Vayakhel-Pikudei
Exodus 35:1 - 40:38

This week we have a double Torah portion, which brings us to the end of Exodus. These two portions consist of the building of the Tabernacle, the preparation of the priesthood and the presence of the glory of God in the Tabernacle. From previous studies, we know that earlier in the book, we read of God’s instructions to Moses about the construction of the Tabernacle which is followed by the sin of the golden calf. Now, following the episode of the golden calf we have the command from Moses to the people to build the Tabernacle.

Raphael Samson Hirsch in his excellent Torah commentary states that the interruption of the sin of the golden calf gave the children of Israel a whole new perspective on their relationship with God. Over the course of only several months the children of Israel had moved from the depths of Egyptian slavery to the heights of glory at Mt. Sinai . Now on the heels of such marvelous blessing, we see the people quickly fall into sin. According to Hirsch, this "fall" teaches Israel two great lessons. First, they learn that they cannot live on "yesterday’s blessings". Although they were the chosen people, a "nation of priests", they still had to be careful and trust God for their obedience and recognize their need for atonement. Second, they now had experienced the grace and mercy of God. Although they certainly had experienced God’s grace in the exodus from Egypt , they now had experienced the forgiveness of God. As a result, the Tabernacle serves as a reminder of the grace of God - the place of atonement. It was only by the grace of God that, after the golden calf, the Tabernacle would still serve as the dwelling place of God.

Today there is no Temple . Of course, traditional Judaism offers different solutions to the dilemma of experiencing the presence of God without a Temple . Messianic Judaism also offers a solution to this problem. For us, the glory of God rests in the messianic community - the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (Spirit of God) dwells in each believer, empowering us to live godly lives, and guiding us on our "wilderness journey". We too, like our ancestors, experience the depths of sin and the grace of God. We too, experience the undeserved presence of God in our lives. For our ancestors, the abiding presence of God not only meant guidance, protection and direction but also hope. The presence of God meant that they would eventually get to the promised land. In the very same way, the abiding presence of God through Yeshua assures us that one day we will get to heaven and be with God forever. The practical application of this truth is that whatever situation we may find ourselves in, we can rest assured that our destination is heaven and we are just passing though this world, just as the Israelites knew that the wilderness was not their home. May we find great encouragement in this truth. Shabbat Shalom!