Every believer is a mobile temple — dwelling place — to God. As we build our trust in Heaven’s Anointed One, Yeshua (Jesus), God will test that foundation from time to time. If we are building our faith with strong materials, the building will remain standing. If we are building our faith with weak materials, the building will fall. That’s a key lesson from the parable of the Tabernacle, brought to a crescendo in Torah reading וַיַּקְהֵל/פְקוּדֵי Vayakel/Pekudei, (“and he assembled”/“accounts,” Exodus 35:1–40:38).
Category: Torah
Christians speak often of the “New Covenant,” but many view it through the lens of replacement theology and supercessionism. Doing so completely disconnects the New Covenant inaugurated in Yeshua HaMaschiach (Jesus the Christ), Who is both priest and king of His people, from the covenants (sealed contracts) God made with His people through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and even Moses.
Without an understanding of those covenants, the New Covenant has no real meaning. The why behind these contracts is at the heart of the Torah reading כי תשא Ki Tisa (“when you take”; Exodus 30:11–34:35).
The Tabernacle, God’s mobile embassy on Earth, was not merely a magic charm to give you the desires of your heart. That is how the surrounding nations engaged with their deities.
Rather, the Torah reading תצוה Tetzaveh (“you shall command,” Exodus 27:20–30:10) teaches that the Tent of the Testimony guides us toward how our hearts are tuned to the harmony of Heaven. How much more, then, would the Tabernacle made man — Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) — reveal the Father to us.
The exacting details of Israel’s Tabernacle, God’s embassy on earth, are not recorded in Torah reading תְּרוּמָה Terumah (“contribution,” Exodus 25:1–27:19) just as a feature for Architectural Digest. Rather, they are part of a testimony that God wants to live in the middle of His people.
This is the “big tent” testimony about the Creator through Israel’s history. In the Bible, His house grows from an easily portable tent to Solomon’s “wonder of the world” temple to the final temple that will be so large it covers most of the Middle East.
God wants to accommodate all who want to meet Him. But only those who are “on fire” for God — who are eager for His eternal kingdom — will be there.
One of the key lessons from Torah portion מִּשְׁפָּטִים Mishpatim (Exodus 21–24) and from the Prophets and Gospels is that God and Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) doesn’t separate religious and civil laws. The reasons for that are encapsulated in the Greatest Commandment and the Golden Rule — and in the Torah laws that restricted and ultimately abolished slavery.
The Ten Commandments are a testimony, a witness of the Holy One and Heaven’s plan for humanity on Earth now and l’olam v’ed (over the horizon and beyond, i.e., “forever and ever”).
But thankfully, in the orah reading יתרו Yitro (“Jethro,” Exodus 18:1–20:23) we learn how Heaven offers to free us from the things that have chained us to a life headed toward true death and introduce us personally to a way that leads to true life and peace — no matter what happened before or what’s going on now.
When we look at the Torah reading בְּשַׁלַּח Beshalach (“when he sent” or “after he had let go,” Ex. 13:17–17:16), we need to ask ourselves five big questions: Is God with us? Are we really free? Where are we going? How will we get our “daily bread”? Where will we find “living water”?
And via a number of parallel passages in the Prophets, Writings and Apostolic Scriptures, we learn that the answer to all those questions is Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ).