In the midst -- Part 1

This has been mentioned several times on the blog before, but for the benefit of new readers and because many do not know about this ancient Israelite tradition (I didn't until quite recently), I will repeat some things about covenant making. At a time and in a culture where literacy was rare, covenants were not signed at the bottom of a piece of paper. In the Hebrew language, you literally cut a covenant. That does not make sense in English and is therefore translated differently. But it is found frequently in the Old Testament. This reflects the (somewhat grotesque to the modern Westeners) practice of cutting animals in half and walking through the carcasses. This act is the signature and a declaration that the covenant is taken very seriously. ("Let me be cut in half like these animals if I break the covenant").

This happens in Genesis 15:10 when God makes a covenant with Abraham. But in this case, Abraham falls asleep after he has cut the animals and God himself, in the form of a burning lamp, walks through the carcasses (see Genesis 15:17-18). God is the active part in the Abrahamic covenant giving all the promises. Back to verse 10, we read

And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

"In the midst" in the Old Testament

I happened to look up the word, "midst", and how it is being used in the scriptures. This is the Hebrew word, תָּוֶךְ (tavek). It comes from an unused root meaning "to sever", which makes it hard for me not to see the covenant relations of this word. It is sometimes used in a literal sense in the scriptures, but quite frequently, it seems to be used in a more spiritual sense. For instance, 1 Kings 6:19 describes King Solomon preparing the "inner sanctuary inside the temple". But the "inside" in this case is translated from the Hebrew tavek, even though we know that the holy of holies was not physically in the middle of the temple. Rather, it was the focal point, the most holy place, the center of attention, the heart of the covenant, so to speak.

Similarly, we find this word constantly popping up in the Old Testament in relation to important covenant themes.

• In the creation account, God made a firmament in the midst (tavek) of the waters to separate the waters of heaven and earth (Genesis 1:6)
• In the Garden of Eden, God planted the two trees in the midst (tevek) of the garden (Genesis 2:9 and 3:3).
• God talked to Moses out of the midst (tavek) of the burning bush (Exodus 3:2, 4) and again from the midst of the cloud on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:16). The covenant theme is especially evident when the events are recounted in Deuteronomy 4:12-13

12 And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst [Hebr. tavek] of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.

13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

• In an act similar to the creation in Genesis 1:6, Moses parts the Red Sea and the Israelites walk in the midst (tavek) of the sea followed by the Egyptians (repeated over and over in Exodus 14:16, 22, 23, 27, 29, 15:19)
• In Exodus 25:8, the Lord instructs Israel to build a tabernacle

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among (Hebr. tavek) them. (A more literal translation would be "dwell in their midst")

• According to Psalm 116:19, Solomon's temple was also in the midst of Jerusalem. Again, whether it was physically in the middle of Jerusalem is probably not the main point here.

Ancient Israel had the tabernacle and temple in their midst. It was God's dwelling place and represented his presence. In other words, God, the author of the covenant, was in the midst of Israel, just like he walked in the midst of the carcasses that Abraham had prepared. This is also expressed repeatedly in the Old Testament. Here is one example:

Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the Lord dwell among (Hebr. tavek) the children of Israel. (Numbers 35:34)

"In the midst" in the Book of Mormon

Not surprisingly, we see a similar pattern in the Book of Mormon. I noticed in particular how Jesus is repeatedly described as being in the midst of the people in 3 Nephi. 3 Nephi is the heart of the covenant, the new covenant that Jesus brought to the Nephites. Consider these examples:

And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them. (3 Nephi 11:8)

12 So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him.
13 And it came to pass that when they had all been brought, and Jesus stood in the midst, he commanded the multitude that they should kneel down upon the ground. (3 Nephi 17)

And it came to pass that while the angels were ministering unto the disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst and ministered unto them. (3 Nephi 19:15)

And Jesus again showed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you? (3 Nephi 27:2)

Just like ancient Israel had God in their midst, a branch of Israel in the Americas now had the resurrected Jesus in their midst.

There are many other examples of God/Jesus being in the midst. So many, in fact, that I will save them for my next post. But I want to end with a different example related to Lord Wilmore's recent posts about Nephi-II, Moses and Elijah. He made a point of the division "hither and thither" in this verse, echoing the parting of the sea by Moses and Elijah.

And it came to pass that there arose a division among the people, insomuch that they divided hither and thither and went their ways, leaving Nephi alone, as he was standing in the midst of them. (3 Nephi 10:1)

See his comments here under the subheading, "creation by division". "The midst" shows up again, echoing the creation and Moses parting the Red Sea, among other things. When the two-edged sword divides, that sword, often symbolizing the word of God, is in the middle of whatever it divides. In this case, Nephi as the conveyor of the word, played that role. God/the Word/the covenant in the midst can have this divisive effect. But hopefully, like the Nephites in 3 Nephi, we can all let Jesus take the center stage of our lives without causing division.

In part 2 we will see how this symbol is used in the uniting of heaven and earth.