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

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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.

The Tabernacle was the centerpiece for the nation in the wilderness. It was the embassy of the Creator of the Universe, right smack dab in the center of His creation. When the Tabernacle was operating, the Israelite tribes were evenly oriented all around the Tabernacle so God’s dwelling was literally in the center of His people.

Today as mobile tabernacles of God’s Presence, we meet with God in three main places that are pictured in the architecture of the Tabernacle: in His word, in prayer with Him and in His people.

Don’t show your backside to the Sovereign

There’s a lesson in the orientation of the Tabernacle to the compass. To witness the sacrifices, one would face away from the rising sun and towards the setting sun (depending on the time of day).

We see in the time of the prophets, the priests and the people were actually worshipping with their backs to God, disrespecting Him and paying obeisance and worship to false gods (Ezek. 8:15–17). They were worshipping the creation (sun), rather than the Creator. They saw the sun as the source of their strength, ignoring the Psalms which tell us that the LORD is the source of all strength (Psalm 121). We need to look up to the LORD, not down to our idols.

When we look to the creation rather than the Creator, we always end up in idolatry, and that leads to trouble. Idols are formed by the craftsman. When make an idol and worship it we are, in a sense, worshipping ourselves. They are molded to what we want them to be. They were moulding the things of God to what they wanted them to be rather than allowing themselves to be moulded by God.

In most cultures, you never turn your back to the sovereign. If you showed your back to the sovereign when you were not supposed to, that was a sign of utter disrespect.

In Salt Lake City, all the streets are oriented to the Mormon Temple.

The LORD should be at the center of everything we do, not an afterthought. When the Tabernacle was operating, the camps were evenly oriented all around the Tabernacle so God’s dwelling was literally in the center of His people.

Leviticus teaches us how to enter in the front door from the courtyard to the Most Holy Place. There are three stages of entry into God’s presence: front door, veil to the Holy Place, veil to the Most Holy Place.

The focal point of the Tabernacles was the ark, and the focal point of the ark were the tablets of the testimony. That is what God wants us to know about Him. Not a figurine or an idol.

Even the cherubim, which were placed on top of the ark look toward the mercy seat.

The testimony of the Lord is where you meet the Lord. We don’t need more commentaries, more translations, or something to hang from our keychains or our rear view mirrors to meet with God and get to know Him.

The mercy seat was God’s throne and that fact that God’s throne is called the place of mercy tells us much about God’s character.

Heavy metal?

There are three main metals in the Tabernacle design:

Copper (bronze): It’s red — if you keep it clean. Copper (נחשת n’khoshet, H5178) is mainly in the courtyard of the Tabernacle, where the blood of the offerings is spilled.
Silver: The Hebrew word for it, כסף kesef (H3701), means “pale.”
Gold: This precious metal (זהב zahab, H2091) does not corrode and is easily cleaned. Thus, it gives a picture of things that are eternal.

In a Hallel Fellowship talk about 7 years ago, teacher Daniel explained in great detail about what each of the metals, particularly the copper and gold represent.

With all of what went into to the Tabernacle, the point of it was to build up the people into the Kingdom of God. All the materials used in the Tabernacle represented different kinds of people.

When people entered the Tabernacle, the first stop was the altar and the sacrifice. That is where the worshipper is changed. The person could not go beyond the altar, but the blood of the animal they offered represented the person and was allowed to approach God. The blood of your gift went into the Tabernacle for you.

That’s the pattern from Heaven that pointed to the ultimate offering: Yeshua.

In living color(s)

The colors blue, purple and red also greeted those who approached the temple. Blue and red are primary colors but when blended, they create purple.

The tabernacle was not just a building but a place occupied by God’s personal presence.

Blue: Sky, water
Red: Earth, flesh, blood
Purple: Royalty, combination of earth and sky, combination of water and blood.

We are to be temples of God’s Holy Spirit (1Cor. 3:16; 6:19). We’re not to think of God’s dwelling as somewhere else but within us and within our fellow believers.

Part of the pattern shown to Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex. 25:40) was not just the literal architectural schematic of the Tabernacle. It also shows us how God see us, not as we see ourselves. He sees those of us who have trusted in His Son as beautiful, functional, useful tools for His kingdom (1Corinthians 12).

There were four different cloth and leather coverings over the roof of the tabernacle:

Fine needlework of blue, purple, scarlet (red), fine linen (white) with gold angels.
Goat hair (white).
Ram leather dyed red.
Badger (sea cow?) leather (brown).

For all of Israel’s flip-flopping, they were so eager for the Tabernacle to be built that they overflowed Moses with gifts to the point that he had to tell them to stop before he became overwhelmed (Ex. 36:3–7).

A part of us inviting God’s presence with us is that we are an empty vessel until He fills us up.

The Lord doesn’t need your stuff, He wants you. We need to be transformed and God wants to transform us and prepare us to be in His presence by covering us.

“The eye is the jewel of the body.”

Henry David Thoreau

We have a prior lesson, from 10 years ago, about the design and purpose of the menorah. There were a couple of different designs of the menorah during Israel’s history.

There is also a connection in scripture between almonds and the eye. For example, Koreans described the shape of the European eye-shape as an “almond shaped” eye.

One of the most common plastic surgery procedures in Korea is called blepharoplasty or double-eyelid surgery. The typical Asian eyelid does not have a crease between the eyebrow and the lash line, while the typical European eye has a pronounced crease at the top of the eye socket between the eyebrow and the lash line. The double-eyelid surgery creates a crease and opens the eyes.

This surgery is very popular in Asia because eyes with double eyelids are perceived as being more expressive, while faces with single-eyelids are perceived as being more angry or bored and less reflective of the person’s authentic emotional state.

Haftarah: 1Kings 5:26-6:13

The dimensions of Solomon’s temple were not identical to the dimensions given to Moses in the wilderness. The scale of the Temple (Solomon’s, Zerubbabel’s and Herod’s) dwarfed that of the Tabernacle, but the affinity for the simplicity of the Tabernacle is seen in the frequent allusions to it in the Apostolic writings (John 1:14; much of Hebrews).

Talk to the hand

In Ex. 26:17–18, Moses provides details about the tenons, or rods, for the wall planks. These planks that kept the tabernacle together were called yadot, from the root word for “hand.” When Solomon made his temple, he incorporated them into the design, even though the Temple was not a portable building.

They were used to make a bond, linking one part to another, so those joints or links were strengthened.

There is a lot of Hebrew word play here: tenons = יָד֗וֹת yadot (H3027): hands.

Ralph H. Alexander, in the book Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament:

“Perhaps the joining of hands led to the use of יָד to denote ‘axles’ which held the wheels of the molten sea together (1 Kgs 7:32–33) and the ‘stays’ (tenons) to fasten the boards of the tabernacle or temple (Ex 26:17–19; 1 Kgs 7:35–36). The hand hanging at the side most likely precipitated the use of יָד for ‘side, coast, or border’ (Ex 2:5; Num 2:17; 34:3). The spreading of the hands denoted ‘space’ (Gen 34:21), while “hand” also meant “part” or ‘time’ (43:34; 47:24).”

Three similar Hebrew verbs in spelling, sound and meaning help us understand the role of hands in the house of God, as described in the Brown, Driver Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon:

יָדַד yadad (H3032): verb, to cast a lot; a second verbal use is to love
יָדָה yadah (H3034): verb, to throw, cast
- Derivatives: Give praise, give thanks
יָדַע yadah’ (H943): verb, to know on an intimate level

What are your hands doing to uphold the presence of God in the world?

The Tabernacle is a communication to us about who God is and what God is doing. What does the Lord want to do with you? What doe he want to cover in you, not only personally, but communally?

What the Lord has started, He will complete “with a might hand and an outstretched arm.”

Summary: Tammy