Exodus 25:1-27:19
1 Kings 5:26-6:13
Introduction
Communion with God must continue even after the covenant is established and all obligations assumed. There must therefore be a visible emblem of God’s indwelling. This is the Sanctuary, the Tabernacle, which God instructs Moses to build.
Exodus 25:1-8 1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. 3 And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, 4 blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats' hair, 5 tanned rams' skins, goatskins, acacia wood, 6 oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 7 onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. 8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. (ESV)
Strong's 04720 ?miqdash {mik-dawsh'} or ?miqqedash (Ex. 15:17) {mik-ked-awsh'}
Meaning: sacred place, sanctuary, holy place, of the temple, of the tabernacle, of Ezekiel's temple, of the Lord
The Lord instructed Moses to speak to the people and ask for a contribution from those whose hearts are moved to do so. The result of this voluntary offering is there was more than enough to do what the Lord wanted and Moses had to ask the people to stop bringing offerings. This was a people who could not make up their minds what they wanted. On the one hand they cried out to the Holy One to free them from slavery in Egypt and once He had done that they rebelled and wanted to go back because there were some obstacles in their path. When the Lord took are of those things they were happy for a time but then once again complaints started up. Now, lest we think this was exclusive to Israel you had better think again. Israel is a miniature representation of us. Throughout the people we see where Israel was not satisfied with what the Lord had provided for them so they complained or they hungered after what their neighbors had. This is where they went wrong. They wanted to be like the other nations and the Almighty did not want them to do this because He had called them out of Egypt to be a special to Him. They would be the one nation that would be dedicated to Him and His people would be called to a different walk of halachah. We have discussed halachah before and it is something chosen not to be forced upon someone. You can choose to walk according to the way of the world or you can choose to walk according to the way of the Holy One of Israel.
John 17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. (ESV)
Notice Yeshua is not asking His Father to remove His people from the world just to keep them from Satan. You might interpret this in different ways, for example, we are going to be protected from the Adversary but I believe based on various Scriptures we will face the temptations of the evil one which will cause us to have to make choices. It is these choices we can be helped with because as followers of Messiah we can choose to remain loyal to Him or give in to the attacks of the enemy and fold up like a house of cards. The Father has given us the Son through whom we can overcome Satan. Even if the Father chooses to use Satan to tempt us, as He did with Job, we now have a choice and someone who can help us through the trials and tribulations of this world. That is why Yeshua does not ask His Father to take us out of this world because it is in this world that we are being refined into what the Lord desires us to be come. Had He protected Israel at every turn they would have taken Him for granted? As it was they did take Him for granted and the redemption He was offering them by the physical symbol of the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night they turned away from because they could not see the words of truth Moses brought to them from the Father. For me the Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire both were Yeshua waiting for Israel to follow Him.
We have the same things in our lives today except Yeshua has revealed Himself to us and all we have to do is to reach out and do our best to follow Him. In order to realize this goal I have been studying a Jewish teaching called Mussar. Mussar means correction or instruction but can also be interpreted as the simple Modern Hebrew word for ethics. But Mussar is most accurately described as a way of life. It shines light on the causes of suffering and shows us how to realize our highest spiritual potential, including an everyday experience infused with happiness, trust, and love. As I grow older I find myself reflecting on the course of my life and how I have lived my life and how I am living it now. Those who know me understand I tend to look at the glass half-empty rather than half-full. I can be described as a pessimist and I would have to agree with that. At times I am happy but not generally an overall happy person. My reasons for studying Mussar is to learn how to change my attitude and how to bring more of my Creator into my life and how to see that the center of all I am and all I could be is through the changing power of my Messiah Yeshua. Encountering Yeshua is a life changing event which should leave a lasting impression on one’s life but too many of us lose sight of Yeshua and His place in our walk in the same way Israel lost sight of what the Holy One had done for them was doing for them and would do for them. They took their eyes off of Yeshua who was standing right before them as the Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire.
The reason the Lord wanted them to build Him a Sanctuary was so He could dwell in the midst of the people. The Sanctuary would the place where the Almighty would meet His people. It would stand as the place the Holy One had chosen to place His Name but it would still be an impediment to our being able to encounter the Almighty without something in between. We lost that ability when our parents sinned in the Garden and were cast out from the presence of the Holy One. They lost His covering, His Shechinah, His glory and were sent out to live in the world where we dwell today. He desires for us to return to the Garden to live a world of perfection, to be perfect ourselves but until that day we must walk with Him each day and allow Him to lead us and to teach us. This is all the Lord has wanted to do and in order to help us He sent His Son Yeshua into the world to take upon Himself our sins to help pave the way for us. He knows we will struggle but He has called us to this walk and it is a test to see how we will handle the things that will come up in our lives to test us. I can say without question I have not handled things in my life the way I should have. I need to shake off the old routine and get into a new rhythm so I can follow my Messiah’s lead. He encountered life’s trials and made it to the end showing us a man could live righteously. It is through His righteousness we have a chance not to follow in the ways Israel in the Wilderness did. We have the opportunity to meet God head on and what we make out of the encounter with Him is up to us. I don’t want to look at the glass half empty any longer. I want to fill myself up with everything the Holy One wants to give me. You should desire the same thing. Can you remember back to when you first accepted Yeshua as your Messiah and then when you came into the Messianic Walk or the Way of the Messiah/Derech HaMashiach?
Matthew 8:21 And another of his disciples said to him, "My Lord, allow me first to go [and] bury my father." 22 But Yeshua said to him, "Follow me and leave the dead to bury their dead." (MGI)
Did Yeshua really mean for this man to leave his father unburied? It was respect for the dead to properly inter those who have passed on so I do not believe this was what Yeshua was saying to him. The possibility exists the man was using this as an excuse to not want to follow Yeshua. It’s easy to follow someone’s lead when everything works out for you and everything is on your terms but we come to Yeshua when the time is right for us and we can’t just choose to listen to Him when we feel like it just as the Israelites had done. Yeshua is not someone we take when we want to. He is a twenty-four hour a day seven days a week lifestyle which should be life changing. I know we have family, jobs, school, etc., but all of this should come after God. In order to have a right relationship with our family, in our jobs, simply in our lives we first must have a right relationship with our Creator and His Son Yeshua. The Lord desired the Israelites to build Him a Sanctuary where He could dwell in the midst of the people. We all know how that one turned out. Where have we delegated Yeshua in our lives? Is He at the center of your life or have you relegated Him to the outskirts? Do you see Him only when the need arises or do you do your best to walk with Him every single day?
This is the way of the Jewish teaching of Mussar. It involves making life changing decisions to mold ourselves in the image of the one who created us. We were created in the image of the Almighty but it was through Yeshua and for Yeshua we were created so the image of the invisible God is seen in Yeshua. Yeshua came and walked the earth over two thousand years ago and lived and taught us a different way to walk. We were to learn to imitate Him and how He lived and learn from His teachings all brought forth from the Torah. He is the one whom we should pattern our lives after because He is the way, the truth, and the life.
John 14:6 Yeshua said to him, "I am the way and truth and life. No one comes to my Father except by me. 7 If you knew me, you would also know my Father. And from now on, you will know him and you have seen him." (MGI)
We know the Father because we know the Son. We come into the Father’s presence through the Son without the need for a Sanctuary because instead of a building we now have the Almighty waiting there for us. In the New Jerusalem we are told the Father and Son will rule and there is no mention of the need for a Temple or a Holy of Holies because the Father and Son will be a living Temple for us. In the beginning Adam and Chavah walked with the Holy One and were covered by His kavod or glory. I also believe they were covered by His Shechinah. They had the Lord God Almighty with them constantly even when He was not physically present with them. When they fell because of their disobedience the Shechinah departed from them waiting for the day when it would finally return to be with mankind forever. Bring all you have into the House of the Lord – that mean all of you!
1 Kings 5:12-18 (TNK 26-32) 12 And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty. 13 King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the draft. 15 Solomon also had 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country, 16 besides Solomon's 3,300 chief officers who were over the work, who had charge of the people who carried on the work. 17 At the king's command they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. 18 So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house. (ESV)
When I read this week’s haphtarah portion I was struck by this passage where we are told Solomon drafted 30,000 men to help to gather and get ready what would be needed to build the Temple. I was curious as to why Solomon need to conscript men to help build the Lord’s house. Why didn’t Solomon simply do what Moses had done and gone to them and told them what he was going to do and ask for the help as Moses had done by God’s command? Why is it man gets ahead of himself and thinks he is helping the Lord to accomplish his purpose and in the end the people suffer for their leader’s arrogance? Look around you at our leaders and leaders all over the world. The Middle East is a point to look and learn from as to what is happening to many countries there. The United States and other western nations believed if the people forced their leaders out they would be replaced by democracy. How foolish this seems now because in almost every country Islam is taking hold. From what was a foot hold before this now it is becoming the force of rule. Hatred for Israel is becoming a staple in many countries all around the world. Iran is stretching out its hand to influence wherever a power vacuum exists. It snubs its nose at the nations demanding an accounting of its nuclear program. All they are really trying to do is to buy time to finish building a bomb. A nuclear armed Iran with a president who desires a world war in order to bring the Moslem messiah.
Why do men do things that turn their fellows against them as Solomon was doing? Solomon would rule over Israel for forty years and the result of his reign would be the first Temple, the height of his reign and his many marriages and concubines that would result in his allowing pagan worship to infect Israel and bring judgment from the Almighty who would tear the nation into two parts giving ten tribes to the northern kingdom and two to the southern. It would be the southern kingdom of Judah God would permit Solomon’s son to keep but not because of Solomon but for David’s sake and the sake of the Messiah. Solomon would be responsible for dividing the kingdom of Israel into two parts something that has lasted right down to our day. Out of this chaos the Lord God Almighty will bring Israel back together when the time is right. He will put humpty dumpty back together again out of the pieces scattered all over the face of the earth. Wisdom is like education – you may learn or understand some things but until you put it into action you will not realize what you are doing. You receive an education but until you put that education to work out there in the world what good is it? Solomon prayed for wisdom and the Lord granted it to Him as well as untold wealth but when Solomon put it into action he started off good but started a slow downhill descent until he had turned from the Holy One of Israel and followed after the false gods of the nations. I found it curious that Solomon had used craftsmen from Hiram a Phoenician to help design and build the temple for the Almighty. I know the Spirit of the Lord came and filled the Temple when it was done but why couldn’t Solomon find men from Israel to build the Temple of the living God? Would we follow after Moslems, Hindu’s, atheists, Buddhists, etc. to find our way to Messiah Yeshua? Sure the Moslems accept Yeshua as a prophet but not one on the order of Mohammed and certainly they do not see Yeshua as the Son of God the Messiah. The Way of Messiah – Derech HaMashiach is found in the pages of the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and the Apostolic Scriptures. You can find the Almighty in the sky, mountains, seas, and in His creation in the birds flying in the sky, the fish in the sea and the animals in His forests. We look to His creation for inspiration not as a replacement for Him. How we treat our fellow man should be how we expect to be treated in return but Solomon lost sight of this from almost the beginning when he conscripted 30,000 of his countrymen in order to build the Lord’s house. He taxed the people to get what he needed to live the lifestyle he had found himself in. He lost sight of the one who had given him his blessings from the beginning.
My friends do not become like Israel or Solomon and lose sight of the one who has blessed each and every one of us. Look to the Author and Finisher of our faith – Yeshua! Through Him all things are possible. He can even help some to see the glass as half full instead of half empty. He can bring joy to those who fully immerse themselves in Him.
Psalm 95:1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. (NKJ)
Blessings in Yeshua,
Mordecai Silver
Torah Man Says, “Only in America do we leave cars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.”
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