What does is mean that Yeshua (Jesus) is our “high priest” (Hebrews 4:14)? We can learn a lot about that role from the inauguration of the first high priest of the people of God, described in detail in this week’s Torah reading, תְּצַוֶּה Tetzaveh (“you shall command”), covering Exodus 27:20-30:10.
What’s so important about the meticulous detail in the instructions for the Tabernacle? These pictures are like the résumé for the Mashiakh, the Christ. This week’s Torah reading, Terumah (“heave offering”), covering Ex. 25:1-27:19, foreshadows the work of Yeshua (Jesus).
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.
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution.” (Exodus 25:1–2 NASB)
Are we offering the Creator of Heaven and Earth — and by extension, those around us — the best of our time and resources? After Heaven gave the best to Earth to remove from memory sin, transgression and iniquity, in the birth, death and resurrection of the Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ).
From “The House That Jack Built” to the parable by Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ) of the wise homeowner’s constructing it on a rock (Matt. 7:24–27; Luke 6:47–49), the metaphor of a house representing one’s character and lifestyle is widely employed over eons and continents.
The architectural and interior-design details about Israel’s Tabernacle in Torah reading תרומה Terumah (“contribution,” Exodus 25:1-27:19) may seem like needless and tiresome minutia. But why they deserve close, repeated reflection is they are a “pattern” for what the Heaven-transformed life looks like. That’s the pattern Yeshua, the ultimate Tabernacle from Heaven (John 1:14), lived out, as recorded in the Gospels.
How thankful are we our Savior freed us from our old way of life far off from the Kingdom of Heaven? After generations of bondage in Egypt, ancient Israel was sent into freedom with all kinds of material wealth. In the Torah reading תרומה Terumah (“heave offering,” Exodus 25:1-27:19), the Holy One Who freed the people asks for contributions to build the Tabernacle, a special embassy between Heaven and Earth. Through these lessons of returning some of the blessings we receive, we get clued into the great gift we’ve been given through Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ).
In this reading, we also learn about cherubim, which we also see in Ezekiel and Revelation, and explore whether images of them in the Tabernacle are idolatry.
The garments of Israel’s High Priest, detailed in Torah reading תצוה Tetzaveh (“you shall command,” Exodus 27:20-30:10), mark him as the highest representative of the people before God. Messiah Yeshua, equally God and equally man, is uniquely qualified to fill that role completely.
The connection between the menorah, the altar of incense and the people of Israel is equally profound as the work of their hands and their prayers are lifted to God symbolically by Aharon the High Priest and literally in Heaven by Messiah Yeshua, our eternal High Priest.