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God doesn’t explain everything, largely because our search for the answers is key to God’s revealing them to us. As paradoxical as that sounds, it’s a key takeaway from the Torah reading ויקהל Vayaqhel (“and he assembled,” Exodus 35:1–38:20). It’s a repetition of the Tabernacle elements, but it does reveal what the LORD really has always wanted — our heartfelt connection.
Today we will focus on Ex. 35:1-36:7. We already read in earlier Torah portions about the specifications of the items of the Tabernacle. What I want to cover today is something else.
Here’s a good example of intentional obfuscation: Moses tells the children of Israel all the things they need to do to make the tabernacle but before that, God talks about the Sabbath and how we aren’t to work on the Sabbath.
What is work?
Work is an act of creation. Creating wealth is work. Creating a painting is work. When I speak, I create sound. Is that work? Yes, it’s creating something. Taking notes during a sermon is a creation, which is work.
Where does work start and end? Is it just about the focus of the work? Is it about the act of working or about the act of not working?
This issue popped up a number of times in the TaNaK (Torah, Prophets and Writings) to handle these dilemmas.
King Solomon followed King David’s example. What was that? Solomon did the one-third rule. One-third of the employees of the palace worked each Shabbat.
For the past 2000+ years, the Sages have studied this issue at great length. There’s a wide spectrum of interpretation. Every one of them are wrong. How do I know? The Torah does not explain every single scenario. To impose my standard on you would be wrong. Whatever your view point is on this matter, that is between you and God. God is your judge, not me.
The high priest was exempt from the rule about kindling and extinguishing flames on Shabbat. He had to kindle seven flames by law on Shabbat and extinguishing them too. God did not include the menorah in the category of kindling or moving flame. Strictly speaking, the high priest was “profaning” the sabbath, but in this case he was blameless because he was following a greater law.
The law always applies unless it has to be over-ridden for a greater purposes.
For example, if you have a ill person in your family, that illness does not take a break on Shabbat. Wants do not override Torah, but needs do override Torah.
We read about how the people gave more than what was needed for the Tabernacle, so much so that the tabernacles works had to beg the people to stop. They had so much excess they could not handle it. The willing hearts were there.
2Kings 12: 1–15: Heart not in it
We read in Exodus about the bounty of freewill offerings. But when we read about how the priests had treated the Temple in King Joash’s time, they had no drive to repair the temple, even though they were collecting the money that King Joash asked them to use to collect to repair the temple.
After 23 years, the King asked for an accounting and when he found they had not repaired the temple, he took matters into his own hands and organized the repairs of the temple and its contents. He did end up collecting just enough but not an overflowing offering.
In contrast to the Tabernacle, the people didn’t really have a heart to refurbish the Temple to its proper glory. The people gave as little as possible and insufficient for the task.
1Kings 7:40-51: Heart for connection
Let’s go back about 100 years to when Solomon first built the Temple. David designed the Temple but Solomon built it. David had gathered all the supplies, but Solomon did not use David’s silver and gold for the Temple. Solomon put David’s items into storage. David, Solomon and all the people of Israel wanted the Temple, they were driven to built it. They put all their heart into it but by Joash’s day, the people’s hearts have changed. Something has switched.
Matthew 6:19-25: ‘Where your heart is…’
At the time of Solomon and Moses, the people’s hearts were not stored up in their treasures, but in God. The people keep giving and giving to God’s temple until the treasury overflowed, but contrast that to Joash’s time. By then, the people’s hearts were not with God. The people treasured their stuff more than they treasured God. Their hearts were not with God anymore.
We assign value to what we want and each person finds different things are of value to them. Gold does not produce value in and of itself. We assigned value to it when we found reasons to use it.
If we value money more than God, we don’t really value God at all.
Human nature does not change, we are the same now as we were then. Nothing has really changed in about 6,000 years.
The question we all need to ask God is: What do I do with this? Is this for us or for God? We are the same people as Moses, Solomon, David and Joash. We all have to face the truth about what we find to be of the highest value to us.
Summary: Tammy
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