I thought about what I was going to teach this Sabbath, as I went over the Torah portion again and again, and then something happened this week that brought it all into perspective, that gave it alot of meaning to me. Of course, there are so many different things that someone can distill from this section of scripture. That is one of the beutiful things about studying these things. It is like the layers of an onion, new and beautiful meaning everytime we dig deeper into the scriptures. In fact, the scholars of the house of Judah who contributed to the Zohar, have written large sections in their books on just this one section of scripture. For me as a youth, however, this appeared to be the most boring part of scripture perhaps along with Leviticus. As I got older, and continued to study and grow in יהוה, I realize that the things that we find in the tabernacle arrangement is central in parallel to the life of the beleiver. All these elements represented something that correlated to my life and yours as a follower of Yahshua. The “contribution” or תְּרוּמָה represents something that is far greater than ourselves. Coming out of the churches, and the coming out of the hebrew roots groups I belonged to in times past, has taught me that the life of faith matters beyond the individual. It matters respective of the growing and cultivating of something “more.” Sometime “beyond.” The Yahad is just that type of group consciousness. The people of Israel had come out of one group consciousness that was rooted in pagan worship. They had become part of that group consciousness, part of the religious system in part at least, and had resolved to make that place their “lot in life.” But יהוה had other plans for the people. He wanted the people to have a new system of worship that was pure and in alignment with the reality in the heavens, the picture that Moses as given of what was aready happening in the Heavens. A pictures of the furniture of the tabernacle is given to us in this portion, and there are things that relate to the building up of our tabernacle of faith, individually and corporately. Purpose of the Mishkan/Tabernacle- for YHWH to dwell amongst them. Exodus 25:8
- The people are told to contribute wealth for the tabernacle, this wealth consisted of 13 materials. Among these materials were gold, silver and copper; blue-, purple- and red-dyed wool; flax, goat hair, animal skins, wood, olive oil, spices and gems. An offering given freely, without pretension, feigned love, or any of the other complexities of the human heart, which is desperately wicked. An offering given to the יהוה is one without pretension, without corrupt designs or expectations. 2 Corinthians 8:12, 2 Corinthians 6:6, Mark 12:41, 2 Corinthians 6:19 – our offering, our body
- Most Kadosh of the kadosh. 15×15 – The Ark of the Covenant, its design, its placement it purpose.
- The table of bread representing the presence. 12 loaves, six in two rows representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Same size, weight – no partiality. Frankincense, Unleavened, “before the face,” – Shewbread. Tradition says 8 priests held hands as they changed the bread, and passed it around for fellowship. Always standing, never seated, to allude to the constant ministry going on in the third Heaven. – Heb 10:11-14. Messiah, “I am the bread of Life.” John 6:35 – Example of Manna, constant receiving the sustenance – connection of the Master Yahshua in our lives – alluding to the tree of life for sustaining eternal life.
- The construction of the menorah, its design, its purpose, seven branches, Seven branches, Seven Spirits, Seven Character traits all within the body of Messiah – Isaiah 11:2, Revelation 1:4
- The Tabernacle, its fitting, sits purpose, its mobility. The tabernacle is designed to be assembled, disassembled, and transported to the next place where they are led. – 1 Peter 2:11, Jeremiah 35:7 – Rechabites – Mobility
- The curtain of the tabernacle, setting a separation between the inner more Kadosh, and the outer kadosh – inner court. Relative to the orders of ministry responsibilities, their operation, and proximity to YHWH.
- The altar of burnt offering,
- Altar of Incense, Prayers of the saints
- The court and its hanging
And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
Exodus 25:8
Different gifts, different contributions, different skill sets, but everyone brought something to to contribute to the building of the tabernacle.
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Rauch Ha Kodesh which is in you, which ye have of יהוה, and ye are not your own?
2 Corinthians 6:19
Contributing to the general good within the communion of the faithful acts as a dynamo (a machine for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy; a generator), it builds up and builds up more so that corporately we become so much more to the world than we can be individually, as we seek to ameriorate creation around us, and address the needs of the people.
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Luke 6:38
The purpose of the contribution is to build the tabernacle so that יהוה may come down and dwell in the midst of the people.
But the Heart is desperately wicked, and deceitful, and is filled with selfish motivations that run counter to the working of the Ruach Ha Kodesh.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:9
- When the heart of man, A COMBINATION OF MENTAL CAPACITY AND FEELINGS, gets in the way of the spiritual act of prayer or praise, or of any other type of offering to YHWH, there are problems, because feelings/mind and the purity and innocency of faith are polar opposites.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
The people have to give willingly out of the heart, out from a place of purity and gratitude.
For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
2 Corinthians 8:12
By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned
2 Corinthians 6:6
- Unfeigned synonyms: sincere, genuine, real, true, honest, authentic, unaffected, unpretended, unforced, uncontrived, artless, candid, frank, bona fide earnest, heartfelt, wholehearted, deep, from the heart
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Mark 12:41
And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
Mark 12:38
A person who strives to fulfill a mitzvah should not attempt to fulfill it for free, without paying, as the verse states, [“Three times a year all your males should appear before יהוה in the place that He will choose: on the Festival of Matzot, the Festival of Shavuot, and the Festival of Sukkot. He shall not appear before G‑d empty-handed, but] everyone, according to what he can give, [according to the blessing that יהוה gives you.]” (Deut. 16:15-17)
But if you contend that it is written, “Go! Buy and eat; go and buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1) – indicating that this is for free – the latter refers only to Torah study.1 Whoever wishes can acquire it without having to pay.
[Zohar II, 128a-b; translation and commentary by Moshe Miller]
An atmosphere of impurity always rests upon that which is free….However, when one strives to serve YHWH through action [i.e. mitzvot] it is forbidden to take without paying, because a person cannot draw an atmosphere of holiness upon himself without paying the full price, whatever is demanded, whether a lot or a little. This is because an atmosphere of impurity always rests upon that which is free and for nothing. But an atmosphere of holiness is not like that; it [is acquired] only when one pays the full price, with much intense effort, purification of one’s body and one’s home, and with the will of the heart and the soul. If only [every]one could earn [the privilege] of having the Holy Blessed One making His dwelling within him. In this regard it states, “[…have them take Me an offering] from every man” – from whoever is called “a man” [in Hebrew, “ish“] – i.e. one who has conquered his inclination to evil.
- The construction of the menorah, its design, its purpose, seven branches, Seven branches, Seven Spirits, Seven Character traits all within the body of Messiah – Isaiah 11:2, Revelation 1:4
The Spirit of the yhwh shall rest upon Him,
Isaiah 11:2
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the yhwh.
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Revelation 1:4
The mobility of the tabernacle relative to the willingness of the Believer to go where YHWH would send you. Considerthe example of the Rechabites and wehat Peter said of the congregation –
You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn
Jeremiah 35:7
Peter description of the assembly as not one that is rooted in any one place, but is mobile, similar to the tabernacle, adressing the needs of ministry wherever those may be.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
1 Peter 2:11
Through him, then, let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to יהוה continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to his name.
Hebrews 13:15
I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of יהוה. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
Numbers 12:8
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Psalms 141:2
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 5:8
But Moses said to the Master, “Please, Master, I have never been a skilled speaker. Even now, after talking to you, I cannot speak well. I speak slowly and can’t find the best words.”
Exodus/Shemit 4:10
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
James 5:16
Strong’s Concordance
ischuó: to be strong, have powerOriginal Word: ἰσχύω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: ischuó
Phonetic Spelling: (is-khoo’-o)
Definition: to be strong, have power
Usage: I have strength, am strong, am in full health and vigor, am able; meton: I prevail.HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 2480isxýō – properly, embodied strength that “gets into the fray” (action), i.e. engagingthe resistance. For the believer, 2480 (isxýō) refers to the Master strengthening them with combative, confrontive force to achieve all He gives faith for. That is, facing necessary resistance that brings what the Lord defines is success (His victory, cf. 1 Jn 5:4). Accordingly, faith (4102 /pístis) and 2480 (isxýō) are directly connected (Js 5:16). See 2479 (isxys).
Js 5:15,16 (Gk text): “1And the prayer characterized by faith (4102 /pístis) will restore the one who is sick, and the Master will raise him up. If he has committed sins with present effects, it will be forgiven him. Therefore, openly confess these sins to one another, and pray for the benefit of one another, for the purpose of being supernaturally healed. Very combative (engaging, overcoming, 2480 /isxýō) is the specific (urgent) request of a divinely-approved person who is energized (by YHWH).”
Characteristics of the ministry aspects that operate in a fully functional tabernacle of faith.
- Wisdom
- Understanding
- Counsel functions as a sort of supernatural intuition, to enable a person to judge promptly and rightly.
- Fortitude/Endurance
- Knowledge
- Piety
- Fear of YHWH/Wonder/Awe
Let us consider seriously what we are contributing to the tabernacle of faith here on this earth, and what we are doing with the gifts and abilities that YHWH has given us. We cannot sit idly by and let others do all the work, or the tabernacle of our faith will be incomplete. Everyone, no matter how skillful they are or think they are, from the the greatest gifts to the least can contibute to our tabernacle of faith.
For it is like a man going on a journey who called his own servants and delivered his possessing to them. And indeed to one he gave five talents; and to one, two; and to one, one; to each according to his own ability. And he left the region immediately.
Matthew 25:14-28
The one having received the five talents, having gone, traded with them, and made five more. Likewise, the one with the two gained two more. But the one having received the one talent, having gone away, dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.
And after much time, the master of those servants comes and takes account with them. And the onehaving received the five talents, having come, brought to him five other talents, saying, ‘Master, you did deliver to me five talents. Behold, I have gained five talents more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
And the one with the two talents, also having come said, ‘Master, you did deliver to me two talents. Behold, I have gained two talents more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
And the one having received the one talent, having come, also said, ‘Master, I knew you, that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering from where you did not scatter. 25And having been afraid, having gone away, I hid your talent in the ground. Behold, you have what is yours.’
And his master answering, said to him, ‘Wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather from where I did not scatter. Therefore it behooved you to put my money to the bankers, and having come, I would have received my own with interest.
Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to the one having the ten talents. For to everyone having will be given, and he will have in abundance. But the one not having, even that which he has will be taken away from him. And cast out the worthless servant, into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Challenges
- What kind of tabernacle are we building in our lives? Are we building a tabernacle of dead, spiritless, academic knowledge? Of prayers/praise/teaching that would make the most professional and polished pharisee proud? Or, are we building a tabernacle amongst us that is living, active, and full of the Ruach Ha Kodesh, in the innocency of the heart, in the purity and uncorrupt manifestation of simple people of faith?
- What kind of contribution are we making to the Kingdom? Are we burying our talents in the ground, like the wicked servant, or are we putting out skill sets to use in the kingdom, for the building up of the kingdom, for the proper amelioration of creation? Selah
Hebrew Messianic Israel 