Even Messianic churches and synagogues need business insurance, but there are better places to find out about that than here. Instead, I offer up my T’ruma Commentary. Or listen to it!
Shabbat Shalom.
Our parashah for today is T’ruma, or “Offering,” and covers Exodus 25:1 through 27:19. This parashah concerns itself almost exclusively with instructions for the building of the ark of the covenant and the structure surrounding it, as well as many of the accessories involved.
Just prior to the beginning of this parashah, we read how Moses ascends the mountain to meet the L-RD. These are his second and third trips up the mountain to dwell in the presence of the L-RD, and on the final trip, for six days prior to ascending the mountain, it was covered by a cloud; then, on the seventh day, God opens a path through the cloud and Moses follows it up the mountain to dwell with God. These trips up the mountain to dwell in the presence of God have a lasting effect on Moses. According to the:
Weekly Midrash, vol. 1 (410)
Moshe went up and learned the entire Torah, all 613 commandments … When Moshe went up the mountain a cloud covered it, remaining until the sixth day of Sivan, when God gave the Torah. Immediately after the Giving of the Torah he went up the mountain again, remaining there for forty days and forty nights. We are told this is to show Moses’ greatness.
So our reading this week is part of what Moses began to receive from The L-RD during this time. And it begins with a request from The L-RD for Moses to take an offering. What is the purpose of this offering? Well, the requests for what the offering should consist of give us a hint:
Exodus 25:2-7
“Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
These are ingredients for what? For a sanctuary in which the presence of The L-RD can dwell among the people. Until this point, Moses has had to ascend the mountain to meet with the L-RD; now, the L-RD wants to draw near to His people.
While these are not quite the instructions for the building of The Temple, the ark, the curtains for the Holy of Holies and many other aspects of the instructions given here do reflect and parallel the instructions that will be given later on, in the building of the Temple.
It is instructive to note, however, that The L-RD does not ask Moses and the children of Israel to build Him a permanent structure. The sanctuary is a movable unit that the Israelites can take with them into the Promised Land. And there is significance to this, because it reflects The L-RD’s desire to be with His people wherever they go.
It is not until the time of David that the idea of building the L-RD a permanent structure in which to dwell is first proposed. In fact, it is something first suggested by King David, who feels guilty about dwelling in a castle that is better than the dwelling place built for The L-RD. This next passage in longer than I normally use, but I do think it’s essential to what we’re learning here today. We are offered this eye-opening insight into the L-RD’s mindset on a tent-like dwelling, as it is written in:
II Samuel 7:1-14
After the king was settled in his palace and the L-RD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the L-RD is with you.” That night the word of the L-RD came to Nathan, saying: “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the L-RD says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the L-RD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. ‘The L-RD declares to you that the L-RD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son.
There is much to ponder and appreciate from this passage in II Samuel. For one thing, notice that at first, the prophet Nathan tells King David exactly what he wants to hear: the L-RD is with you… go ahead and build this temple to the L-RD! But then what happens? The L-RD speaks to Nathan that night and says, “Not so fast there. I never asked for this.” In fact, the L-RD seems almost offended at the idea. From the time of our parashah to the time of David, the L-RD will dwell in a tent, a movable structure, and always be with His chosen people, accompanying them wherever they go.
Then the passage moves on to go one step further as the L-RD replies to David is that He himself, not David, will establish His true temple, which will be an offspring of David, whose kingdom the L-RD will establish and whose rule will never end. This is a continuation of the Messianic promise that runs throughout the Torah, throughout the entire Tanakh, and is ultimately fulfilled in the Messiah Yeshua.
Now, some may argue that in this prophecy to Nathan, the L-RD was not speaking about Yeshua, but about David’s son, Solomon. But let’s examine that for a moment. Does that argument hold up?
Well, the person God is talking about here will appear when David’s days are over and he rests with his fathers; yet Solomon was born while David yet lived. Messiah Yeshua was born of the line of David, but hundreds of years after David rested with his fathers.
The person God is talking about here will have a kingdom that God Himself will establish; Solomon simply inherited his father David’s kingdom, while the Kingdom of Yeshua the Messiah was built and indeed is being built by God Himself.
We are told this person will be the one to build a house for the L-RD, and by building the first temple, Solomon is a partial fulfillment of that Messianic promise… but does Solomon live up to the rest, or is he only a shadow of the Messiah and not the Messiah himself?
Well, we are told that God would establish this person’s throne and kingdom forever; as we all know, the United Kingdom of Israel split into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah shortly after Solomon passed from this life. Not only that, but the Temple he build for God lasted only until the time of the Babylonian Exile, after which the first Temple – Solomon’s Temple – was destroyed. That’s well short of forever.
Finally, to qualify as the subject of this prophecy, this person has to be called Son by The L-RD. While Solomon was considered one of the wisest kings of Israel ever to sit on its throne, the L-RD did not call him “my son.” That was fulfilled only in the Messiah Yeshua, as confirmed by the bat kol – the voice from heaven – at the baptism of Yeshua, when from heaven The L-RD spoke and said, “This is my Son, whom I love. In Him, I am well pleased.”
So you see, much of what we find in this week’s reading may seem dry on the surface, but everything about the sanctuary for the L-RD is connected to the Messiah and His kingdom. Even the sages acknowledge there is a hint of the Messiah in these instructions, specifically in verse six’s reference to olive oil for light. As we read in the:
Weekly Midrash, vol. 1 (414)
These words (olive oil for light) hint at Mashiach, who will illuminate the world as pure oil does, as it is written, I have prepared a candle for My Anointed. Why is Mashiach alluded to in the portion of T’ruma, which tells of the donations which are to be given in the Sanctuary? To teach that if Jews give charity while in their bitter exile, it will surely come to an end … The Midrash teaches us that while the Temple stood it saved us from exile. Now that it has been destroyed only charity can save us.
This fits with what Rabbi Stan has been teaching recently about the Life of Messiah. It is one thing to claim an intellectual agreement with the Torah and thereby call yourself a person of faith. It is another thing entirely to allow your life and habits and way of living to be transformed by the Torah, by the Messiah Yeshua, and have it make a real difference in how you life your life.
Those with an intellectual-agreement faith are far more likely to look at the issue of giving and fall into agreement with the teaching of a ten-percent tithe, or the rabbinic instruction of never giving more than twenty percent, lest you become destitute yourself.
Those who enter into a transformational faith – a faith demonstrated by the good deeds, the mitzvahs, the acts of charity that follow such faith – will see properly that all we have, all we are, belongs to God and therefore we must give of ourselves beyond all reason, beyond all human understanding, so that we can build up for ourselves treasures in the world to come, when we will be united with our Messiah Yeshua.
The vast riches of the sanctuary described in this week’s parashah are a reflection of the world to come. All the fine metals and rich colors described are merely symbols to express the untold riches that await us in the kingdom of God.
That makes God’s dwelling completely different from those of earthly kings; they built out of their wealth to boast of their greatness by putting their riches on display on the outside, for the word to see. God has Moses build a humble tent in which His presence shall dwell, with its riches hidden inside, for only a few to see, because His greatness is so vast that no earthly boasting is necessary.
Shabbat Shalom.
My T’ruma Commentary
Sunday, March 1st, 2009
Even Messianic churches and synagogues need business insurance, but there are better places to find out about that than here. Instead, I offer up my T’ruma Commentary. Or listen to it!
Shabbat Shalom.
Our parashah for today is T’ruma, or “Offering,” and covers Exodus 25:1 through 27:19. This parashah concerns itself almost exclusively with instructions for the building of the ark of the covenant and the structure surrounding it, as well as many of the accessories involved.
Just prior to the beginning of this parashah, we read how Moses ascends the mountain to meet the L-RD. These are his second and third trips up the mountain to dwell in the presence of the L-RD, and on the final trip, for six days prior to ascending the mountain, it was covered by a cloud; then, on the seventh day, God opens a path through the cloud and Moses follows it up the mountain to dwell with God. These trips up the mountain to dwell in the presence of God have a lasting effect on Moses. According to the:
So our reading this week is part of what Moses began to receive from The L-RD during this time. And it begins with a request from The L-RD for Moses to take an offering. What is the purpose of this offering? Well, the requests for what the offering should consist of give us a hint:
These are ingredients for what? For a sanctuary in which the presence of The L-RD can dwell among the people. Until this point, Moses has had to ascend the mountain to meet with the L-RD; now, the L-RD wants to draw near to His people.
While these are not quite the instructions for the building of The Temple, the ark, the curtains for the Holy of Holies and many other aspects of the instructions given here do reflect and parallel the instructions that will be given later on, in the building of the Temple.
It is instructive to note, however, that The L-RD does not ask Moses and the children of Israel to build Him a permanent structure. The sanctuary is a movable unit that the Israelites can take with them into the Promised Land. And there is significance to this, because it reflects The L-RD’s desire to be with His people wherever they go.
It is not until the time of David that the idea of building the L-RD a permanent structure in which to dwell is first proposed. In fact, it is something first suggested by King David, who feels guilty about dwelling in a castle that is better than the dwelling place built for The L-RD. This next passage in longer than I normally use, but I do think it’s essential to what we’re learning here today. We are offered this eye-opening insight into the L-RD’s mindset on a tent-like dwelling, as it is written in:
There is much to ponder and appreciate from this passage in II Samuel. For one thing, notice that at first, the prophet Nathan tells King David exactly what he wants to hear: the L-RD is with you… go ahead and build this temple to the L-RD! But then what happens? The L-RD speaks to Nathan that night and says, “Not so fast there. I never asked for this.” In fact, the L-RD seems almost offended at the idea. From the time of our parashah to the time of David, the L-RD will dwell in a tent, a movable structure, and always be with His chosen people, accompanying them wherever they go.
Then the passage moves on to go one step further as the L-RD replies to David is that He himself, not David, will establish His true temple, which will be an offspring of David, whose kingdom the L-RD will establish and whose rule will never end. This is a continuation of the Messianic promise that runs throughout the Torah, throughout the entire Tanakh, and is ultimately fulfilled in the Messiah Yeshua.
Now, some may argue that in this prophecy to Nathan, the L-RD was not speaking about Yeshua, but about David’s son, Solomon. But let’s examine that for a moment. Does that argument hold up?
Well, the person God is talking about here will appear when David’s days are over and he rests with his fathers; yet Solomon was born while David yet lived. Messiah Yeshua was born of the line of David, but hundreds of years after David rested with his fathers.
The person God is talking about here will have a kingdom that God Himself will establish; Solomon simply inherited his father David’s kingdom, while the Kingdom of Yeshua the Messiah was built and indeed is being built by God Himself.
We are told this person will be the one to build a house for the L-RD, and by building the first temple, Solomon is a partial fulfillment of that Messianic promise… but does Solomon live up to the rest, or is he only a shadow of the Messiah and not the Messiah himself?
Well, we are told that God would establish this person’s throne and kingdom forever; as we all know, the United Kingdom of Israel split into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah shortly after Solomon passed from this life. Not only that, but the Temple he build for God lasted only until the time of the Babylonian Exile, after which the first Temple – Solomon’s Temple – was destroyed. That’s well short of forever.
Finally, to qualify as the subject of this prophecy, this person has to be called Son by The L-RD. While Solomon was considered one of the wisest kings of Israel ever to sit on its throne, the L-RD did not call him “my son.” That was fulfilled only in the Messiah Yeshua, as confirmed by the bat kol – the voice from heaven – at the baptism of Yeshua, when from heaven The L-RD spoke and said, “This is my Son, whom I love. In Him, I am well pleased.”
So you see, much of what we find in this week’s reading may seem dry on the surface, but everything about the sanctuary for the L-RD is connected to the Messiah and His kingdom. Even the sages acknowledge there is a hint of the Messiah in these instructions, specifically in verse six’s reference to olive oil for light. As we read in the:
This fits with what Rabbi Stan has been teaching recently about the Life of Messiah. It is one thing to claim an intellectual agreement with the Torah and thereby call yourself a person of faith. It is another thing entirely to allow your life and habits and way of living to be transformed by the Torah, by the Messiah Yeshua, and have it make a real difference in how you life your life.
Those with an intellectual-agreement faith are far more likely to look at the issue of giving and fall into agreement with the teaching of a ten-percent tithe, or the rabbinic instruction of never giving more than twenty percent, lest you become destitute yourself.
Those who enter into a transformational faith – a faith demonstrated by the good deeds, the mitzvahs, the acts of charity that follow such faith – will see properly that all we have, all we are, belongs to God and therefore we must give of ourselves beyond all reason, beyond all human understanding, so that we can build up for ourselves treasures in the world to come, when we will be united with our Messiah Yeshua.
The vast riches of the sanctuary described in this week’s parashah are a reflection of the world to come. All the fine metals and rich colors described are merely symbols to express the untold riches that await us in the kingdom of God.
That makes God’s dwelling completely different from those of earthly kings; they built out of their wealth to boast of their greatness by putting their riches on display on the outside, for the word to see. God has Moses build a humble tent in which His presence shall dwell, with its riches hidden inside, for only a few to see, because His greatness is so vast that no earthly boasting is necessary.
Shabbat Shalom.
Tags: business insurance, T'ruma, Torah commentary
Posted in Torah | No Comments »