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DUTIES: Be devoted to the service of God. Constantly endeavor to promote the welfare of man. Act with proper subordination to your superiors.
FOR REFLECTION: What is the nature of God?
IMPORTANT SYMBOLS: The standards of the twelve tribes of Israel, darkness, light, the colors scarlet, white, blue and purple.
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The Twenty-third Degree 'Chief of the Tabernacle" ~ Summary ~ In this degree, we are reminded that we owe our knowledge to our faith in a revealed God. Therefore, it is our duty to disseminate this knowledge to all mankind. A Mason who believes in God has a duty to acquire knowledge and disseminate this knowledge to other people so that others are also enlightened. A Mason who is generous with his knowledge knows that he will receive the blessing of God, not by sacrificing living beings, but by destroying superstitions and bringing happiness and prosperity to other people.
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A red leather belt is also worn, fringed along the lower edge with gold, from which hangs the jewel.
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The jewel is a small silver censer, or ornamental cup, with a long handle; the end serves as a stand for the cup and is shaped like an open hand. It should remind us to offer up unceasingly to God the incense of good deeds and charitable actions dictated by a pure and upright heart.
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The apron is white, lined with scarlet and bordered with red, blue and purple ribbons. In the middle is painted or embroidered the golden candelabrum with seven lights. Josephus, the great Jewish historian, is the source of the design of the apron. He defines the symbolism of the colors as follows: white, the earth, from which the flax used in fine linen is grown; red, fire, from its color; blue, the sky, for the same reason; and, purple, the sea, for it derives from a sea mollusk. But to us there are deeper meanings: white, the infinite beneficence of God; blue, His profound and perfect wisdom; red, his glory; and, purple, His power. The candelabrum symbolizes to us, as to the ancients, the seven planets: the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It also represents the seven archangels and seven of the ten manifestations of Deity; specifically, the seven Sephiroth which follow Will, Wisdom and Understanding: Justice, Mercy, Beauty, Glory, Victory, Dominion and Kingdom.
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"Here we begin the symbolic initiations into the Mysteries practiced by the ancients from whom Masonry has obtained her great truths." (A Bridge To Light, p. 194) "This Degree depicts the beginning of the priesthood Order in Aaron and his son. In dealing with the ancient Mysteries, it introduces the Lesser Mysteries. The setting is the wilderness of Sinai at an encampment of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Tented in a great circle, the center is the tent of the Tabernacle. Moses and Aaron head the action in which one of the Levites is initiated into the ranks of the guardians of the Temple. This symbolizes man's first step into the knowledge of holy things and his entry into the Lesser Mysteries |
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