Shalom!

 
We finish the book of Shemot this week with a double Torah reading. Chapters 35 through 40 are somewhat of a repetition of chapters 25-31. The earlier chapters of Shemot contain the plan of the Tabernacle, while the chapters we study this week speak of the actual construction and completion. The Sabbath command with its severe penalty for breaking, opens this week's parasha, while it closed the parallel section in Chapter 31:
Shemot/Exodus 31:14 'You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 'Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to YHWH. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 'Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 'It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.' "
Shemot/Exodus 35:1 Then Moshe gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, "These are the words which YHWH has commanded you to do: 2 "Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to YHWH. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.
The Sabbath was one of the first ways that YHWH tested His people:
Shemot/Exodus 16:4 Then YHWH said to Moshe, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My Torah or not. 5 "And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily."
YHWH speaks later again about the purpose of a test:
Devarim/Deuteronomy 8:2 "And you shall remember that the YHWH your Elohim led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of YHWH
By repetition of the Sabbath commandment, Torah is making a connection between the Sabbath and the building of the Tabernacle. The actual construction of the Tabernacle teaches us many things. Consider the holiness of YHWH, since in the Tabernacle, the Presence of the Holy One in the Holy of Holies is separated from the worshipper by the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. In other words, He was near, but yet, hidden. Others speak to this attribute of hiddenness:
1 Kings 8:12 Then Solomon spoke: "YHWH said He would dwell in the dark cloud.
 
Psalm 77:20 Your way was through the sea, Your path, through the mighty waters; Your tracks could not be seen.
 
Isaiah 45:15 Truly You are El, who hides Yourself, O Elohim of Israel, the Savior! 16 They shall be ashamed And also disgraced, all of them; They shall go in confusion together, Who are makers of idols.
What is the point of a "hidden El"? In the 1600's, Blaise Pascal wrote:
 
What can be seen on earth indicates neither the total absence of God nor His manifest Presence, but rather the Presence of a hidden God. In other words to those who are spiritually blind, God may seem hidden. But to those whose eyes He has opened, God is not hidden at all. He has clearly revealed Himself:
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
 
Psalm 19:1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of Elohim; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Our Creator has given us enough evidence of His existence to draw us into a love relationship. Perhaps it's YHWH in His mercy that denies us a view of His visible glorious Presence. This gives us time to know Him as He works on refining us. He gave us His commandments to prepare our hearts to live in His Presence.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of Elohim; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
Go back to the above verses in Isaiah 45. In the ancient near east, gods were fashioned and visible. Unlike worship of YHWH in the Tabernacle, in pagan religions worshippers came into the presence of their god, bringing him/her food and even their children as sacrificial offerings. They often attempted to manipulate their god through pagan sexual acts or through magic. What a disgrace when the Israelites participated in such things! Consider Jeroboam, the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel who created golden calves for the Israelites to worship instead of going to the Temple to worship:
1 Kings 12:28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!" 29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
But the Elohim of Israel is majestic and to be feared. When Yeshua made an appearance in all His majesty, even His own disciples were fearful:
Mark 9:2 Now after six days Yeshua took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moshe, and they were talking with Yeshua. 5 Then Peter answered and said to Yeshua, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- 6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.
Revelation 1:12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead
Have we forgotten how to "fear" and reverence our Elohim? Appropriate "fear" was learned by reading and observing the Torah:
Devarim/Deuteronomy 31:11 "when all Israel comes to appear before YHWH your Elohim in the place which He chooses, you shall read this Torah before all Israel in their hearing. 12 "Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the YHWH your Elohim and carefully observe all the words of this Torah
A few other Scriptures on the "fear of YHWH":
Psalm 19:9 The fear of YHWH is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of YHWH are true and righteous altogether.
 
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of YHWH is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
 
Acts 9:31 Then, indeed, the assemblies throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, had peace, being built up, and, going on in the fear of YHWH, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
Thus one of the lessons to be learned from the "hiddenness" of YHWH in the Tabernacle is that of holiness, respect, obedience, and fear. Israel was called to love their Elohim and serve Him with a whole heart. This was and is truly a difference from every other god on the planet.
 
Turning directions now, I'd like to share something from the work of Martin Buber, Jewish philosopher and Zionist from the early 1900's. Notice the striking parallels between the language of the Tabernacle instructions and the story of creation.
 
Creation:
Bereshith/Genesis 1:31 Then Elohim saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day Elohim finished His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then Elohim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it...
Tabernacle:
And Moshe saw all of the work, and behold, they had made it just as the Lord had commanded...(Shemot/Exodus 39:43) And all the labor of the Tabernacle was finished...(39:22) And on the seventh day, He called out to Moshe from within the cloud...(24:16) And Moshe finished the work...(40:33) And Moshe blessed them...(39:43) Make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among you. (25:8)
Nechama Leibowitz comments:
 
The Lord created heaven and earth and all therein for man to dwell in, and created them in six days and rested on the seventh day. Similarly, Moses was summoned on the seventh day to the cloud to see the pattern of the Tabernacle that it was his duty to erect, in order to provide a place on earth for the Divine Presence. (Leibowitz, Studies in Shemot, Teruman 2)
 
In the same way the Creator made a home for us on earth... now man has involvement in making a place for YHWH to dwell with him. And returning to the earlier mention of the repetition of the Sabbath...what is its connection to the Tabernacle? The Tabernacle (physical place), like the Sabbath (place in time), is the "place" where both Israel and her Elohim can dwell together. There is a bit of a mystery in His hiddenness, but through obedience, His Presence will be discovered. The Tabernacle would later be destroyed...the Temples would be built and later destroyed...but the Sabbath continues to provide a "place" for YHWH to dwell in the midst of His people through time until once again the Tabernacle will return in the midst of a holy people.
 
As we wait for our eternal dwelling place, we build our palace in time every week as we light the candles and sanctify the Sabbath with bread and wine. And we rejoice knowing that our Adonai of the Sabbath dwells in our midst!
Luke 6:5 And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
 
In 2015, five Jews from Brooklyn, visiting Israel, were misguided by their navigational system and ended up in a Palestinian neighborhood. Palestinians on the streets threw stones and a firebomb at them. They were able to run before their entire car was torched. Because of the help of a Palestinian who rescued and sheltered them, they survived the ordeal. Recently, a couple of the young men returned to be reunited with their brave rescuer. Watch the emotional reunion here - A Heartwarming Reunion
 
Bereshith/Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you
Shabbat Shalom!

Ardelle