Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us your Torah.
ואת המשׁכן תעשׂה- a dwelling place for YHVH you will make or
create.
The Tabernacle
Exo 26:1 “And make the Dwelling Place with ten curtains of fine woven linen and blue (תּכלת)and purple and scarlet material. Make them, with keruḇim, the work of a skilled workman.
Num
15:37 And יהוה
spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num
15:38 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, and you shall say to them to
make tzitzitb on the corners of their garments throughout their generations,
and to put a blue(Heb
‘’techlet’’ תּכלת) cord in the tzitzitb of the
corners. Footnote: bSee Explanatory Notes - “Tzitzit”.
Num 15:39 “And it shall be to you for a tzitzitb, and you shall see it, and shall remember all the commands of יהוה and shall do them, and not search after your own heart and your own eyes after which you went whoring, Footnote: bSee Explanatory Notes - “Tzitzit”.
Heb
5:12 For indeed, although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need
someone to teach you again the first elements of the Words of Elohim. And you
have become such as need milk and not solid food.
Heb
5:13 For everyone partaking of milk is inexperienced in the word of
righteousness, for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14 But solid food is for the mature whose senses have been trained by practice to discern both good and evil.
May the Set Apart Spirit desires lead us into a deeper revelation and understanding of the Tabernacle and how we are been called to restore His Presence on earth.
Exo 26:2 “The length of each
curtain is twenty-eight cubits,(15m) and the width of each curtain four cubits,(2m)
all the curtains having one measure.
Exo 26:3 “Five curtains are joined
to each other, and five curtains are joined to each other.
Exo 26:4 “And you shall make loops
of blue(techlet) on the edge of the end curtain on one set, and do the same on
the edge of the end curtain of the second set.
Exo 26:5 “Make fifty loops in the
one curtain and make fifty loops on the edge of the end curtain of the second
set, the loops being opposite to each other.
Exo 26:6 “And you shall make fifty
hooks of gold, and shall join the curtains together with the hooks, and the
Dwelling Place shall be one.
Exo 26:7 “And you shall make
curtains of goats’(עזים) hair, for a tent over the Dwelling
Place, make eleven curtains.
Exo 26:8 “The length of each
curtain is thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits, one
measure to the eleven curtains.
Exo 26:9 “And you shall join the
five curtains by themselves, and the six curtains by themselves, and you shall
double over the six curtains at the front of the Tent.
Exo 26:10 “And you shall make
fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty
loops on the edge of the curtain of the second set.
Exo 26:11 “And you shall make
fifty bronze hooks, and put the hooks into the loops, and join the tent
together, and it shall be one.
Exo 26:12 “And the overlapping
part of the rest of the curtains of the Tent, the half curtain that remains,
shall hang over the back of the Dwelling Place.
Exo 26:13 “And a cubit on one side
and a cubit on the other side, of what remains of the length of the curtains of
the Tent, is to hang over the sides of the Dwelling Place, on this side and on
that side, to cover it.
Exo 26:14 “And you shall make a
covering of ram skins dyed red for the Tent, and a covering of fine leather (Heb
‘’tachash’’ badger or dolphin skin) above that. (no measurements given)
Exo 26:15 “And for the Dwelling
Place you shall make the boards of acacia wood, standing up.
Exo 26:16 “Ten cubits is the
length of a board, and a cubit and a half the width of each board,
Exo 26:17 two tenons (dowel) in
each board for binding one to another. Do the same for all the boards of the
Dwelling Place.
Exo 26:18 “And you shall make the
boards for the Dwelling Place, twenty boards for the south side,
Exo 26:19 and make forty sockets
of silver under the twenty boards, two sockets under each of the boards for its
two tenons.
Exo 26:20 “And for the second side
of the Dwelling Place, on the north side, twenty boards,
Exo 26:21 and their forty sockets
of silver, two sockets under each of the boards.
Exo 26:22 “And for the extreme
parts of the Dwelling Place, westward, make six boards,
Exo 26:23 and make two boards for
the two back corners of the Dwelling Place.
Exo 26:24 “And they are double
beneath and similarly they are complete to the top, to the one ring. So, it is
for both of them, they are for the two corners.
Exo 26:25 “And they shall be eight
boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets – two sockets under the
one board, and two sockets under the other board.
Exo 26:26 “And you shall make bars
of acacia wood, five for the boards on one side of the Dwelling Place,
Exo 26:27 and five bars for the
boards on the other side of the Dwelling Place, and five bars for the boards of
the side of the Dwelling Place, for the extreme parts westward,
Exo 26:28 with the middle bar in
the midst of the boards, going through from end to end.
Exo 26:29 “And overlay the boards
with gold, and make their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlay
the bars with gold.
Exo 26:30 “And you shall raise up the Dwelling Place according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain.
How would this dwelling place be raised? What was the pattern shown to Moshe?
Like the pattern of the previous portion the curtain coverings for the tabernacle furniture proceeded from the inside and worked their way to the outside of the Tabernacle. First the framework that supported the golden panels was probably first erected and then the curtains, starting with the fine linen curtain with the cherubim images followed by the goatskins followed by the ram skins dyed red and then finally the badger skin was placed over the framework and golden panels.
Fine Linen Curtain:
These curtains covered the Set Apart and Most Set Apart place. These colourful linen curtains resembled the same colourful garments of the High Priest. The images of the cherubim on the curtains possibly indicated the presence and ministry of messengers in and around the Tabernacle.
The blue colour (techelet) is also found in the ‘’tzitzit’’ of the ‘’talit’’ or prayer shawl. When you cover yourself with a ‘’talit’’ you can imagine yourself to be in the ‘’mishkan’’ or Tabernacle. In ancient times a prayer shawl or ‘’talit’’ was the garment most devout Jewish men wore all the time. When these men prayed, they covered their heads with their prayer shawls. (‘’yalmulka’s’’ or skull caps are believed to be a 16th century Jewish Ashkenazi invention)
How many believers regularly pray under
a prayer shawl ‘’talit’’ and fasten a ‘’tefilin’’ or prayer band around their
forehead and hand? (Num 15:38-39; Deut 22:12). Maybe this explains why the
Tabernacle was so small when compared to the vast number of Israelites that
surrounded the Tabernacle – many were simply not that interested in drawing
near to YHVH’s Presence.
Many believers claim to ‘’enter’’ into
His Presence through praise and worship - Pro 28:9 He who turns away his ear from
hearing the Torah, Even his prayer is an abomination.a Footnote: aSee also Job_15:29,
Isa_59:1-2, Joh_9:31, 1Jn_3:22.
1Jn 3:22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we guard His commands and do what is pleasing in His sight.f Footnote: f Pro_28:9, Joh_9:31, Jas_5:16.
1Pe
2:9 But you are a chosen race,[b] Deu_10:15 a royal
priesthood,[c] Isa_61:6 a set-apart nation,[d] Exo_19:6 a people for a possession,[e] Isa_43:2 that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of
darkness into His marvellous light, Footnotes: bAlso see Isa_43:20.
cAlso see Isa_66:21. dAlso see Deu_7:6. eAlso see Exo_19:5,
Tit_2:14.
1Pe 2:10 who once were not a people,[f] but now the people of Elohim;[f] who had not obtained compassion,[f] but now obtained compassion.f Hos_1:9-10, Hos_2:23. Footnote: fAlso see Isa_65:1, Hos_1:9, Isa_63:16, Isa_64:8, Rom_9:25-26.
Goats
curtain:
Imagine
when we pray under a ‘’talit’’ and follow the ‘’pattern’’ of the Tabernacle
coverings we will become aware of our need for atonement for our iniquity.
Isa 59:2 But your crookednesses have separated you from your Elohim. And your sins have hidden His face from you, from hearing.
Psa
66:18 If I have seen wickedness in my heart, יהוה would not hear.
Psa 66:19 Truly, Elohim has heard me; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
Psa
139:23 Search me, O Ěl, and know my heart; Try me, and know my
thoughts;
Psa
139:24 And see if an idolatrous way is in me, And lead me in the way
everlasting.
Psa 38:18 For I confess my crookedness; I am sorry over my sin.
Psa
32:5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my crookedness I did not hide. I
have said, “I confess my transgressions to יהוה,” And You forgave the crookedness of my sin. Selah.
Psa
119:133 Establish my footsteps by Your word, And let no wickedness have
rule over me.
Yom Ha Kippurim (Lev chaps 16 &23) Teach us about the Day of Atonement – the day our iniquities and sins will be forgiven and removed.
Lev
16:21 “Then Aharon shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat,
and shall confess over it all the crookednesses of the children of Yisra’ěl,
and all their transgressions in all their sins, and shall put them on the head
of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a fit
man.
Lev
16:22 “And the goat shall bear on itself all their crookednesses, to a
land cut off. Thus he shall send the goat away into the wilderness.
Isa
53:5 But He was pierced (defiled חלל)for our transgressions, He was
crushed for our crookednesses. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and
by His stripes we are healed.
Isa
64:6 And all of us have become as one unclean, and all our
righteousnesses are as soiled rags. And all of us fade like a leaf, and our
crookednesses, like the wind, have taken us away.
Isa
64:7 And there is no one who calls on Your Name, who stirs himself up to
be strengthened[a] in You; for You
have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our
crookednesses. Footnote: aCommonly understood as “Take hold of.”
Rom
4:7 “Blessed are those whose lawlessnesses are forgiven, and whose
sins are covered,
Rom
4:8 blessed is the man to whom יהוה shall by no means reckon sin.” (past tense)
Heb
8:12 “Because I shall forgive their unrighteousness, and their sins
and their lawlessnesses I shall no longer remember.”[b] Jer_31:31-34 Footnote: bSee also Heb_10:16-17. (also translated ‘’under no
circumstances will I remember their iniquities)
Heb 10:16 “This is the
covenant that I shall make with them after those days, says יהוה, giving My laws into their
hearts, and in their minds I shall write them,”[a] Jer_31:33. Footnote: aSee also Heb_8:8-12.
Heb 10:17 and, “Their sins and their lawlessnesses I shall remember no more.” Jer_31:34. Heb 10:18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer a slaughter offering for sin.
Yes, Yahahua’s work of redemption and cleansing from all sin and iniquity is complete HOWEVER this redemptive work is still been completed in us. See Rom 6
Tit 2:14 who gave Himself for us, to redeem (Gk – ‘’should be loosening us-’’future tense verb) us from all lawlessness[b] and to cleanse for Himself a people, His own possession, ardent for good works.
It is very evident that believers have not yet been ‘’loosened’ from all Torahlessness or iniquity.
Mat
7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the
reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the
heavens.
Mat
7:22 “Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not
prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty
works in Your Name?’
Mat 7:23 “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’[c] Psa_6:8. Footnote: cSee Mat_7:15, and also Mat_13:41-42.
Ram skin:
This is
our ‘’third covering’’ dyed red. We remind ourselves once again about the day
of atonement. There were two goats – one for the offering of our sin, the other
(Azazel) for the removal of our sin.
Its obvious as we speak that all our sin has not yet been removed, however in the age to come it will be.
1Jn
1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship
with one another, and the blood of יהושע Messiah His Son cleanses us
from all sin.
1Jn
1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are misleading ourselves, and the
truth is not in us.
1Jn
1:9 If we confess our sins, He is trustworthy and righteous to forgive us
the sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.
Why Ram
skins?
Gen
22:13 And Aḇraham lifted his eyes and looked and saw behind him a ram
caught in a bush by its horns, and Aḇraham went and took the ram and offered it
up for an ascending offering instead of his son.
איל ram also a strong man, leader, chief – while under your tallit pray what is the chief sin leading sin of my life? In other words what is the strong man in your life that hinders your walk with YHVH and man?
Note no dimensions are given for the size of this ram skin.
Fine
Leather covering: Badger or porpoise skin:
Exo 26:14 “And you shall make a covering of ram skins dyed red for the Tent, and a covering of fine leather above that.
This skin was not ‘’attractive’’ it served as a water and sun proof covering over the Tabernacle
Isa 53:2 For He grew up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or splendour that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should desire Him –
The ‘’badger’’ skin was a protection against the elements.
Psa 121:4
See, He who is guarding Yisra’ěl Neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Psa
121:5 יהוה is
your guard; יהוה is
your shade at your right hand.
Psa
121:6 The sun does not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.
Psa
121:7 יהוה
guards you from all evil; He guards your being.
Psa 121:8 יהוה guards your going out and your coming in Now and forever.
The golden panels:
Wood covered with gold – wood represents that which is from the earth and temporal – man – the gold represents the esteem and beauty of YHVH lavished upon His chosen.
2Co 4:7 And we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellence of the power might be of Elohim, and not of us.
The
lesson of this Torah portion is about the coverings that ‘’house’’ the
Tabernacle and all its furniture.
Mat
13:51 יהושע said to them, “Have you understood all this?” They said to Him,
“Yes, Master.”
Mat 13:52 And He said to them, “Therefore every scholar taught in the reign of the heavens is like a householder who brings out of his treasure matters, renewed and old.”
Our ministry now is to share the beauty we posses and protect by our ‘’earthly tent’’
And sometimes you will simply keep silent - Mat 7:6 “Do not give what is set-apart to the dogs, nor throw your pearls before the pigs, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Sometimes
YHVH will not want you to share these treasures - 2Co 12:2 I know a man in Messiah who
fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the
body I do not know, Elohim knows – such a one was caught up to the third
heaven.
2Co
12:3 And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do
not know, Elohim knows –
2Co 12:4 that he was caught up into paradise[a] and heard unspeakable words, which it is not right for a man to speak. Footnote: aLit. garden.
Pro 25:11 A word spoken at the right time Is like apples of gold in settings of silver. (sockets of the Tabernacle)
The
Humble and Contrite in Spirit
Isa
66:1 Thus
said יהוה,
“The heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where is this house
that you build for Me? And where is this place of My rest?
Isa
66:2 “And all these My hand has made, and all these that exist,” declares
יהוה. “Yet to such a one I look:
on him who is poor and bruised of spirit, and who trembles at My Word.
Isa
66:3 “But whoever slays the bull strikes a man; whoever slaughters
the lamb breaks a dog’s neck; whoever brings a grain offering – pig’s blood;
whoever burns incense blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways,
and their being delights in their abominations.
Isa
66:4 “I shall also choose their punishments, and bring their fears on
them. Because I called, but no one answered. I spoke and they did not hear, and
they did evil before My eyes, and chose what was displeasing to Me.”
Isa
66:5 Hear the Word of יהוה, you who tremble at His Word, “Your brothers who hate you, who
cast you out for My Name’s sake, said, ‘Let יהוה be esteemed, so that we see your joy.’ But they are put to
shame.”
Isa
66:6 “A roaring sound from the city, a voice from the Hěḵal, the voice of
יהוה, repaying His enemies!
Rejoice
with Jerusalem
Isa
66:7 “Before she laboured, she gave birth; before a pain came to her, she
was delivered of a male child.
Isa
66:8 “Who has heard the like of this? Who has seen the like of these? Is
a land brought forth in one day? Is a nation born at once? For as soon as
Tsiyon laboured, she gave birth to her children.
Isa
66:9 “Shall I bring to birth, and not give delivery?” says יהוה. “Shall I who give delivery
restrain birth?” said your Elohim.
Isa
66:10 “Rejoice with Yerushalayim, and be glad with her, all you who love
her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn for her;
Isa
66:11 so that you feed, and shall be satisfied with the breast of her
comforts, so that you drink deeply, and shall delight yourselves in her
overflowing esteem.”
Blessed are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of truth, and have planted everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah – Amein.