וַיַּקְהֵל
P'kudei / Accounting Of
Exodus 38:21-40:38
HafTorah 1 Kings 7:51-8:21
Brit Chadasha 2 Corinthians 3:7-19

Chazak! Chazak! V’nitchazek!  Be Strong! Be Strong! And May We Be Strengthened!

       P’kudei closes Shemot with its continuation of building the mishkan. Chapter 39 details the instructions for the priestly garments, the ephod, the breastplate, the robe, the tunics, the sashes and the gold headplate.
    Exodus 39:32 states: ‘Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished.  Exodus 39:43 states: ‘Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, just so they had done it. And Moses blessed them.’ 
    These three words; ‘work – completed – blesses’ are found elsewhere in the Torah. Genesis 2:1-3 states: ‘Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.’
    What is the connection? In creation after each miraculous event we read, ‘…and God saw that it was good…’ After the creation of the sixth day we read, ‘Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.’ Genesis 1:31.  
     God created the universe, the earth, and all that was in it.  He created man and woman for His purpose, then man created confusion and chaos.  This continued again and again, even after the great Exodus when God rescued His people from Egyptian bondage.
      As we discovered last week the Tabernacle was a tikkun, a mending, of the sin of the Golden Calf.  There aren’t many details recorded about the golden calf, such as the size, etc, but the Torah says a great deal about the Israelites’ behavior.  They gathered against Aaron, who seemed to have been afraid for his life. Then, once the Calf had been made, they ate and drank and rose “to engage in revelry.” When Moshe came down the mountain he saw the people “running wild, for Aaron had let them run beyond control and become a laughing stock to their enemies.” This is chaos. Order had completely broken down. The people had allowed themselves to be overtaken by fear and then chaotic pagan celebration. The golden calf was simply a product of the behavior of their chaotic self. 
     The tikkun or remedy for chaos is order. The Tabernacle, with its precise dimensions, materials, and detailed instructions, crafted from the voluntary contributions of the people, and built by a skilled craftsman under God’s divine inspiration, was another great example of pure order, just as creation was a series of order.
    The sages teach that Shabbat is a sacred time and that the Tabernacle (and now the synagogue, or Bet K’neset in Hebrew) is a place of sacred space, just as we the Living Tabernacle should be a place of sacred space. The synagogue is a place where traditions and the sense of Shabbat time create an orderly space where the presence of God is held in the highest regard.   It is the people who will enter with chaos and disorder. It is up to individuals and then collectively as a group to sense that life has an order that we must learn to honor. This is a space in time where God is close – not at the top of a mountain but here in our midst.
    Any chaos that we individually allow to enter into the space of the Tabernacle, the synagogue as a whole and the Shabbat (God’s order in time) will wreak havoc in our lives either as individuals, families, or as a group. 
     1 Corinthians 14:33 ‘For God is not the author of confusion but of peace…’, 
     Proverbs 25:28 ‘A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.’
     Proverb 11:14 ‘Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.’
     1 Corinthians 14:40 ‘But all things should be done decently and in order.’
     Colossians 2:10 tells us that we are complete in Yeshua.
     Philippians 2:13 states that it is God who is at work within us, and Ephesians 2:10 states that we are His workmanship created in Yeshua for good works
     In Exodus 38:21 it repeats the word Tabernacle twice which alludes to the heavenly sanctuary and the earthly sanctuary. Jeremiah 17:12 refers to these two sanctuaries being connected. We also see this in Hebrews 8:4 and 9:24 as the author refers to the temple as a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things, and a mere shadow of the true one.  Our earthly sanctuary is that of Yeshua, as He bestows the heavenly Tabernacle within us. 

 

 

פְקוּדֵ
P'kudei / Accounting Of
Exodus 38:21-40:38
HafTorah 1 Kings 7:51-8:21
Brit Chadasha 2 Corinthians 3:7-19

The Divine Presence...

     Pekudei is the last Torah portion of Exodus, bringing us to the end of Shemot/Names. This parsha is named from the first paragraph 
This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony which was counted according to the commandment of Moshe for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. Exodus 38:21.  The Mishkan is now completed, and all the elements are given to Moshe. He anoints the Tabernacle wit the holy anointing oil, and then according to God's instructions, initiates Aaron and nis sone into the priesthood. Adonai appears as a cloud over the Tabernacle, signifying that the Divine Presence has come to dwell within it. 
     Exodus 40:9-11 ‘And you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. 10 You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy. 11 And you shall anoint the laver and its base and consecrate it.’
     In Exodus 40:17-33 the Tabernacle is raised, all the elements are put in place, and Moshe finished the work, as stated in Exodus 40:38
     The Cloud of Glory: 
     ‘Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.’ Exodus 40:34-38.
     The Divine Presence, which was The Cloud of Glory, appeared after the Tabernacle was completed, after each and every piece of furniture, utensil, bread and light were assembled.  Moshe had to follow intricate details for every piece as the Lord had commanded them: ‘…and he lit the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil; 27 and he burned sweet incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.’ Exodus 40:25-29.
     Moshe had to prepare for the Divine Presence. Psalm 16:11 describes how we can prepare for The Divine Presence.  ‘You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.’ The Psalmist asks Adonai to show him the path of life first in order to gain the joy of His presence.
    Psalms 145:17-20 ‘The Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works. 18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. 20 The Lord preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy. ‘
     If we surround ourselves with pagan deities and objects, are we in the Cloud of Glory?  Are we surrounded by the Divine Presence?
   Jeremiah 10:2-5 ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple.
They are upright, like a palm tree, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor can they do any good.”
     2 Peter 2:15 ‘Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing…’
     Leviticus 19:28 ‘You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.’
     2 Kings 23:7 ‘And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.’
     Acts 17:16 ‘Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.’
     Ezekiel 13:18 ‘And say, Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive?’
     Leviticus 26:1-2 ‘You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.’
     Deuteronomy 18:9-12 ‘When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.’
     His Divine Presence is indescribable and something to not take lightly. It is a presence of power, a presence of authority, a presence of life and truth. 
       2 Chronicles 5:11-14 ‘And it came to pass when the priests came out of the Most Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without keeping to their divisions), 12 and the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets— 13 indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.’
     It is through Yeshua that we reach this place. Ephesians 3:10-15 ‘…to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Yeshua our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. 14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of Yeshua HaMashiach 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named…’