Numbers in the Bible (pdf)
Materials & Colors (pdf)
Terumah Slides (pdf)
Terumah Notes (pdf)
Overview of Terumah (Offerings) (Exodus 25:1 – 27:19)
Last week we saw that the Sinai Covenant conditions were codified into the Book of the Covenant (Ex 24:4-7). That Portion ended with Moses still on top of Mt Sinai (this was his 5th trip up the mountain!). This is when Yehovah gave him the instructions concerning the building of the Tabernacle and the fabrication of the garments for Aaron the High Priest, and his sons. These instructions are not part of the Book of the Covenant because it had already been written and blood ratified in the first half of chapter 24 from last week’s Portion. So, while it is not part of the Covenant, it is also not part of the Book of the Law (Deuteronomy 29:21 – we’ll talk much more about that when we get to Deuteronomy 29). Although the Tabernacle is considered the focal point of the sacrificial system and the Aaronic Priesthood (all imposed upon Israel after their sin with the Golden Calf), Yehovah also had a purpose for it with His covenant people.
The purpose of the Tabernacle was to house the Ark of the Covenant which, in turn, contained the Book of the Covenant; Yehovah also would dwell there among His Covenant People. However… Israel broke this Covenant when they worshipped the Golden Calf; and the Tabernacle’s purpose expanded to include the sacrifices and Priesthood. Instead of dwelling within His People…He would then dwell among them in the Tabernacle. So the Tabernacle would be Yehovah’s dwelling place among the People, and it would also hold the Book of the Covenant; and Aaron and sons would maintain the Tabernacle for these two purposes. This was the Tabernacle’s function whether Israel committed adultery by worshipping the Golden Calf or not.
To put things into perspective, let’s compare the characteristics of the Sinai Covenant (that we are seeing here); the Aaronic Priesthood (which we will see in Leviticus – Deuteronomy) and the New Covenant (in the New Testament):
Sinai Covenant
This was a conditional covenant that was blood ratified (Ex 19:5-6 & 24:1-11). The conditions were written in the Book of the Covenant (Ex 20-23); it would be housed in the Tabernacle; and Yehovah would dwell within the people. The Nation of Israel would be a kingdom of priests (Ex 19:6) and Aaron & sons would oversee the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle and would instruct the People in the ways of the Covenant.
This covenant was broken by Israel with the sin of the Golden Calf, and is no longer in effect – once a covenant is broken by one of the parties, it cannot be legally “renewed” (Galatians 3:15). We do know, however, that Yehovah is the same yesterday, today, and forever; so it is safe to assume that the New Covent “rules’ that He wants us to obey now have not changed from the “rules” that He wanted Israel to obey at Sinai 3,500 years ago.
Aaronic Priesthood
This was not a covenant (not agreed to nor blood-ratified), but it was conditional. If they were obedient to the Book of the Law (written in Leviticus – Deuteronomy) then Yehovah would dwell among them in the Tabernacle.. Israel would no longer be a kingdom of priests, but they would have a priesthood: Aaron & sons. All of the Levites would serve Aaron and carry out the Tabernacle duties contained in the Book of the Law.
The New Covenant
This is a blood-ratified covenant (Luke 22:20), and is conditional (I John 1:8-9 & John14:15). This covenant is not written anywhere in the Bible but rather upon our hearts and minds (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Yehovah will dwell within us (Believers) because we are the temple of the living Yehovah (I Corinth 3:16). We are not under the Aaronic Priesthood: Yeshua is our high Priest of the order of Melchizidek (Psalm 110 & Hebrews 7:1-28)
The Sinai Covenant and the (imposed) Aaronic Priesthood had specific requirements that were written in Torah; the New Covenant is based upon the Sinai Covenant requirements and they are written upon each of our hearts and minds. This covenant takes a much higher level of spiritual maturity that wasn’t required in the Sinai Covenant and Aaronic Priesthood.
In this week’s and next week’s Portions, we will see Yehovah delivering to Moses His instructions about the Tabernacle and the High Priest’s garments; we will see the actual construction of these things later in the Book of Exodus, after the Golden Calf episode.
Chapter 25
Yehovah started His instructions by listing the offerings that the Children of Israel must bring to the workmen. They brought gold, silver and bronze; fabric of white, blue, purple and scarlet; and oil and spices, and gemstones for the High Priest’s garments. Where did they get all this stuff?? They were “donated” by the Egyptians, of course!
Yehovah starts with the Ark and the Mercy Seat – the place where He would reside – and works outward through the Holy Place, through the Outer Court and ending with the Tabernacle structure and curtains and supports. Notice when Moses starts to actually build all this stuff that he does it in reverse order: starting with the outer court and working inward to the Most Holy Place.
If you wish to study the Tabernacle deeper and see Yeshua represented in every element of the Tabernacle, then I suggest this book to you: Seeing Christ in the Tabernacle by Ervin N. Hershberger
Every material, every color and every number is significant and they all point to Yeshua.
In the Holy of Holies (Most Holy Place): The Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat atop it were the only items in this place; only the High Priest could enter it, one time per year, and only with the blood of the Lamb!
The Ark of the Covenant: A box of wood overlaid inside and outside with gold (symbolic of Yeshua’s humanity and His deity). See the notes for the significance of the dimensions. In essence, there are two metallic gold boxes separated by an insulating layer of wood. Anyone with a basic understanding of DC circuits would recognize that this is describing a capacitor – whose purpose is to hold an electrical charge. The dimensions of the ark suggest that Yehovah’s presence could have charged it with tens of thousands of volts! This is a plausible explanation for the fate of Aaron’s two eldest sons (in Leviticus 10), and Uzza (in I Chronicles 13:9-10) as the Ark is returned to Jerusalem! We will see next week that Yehovah designed the High Priests garments to offer some protection against this potentially dangerous high-voltage.
The Mercy Seat: The “cover“ for the Ark of the Covenant; it was solid gold (Deity), the place where Yehovah’s Presence would dwell.
In the Holy Place: Contained the Golden Menorah, the Table of Shewbread, and the Altar of Incense. The priests would serve here, replenishing the oil in the lampstand, replacing weekly the bread in the Table of Shewbread, and offering incense (the prayers of the saints).
The Table of Shewbread Wood overlaid with gold; symbolic of Yeshua: “I am the Bread of Life.” The table had twelve shelves that held loaves of bread – one for each tribe – that were replaced weekly.
The Golden Lampstand Beaten from a single piece of solid gold; today’s value would be well over a million dollars (material only!); also symbolic of Yeshua, “I am the light of the world.” The Priests would daily tend to the Lampstand, insuring that the oil was refilled as needed and the wicks were in good order.
Chapter 26 The Tabernacle Structure, Curtains and Veils
The Tabernacle’s support structure consisted of wooden planks overlaid with gold. There were no windows in this building; the only light came from the Golden Lampstand, and it would reflect off the gold walls to light up the entire room.
We see the gold overlaid boards are set on sockets made of silver (to keep them from sinking into the soft desert sand). Silver is symbolic of redemption (Yeshua was “sold” for 30 pieces of silver); so we see the entire Tabernacle structure is set upon the redemptive blood of Yeshua! .
Chapter 27 – The Outer Court: This is where the people would bring their sacrifices for the Priests to offer of Yehovah. We have seen that all of the materials in the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place are solid gold or wood overlaid with gold. In the Outer Court all of the materials are brass (or bronze in some translations). Bronze is symbolic of judgment (it can withstand the fire of judgment). The utensils for handling and transporting the blood of the sacrifices are solid silver – again, silver is symbolic of redemption (the redeeming blood of Yeshua).
The Brazen (Brass) Altar Wood covered with bronze; symbolic of the judgment (bronze) of humanity (wood).
Please refer to my notes to see how the Apostle John leads us on a trip through the Tabernacle.
Next week we will see Yehovah’s instructions for the High Priest’s garments.
The Haftarah
This week’s Haftarah reading comes from I Kings 5:12 – 6:13. It tells of the construction of Solomon’s Temple – the permanent Tabernacle on Mt Zion. He sent workmen to Tyre (Lebanon) to quarry the stone and carry it back to Jerusalem. Hiram, the King of Tyre also provided workmen & materials to assist in the building project. Tens of thousands of craftsmen from Israel & from Tyre worked for seven years to complete the project. At the completion of the Temple, we read Yehovah’s words to Solomon from I Kings 6:11-13:
“Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: “Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”
We see here another conditional Covenant between Yehovah & Israel. In this Covenant, Israel has the same conditions as the Sinai Covenant (obedience) but the reward is different; instead of becoming a Kingdom of Priests, Yehovah would dwell among His People.
The Brit Chadashah
The Brit Chadashah reading comes from the Book of Revelation (again!). We read John’s vision at the End of the Age – after Yeshua returns to defeat His enemies and take control of Planet Earth! We see the New Heaven and the New Earth and the New Jerusalem, where there is no need for a Temple because Yehovah is (finally) dwelling within His People! Yehovah will no longer need a physical brick-and-mortar building because we are the Temple and He dwells within us! We read from Revelation 21:1-7 & 22:
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from Yehovah, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of Yehovah is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. Yehovah Himself will be with them and be their Yehovah. And Yehovah will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Aleph and the Tav, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his Yehovah and he shall be My son….But I saw no temple in it, for the LORD Yehovah Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”