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Friday, September 27, 2024

የአዲስ ኪዳን ታቦት (The Ark of the New Testament): EOTC Perspective – Part II

 


In exploring the concept of the Ark of the New Testament (የአዲስ ኪዳን ታቦት ) from the perspective of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), it is essential to understand why these sacred tablets (ጽላት) are replicated. While some argue that Moses was given only two tablets, the EOTC teaches that the authority to replicate and multiply these tablets has been passed down through generations, reflecting God's enduring covenant with His people supported by biblical evidence. This essay explores the biblical foundations and theological implications of this belief, examining how the EOTC honors the holy flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ through the sacred tradition of the New Testament Ark.

Where did all these Arks come from?

Referring to verses like Deuteronomy 31:18, 32:16, 13:4, and 2 Chronicles 5:10, some argue that God gave Moses only two tablets, but, where does the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church get its thousands of Arks or tablets?

In Exodus 32:19, it is written: “ እንዲህም ሆነ፤ ወደ ሰፈሩ ሲቀርብ ጥጃውንም ዘፈኑንም አየ፤ የሙሴም ቍጣ ተቃጠለ፥ ጽላቶቹንም ከእጁ ጥሎ ከተራራው በታች ሰበራቸው። የሠሩትንም ጥጃ ወስዶ በእሳት አቀለጠው፥ እንደ ትቢያም እስኪሆን ድረስ ፈጨው፥ በውኃውም ላይ በተነው፥ ለእስራኤልም ልጆች አጠጣው።

As we understand from this verse, when Moses saw the people of Israel worshiping idols, he became angry and broke the two tablets that God Himself had prepared and given to him. However, God, whose mercy is everlasting, instructed Moses to create new tablets like the first ones. As it is written: “እግዚአብሔርም ሙሴን አለው፦ ሁለት የድንጋይ ጽላቶች እንደ ፊተኞች አድርገህ ጥረብ፤ በሰበርኻቸው በፊተኞቹ ጽላቶች የነበሩትን ቃሎች እጽፍባቸዋለሁ።” (Exodus 34:1). God not only authorized Moses to make new tablets but also to write the Ten Words of the Covenant on them. As it is further stated: “እግዚአብሔርም ሙሴን፦ በእነዚህ ቃሎች መጠን ከአንተና ከእስራኤል ጋር ቃል ኪዳን አድርጌአለሁና እነዚህን ቃሎች ጻፍ አለው፡፡ በዚያም አርባ ቀንና አርባ ሌሊት ከእግዚአብሔር ጋር ነበረ፤ እንጀራም አልበላም፥ ውኃም አልጠጣም። በጽላቶቹም አሥሩን የቃል ኪዳን ቃሎች ጻፈ።” (Exodus 34:27-28). From this point on, we received the full authority to replicate and make tablets and Arks. Our basis for doing so comes from our forefather Moses, who passed down this authority to us, his children.

Some people argue that Moses was only instructed to make two tablets and that there is no biblical reference supporting the creation of additional ones. The response lies in the fact that, in the Old Testament, the system of tablets, the temple, and the sacrificial incense service were confined to Jerusalem alone. People in other nations followed idolatrous practices rather than the system given to Moses. As a result, the tablets were not multiplied or distributed to other nations. God Himself did not permit this practice outside of Jerusalem, as He did not want the idolatrous nations to defile (ማርከስ) the sacred services (Deuteronomy 12:13-14, 2 Kings 17:32-34). Therefore, worship, prostration (ስግደት), and temple services (የቤተ መቅደስ አገልግሎት) were restricted to Jerusalem. This was further confirmed in John 4:19-21: “ሴቲቱ፦ ጌታ ሆይ፥ አንተ ነቢይ እንደ ሆንህ አያለሁ። አባቶቻችን በዚህ ተራራ ሰገዱ፤ እናንተም፦ ሰው ሊሰግድበት የሚገባው ስፍራ በኢየሩሳሌም ነው ትላላችሁ አለችው። ኢየሱስም እንዲህ አላት፦ አንቺ ሴት፥ እመኚኝ፥ በዚህ ተራራ ወይም በኢየሩሳሌም ለአብ የማትሰግዱበት ጊዜ ይመጣል።

Furthermore, the people who lived in Jerusalem at that time did not question Moses, saying that the places of worship and the two tablets were far from them and that they needed additional tablets. Likewise, there is no record of Moses telling the Israelites that making additional tablets and worshiping God through them was not allowed.

But, in the New Testament, the children of God who believe and are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are given the authority to multiply the arks or tablets from sunrise to sunset so that the clean Eucharist (ቁርባን) can be consecrated on them and incense can be burned to the glory of God’s name. The Holy Bible testifies to this: “ከፀሐይ መውጫ ጀምሮ እስከ መግቢያዋ ድረስ ስሜ በአሕዛብ ዘንድ ታላቅ ይሆናልና፤ በየስፍራውም ለስሜ ዕጣን ያጥናሉ፥ ንጹሕም ቍርባን ያቀርባሉ፤ ስሜ በአሕዛብ ዘንድ ታላቅ ይሆናልና፥ ይላል የሠራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር፡፡” (Malachi 1:11). The "Clean Eucharist" (ንጹሕ ቁርባን) mentioned in this verse refers to what is stated in Matthew 26:26-28: “ሲበሉም ኢየሱስ እንጀራን አንሥቶ ባረከ ቈርሶም ለደቀ መዛሙርቱ ሰጠና፦ እንካችሁ፥ ብሉ ይህ ሥጋዬ ነው አለ።ጽዋንም አንሥቶ አመስግኖም ሰጣቸው እንዲህም አለ፦ ሁላችሁ ከእርሱ ጠጡ፤ ስለ ብዙዎች ለኃጢአት ይቅርታ የሚፈስ የአዲስ ኪዳን ደሜ ይህ ነው።” It is called "clean" because the Lord, who is pure by nature, cleanses us from our sins.

If the temple services, incense, and similar practices that were practiced solely in Jerusalem during the Old Testament have been transformed into Christian traditions through the blood of Christ for New Testament Christians, who now live a renewed life and follow a new order, then it is clear that the two tablets, once kept in Jerusalem, can also be transformed into Christian tradition. These tablets can be reproduced and used by Christians dispersed from sunrise to sunset, to consecrate the holy flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in every temple to honor and worship Him.

Additionally, the Holy Bible states, “ቤቴ ለአሕዛብ ሁሉ የጸሎት ቤት ትባላለች ተብሎ የተጻፈ አይደለምን? እናንተ ግን የወንበዶች ዋሻ አደረጋችኋት አላቸው።” (Mark 1117 Isaiah 567 Jeremiah 711). This verse reveals that our Lord drove out those who were buying and selling in the temple, affirming that temple services, which are inseparable from the Ark, tablets, incense, and other related practices, will continue.

It is clear that the above verses are intended for New Testament Christians. In the Old Testament, temple services, incense, and communion (ቁርባን) were restricted to Jerusalem. They were not permitted even to Israel’s neighboring regions, let alone “from sunrise to sunset” as stated in Malachi 1:11. Therefore, Malachi 1:11 is clearly directed towards New Testament Christians. The “clean incense” (ንጹሕ ዕጣን) mentioned by Malachi refers to the holy incense offered by the wise men (ሰብዓ ሰገል) to Christ in the cave of Bethlehem, as described in Matthew 2:11. It also represents the holy incense that Christians worldwide continue to offer to Christ in the temple (ቤተ መቅደስ) to this day.

Thus, the EOTC transforms the Old Testament Ark into the New Testament Ark or tablets, multiplying and utilizing them to honor the holy flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and worship Him from sunrise to sunset.

In conclusion, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church uniquely understands the transformation of the Old Testament Ark into the New Testament Ark, emphasizing the continuity of worship and the multiplication of sacred tablets. Rooted in profound biblical foundations, this practice reflects the EOTC’s deep reverence for the Eucharist (የጌታ ሥጋና ደም) and the sanctity (ቅድስና) of temple services. By multiplying and utilizing these holy tablets, the Church not only venerates the holy flesh and blood of Christ but also embodies a timeless commitment to worshiping Him from sunrise to sunset.

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