Drash
Exodus 25:8-9
Blaine Robison, M.A.
Delivered 5 February 2022
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The Dwelling Place of ADONAI
8 Have
them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst; 9 according to
all that I show you, the model of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its
furnishings and just so you shall make it." (Ex 25:8-9 BR)
This parashah, which
continues through chapter 27, provides instruction for the voluntary
collection of precious metals, precious stones, fine fabrics, animal skins,
and acacia wood, from which a portable sacred dwelling place for ADONAI,
called mishkan, would be fabricated and constructed. God directed
that His worship center have three parts: the main court, the holy place and
the holy of holies [Ex 26:33-34; 27:9-19]. Into these three areas would go
important furnishings: the ark of the covenant, the table of the Bread of
the Presence, the golden menorah with seven lamps, and the bronze altar, and
then the hangings of fabric to create the perimeter of the main court.
Instructions for the
components of the mishkan continue to chapter 40, which is eloquent
testimony to the importance of the national sanctuary of Israel. ADONAI
was very particular in His instructions to Moses about how to build,
furnish, dedicate, staff, and operate the mishkan. ADONAI
not only dictated exact descriptions and measurements, but He also showed
Moses a three-dimensional model so he would know what the finished
mishkan should look like.
The mishkan should
not be confused with the "tent of meeting" that Moses erected outside the
camp sometime after the golden calf idolatry in order to intercede for the
people [Ex 33:7-11]. The preparation of all the component parts of the
mishkan would have taken several months to complete. The assembly of the
finished mishkan took place on the first day of the first month in
the second year [Ex 39:32; 40:17], and ADONAI
showed His approval by filling the sanctuary with His Sh'khinah glory
[Ex 40:33-34; cf. Num 9:15]. Then the mishkan, situated in the middle
of the camp, became the permanent tent of meeting [Ex 39:32; 40:1, 6, 29,
35; Lev 1:1; Num 2:2].
The architectural design of
the mishkan demonstrated important theological truths. It was a
visible revelation of God's desire to live among His people [Ex 29:45] and
for the people to experience His abiding presence. The mishkan would
be a place where the people could draw near with confidence to receive mercy
and find grace to help in time of need [Heb 4:16]. This nearness
demonstrated accessibility and Moses and the priests served as mediators to
represent the Israelites before God and to represent God before the
Israelite people.
Conversely the mishkan
represented God's holiness and since His holy presence could be fatal to men
He directed the installation of curtains as boundaries to protect the
people. The mishkan also symbolized God's salvation and only those
with sacrificial offerings could enter the main court. In the Holy Place
only priests could enter and there to burn incense as representative of
their intercessory ministry and to maintain the bread of the Presence and
oil in the menorah which symbolized life and light from ADONAI.
In the Holy of Holies only the High Priest could enter, and that only once a
year to make atonement for the nation [Ex 30:10; Lev 16:34; Heb 9:7].
Jewish interpreters have
historically noted parallels in language used to describe the building of
the Tabernacle to that used in the story of creation in Genesis 1 and 2.
Considering this point of view I think there is a parallel between the three
heavens mentioned in Scripture and the three-part design of Israel's worship
center. The Holy of Holies corresponds to the third heaven in which God
personally dwells and which Sha'ul visited [2Cor 12:2].
As Sha'ul pointed out we
have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens [Heb 4:14], been
exalted to the highest heaven [Heb 7:26] and taken his seat at the right
hand of the throne of Majesty [Heb 8:1]. There Yeshua serves as a priestly
mediator in the true tabernacle not made with hands [Heb. 8:2].
The provision for
constructing the mishkan was not only a revelation of God's desire to
dwell in the midst of Israel, but more importantly inside each Israelite. A
hint of the divine will occurred when God put His Spirit on the seventy
elders of Israel [Num 11:25] and Moses expressed the wish that every
Israelite could receive the Ruach [Num 11:29]. Yeshua promised his
disciples, "the Spirit of truth … abides with you, but He will be in you"
(John 14:17). His prophecy was fulfilled on Shavuot in A.D. 30.
It is no coincidence that
the Talmud Tractate Yoma records that the Sh'khinah glory left the
Temple forty years prior to its destruction (Yoma
39b). Where did the Sh'khinah go? I suggest that according to Luke
the Sh'khinah was manifested as flames of fire and then filled one
hundred and twenty of Yeshua's followers [Acts 2:1-4]. Glory Hallelujah!
Sha'ul reminded the members
of the congregation in Corinth, "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
who is in you" (1Cor 6:19). The word for temple in that verse actually
referred to the sacred sanctuary, the place where God dwelled, so he could
have said, "Your body is a mishkan of the Spirit." This is an
incredible privilege and blessing and woe be the person that defiles the
dwelling place of the Spirit. By devoting ourselves to become mishkans
for the Spirit we serve as a spiritual house and share in the priesthood of
Yeshua. As Sha'ul exhorted, let us keep on being filled with His holy
presence [Eph 5:18].
Barukh Hashem.
Copyright © 2022 by
Blaine Robison. All rights reserved. |