Parashat P'qudey

(Exodus 38:21 - 40:38)

At the command: literally, at the mouth. Everything that was given for the Tabernacle was accounted for, and how it was used was recorded. We have to give an account to YHWH of all that He has entrusted to us. (Mat. 25; Rom. 14:12) The treasures we store up in heaven will be handed back out once the Kingdom is here in its fullness. Have we funneled our time, talents, resources, and energy into the world system or into Israel? All He gave us belongs to Him, and there should be none left unused when our allotted time is up. He wants us to take risks so that there will be a return on our investment. There will be more on the accounting in the next chapter. Here we will focus on the three metals used in building the components of the Tent of Appointment. Israel’s task, according to rabbinic tradition, is tikkun olam--the repair (literally sewing back up) of the universe that is torn. That is a tall order, but only when we get it right can the rest of the world either follow our example willingly or be compelled to also do right by the iron rod of the Messiah. But whenever and however that may occur, Israel will receive the Kingdom when we get our part right. The pictures in the Tabernacle’s structure define the specifics of how the world will be repaired. Gold clearly relates to that which one worships. This is obvious today as so many people’s joy is dependent on the status of the gold standard and the currency that was originally based on it. We just saw Israel worshipping a golden calf, and we have to wonder what aspect of the Tent of Appointment YHWH had to withhold because we had wasted so much gold on making that calf. Bringing the gold to be turned into the pictures of the Kingdom that should be being built instead was part of our confession and repentance for having worshipped the wrong things, and doing something to make it right again. We cannot both keep our possessions and receive the picture of the Kingdom. In turning the gold over, we make the pattern for the Kingdom possible.

23. and along with him Aholiav, the son of Achisamach, of the branch of Dan, an engraver and an inventive artisan, as well as an embroiderer in blue, purple, crimson-scarlet, and bleached [linen],

24. all the gold put to effective use in the workmanship for all the representation of the Holy Place (that is, the gold of the wave offering) was 29 talents and 730 sheqels according to the sanctuary sheqel.

Wave offering: Anything that was offered that would not be burned. It could include leavened bread, and even Aharon and his sons! Waving it was figurative of releasing it fully to YHWH, or presenting it as now fully belonging to Him. A talent (kikkar, or circle, hence a round weight) is 3,000 sheqels in weight. Sanctuary sheqel: There were several kinds of sheqels used for different purposes. Fitting to the context of this donation, the Hebrew phrases (found elsewhere in the Torah)"they shall bring in", "and they sacrifice", and "You keep alive" each have the numeric value of 29. The phrases "bow down", "gather", "for the veil", and "and he worshipped" have the value of 730.

The total is 301,775 when counted all by sheqels.

The silver was inventoried in a different way: it was a tax, and not given freely like the gold and bronze. It was required from everyone who was counted as a potential warrior in Israel’s army. Who crosses over: an idiom for this, but related to the word for "Hebrew". It can thus also picture Gentiles who leave their paganism behind and choose to become part of the sanctuary the true Elohim is building. Per head: literally, for a skull--Heb. gulgoleth. Each is the "for the Head"--Yahshua--who purchased them at the place of the skull (Gulgol'thah). 603,550: Angus Wootten points out that the Jewish population in Israel did not reach this same number until 1948, and that is when it became a nation; 1967 was when the number of potential men of war reached this number, and that is when Yerusahalayim was given back to them. This is exactly double the number of sheqels in v. 25, since it was ½ sheqel (or one beqa) per person. Why half? Because no single Israelite is complete on his own; he must be together with the entire community to be sure he is connected with the one who complements his gifts and calling. Beqa means "splitting" or dividing in a general sense,and it is interesting that this was the weight of the nose ring sent to Rivqah by Yitzhaq, because she would be the one who completed him. "For a skull" may also relate to the fact that this was the payment for the blood shed in war--paid for in silver (see note on v. 31). YHWH's dwelling place is really built of people. Chapter 30 showed that it was to make atonement for our souls or our lives--that is, our selves. The price of a servant was always in silver, restitution for blood was always paid in silver, and the price of the redemption of a human being is always in silver. Thus the silver given for the sanctuary represents the atonement for selfishly thinking that we are each whole sheqels, and for not being faithful servants by completing one another as parts of the whole, since we need one another to be whole. It is essentially the repair for the sin of worshipping ourselves, as the gold was the repair for our idolatry.

Silver represents redemption, and the phrase "he shall let her be redeemed" (referring to one who is betrothed) in Ex. 21:8 has the numeric value of 100. Socket-base: has the connotation of making firm, since it comes from the word adon--a (strong) master, from which we derive YHWH's title, Adonai. "A talent per socket" could thus represent the "3,000 for the Master"who were added on Shavuoth after His resurrection. (Acts 2:41)

Attached: elsewhere the word means "desire", "set one's love on", or "long for". The Hebrew language tells us so much more than mere details of the construction of one building. It reveals exactly how the many members of the one Body, the many components of the one sanctuary, are to be joined together--through love for and commitment to one another.

If the gold was to remedy our idolatry and the silver our selfishness, what was the bronze brought to repair? Yeshayahu (Isaish) 48:4 identifies a forehead of brass with being obstinate, dense, hard-headed, or "thick-headed"--that is, stubborn and unwilling to learn or change our ways. Obstinate, according to Webster, means "perversely adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion." I.e., the instruction from our teachers cannot get through our "thick skulls". We may not have been idolators or even selfish, but this hits closer to home. It is a refusal to change because we are comfortable with what we are. A bronze statue always has the same expression on its face. Bronze is very heat resistant; it takes a lot to melt it, and this therefore represents the fact that obstinacy is one of the hardest things to get rid of. Notice that the total in sheqels would be 212,400, whereas the gold collected totaled only 87,730. This means that our refusal to change is twice as heavy as our idolatry was! But if we give up our stubbornness, we will be much less likely to think in idolatrous terms. The Dwelling Place is not just made of gold and silver. Much of what holds it in place is bronze. The bronze altar is our initial approach to YHWH. The foundations of the courtyard are of bronze, and it there is no courtyard, there is no place for the assembly, and there can be no Kingdom. We need to rework the foundational ideas we have about ourselves and our purposes in relation to the community of Israel. The priests could not do their job without the bronze washbasins. There is thus no drawing near to YHWH without the bronze. The pegs which hold things tight and thus stand the tent upright are made of bronze. They anchor the foundation. Proverbs 24:3 says a house is built through wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, but Yahshua says the foundation is hearing and carrying out his instruction. (Luqa 6:44-49) Hearing alone is not enough, and a thick head can prevent even that. If we are only processing what we hear through our own likes, dislikes, and comfort level, we cannot possibly do the right thing. This is a heavy truth, but the solution is simple: we need to learn to listen again. We bring the gold by worshipping only YHWH and repudiating all rivals. We bring the silver by serving the community instead of self. We bring the gifts of bronze by hearing and doing. How is the mirror (v. 8) connected to our obstinacy? Yaaqov (James) 1:22 reminds us that it is easy to look at ourselves in a mirror, yet still "see" ourselves (picture ourselves) in a way that differs from the truth. When we look into the mirror of YHWH’s word, we are expected to examine ourselves and be "doers" who do not forget what we saw. If we forget what the Torah revealed as broken, we can never repair the world. We have to remember the weaknesses it revealed and work on those things. We cannot go on with an overly-favorable view of self, lying to ourselves about what was in the mirror. The judgment hall of YHWH might be nothing but a bronze mirrors on every wall. No prosecutors would be needed. No words would even need to be said, because it would be obvious that we have no excuses to defend ourselves. We tend to want to forget the negatives, but we have to look actively for the doores YHWH has opened for us to change. We have to not only repair what our ancestors broke through idolatry, but do something about the fact that we are not learning enough. Our teachers cannot change our minds. We have to be the ones to take the reprimands to heart. Scripture gives us no right to our own opinion. Like Moshe,we must give an accounting for what is and is not repaired, so let us act the first time we are told so our oil and wine can be of the first pressing--the only one that is accepted for the Dwelling Place. Until we have sufficient tally, we cannot be given the Messiah. But we must also listen fully before putting ouir hand to it, or we will miss the last part of what he says, and will therefore be operating on assumptions and not knowledge. Once it is turned over, the copper can turn into holy things too. The stubbornness will now take the form of not being shaken from hearing and doing when other pressures come against us. But the focus is on ridding ourselves of the wrong kind of obstinacy and doing the opposite of what we have been doing. That means having Kingdom opinions and Kingdom actions. Then we can be called repairers of the breach, and restorers of the ancient ways. (Yeshayahu 58:12)

The Hebrew phrase "its sockets" has the numeric value of 70. 70 talents were brought. (v. 29)

Bronze can represent earthly things, or that which is more ignoble than gold (heaven) and silver (the mediation between heaven and earth). Inside--closer to the indwelling presence of YHWH--was gold set on silver (founded on the blood of the covenant). Silver--atonement--stands between the holy and the profane. The bronze is only on the outside. Rabbinic writings say that YHWH dresses Himself in layers, hiding Himself deep behind the common things, where only those who really seek Him with all their heart will find Him. If one looked at the Tabernacle from the outside, he would see only ordinary-looking things if he could even see over the high fence. The precious things were hidden inside from all but those who chose to draw near. (See 40:3) He does not want to be profaned by those who do not believe in Him; Yahshua veiled his teaching in parables so some would never understand them.(Luke 8:10) He does not cast his pearls before swine. In another sense, each layer of an onion is transparent, but you can never see all the way through it at one time. We must study "precept upon precept, [measuring] line upon line", peeling back one layer of truth but knowing it will always lead to another. Even the "letter" of the Torah is "common" in this respect, because it is only the "clothing" for the One who dwells within it and enlivens it, giving it its meaning. According to the Midrash, the Tabernacle is a whole body: the Holy of Holies is like the brain, the Holy Place the heart, and the courtyards like arms to draw people in toward the heart.

CHAPTER 39

Woven: or braided, plaited. Holy garments: That is, set apart for one exclusive purpose. They were not worn "on the street". Priests, if they ever went outside the precincts where they served, would dress like other Israelites, though tradition tells us they could still berecognized by a distinctive hairstyle. Prophets, kings, widows, and mourners could all be recognized by their distinctive clothing in ancient Israel, for each was to be approached or treated in a special way. We, too, should dress differently when we meet for YHWH’s appointments--Sabbath, New Moon, or festivals. Attend to: The term means to wait on someone, serve them directly like a butler or valet, being concerned to meet their every wish. The priesthood does not serve the people directly; it exists to serve YHWH, though in serving Him it does meet Israel’s needs, and insofar as it serves Israel, it also serves Him. The priests are dressed to reveal pictures of the Kingdom, because YHWH designed them to catch our attention. This was detailed in chapter 28. The present chapter tells us how those who are concerned about what YHWH wants are to be clothed. And who is more concerned for what someone wants than his wife? Yahshua, who said, "Not My will, but Yours be done" made the restoration of this bride for YHWH possible. The term for "attend" also connotes worship, in the sense of giving personal attention and tending to His desires. It implies an intimacy or closeness; it is not worship from a distance like the pagans want to achieve, not even mentioning their deity’s name, lest he pay them too much direct attention. (This was a habit Yehudah picked up from the Babylonians during their captivity there, but it is not appropriate for YHWH’s bride, for it is like booking two separate hotel rooms on one’s honeymoon!) This form of worship is one of full surrender, "up close and personal", having gotten beyond our comfort zone and any initial hesitation and embarrassment. The Holy of Holies is YHWH’s "bedroom". Ancient Middle Eastern clothing is loose-fitting and suggests pajamas and the comfort of being relaxed in YHWH’s presence. The more we can literally dress like ancient Israelites did, the more in context we will put our minds and the minds of our fellow travelers heading back to the "ancient path", and helps us keep these days set apart from other days.

The components of these clothes had been obtained in Egypt. Even today, Egyptian cotton is very desirable. But in Scripture clothing is also symbolic of our works of righteousness, and we must be dressed in these at all times--but not in a vague general sense, but according to the pattern clearly detailed in the Torah. We, being in exile, must also derive the threads of our "garments" from Egypt, but the last thing we would want to wear is an Egyptian garment, because it is pagan, we are extricating ourselves from that orbit. So we must unstitch them, carefully working the threads loose so we can extract them, undamaged, from the wrong arrangement in which we have received them, so we can weave the still-usable threads into "kingdom garments". For example, the advertising industry has done well at teaching us to want things. It knows how to tell us what to desire, and encourages many short-lived fads to fuel our motivation to keep purchasing from it. This is wrong, but the act of desiring is not. We need to strongly crave things that are not temporary. So we need to get the "desire" threads out of the unacceptable garment and reattach them to worthy things like holiness, community, pleasing YHWH, and helping our brothers and sisters. We need to remove the finances and prioritization skills that have been sewn into the wrong things, and put them into the Kingdom instead.

Imaginative: or calculated, well-designed, intricate. Gold, which we saw in chapter 38 is a picture of what we worship, pay attention to, and long to spend time with, is woven right into the garment.

5. as well as the intricately-designed fastening-band which is on them, of its same [type of] workmanship--gold, blue, purple, crimson-scarlet, and fine twisted linen, just as YHWH had commanded Moshe.

6. Then they made onyx stones set in a woven checker-work of gold, engraved [like the] engravings of a signet-seal in regard to the names of the sons of Israel.

Signet-seal: it would usually appear backwards so that when the priest approached the highly-polished "mirrors" of the washbasin and later the inner walls of the Set-apart Place in the Temple, he would be reminded of who he was representing. The fact that the stones were not set on a separate metal plate, but in gold settings interwoven with the cloth so all of the stones would be held together, shows us that each tribe is responsible to bear one another’s burdens. The more we put on the garments of service, the better we will be able to do so.

A reminder of what? Onyx (shoham) stone was the stone of the tribe of Yoseyf on the breastplate. Sh’khem (which means "shoulder") was given to Yoseyf by Yaaqov as his "extra portion" as the one given the role of firstborn after Reuven failed. And the Messiah, whose task was to seek the "lost sheep of the House of Israel" (whose first leader was the tribe of Efrayim, Yoseyf’s son) speaks of the Shepherd (whom Yaaqov also linked in a special way to Yoseyf in Gen. 49:24) bringing the lost sheep back on his shoulders. (Luqa 15:5) Thus the reminder is that all of the tribes of Israel have been lost, and that the one who is concerned for what YHWH wants (see v. 1) needs to go and seek them.

9. And they fashioned the pouch as a square doubled over, its length a span and its breadth a span [when] doubled over.

10. And on it they filled in four rows of stone[s]: sardius, topaz, and carbuncle as the first row;

11. and the second row, emerald, sapphire, and diamond;

12. and the third row, opal, agate, and amethyst;

13. and the fourth row: chrysolyte, onyx, and beryl, surrounded by a braided checker-work of gold in their settings.

What is carbuncle or agate worth in comparison to a diamond? Yet each has a purpose for which it is the best-suited. All are made to be set in gold and thus to become unified in our worship of YHWH, each with our giftings, strengths, and inclinations which complement one another. We each need to stand back and see how the piece we are re-weaving fits into the big picture. The hardest part is re-weaving all of Israel together. The system that interconnects all the tribes into one entity has been all but lost. We are not even used to thinking in these terms. It will require a lot of work and learning to know how to deal with the details. That is where the onyx (shoham) stones on the shoulders come into play. They stones are located where the breastplate bearing the stones of all the tribes are attached to the rest of the garment, holding it all in place and bearing their weight, and also have the names of all the tribes on the two of them. (vv. 6, 7) As we have seen, they are the same kind of stone as the one in the breastplate that bears Yoseyf’s name. Yoseyf cared for all of his brothers when in Egypt. Likewise, his descendants have a special responsibility for the rest of Israel. We even need to make sure Yehudah is taken care of. It is Yoseyf, joined with Yehudah, who will ultimately defeat our enemies. (Ovadyah 18) This huge network of cloth that connects all the tribes together is a picture of the Kingdom--but not only in a general sense. In Y’hezq’El (Ezekiel) 45, we see a new arrangement of the tribal lands with a large area between Yehudah’s and Binyamin’s land designated for the prince as well as an area beside of the city of Yerushalayim designated for the priests and Levites. But the area immediately adjacent to the holiest precinct for the Temple (unlabeled section on map) is designated for all the tribes of Israel. (45:6) It is land we will not fight over, because it is held in common by us all. This will undoubtedly be the campground during the pilgrimage festivals--the place for "family reunions" with the whole House of Israel, where we can all be together, moving in and out among the various tribes, interacting like these interwoven threads, and experiencing the unity of fellowship that YHWH intends for His people. While we cannot weave this breastplate while still in Egypt, since the realities on the ground are not yet ready for it to be built, we can already begin make the shoham stones by doing the work of Yoseyf in bearing all twelve tribes of Israel while we are still in exile. In fact, the Kingdom cannot come unless we forge the connections between the tribes now. While we may not be "best buddies" with Yehudah yet, we can certainly bear its burdens and begin to love those of the same flock as we love ourselves. This builds the foundation for that campground. As Yoseyf prepared the way for his brothers, we can act in various ways (including teaching one another how to obey YHWH) for the sake of all Israel even now to ensure that all of Israel is provided for.

The third row was missing from the apparel of the "King of Tyre", whose description in Yehezqel 28 expands to be equated with that of Heylel (Yesh. 14) or haSatan, who used to attend to YHWH’s throne, as the "anointed kh’ruv that covers"--in the very same position as the kh’ruvim which symbolize YHWH and His bride over the Ark of the Covenant. These stones are therefore the "uniform" of one who attends to YHWH. HaSatan was in Eden until lifted up with pride, and now through Israel and Yahshua, YHWH is creating another to fill this position, just as Hadassah replaced Vashti in the book of Esther, for the New Yerushalayim, made up of "living stones" who form a priesthood and a dwelling place for YHWH (1 Kefa 2:5), is decorated in the same way (Yeshayahu 54:11), as a bride for her husband. (Rev. 21:2-3; see note on v. 32 below.)

Border-chains of interwoven foliage: Aramaic: "corded chains".

Rings are symbols of authority in Hebrew. That there are two of them hints at the two foremost authorities: Moshe (who transcribed YHWH’s instructions) and Yahshua (who sits on the throne of David).

18. Then two extremities on both interwoven chains they fastened onto both of the braidings, and set them on the shoulder-pieces of the efod toward its front surface.

19. And they made two gold rings and fastened them onto the two extremities of the pouch, on the opposite side of the efod--[that is,] on the inward side.

20. [Again] they made two gold rings and fastened them onto the shoulder-pieces of the efod going from the lower [part] of its front surface parallel to its other joining-place above the efod's imaginatively-designed band.

21. Then they connected the pouch by its rings to the efod's rings with a twisted cord of blue [wool] so it could be above the imaginatively-designed band so that the pouch could not become dislodged from the efod, just as YHWH had commanded Moshe.

As the twisted cord of blue wool helps connect the priest’s garment together (compare v. 31), the blue thread of the tzitzit (fringe on one’s garment, Numbers 15:38) is now helping to connect Yehudah and Israel back together as a Kingdom of Priests unto YHWH.

This correlates with the blue tablecloth spread over the Table of the Bread of the Faces. (Num. 4:7) Both are connected with reminders of all twelve tribes of Israel.

This is to help prevent the high priest from disobeying the command to never tear his garment. (Lev. 21:10) That the high priest who tried Yahshua did tear his garment was one more commentary on the corrupt condition of the priesthood in his day.

25. And they made bells of pure gold, and fastened the bells on the hem of the robe, between the pomegranates [that were] on the hem of the robe all around--

The pomegranates are full of seeds and what looks like blood, both of which represent the fruitful continuance of the nation of Israel through many living children from the same bloodline. The bells called attention to the pomegranates, to make sure they were noticed. But all of Israel has a reminder on our garments to carry out all of YHWH’s commands (Num. 15:38), and if we teach them diligently to our children (Deut. 6:7), we also assure the continuance of the kind of covenant people YHWH wants. The root behind the word for pomegranate (rimmon) is "ruwm", which means to "rise up". Thus they were also a call to ascend to the presence of YHWH. The book of Revelation--another call to "come up here and see"--begins with a notice that the events therein would occur "in rapid succession" (1:1) to intensify the call to purify oneself and be ready. Being around the high priest's feet, the bells and pomegranates were a reminder of the coming Kingdom, which will begin when the Messiah (another kind of priest)'s feet stand on the Mount of Olives, on Sukkoth, the last of the three "foot [pilgrimage] festivals" (Ex. 23:14, 17) which specifically relates to the Joyful Kingdom declared as glad news by those who have "beautiful feet upon the mountains", announcing that the time of peace has come (Yeshayahu 52:7).

Serve: literally "wait on". (See note on v. 1.)

Elsewhere in Scripture, priests are clothed with garments of deliverance (2 Chron. 6:40; Yeshayahu 61:10) and with righteousness (Ps. 132:9). We are called to be a "kingdom of priests" (Ex. 19:6), so we should all be dressed this way. Deliverance is more than redemption; it also includes our return to the Land where He is at home. White garments represent the righteousness of the set-apart ones. (Rev. 3:4; 4:4; 6:11; 7:9; 15:6; 19:8) It is how the angelic messengers appear. (Mark 16:5; Acts 1:10 et al) How do we obtain these white garments? By the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14), by overcoming (3:5), but also by purchasing them from Yahshua. (3:18) Hebraically, righteousness is defined through our actions. Most of His commands relate to how Israelites treat each other and the order by which things are run in Israel. Once we have them, we need to keep them. (16:15) HaSatan was wondrously adorned "UNTIL…" (Yehezq’el 28) If priests are defiled, they are to immerse and wash their garments as well--let our actions bespeak the inner righteousness Yahshua provides. Our deeds must line up with what we know. Otherwise after we get cleaned up, the stench will come right back on us.

Divided undergarments: i.e., split into two parts like shorts for added modesty. The term itself connotes something that hides.

30. And they made the glittering plate of the crown of consecration from pure gold, and wrote on it with the writing [style] of a signet-engraving, "SET APART UNTO YHWH".

31. And they provided it with a twisted cord of blue, to allow it to be placed over the winding turban, just as YHWH had commanded Moshe.

Provided it with a twisted cord of blue: Aramaic, "suspended it on a thread of blue".

Completed: the very same Hebrew word means "a bride"; indeed, a bride completes her husband, as Adam discovered. Thus all the service described above also provided YHWH with a bride! Not all clothes a bride wears are pleasing to YHWH. There is a kind of righteousness that strikes YHWH as tantamount to "menstrual garments". (Yeshayahu 64:6) In ancient Israel, a woman in her monthly period would wear clothing that let men know not to touch her. The context here describes Israel as wearing such clothing designed to keep Him at bay lest He come close enough to see us as we really are. Verse 3 says He acts on behalf of the one who waits on Him. This is His bride. (See v. 1 above.) Yet this bride fails to be aroused by Him, fails to take hold of Him like a lover who wants to be intimate--which is the aim of all worship and Torah study. She does not even call on His Name; this is part of the reason we have been unclean. Now His Name is being restored to us, so we must whisper it the way His ears desire to hear it--as someone who longs for Him. This is what keeps us from being saved. This is what keeps us outside His Land. He wants to keep His water in a clean vessel, and we are not that yet. We are already in the season when the Kingdom is meant to come, but He is late coming because His bride is not ready. He will not marry a Gentile! Are we really concerned with what YHWH wants? Is it for our sake or His? What He wants us that we put self away and become unified. We need to put on those clean white garments that tell Him that we no longer consider ourselves niddah (off limits to Him). We prove whether or not we can love Him by how we treat each other. (Yochanan 13:35) We cannot ascend closer to Him apart from one another. So if we have ascended to some extent, we need to remind the rest of Israel of the calling that is before us and prod one another onward. This is the part we are missing, so it is where we must focus today.

Each person built a piece or a part of a piece, not knowing how it was going to all fit together or what the end product would look like, just as we are being shaped as individual components to fit in with all the other pieces of the true Dwelling-Place of YHWH, which this physical object foreshadowed. We do not always know why we are chipped and chiseled the way we are, or why we are set in the water of the Word to be smoothed out again ("Moshe" can be a shorthand for the entire Torah, and to the congregation of that day, he was a picture of the Messiah. Science has found that the dividing cells in a developing embryo’s body have the potential to become any number of organs; which they actually do become depends on which part of the body they end up moving to. It is the same with us as members of Yahshua’s Body; He has equipped us with many spiritual resources, but the work on which we must focus depends on what position he places us in. The pieces of the Torah--the Hebrew letters--are, mystically, the joints and ligaments that hold the parts of the Body of the Restored Adam together. Walking together in the same Torah, which means "instruction", is what will finally bring the dry bones back together and make them function as a Body or army together.) But it is so we will be able to fit into our particular slot and form a tight seal with the other "pieces" we need to fit beside.

35. the Ark of the Testimony, its poles, and the Atoning Covering,

36. the Table and all its utensils, and the Bread of the Faces,

37. the pure menorah along with its lamps--lamps to be arranged in rows--all its implements, and the illuminating oil,

38. the golden altar and the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, the screen for the tent's entryway,

39. the bronze altar, its bronze grating, its poles, and all its tools, the washbasin and its pedestal,

40. the drapes of the courtyard-enclosure, its pillars, its socket-bases,the screen for the gateway to the enclosure, its cords and its stakes, all the vessels for the service of the Dwelling-place--for the Tent of Appointment,

41. the woven garments [in which] to serve in the Sanctuary, the holy garments for Aharon the priest, and the garments for his sons to serve in the role of priests.

42. So the descendants of Israel indeed carried out all the service that YHWH had commanded Moshe [to do].

43. Then Moshe surveyed all the work, and, behold, they had indeed done it just as YHWH had commanded. So Moshe blessed them.

Note the amazing parallels with Genesis 1:31-2:3, when YHWH surveys all He had created, sees that it is very beneficial--just as He wanted it--and then blesses the Sabbath day. The word for "service" in v. 42 means work done voluntarily, without pay, but the word for "work" here means work that is remunerated. This is become the final outcome did include a reward--this blessing--though that was not the reason it was to be done. And like Moshe, we must give an accounting for the work we have been made responsible for. If it is not done rightly, there is no point in doing it, because it will not count. Will YHWH judge our work to be deserving of a blessing? That only comes when we do it exactly the way we were told to do it (see also v. 32), not whatever way might seem right to us according to the philosophies we have learned from Egypt or simply from our own hearts. These people did not have any written Scriptures to interpret privately; they had to trust Moshe to actually be telling them what YHWH had said rather than just something that came from his own mind. Today we see such obedience and commitment as optional. It is not a difficult thing to do, but it is a concept we rarely honor, except in military or prison settings. Our society programs us to assume we have choices at every turn, and not to trust our leaders. But we must recover this pattern, or the Kingdom that operates according to Torah can never work--and we will never see that campground where all of Israel is united.

CHAPTER 40

2. "On a day--the first month, on [day] one to the month--you shall raise up the Dwelling Place, the Tent of Appointment.

40 is the number of transition, and indeed much will change as the Dwelling Place about which we have learned so much in the last several chapters finally comes together. All the pictures are now joined into one big picture of the Kingdom to come. Right now the Kingdom is hidden from us, for time stands in the way. That is why it is called the Kingdom of the Heavens, not because it is somewhere on a cloud! It is not meant to remain permanently invisible; it just resides in an unseen place outside of time. Before Adam refused to take responsibility and repent, time was irrelevant to him, for he did not expect to ever die. What we are after is to get back to what Adam had, to get back outside of time. The Dwelling Place is an important prerequisite to living in the Promised Land. The first month also brings us full circle to the time of preparation for the Passover and the Exodus a year before. But it goes much deeper. The root meanings of this unusual sentence read, "On the day of the first renewing of unity for the renewal", and the setting up of the Dwelling Place of YHWH was indeed a restoration of the light much like that which took place on the very first day (Gen. 1:5), when YHWH began to remedy the loss of light when haSatan rebelled, creating the "ruin and desolation". YHWH was creating a new bridal chamber for Himself. Even the Hebrew word for tent comes from a root meaning "to shine" or "be clear"--exactly what Adam was before he, too, fell from his earlier condition. Israel, and particularly the Sanctuary, is another such fresh start. Just as Adam was created outside then brought into the Garden of Eden, so Israel and YHWH’s Dwelling had to be brought back to order outside the Land, then brought into it. But this is not just about our ancestors. YHWH is calling us to do the same again. The Dwelling Place is mainly about one thing: unity--with one another and with YHWH. It is the place where YHWH settles down, but it is only built so that we can see how to become the real Dwelling Place that it only foreshadows. It is the instruction manual for how to become one people in a covenant relationship with YHWH. The Kingdom was meant to begin at this point, soon after they left Egypt, over 3,000 years ago. Several more times it has been on the brink of becoming a reality, but we rebelled or spat on our part of the covenant or became slack or followed our own hearts. Now it is our turn to take the same information and establish the Kingdom. It is more than rebuilding the Temple. First there must be a tent, and another wilderness experience where we learn to build it. There is a key here. The first day of the month of Aviv--the beginning of the year on the new calendar YHWH gave only to Israel--is the beginning of the festival season each year that runs through Shmini Atzereth after Sukkoth. After this the darkness swells, but in Egypt Israel had light in its dwellings when Egypt did not because we looked at how to help our brothers. The festival season each year is the time we are to gain the unity we need to survive the season of darkness.

The root word for "ark" means "to pluck for gathering". So the word for "ark" normally means "a box for fruit". This is the where the fruit that bears witness, or testimony, comes from. Yet how can something meant to give testimony be hidden from view? Because "it is Elohim’s prerogative to conceal a matter, but the honor of kings to search it out (and ascertain it)." (Prov.25:2) Shut in: or block the approach to. The word for "veil" also stems from a word meaning "break apart", for it "partitions off" the place of being one with YHWH. But the high priest went in bearing the memory of the twelve tribes, as a picture of Yahshua, the one who made a breach in the foundation of the wall (of sin) that stood between us and YHWH. The veil corresponds with the flaming sword that was stationed at the entrance to Eden along with but separate from the kh’ruvim (the creatures that adorned the ark and which guard set-apart places like Eden). The singular form, kh'ruv, is very similar to the word Q'ruv, which means "intimate acquaintance". It is a word play inviting us to "draw near" once we have learned to walk in His ways as one bride for YHWH. When we get there, there will be no more flaming sword for us, but only intimacy with Him again. So that is our first order of business.

Note the order things are put in place. The table represents the twelve tribes in unity, dressed for dinner in His home. After this is present--after there is something for the light to illuminate--the light is brought in. The menorah is a picture of our family tree. It does not matter who our ancestors were if we attach ourselves to Israel by, like Yahshua, becoming a servant to other servants.

Once the light is present, we can pray knowledgeably, as the incense represents. Note that there is a secondary level of set-apartness established here. Yahshua opened this outer veil when He died, so we could come back into the Holy Place and serve Israel, but only he has entered the Holy of Holies. Our exile is meant to teach us how to be YHWH’s bride so we can join Yahshua there. We have to change our priorities and our motivation from selfish ones to what YHWH wants in order to become like Him. The closer we move to Him, the more He reveals about what is behind that veil. When we know what it looks like, and make it a living reality, there will no longer be a need for the veil--or the ark itself (Yirmeyahu 3:16), for what it represents will be fulfilled. Yet a partial blindness is over Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles (Yoseyf’s descendants, Gen. 48:19) comes back into the Commonwealth. (Rom. 11) And how will they know to come in if they are veiled to the truth of who they are? The priesthood came behind the first veil--this screen mentioned here--for the purpose of service. This is the only veil that was torn when Yahshua died,opening the way for us to come in and serve. The priesthood represents all the firstborn among Israel. (Num. 3:12) If we are called to be firstfruits (the same Hebrew word as firstborn), we do not need to wait until others catch up. But once we see what is behind the veil and bring out a description of it, others will see and come. Someone has to be the first to understand so they can teach the rest. We must keep climbing the steps even if no one joins us, and not drag our old motivations or priorities along with us to each new step, for they will only weigh us down. YHWH measures our relationship with Himself by what we do for one another. The litmus test is how we treat widows and orphans. Only after we get this right can the second veil be lifted.

Once there is a tent to house His presence, the altar can be placed there to make a way for others to draw near. We have to build this before inviting them to the House fo Prayer for All Nations. Without the death that it represents, no one can enter YHWH’s presence. It takes care of what stands between our present state and where we need to be. Before we can enter the place of working to serve the Sanctuary, we have to come up higher by fixing what we broke. Yahshua says not even to come to the altar until we have confessed, repented of, and made restitution for anything that we have done against our brothers. (Mat. 5:24) He does not even want us coming this far if we cannot work things out with one another, bringing righteousness into everyday situations.

Without water, the washbasin would be pointless. But the fact that YHWH includes this important detail shows us that He has included as much detail as He intends, for He says to add nothing to His commands and take nothing from them. (Deut. 12:32) The washing by the Word of YHWH comes between the judgment and the service.

A cloth fence is not much defense for all these costly items, but YHWH’s presence is there, and it simply defines what is set apart, and what is common. Any action that benefits the Kingdom goes on inside, and we must have boundaries as clear as this: Will this action benefit the Kingdom or not? The curtain will not really prevent anything from entering, but it provides an excuse (albeit a flimsy one) for anyone who really wants one: "I can’t go in there; there’s a wall there!" It’s up to each of us to enforce the separation.

Once the set-apart space (a microcosm of the Holy Land) has been demarcated, what is to be used there and nowhere else is identified. Holy does not necessarily mean hidden away like the ark, but used for the sole purpose of maintaining the unified Dwelling Place of YHWH. It cannot be for profane or common use. Everything in our lives must likewise be dedicated to that purpose. We need to consider everything in our lives--our relationships, our use of time, what we invest our thought in--and ask whether it is useful to YHWH or whether He can have anything to do with it. If not, we must set it outside the fence. Setting apart the wrong thing will not get the job done as He wants it. This anointing oil must be from the first pressing. It should be sufficient that the Torah says to do it; we should not have to add that Yahshua and the Apostles kept the same laws. Oil that requires more than one pressing to come forth does not delight YHWH. Like the olive, Israeli’s fruit is useless in its raw form. It is not a tree that can be eaten from directly like many fruit trees. It needs to be pickled in vinegar or oil--the fruit of the vine (a picture of joy) or the anointing of YHWH.

Even the craftsmen who built these things could no longer touch them. He chooses to use some people to prepare things to be holy, but it does not necessarily mean He has chosen them to be the ones to use them.

Messiah means "anointed one". He renders the water (Torah) and what holds it holy.

The order seems to be backwards. One would think those who put the Tabernacle together should have been sanctified first. But it is only when the tools are in the right order and our vessels are cleansed of whatever fouled them that the human component can also be set apart. There must be a task or an order to be set apart to, or the priesthood is a meaningless concept, as it has so often seemed while we have had no Temple.

14. "Then bring his sons, and clothe them with tunics,

15. "and anoint them as you anointed their father, so they may serve as priests to Me, and it shall be that their anointing shall be for a perpetual [office of] priesthood for their generations."

Remember that the anointing oil had fragrant spices mixed into it, so everything that was set apart to YHWH would have the same distinctive smell. This oil that runs down Aharon’s beard onto his garments without touching his flesh is a picture of unity among brothers. (Psalm 133)

This is the most beautiful verse--repeated in several ways throughout the book--and the biggest lesson for us. Doing as we are told rather than the way that seems right to us, reading the directions before starting, following the pattern to the letter, makes all the difference in the world; otherwise the result will not be acceptable. It was not enough to build these things; they had to be put to use. What we know is not complete or even acceptable until we are functioning in it. The knowledge must be there, but it must be applied. If the menorah does not give light, it is as useless as scrap metal, no matter how beautiful. The table still has no bread on it. If we do not fill it, the priesthood will go hungry.

Moshe did not do it one day too early or one day too late. He had it done in time for the first anniversary of the Passover. Second year: both words are based on the same root, which means a doubling or duplication--starting something over again. It was in a very real way a new creation--making the presence of YHWH that had been lost in Eden accessible again. This took place on a new moon, which YHWH has set apart as the way to measure His times and seasons. Was raised up: A "new man" unlike anything seen since Adam was standing up, and again this is taking place today. The religion will be gone from "him", but the set-apartness (from everything else) will abound here. But are we on schedule to have it done by the time He has set?

Moshe himself probably had other people do much of the work under his command, but Moshe setting up YHWH's dwelling place symbolizes the Torah being the framework for the dwelling place He wants to build out of people who are so linked together.

20. Then he took the articles of evidence and put [them] into the Ark, and put the poles in place on the Ark, and set the Atoning-cover onto the Ark from above.

With the poles in place, it was ready to move.

22. Then he put the table inside the Dwelling-place on its northward flank, outside the curtain,

23. and set the bread in order on it before the face of YHWH, as YHWH had commanded Moshe.

24. Then he placed the menorah in the Tent of Appointment, across from the table, on the southward flank of the Dwelling-place,

25. and he caused the lights to ascend before YHWH's face, as YHWH had commanded Moshe.

26. Then he placed the golden altar inside the Tent of Appointment, in front of the curtain,

27. and he caused spiced incense to smoke on it, as YHWH had commanded Moshe.

28. Then he placed the screen at the entryway to the Dwelling-place,

29. and set the altar of ascending [offering] at the entryway to the Dwelling-place, and caused the ascending [offering] and the grain offering to burn on it, as YHWH had commanded Moshe.

30. And he set the washbasin between the Tent of Appointment and the altar, and put water there to wash oneself with.

31. Then Moshe, Aharon, and his sons washed their hands and feet from it;

This shows that Moshe continued to function as a priest, though he was not a descendant of Aharon.

Wash: i.e., become ritually pure. We must be especially selfless and washed by the Word as we approach the day in which all that the Tent represented becomes a reality.

Now not only is the picture complete, but the atonement it represents (the gifts brought by those who had a willing heart after having made the golden calf) is a monument saying that YHWH does forgive Israel and there can be intimacy with Him again if we seek it and do what He requires. While the Dwelling Place was being built, Moshe records no dissension or rebellion; no one seems to have given him any trouble when this became the focus of the community. We need something to concentrate on that is bigger than ourselves. We cannot fully carry out Torah if we have no like-minded neighbors with whom to walk it out. Such a unity almost came about when it was not supposed to, at the Tower of Bavel; if we form such a unity when YHWH does want it, rebellion will melt away. Serving the community leaves us no time for things not profitable for the Kingdom. Moshe finished the work: Being over 80 years old, it is unlikely that Moshe physically did all this work, but it was erected completely by his vision and his obedience, and he was responsible to see that it all got done, as he had to answer for it. Therefore he oversaw the whole project. Moshe (as symbolic of the Torah) comepletes the work, yet we do it. We only experience the weight of YHWH’s presence when we follow Moshe’s instructions:

Weightiness: Kavod, from the word for heavy, and thus, important. His honor, His reputation filled every piece of the Tabernacle, and He came to dwell in the place set aside for Him alone.

His heaviness outweighs everything else. Even the one whom YHWH talked with face to face could not fit a tent that was already full. YHWH’s weightiness precluded anything else. When His things are in our vessels, there is no room there for self. When the ark was carried into the Holy Place, a link between heaven and earth was formed, so the cloud could come down and fill the room. But a cloud will penetrate outward wherever permitted, and thus it was visible outside the Tent as well. This is the perfect picture of what King Shlomo said when he finished the more fixed sanctuary over 400 years later: not even the heaven of heavens, much less one building, can ever contain the fullness of YHWH.

37. But if the cloud did not lift, they did not travel, until the day when it lifted,

They only traveled by day, since it was only then that the cloud was present (v. 38). Yahshua told us to walk in the light. (Yochanan 12:35) In Matithyahu 6, he told us that what brings light is a clear eye rather than an evil eye--a Hebrew idiom for being generous, not stingy. Loving our neighbor as ourselves brings light. When there was enough light in His people, YHWH was able to move them closer to the Promised Land. The more veils we remove, thread by thread, the more light there will be in our eyes. We will know where we are going--not to Heaven, but to His Land to build His Kingdom, and the more we will be able to build a Tabernacle, not a Tower (Gen. 11), for we will recognize that His position is always above us like the cloud.

This shows that this story must continue past the end of this book. This tent and its accoutrements will be broken down and re-erected many times before Israel will get to the Land. The whole nation moves at once, not one by one. We must travel only when and where YHWH does, and not stay where we are or have become comfortable, when He is moving. Those who decided to move into the Land after He had closed the door (because of their unbelief) would end up dead or seriously injured. We must be willing to stay even when we have the itch to travel, if the community is not changing along with us or YHWH is not the One instructing the change in place, understanding, or approach. But we get in doctrinal ruts if we only keep doing what He taught us many years ago. He may give different orders tomorrow. We do need to set up camp on them, but only in tents, not fixed homes, for we must be ready to move. There were 32 steps to the Temple precinct in Herod's day (they are still there to this day). We are not meant to stay permanently on one of them, for now they are only museums, though each was necessary to bring us a "step" closer to holiness. For example, He once genuinely sat over the Protestant Reformation, but He moved on from there. But some built permanent structures where He only intended temporary, and stayed behind when He moved on ones. He once camped over the Charismatic Renewal, but there is much more to move on to, or we will never learn as much as we can about Him. Heaven forbid that we become nothing more than another denomination! So "come, let us know--let us press on [pursue] to know YHWH"! (Hoshea 6:3).