How we build a house for God on Earth (Exodus 25–26; Isaiah 66; 1Corinthians 6)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:16:05 — 52.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS

---

Last Shabbat, our study centered on the ascent to Mount Sinai — מֹשֶׁה Moshe’s (Moses) going up to receive the tablets, the לֻחֹת הָעֵדוּת luchot ha’edut (“Tablets of Testimony”; Exodus 25:16), and the intricate boundaries Adonai set from base of the mountain to the summit. As we recalled, only Moses was invited all the way up; the elders, אַהֲרֹן Aharon (Aaron), and his sons, Nadav (Nadab) and Avihu (Abihu), attended a banquet in the Divine presence, yet only Moshe crossed into the holiest place. The mountain itself, with its levels of separation: the base for the people, the middle for Aaron and יְהוֹשֻׁעַ Yehoshua (Joshua), and the top, the most holy, for Moses—mirrored the very structure of the משכן Mishkan (tabernacle), with the outer court, the הַקֹּדֶשׁ haQodesh (Holy Place), and the קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים Qodesh haQodashim (Holy of Holies).

צִיּוֹן Tziyon (Zion) is not just a geopolitical entity, but “the special dwelling place of the Creator of heaven and earth,” a beacon from which the Word and Spirit flow out to all the earth. Just as Sinai functioned as the first outflow, Zion becomes the ultimate, spiritual beacon, culminating in the presence of God reaching to all nations. The mountain, the Tabernacle, and Zion all direct our hearts toward the Divine calling — the upward journey of drawing close.

Recognizing True Prophets and the Danger of False Ones

Deuteronomy 18 calls us to discernment:

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.”

Deuteronomy 18:15 NASB95

But the Torah warns, too, that a prophet may arise who may even perform “signs and wonders” (Deuteronomy 13:1), but if his message beckons us to follow other gods or abandon what Adonai has revealed, be very, very, very careful.

The parameters are clear: fidelity to the testimony— the עֵדוּת edut — etched in stone. In Hebrew, this notion of witness or testimony underscores the sanctity and fixedness of God’s revelation, echoed by the New Covenant’s call to “test everything” (1Thessalonians 5:21).

Approaching God: The Heart of Qorban and the Veil

When the Torah speaks of קָרְבָּן qorban/korban (“thing brought near,” “offering”; Leviticus 1:2), it reveals that it is not just about ritual sacrifice; it is about approach, nearness — our hearts being the “thing that approaches” Heaven. The Mishkan, with its furnishings, courses of gold, and layered sanctity, is not architecture for ceremony alone.

Here is the message: There is a special way — a Divinely sanctioned method — of approach to the Presence, and that is through the special offering foretold from Genesis, the הַמָּשִׁיחַ haMashiach (“Anointed One,” Messiah, Christ), in Whom all nations will be blessed (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:14). The Tabernacle is a תַּבְנִית tavnit (“pattern from heaven”; Exodus 25:9) of Heaven’s purpose: Who or what is it that approaches God? And how do we become “pure gold”?

‘Pure Gold’ and the Pattern of Heaven

This week, we examine Exodus 25:1–26:30. A key phrase leaps out:“pure gold.” Over and over, the construction instructions for the Mishkan objects repeat זָהָב טָהוֹר zahav tahor (“pure gold”) — nearly three dozen times in the Hebrew Scriptures, mostly in the Exodus 25–39. Every object within the אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד Ohel Mo’ed (tent of meeting) is fashioned of or overlaid with gold — symbolizing ultimate purity and divine perfection. The utensils are gold. The furniture, if not solid gold like the menorah, is wood covered in gold.

Outside, in the courtyard, things are נְחֹשֶׁת nechoshet (copper or brass), which is “reddish” (דָּם dam) like dirt (אֲדָמָה adamah). But enter the tent, and the sensory world changes: gold everywhere, echoing a realm set apart, not tarnishing, otherworldly. הַטְּהוֹרָה ha-tahorah (“the pure”; tahor = pure), as the Torah uses it, is contrasted with טָמֵא tamé (“unclean,” or that which is not pure, not fit to approach).

We see the pattern amplified in the Prophets and Apostolic Writings. In the Septuagint, zahav tahor is rendered as χρυσὶον καθαρὸν chrysion katharon. That phrase only appears in the New Testament in two places:

The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

Revelation 21:18 NASB95

The street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

Revelation 21:21 NASB95

Apostle Yokhanan (John) describes the New Jerusalem just as the Torah describes the Tabernacle — perfection, transparency, and illumination.

The Message of Transparency and Refinement

Why this obsession with purity? Why not settle for strength, as with tempered bronze mixed with other elements? The text gives us the answer: it is transparency, not mere resilience, that is the goal. Ancient glass was often cloudy, imperfect — like our own attempts at personal holiness. But the “gold” of the New Jerusalem is so pure “you can see right through it.” In the life of faith, God is after not just outward perfection, but an inner transparency — a heart open, without deceit or corruption, to the searching gaze of the Creator.

Genesis 3 offers a brilliant Hebrew wordplay — נָחוּשׁ arom (“naked”) and עָרוּם arum (“cunning”) — playing on the paradox that sometimes what seems transparent is actually deceptive. The Adversary (haSatan), the serpent, offers Chavah (Eve) half-truths. But a half-truth is a deceptive lie. We are reminded that every teaching, every revelation, must be measured by God’s testimony. Even Yeshua (Jesus) faced the Scripture-twisting Adversary in the desert, “for it is written,” — and answered with fidelity to the Father’s Word.

Holiness, Ritual, and the Internal Change

Adonai through the prophet Isaiah thunders:

“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? … To this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word”

Isaiah 66:1–2 NASB95

Religious ritual alone is meaningless (James 1:26–27). The offerings, festivals — even those God calls for — are rejected when the heart is far away. If all it is is a sign on your body, the Apostle Paul essentially says, you’re just mutilating yourself (Philippians 3:2–3).

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

1Corinthians 15:50 NASB95

We have gone through moments like in Israel’s history when the scroll of Torah was forgotten “in the back room” of the Temple. Yet when rediscovered— whether after Babylonian exile or following generations of neglect — the words brought people to weeping and repentance. The passage in Isaiah 66 separates those who “tremble at His word” from those who scoff, who trust in the building but ignore the Builder.

The Potter and the Clay: Transformation Through Trials

A recurring metaphor in Scripture is the בַּיִּץ ba’itz (“clay”) in the hand of the יֹוצֵר yotzer (“potter”), referenced in Isaiah and echoed in the Psalms: “We are the temple of God today…. He is building in us a place where He wants to dwell” (Isaiah 64:8). Our lives, like gold, are heated (put to the test) and impurities are skimmed off, until “refinement by fire” brings maturity and wholeness (see Malachi 3:3, James 1:2–4). We should ask Heaven to, “Refine me like silver, purify me like gold (Proverbs 17:3; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:3).” The stress, trials, and growing pains are the “moving of the clay” as Adonai makes us a vessel fit for His presence.

Approaching With a Transparent Heart

What, then, does it mean to “enter the house of Adonai with a transparent heart”? It means acknowledging our failings, responding to conviction, and submitting to the refining work of the רוח הקודש Ruach HaQodesh (Holy Spirit). The pattern is always inward — “circumcise your hearts” (Deuteronomy 30:6). God desires not a mechanical offering, but hearts that are soft, humble, and willing to change.

In Isaiah 1, Adonai says effectively, “Your festivals, I hate them ….” (Isaiah 1:10–15). Did He call for them? Yes, but their hearts was far off. That’s a recurring message throughout the Prophets and echoed by Yeshua (Matthew 15:8–9). The goal is not to “hack” our way into the presence of God, building our own way, but to accept the One whom He sent, to be transformed and led into the Presence as purified, transparent gold — zahar tahor.

Emotions, Strength, and the Role of ‘Impurities’

Are emotions bad? Some wonder, since Yeshua showed righteous anger (Matthew 21:12–13). Scripture tells us God gave us these emotions for a reason—the challenge is not their existence, but how we bring them under the Spirit’s refining fire. Just as glass with some admixture may be strong physically, it’s transparency — spiritual clarity — that God is after. Being cunning as serpents, yet innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16), means understanding the world’s cunning, but not allowing darkness within.

The Ultimate Goal: God’s Dwelling in Us

Scripture reveals a cyclical history for Israel, and we who are grafted in or born into the people of Israel see it in our own walk: God’s “pattern” is always about fostering His presence among us, not just in tents or temples, but in new hearts (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Ezekiel 36:25–27). Building according to God’s blueprint involves internalizing His Word (Psalm 51:6). The Tabernacle/Temple has always been a shadow, an earthly replica, of what God was always after:

We are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.

2Corinthians 3:18 NASB95

A Challenge

Do I want to enter God’s house with a transparent heart? Am I letting Him mold me, refine me, and fill my life with the kind of holiness that shines — not just with outward strength, but inward clarity, love, and authenticity? Ultimately, the Tabernacle, Zion and the vision of “pure gold like transparent glass” all point to this: God is not calling us to architectural blueprints, but to lives built by His Spirit, fit for His indwelling.

May we walk out these truths, allowing Heaven’s pattern to become our reality. May we respond to God with humble, contrite hearts; refuse counterfeit revelations; and continually ask Him to refine us. So together, we may become the dwelling place for His glory on earth.