Tag: tabernacle

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Discussions Tabernacles Torah

Sukkot: A reminder of Heaven’s extreme makeover of our lives

Sukkot: A reminder of Heaven's extreme makeover of our lives

In the First Commandment, God says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Ex. 20:2). As ancient Israel fled from Egypt and travelled to the Promised Land, they lived in booths, or סֻכֹּת sukkot in Hebrew. They weren’t supposed to live in these temporary shelters for 40 years in the wilderness. It was only because of their disobedience that they had to live that way for so long.

This study explores a key lesson of Sukkot (Festival of Tabernacles): We should be orienting ourselves towards God, not expecting Him to orient Himself toward us. 

It’s crucial for us to understand God’s character, to submit to His timing and molding us into His image — revealed through Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) — so that we will be a suitable people for God to dwell with for all time.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

You’re invited to God’s big tent (Exodus 25:1–27:19)

You're invited to God's big tent (Exodus 25-27). A large tent with open sides holds a dining party at night.

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.

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Discussions Torah

Swiss cheese boundaries: Danger of hole-y gates in our house for God (Exodus 35-38)

Swiss cheese boundaries: Danger of hole-y gates in our house for God (Exodus 35-38)

Why is the Tabernacle so special? When you look at this reading as it’s presented, the events of the Torah reading ויקהל Vayaq’hel (“and he assembled,” Exodus 35:1–38:20) are set in the aftermath of the golden calf (Exodus 32). While the Tabernacle architectural and interior design details in this reading make it seem identical to prior Torah readings before the golden calf incident, the key lesson of these passages is that the primary function of the Tabernacle was to establish the presence of HaShem (“The Name,” i.e., the LORD) in the midst of His people.

The LORD has desired to dwell with people since the foundation of the world (Eden), has taken steps to reestablish that relationship. God created is Israel, instructed Israel to build the Tabernacle and sent the Messiah as the Tabernacle made flesh. Then God plans to bring that to ultimate reality (New Jerusalem). God’s desire to dwell with His people has never changed.

A key first lesson of the Tabernacle is its gate, its door. That teaches that something important must change as a person moves in from the realm outside the Presence of God.

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Discussions Torah

Why we must guard Heaven’s tabernacle in our hearts (Exodus 25)

Why we must guard the Tabernacle of our hearts (Exodus 25)

The focus of the Tabernacle/Temple of Israel is the Ark of the Testimony, aka the Ark of the Covenant. That’s a key lesson of the Torah reading תְּרוּמָה Terumah (“contribution,” Exodus 25:1-27:19). The Ark protected the founding documents, the constitution of the People of God. This document binds all the people of God together, just as the people of the United States are bound by the U.S. Constitution, honor that document and work to put it into practice.

Heaven put the Word of God into action in the midst of the people of God with the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Messiah/Christ).

If the people of God don’t put the 10 Commandments into practice, we run a real risk of losing our first love and going astray from God. We can end up in a very bad place. When we realize we have gone astray, the first thing we do is to turn back to the foundation.

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Discussions Torah

Exodus 25:1-27:19: Is your house God-built?

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.

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Discussions Torah

Exodus 35:1-40:38: Rebuilding your life after Heaven’s Pattern

What did Jerusalem look like in Yeshua's time? When did God show His glory there? (Computer animation by www.LumoProject.com)

Why did the LORD call for the building of the Tabernacle? What are we supposed learn from it? How are we supposed to apply the lessons to everyday life today? These are questions answered in the double-header reading ויקהל Vayakhel (“and he assembled”) and פקודי Pekudei (“accounts”), covering the last six chapter of the book of Shemot (Exodus 35:1–40:38).

It’s a second telling about the construction of the Tabernacle, but it’s not just the world’s most lengthy non-IKEA instruction manual. When God repeats Himself, it’s for a good reason. When we look at these plans and compare them to the construction of Solomon’s temple, Solomon’s Temple certain had more and bigger items than what the Tabernacle had. One might ask if bigger always better? Herod’s Temple was even grander than that, but which one had more of God’s glory?

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Discussions Torah

Entering God’s Presence via the sacrifice of a contrite heart (Leviticus 1:1–6:7)

"The National Sin Offering," 1890 Holman Bible
"The National Sin Offering," The Holy Bible. Illustration. Public domain (U.S.). Philadelphia, Penn.: A.J. Holman & Company, 1890. BreadSite.org via Wikimedia Commons.

None of the sacrifices or offerings of the Tabernacle or Temple of ancient Israel (recorded in Torah reading וַיִּקְרָא Vayiqra/Vayikra, Lev. 1:1–6:7) apply to us today, yet all of them apply to us today. That paradox comes to us because forgiveness for diverging from the Creator’s plan has always come to mankind the same way: the old way of life must die. Offerings of blood and food never accomplished that — and never were meant to.

So then, what’s the deal with all the detailed instructions in the Bible about killing animals, pouring and sprinkling blood, burning carcasses and bringing in offerings of produce? Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ) taught in parables, and the Word of God teaches through the parable of the Tabernacle.