick of meat. They weren’t sure they liked it anymore when, day after day, the wind blew the quail in from the sea. But the comedy soon turned to tragedy. As the people were gorging themselves on quail dinner, “while the meat was still between the teeth,” the Lord in His anger sent a plague that evidently was quite severe. Many people died. This plague may have come from the meat itself, we don’t know. But that’s the last time they complained about meat, at least for a while. Heaven knows they didn’t deserve to eat anything but crow.

“The people’s tempers grew short because of the detour around Edom. They spoke against God and against Moses. ‘Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? To die in the desert?” In response, Lord Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit the people, and many of Israel’s people died.” (Numbers 21:4-9).  So Moses once again interceded for them, asking God to forgive them. The Lord told Moses to fashion a bronze serpent and put it on a pole, high up in the air where all could see it. Whoever is snake-bit, all they have to do is look. That’s it, just look at the bronze serpent, and they will be healed. This dramatic episode in Jewish history went down in history as one of the more memorable to every believing Israelite. So memorable, in fact, that Jesus Himself took this episode and, in his night-time talk with Nicodemus, made the bronze serpent a type, a picture of Jesus and His ministry. He told Nicodemus, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” The mercy of God for Israelite whiners, a picture of God’s mercy for us through Jesus. Sure enough, this wasn’t the last time Jesus hinted at the bronze serpent. “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.’ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.”  (John 12:31-33). The bronze serpent on Moses’ pole turned out to be a picture of Jesus on the cross. Jesus, represented by a cursed snake of all things! What a picture of Him, carrying the curse of sin for us on the Cross, as well as the healing of sin. Jesus, lifted up, brings healing and life to those who are bit by the Serpent, the Adversary, the Devil. And all we have to do is look and believe.

God’s Home in the Wilderness. There at Mt. Sinai, Yahweh carefully ordered Moses to build the Tabernacle exactly to His specifications, for the Tabernacle was to be the portable dwelling place of Yahweh as the Israelites traveled in the Sinai wilderness. There at the holy mountain, God and His people entered into a spiritual marriage covenant (Ex. 19-24), making God the faithful husband to the Israelites. Yahweh intends to remain with His bride, His chosen people, to be present with them throughout their journey, never wanting to leave her side. So the Lord instructs the Israelites on how to make a home for Him with the people on their journey to the Promised Land, in Exodus 26. Fortunately, Moses was gifted in taking dictation, and he didn’t miss a thing… building materials, colors, dimensions, purpose of the furniture, everything. To enter through the Tabernacle gate, one had to lift up the bottom of the curtain and lift it high enough to pass through. It is significant that one had to bow down low enough to stoop through the entrance. The attitude of humility was crucial, because once in the courtyard they were first to repent and have the priests offer a sacrifice. How else but in complete humility could one approach the presence of the Lord in the holy place. Once a year, the high priest would enter the thinnest of places on earth, the Holy of Holies.

The Ultimate Thin Place on Earth. As God’s unique dwelling place with the people, the Tabernacle was designed and built with eternal imagery in mind, God’s mind. Everything about it suggested meanings that must have been beyond the Israelites. They understood enough to participate and honor the Tabernacle, but it’s clear that its full meaning could not be understood at that point. Rabbinic studies have compared the making of the Tabernacle with the creation of the universe. The universe began with an act of creation, and Jewish history began with creation of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was understood by the Jews as a sort of micro-cosmos representing the universe as a whole. It was an expression of Paradise regained, because once again the Lord God will dwell with mankind as He did in the Garden of Eden. “It has been taught that on the day the Tabernacle was inaugurated there was joy before the Holy One blessed be He, as on the day when heaven and earth was created.”  These ideas are expressed beautifully in Rabbi Sacks’ commentary on Exodus.

The Thin Place of the Extended Honeymoon. As rabbi Jonathon Sacks notes in his commentary, Yahweh remained faithful to His vows in His covenant with His people all through the wilderness journey. “… The idea of the desert as a honeymoon in which God and the people imagined were as bridegroom and bride, alone together, consummating their union in love. The wilderness was seen by the biblical prophets as a kind of alone-togetherness, in which the people and God bonded in love.” (Rabbi Jonathon Sacks). “Thus says the Lord: ‘I remember you, the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved Me and followed Me through the wilderness.” (Jer. 2:2); “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.” (Hosea 2:19); “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, your God will rejoice over you.” (Isaiah 62:5).

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