January 26, 2022 Exodus 39:42-43 According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the Lord had commanded. Something very important is amplified in these verses and that is God expects us to do the work. The pattern […]
January 25, 22 Exodus 39:8-9 And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled. The Breastplate or Righteousness, resting upon the heart of […]
January 24, 2022 Exodus 39:1 Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses. When it comes to the service required in God’s House, wearing the proper garments is, and has always been, very important. It is my opinion that, in the Garden, Adam […]
January 23, 2022
Exodus 38:22-23
Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord had commanded Moses. And with him was Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and [b]designer, a weaver of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine linen.
Among all the artisans who brought the Sanctuary and its' furnishings into being, these two men, Bezalel and Aholiab, were the principal figures. Being that Bezalel was from the tribe of Judah and Aholiab was from Dan, an interesting concept develops. The tribe of Judah and its camp alway led the nation as they traversed the wilderness. It was the tribe of Dan and its camp that always brought up the rear when the nation was on the move. So then, together, Judah and Dan represent the “first and last.” In the persons of Bezalel and Aholiab, the “first and “last” brought the Tabernacle into existence.
From the very beginning, it is clear that God always has desired to build a “house” in which He could dwell with His people. In fact, in Hebrew, first word of Genesis begins with the Hebrew letter beit, which in name and in form means “a house.” This desire to dwell with His people is then demonstrated initially in the Garden and eventually in the Tabernacle. So then, that these two men, and the fact that they came from these two tribes is not coincidental — their selection by God speaks to something very important. Christ, who is the First and the Last, is the greater manifestation of God's desire to dwell with His people. Paul said:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:15-17)
Christ, as the First and Last, brought the Creation into existence and it is He who made it possible for you and me to become a new creation. God used Bezalel and Aholiab to construct the Tabernacle and “flesh out” the Creator's desire to build a house. God sent His Son, in the flesh, to bring about the fulfillment of His desire and, accordingly, John said, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us.” Because He did dwell among us, we have the opportunity to commune with the Creator as a Temple of His Spirit with the promise that, one day, we will dwell with Him in a much bigger “house” — the New Jerusalem. So let us remain faithful knowing that what He initiated in our lives, He will bring to its intended fruition because He is the First and the Last, and the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Modern, Western readers find many of the laws in this Torah portion harsh, primitive, or otherwise distasteful. The laws reflect a different world from our own. When the Torah begins to speak in a matter-of-fact manner about the institution of slavery, about selling one’s daughter, about repaying measure-for-measure, it disconcerts the modern reader. He is tempted to comfort himself with the notion that the unpleasant laws have been done away with by the New Testament and replaced by kinder, gentler, and nobler virtues.
On the contrary, the mouth of God spoke every commandment of Torah. Human society may change, but God does not change. Each mitzvah is holy and eternal. Every commandment distills His essence and communicates a pure revelation of His person. The study of the commandments is the study of God.
As soon as we begin to discard commandments, we have begun editing God and reshaping the Almighty into an image which we deem more appropriate. The Torah contains both law and revelation. It provides a rule of conduct, but at the same time, it expresses God in human terms. If a person realizes that Torah is God’s own self-disclosure to the world, he will appreciate the enormous gravity of declaring that same Torah null or void. Even the smallest commandment of the Torah is suffused with godliness. To declare a commandment irrelevant or obsolete denies the eternal and unchanging nature of God.
The Torah contains laws about murder, abuse, murdering one’s parents, slavery, bestiality, incest, and a host of disagreeable things. How can this be a holy, godly revelation of the Infinite Light? The Apostle Paul explained, “All things become visible when they are exposed by the light” (Ephesians 5:13).
The Talmud reminds us that “the Torah was not given to angels.” Instead, God gave the Torah to flawed and sinful human beings. The Torah speaks directly into human society with all of its wrinkles, and it speaks in the language of the flawed and imperfect in order to infuse godliness into the world. It has descended from a very high place (God) to a very low place (man), yet it has still retained its godly essence. That godly essence might be wrapped in garments of human concern (such as the laws of slavery or compensation for negligence), but if one takes the trouble to unwrap the commandment, it will blaze forth in his hands with the brilliance of heaven.
Paul alludes to the dichotomy of the holy, concealed within matters of the profane. He tells Timothy that the Torah is good if one uses it “lawfully,” that is in the administration of justice:
But we know that the [Torah] is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that [Torah] is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching. (1 Timothy 1:8-10)
Mishpatim – ×ž×©×¤×˜×™× : “Judgments” Torah : Exodus 21:1-24:18 Haftarah : 2 Kings 11:17-12:17* Gospels : Luke 7:1-8:3
January 21, 2022 Exodus 38:24-25 All the gold that was used in all the work of the holy place, that is, the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. And the silver from those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and […]
JANUARY 20, 2022 Exodus 38:21 This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, which was counted according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. There are many things recorded in Scripture that, at first glance, seem to be laborious and […]
JANUARY 19, 2022 Exodus 38:8 He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. The Laver that was in the court of the Sanctuary was where washing and cleansing would occur as the priests readied themselves […]
JANUARY 18, 2022 Exodus 37:6 He also made the mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits was its length and a cubit and a half its width. All of our lives, we have heard the cover of the Ark of the Covenant referred to as the “mercy seat.” As a child I always wondered what […]
JANUARY 17, 2022 Exodus 37:1-2 Then Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold all around it. We have noted on many occasions […]
