Blessing
for the Torah Reading:
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher
bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan
lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(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.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
What is this Torah portion really about?
It is
inviting and describing to us the best and most perfect place to be.
It is about
YHVH giving specific instructions as to how He has chosen to relate to us and
how we are to relate to Him.
The Ruach of
YHVH is not separate from YHVH – The Ruach of YHVH is YHVH revealing Himself to
His people and instructing us how to find our way back to Him and His Kingdom.
YHVH has not
changed His Covenant – He has caused Messiah to strengthen His Covenant.
The tabernacle was the witness to
the fact that YHVH seeks to be seriously engaged with His people. This desire
is possibly YHVH’s greatest desire.
Mal 3:6 “For I am יהוה, I shall not
change1, and you, O sons of Yaʽaqoḇ,
shall not come to an end. Footnote: 1Jas. 1:17.
How do we respond to such an Elohim?
Our Messiah clearly stated that we were first to
seek the Kingdom or Reign of YHVH and His Righteousness and then all else that
we needed would be added to us.
Mat 6:33 “But seek first the reign of Elohim, and His
righteousness, and all these matters shall be added to you.
Shaul went on to define the reign of YHVH.
Rom 14:17 For the reign of Elohim is ….righteousness
and peace and joy in the Set-apart Spirit.
Shaul goes on to say
that many seekers after truth have had a zeal for righteousness but have sought
it in the wrong way.
Rom 10:1 Truly brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer
to Elohim for Yisra’ĕl is for deliverance.
Rom 10:2 For I bear them witness that they have an
ardour for Elohim, but not according to knowledge.
Rom 10:3 For not knowing the righteousness of Elohim,
and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not subject
themselves to1 the righteousness of Elohim. Footnote: 1Or
did not obey.
Rom 10:4 For Messiah is the goal1 of the
‘Torah unto righteousness’ to everyone who believes. Footnote: 1Or
end purpose; not termination.
The greatest single tragedy of humanity is that most people who call
themselves believers or seekers after truth have not seen or sought this
righteousness in the Torah of YHVH. (Messiah is the righteousness of the Torah)
The result of this tragedy is that the earth is about to be turned
upside down and emptied of most of its inhabitants.
Isa 24:1 See, יהוה is making the
earth empty and making it waste, and shall overturn its surface, and shall scatter
abroad its inhabitants.
Isa 24:4 The earth shall mourn and wither, the world
shall languish and wither, the haughty people of the earth shall languish.
Isa 24:5 For the earth has been defiled under its
inhabitants, because they have transgressed the Torot1, changed2
the law, broken the everlasting covenant3. Footnotes: 1Torot
- plural of Torah, teaching. 2Jer. 23:36. 3This is the
only reason, according to all Scriptures, why the earth shall be burned in the
day of judgment – see also 13:9, 13:11, 26:21, 66:24, Mic. 5:15, Zeph. 1:2-18.
Isa 24:6 Therefore a curse shall consume the earth,
and those who dwell in it be punished. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth
shall be burned, and few men shall be left.
YHVH HAS ONLY ONE COVENANT (AGREEMENT) KETUBAH (MARRIAGE CONTRACT) AND
CONSTITUTION (RULES OF CONDUCT) WITH HIS PEOPLE – YISRAEL -THIS HAS BEEN CLEARLY
DOCUMENTED IN HIS TORAH AND ALL SCRIPTURE.
Luk 12:32 “Do not fear, little flock, because your
Father did delight to give you the reign.
This Torah portion is a parable about what happens
when the Ruach of YHVH comes upon a group of His people who are enabled by His
Ruach and willing to lay down their lives and commit themselves to building a
dwelling place – Mishkan – where YHVH is
pleased to meet with them.
Exo 37:1 And Betsal’ĕl made the ark of acacia wood,
two and a half cubits long, and a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half
high.
This shows that our relationship with YHVH will always begin with our
hearts – the most set apart place in our lives.
Pro 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For
out of it are the sources of life.
Betsalel means “in the shadow of Elohim”
It is important to
note that the Tabernacle that was built here on earth was a copy and shadow of the
Tabernacle in heaven.
Heb 8:1 Now the summary of what we are saying is: We
have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the
Greatness in the heavens,
Heb 8:2 and who serves in the set-apart place and of
the true Tent, which יהוה set up, and
not man.
Heb 8:3 For every
high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and slaughters. So it was also
necessary for this One to have somewhat to offer.
Heb 8:4 For if
indeed He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who
offer the gifts according to the Torah,
Heb 8:5 who serve
a copy and shadow of the heavenly, as Mosheh was warned when he was about to
make the Tent. For He said, “See that you make all according to the pattern
shown you on the mountain.”
Heb 8:6 But now He
has obtained a more excellent service, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a
better covenant, which was constituted on better promises.
The Greek word for
“better” is also translated “stronger” (S2909)
Churchmen like to give
the idea that there was something wrong with the old covenant so YHVH had to
make a better one. There was nothing wrong with the first covenant; the problem
was that men could not keep it. So YHVH made it “better or stronger” by making
this same covenant with His Son Yahshua who kept it – it cost him his life on
an execution stake – and so making it possible for us to eventually keep all of
the covenant.
Yahshua kept the
covenant on our behalf – Now those who are truly grafted into Messiah are
grafted into his covenant made with YHVH.
2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is
a renewed creature – the old matters have passed away, see, all matters
have become renewed!1 Footnote: 1Rom. 6:2-22, Gal. 2:20,
Eph. 4:22-24, Col. 3:10, 1 John 3:9-10.
2Co 5:18 And all matters are from Elohim, who
has restored us to favour with Himself through יהושע Messiah, and
has given us the service of restoration to favour,
2Co 5:19 that is,
that Elohim was in Messiah restoring the world to favour unto Himself, not
reckoning their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of
restoration to favour.
2Co 5:20 Therefore
we are envoys on behalf of Messiah, as though Elohim were pleading through us.
We beg, on behalf of Messiah: Be restored to favour with Elohim.
2Co 5:21 For He
made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the
righteousness of Elohim.
This is not something new, we see the shadow of covenant making with
Avraham in Gen/Ber 15. Avraham was put to sleep and in a vision saw YHVH making
a covenant with Yahshua.
On the Eighth Day –
Shemini Atzeret – On this day the assembly of set apart ones will no longer be
under any form of shadow ever again.
Exo 37:2 And he overlaid it with clean gold inside and
outside, and made a moulding of gold all around it.
Exo 37:3 And he cast four rings of gold for it, for its
four feet, two rings on its one side, and two rings on its other side.
Exo 37:4 And he made poles of acacia wood, and
overlaid them with gold.
Exo 37:5 And he put the poles into the rings at the
sides of the ark, to lift the ark.
Exo 37:6 And he made a lid of atonement of clean gold,
two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
Exo 37:7 And he made two keruḇim of beaten gold. He
made them from the two ends of the lid of atonement,
Exo 37:8 one
keruḇ at one end on this
side, and the other keruḇ at the other end on
that side. He made the keruḇim from the lid of
atonement, from the two ends.
Exo 37:9 And
the keruḇim spread out their
wings above, and covered the lid of atonement with their wings, with their
faces toward each other, the faces of the keruḇim were turned
toward the lid of atonement.
Exo 37:10
And he made the table of acacia wood, two cubits long, and a cubit wide,
and a cubit and a half high.
Exo 37:11
And he overlaid it with clean gold, and made a moulding of gold all
around it.
Exo 37:12
And he made a rim of a handbreadth all around it, and made a moulding of
gold for the rim all around it.
Exo 37:13
And he cast four rings of gold for it, and put the rings on the four
corners that were at its four legs.
Exo 37:14
The rings were next to the rim, as holders for the poles to lift the
table.
Exo 37:15
And he made the poles of acacia wood to lift the table, and overlaid
them with gold.
Exo 37:16
And he made the utensils which were on the table, its dishes, and its
cups, and its bowls, and its jars for pouring, of clean gold.
Exo 37:17
And he made the lampstand of clean gold. He made the lampstand of beaten
work, its base, and its shaft, its cups, its ornamental knobs, and its blossoms
were from it.
Exo 37:18
And six branches came out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand
out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side.
Exo 37:19
There were three cups like almond flowers on one branch, with ornamental
knob and blossom, and three cups like almond flowers on the other branch, a
knob and a blossom – so for the six branches coming out of the lampstand.
Exo 37:20
And on the lampstand were four cups like almond flowers, its knobs and
blossoms,
Exo 37:21
and a knob under the first two branches of the same, and a knob under
the second two branches of the same, and a knob under the third two branches of
the same, for the six branches coming out of it.
Exo 37:22
Their knobs and their branches were of it, all of it was one beaten work
of clean gold.
Exo 37:23
And he made its seven lamps, and its snuffers, and its trays, of clean
gold.
Exo 37:24 He
made it of a talent of clean gold, and all its utensils.
Exo 37:25
And he made the incense altar of acacia wood, a cubit long and a cubit
wide, square, and two cubits high. Its horns were of it.
Exo 37:26
And he overlaid it with clean gold, its top and its sides all around,
and its horns. And he made a moulding for it of gold all around it.
Exo 37:27
And he made two rings of gold for it under its moulding, at its two
corners on both sides, as holders for the poles with which to lift it.
Exo 37:28
And he made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.
Exo 37:29
And he made the set-apart anointing oil and the clean incense of sweet
spices, according to the work of the perfumer.
Exo 38:1 And he made the altar of burnt offering of
acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide, square, and three cubits
high.
Exo 38:2 And he made its horns on its four corners, the
horns were of it. And he overlaid it with bronze.
Exo 38:3 And he made all the utensils for the altar:
the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, and the forks, and the fire holders.
He made all its utensils of bronze.
Exo 38:4 And he made a grating for the altar, a bronze
network, under its rim, midway from the bottom.
Exo 38:5 And he cast four rings for the four corners
of the bronze grating, as holders for the poles.
Exo 38:6 And he made the poles of acacia wood, and
overlaid them with bronze.
Exo 38:7 And he put the poles into the rings on the
sides of the altar, with which to lift it. He made the altar hollow with
boards.
Exo 38:8 And he made the basin of bronze and its stand
of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who did service at the
door of the Tent of Meeting.
Exo 38:9 And he made the courtyard: for the south side
the screens of the courtyard were of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long,
Exo 38:10 their twenty columns and their twenty
sockets, of bronze. The hooks of the columns and their bands were of silver.
Exo 38:11 And for the north side the screens were one
hundred cubits long, their twenty columns and their twenty sockets, of bronze.
The hooks of the columns and their bands were of silver.
Exo 38:12 And for the west side there were screens of
fifty cubits, their ten columns and their ten sockets. The hooks of the columns
and their bands were of silver.
Exo 38:13 And for the east side eastward, fifty cubits:
Exo 38:14 fifteen cubits of screens on the one side,
with their three columns and their three sockets,
Exo 38:15 and fifteen cubits of screens the other side
of the courtyard gate, on this side and that side, with their three columns and
their three sockets.
Exo 38:16 All the screens of the courtyard all around
were of fine woven linen.
Exo 38:17 And the sockets for the columns were of
bronze, the hooks of the columns and their bands were of silver, and the
overlay of their tops was of silver. And all the columns of the courtyard had
bands of silver.
Exo 38:18 And the covering for the gate of the
courtyard was the work of an embroiderer, of blue and purple and scarlet material,
and of fine woven linen, and twenty cubits long, and the height along its width
was five cubits, corresponding to the screens of the courtyard.
Exo 38:19 And the columns were four, and their sockets
of bronze four, their hooks were of silver, and the overlay of their tops and
their bands was of silver.
Exo 38:20 And all the pegs of the Dwelling Place, and
of the courtyard all around, were of bronze.
Midrash:
What does the Kehelah (the “called
out ones”/Congregation/Assembly) of Yisrael really look like? Let’s think about
it and discuss it.
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu,
Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan lanu Toraht-emet, v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you Yahweh, 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, Yahweh giver of the Torah – Ameyn
Please
note these notes are under construction and are subject to correction and are
in no way a final authority on any subject.