Transcript RECOGNITION - Qodesh Ministries

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THE MESSIANIC PROPHECY BIBLE PROJECT
http://www.messianicbible.com
HEAR O ISRAEL
www.hearoisrael.org
SHEEPFOLD GLEANINGS WRITTEN BY JULIE PARKER
www.sheepfoldgleanings.com
MESSIANIC ISRAEL ALLIANCE
http://www.messianicisrael.com
AZAMRA TORAH FOR OUR TIME – RABBI AVRAHAM
GREENBAUM
http://www.azamra.org
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Torah: Exodus 35:1-38:20
Haftorah: Ezekiel 45:16-46:18, 1 Kings 7:13-26
B’rit Chadashah: Hebrew 9:1-14
All references: The Scripture 1998+ unless otherwise noted
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And Mosheh assembled all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl,
and said to them, “These are the Words which ‫ יהוה‬has commanded you
to do: “Work is done for six days, but on the seventh day it shall be setapart to you, a Sabbath of rest to ‫יהוה‬. Anyone doing work on it is put to
death. (Exodus 35:1-2)
Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum: According to our sages, Moses' gathering
of all of the Community took place on the day following Yom Kippur,
when he had secured atonement for the sin of the golden calf.
It is significant that all of the laws of what constitutes forbidden
MELACHAH, labor, on Shabbos are learned from the 39 archetypal
forms of labor that were involved in the making of the Sanctuary on the
six days of the week. It is only when we abstain from performing
forbidden labor on Shabbos BECAUSE IT IS SHABBOS that performing
those labors "for G-d" on the six weekdays can be said to be truly
intentional and meritorious. The labors that are forbidden on Shabbos
are called MELECHET MACHSHEVET, a labor that involves MACHSHAVAH
-- i.e. it is intentional.
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The Hebrew reads; “Va‟yaqel Moshe et eydah B‟nei Yisra‟el…”
Literally, “And assembled Moshe the congregation of the Children
of Yisra‟el…” The word “assembled”, is pronounced “yaqel” (yudkuf-hey-lamed), a form of the word “qahal”, without the “yud”
(kuf-hey-lamed). “Qahal” is commonly used for “community”.
Another variant, “Qahelath”, or “Kehillah” or “Kehilat” is used
when referring to a “religious assembly” or “congregation”.
Another variation, “Qoheleth”, having the same meaning; is the
name of a book of the Hebrew Bible, also known as Ecclesiastes.
What the word “yaqel” is saying is that Moshe assembled all of the
Children of Yisra’el and they became “one Qahal”, one community
of people. In Hebrew, it’s not just that a group of people came
together for some reason. It points to the fact that people came
together, united in a common belief and bonded in such a way as
to become “one people”. This collective group, who would bring
their offerings for the Tabernacle and then build it together, would
truly become “Am Echad” (One People) through this work. This is
so important in that the very “Shechinah” (or the Divine Presence
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of ‫ )יהוה‬is revealed in His Sanctuary.
The "assembly of Israel" is a common Bible phrase denoting all Israel.
In its noun form, the word qahal typically passes into the Greek LXX
version of the Bible as the Greek word ekklesia.
Ekklesia is a common term throughout the Greek Old Testament
Scriptures. It is generally used to speak of the assembled worshippers
in the Temple or the whole assembly of Israel. In the New Testament,
English translators translate it with the theologically charged term
"church."
The "church" translation of ekklesia has misled us. Because of the
double standard in translation, it appears to most readers that "the
church" is an exclusive New Testament term, a phenomena
disconnected with the Old Testament as the word never appears
before the book of Matthew. But in reality, the word church does not
appear in the Bible at all. By translating ekklesia as "church," our
English Bibles have made us think that "the church" is a completely
new and different institution.
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The word translated in Exodus 35:1 as "congregation" is the
Hebrew word eidah (‫)עדה‬. The same word is typically translated
into the Greek LXX as the word sunagogay, from which we
derive the word synagogue.
In the Gospels and epistles, ekklesia seems to refer to an
assembly of people, while sunagogay refers to the place of
Sabbath assembly. For example, we know that the believers refer
to themselves as the ekklesia, but in 1 Corinthians 11:16, Paul
refers to all the synagogues of Jewery (which includes believers
and nonbelievers) with the same word. The early meeting places
of the believers were synagogues. In James 2:2, the text says, "If
a man comes into your assembly (sunagogay)..." The English
translators of the New American Standard chose to translate
sunogogay in this instance as "assembly" rather than
"synagogue." Translators did not want to infer that believers
were meeting in synagogues. In reality, they were, and they early
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believers called their places of assembly synagogues.
…“Work is done for six days, but on the seventh day it shall be setapart to you, a Sabbath of rest to ‫יהוה‬. Anyone doing work on it is put
to death. (Exodus 35:2)
The Sabbath is affectionately called the “wedding ring” and is a test to
see if the bride will be a faithful bride, to rest during this appointed
time with her Bridegroom. Thus the Sabbath begins the teaching of
the mishkan, the Bridal chamber. Without the Sabbath, there is no
Bridal Chamber. The Sabbath is a prophetic day ushering the bride to
her wedding (Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur). The Sabbath also
represents the last feast day after the seven day Feast of
Tabernacles/Sukkot (the wedding reception) called the Eighth
Day/Shemini Atzeret. Shemini Atzeret is likened to the Bridegroom
asking the Bride to linger one extra day with Him after all the wedding
guests have returned home. That extra day is as a thousand years
representing eternity, beyond the 7000th year – back to The
Garden (Hebrews 3:1-4:16).
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“Do not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”
(Exodus 35:3)
The Hebrew reads “La t‟ba‟aroo esh b‟chal moshav „techem be‟a
yom ha Shabbat”. Most read this as, “Do not kindle a fire in any of
your dwellings on the Sabbath day”. The word for “kindle” is
“ba‟ar”. Here, it is preceded by “lamed-aleph” or “La” which
means “do not” or “NO!” By adding the “vav” or “oo” on the end,
referring to “you”, we read “Do not kindle you…” The root word
here “ba‟ar” also translates as “to burn”, as in fire or wrath or to
“be stupid” or “be barbaric”. “Aleph-shin”, spelling “esh” or “ish”
also has a number of meanings and connotations, such as; “fire”,
“anger”, “wrath”, “strife” and “destruction” as well as “man”. The
DHV, reads Exodus 35:1-3, …Do not kindle strife in any of your
colonies on the Sabbath day.” Instead of “kindle”, use “be stupid”
and for “strife”, you can use “anger”, “wrath” or “destruction”.
Example: “Don‟t be stupid with anger in your colonies on Shabbat.”
Remember, “Love ‫ ”יהוה‬and “Love your Neighbour” as yourself; or
at least, love your neighbour enough to let him have Shabbat
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Shalom and set the day apart to Elohim as He commanded.
This is not meant to be an “instead of” translation. When studying
Torah, we are to consider the Hebrew words in all of their aspects.
So we don’t kindle a real fire on Shabbat either. But, what does that
mean? What if I’m cold? Is my family to freeze? Or, be without light?
No. If you follow that line of reasoning, how can Shabbat be a delight?
All of the words and meanings associated with “kindle” or “ba‟ar” are
associated with “removing” or “consuming” or “destruction” by fire.
The word means to “start” or “create” a fire for those purposes. We
must prepare in advance by heating our homes and give light
throughout your dwelling, by having certain things already kindled. We
light the Shabbat candles, you can light others from these. If you heat
or cook by a literal fire, have it already started and fuel to continue the
fire at the ready. What about light switches and thermostats?
The phrase “in any of your dwellings”, is “b‟chal moshav „techem”
literally translates as “in your colonies” or “in your cities”. This is not
about one’s tent but the whole community.
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The Scriptural phrase “kindle a fire” is used 5 times speaking of ‫יהוה‬
specifically bringing destruction; as in Jeremiah 17:27 “But if you do not
obey Me to set apart the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden when
entering the gates of Yerushalayim on the Sabbath day, then I shall
kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall consume the palaces of
Yerushalayim, and not be quenched.” You can also look at Jeremiah
21:14, 49:27, 50:32 and Amos 1:14.
18 times ‫ יהוה‬speaks of kindling His wrath against His enemies, as well
as the House of Jacob. For lack of wood, the fire goes out. And without
a slanderer, strife ceases. As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to
fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
(Proverbs 26:20-21)
‫ יהוה‬also speaks of “kindling compassion” in “How could I give you up,
Ephrayim? How could I hand you over, Yisra’ĕl? How could I make you
like Aḏmah? How could I set you like Tseḇoyim? My heart turns within
Me, all My compassion is kindled. “I shall not let the heat of My wrath
burn, I shall not turn to destroy Ephrayim. For I am Ěl, and not man, the
Set-apart One in your midst, and I shall not come in enmity. (Hosea
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11:8-9)
This term, “kindling” and the phrase “kindling a fire” most often
applies to the welling up of emotions and letting those emotions out in
a very public way. ‫ יהושע‬said, in “I came to send fire on the earth, and
how I wish it were already kindled! “But I have an immersion to be
immersed with, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! “Do
you think that I came to give peace on earth? I say to you, no, but
rather division. “For from now on five in one house shall be divided,
three against two, and two against three – father shall be divided
against son, and son against father, mother against daughter, and
daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law,
and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:49-53)
Just doing a word search of “kindled” in the Strong’s concordance; we
find it appears in Scripture 65 times. And, only two of these are about
“kindling a real fire”. The rest, save one, are about “kindled anger” or
“destruction in wrath”.
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‘Take from among you a contribution to ‫יהוה‬. Everyone whose heart so
moves him, let him bring it as a contribution to ‫יהוה‬: …” And all the
congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl withdrew from the presence of
Mosheh. And everyone whose heart lifted him up and everyone whose
spirit moved him came, and they brought the contribution to ‫ יהוה‬for
the work of the Tent of Meeting, and for all its service, and for the setapart garments. (Exodus 35:5-21)
The Israelites in Exodus 35 gave from the abundance of what ‫ יהוה‬had
already given them; it was never theirs to begin with; it was a gift. The
offerings freely given from the heart showed up what type of heart the
people had; that is why ‫ יהוה‬asked that only “free will” offerings be
accepted; they were offerings that had no conditions attached.
Note: The phrase “Everyone whose heart so moves him…” in verse 5,
appears five times in our parsha.
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Verse 21: The beginning of this verse reads in Hebrew, “V‟bo chal‟ esh
asher na‟sah levah v‟chal asher nadabah ruacha atah ha‟beyah et
terumah YHVH…” Or, in English, And everyone whose heart lifted him
up and everyone whose spirit moved him came, and they brought the
contribution to ‫( … יהוה‬Exodus 35:21)
• “levah” for “heart”. “Lev” is the root word meaning “heart”. It’s
where the name “Levi” comes from. The heart is the seat of
emotions and conscience in Hebrew thought. The word “levah”
literally means the “inner man”.
• “lifted up” is “na‟sah” which has many wonderful variations on this
thought of “lifting up”, such as; “to take hold of”, “to raise one‟s
spirit”, “to be exalted” and most notably “to lift up one‟s
countenance” or “face”. As we declare the Aharonic blessing on our
congregation each week, we pray that “ ‫יהוה‬lift up His Countenance
upon you, and give you Shalom.”
So, this giving of the contribution is to be as the “inner man lifts up his
face to ‫”יהוה‬.
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And the rulers brought shoham stones, and the stones to be set
in the shoulder garment and in the breastplate, (Exodus 35:27)
Rashi cites R'Nassan (Bamidbar Rabbah 12:16), who notes [in
the verse above] that the word "leaders" [rulers] is spelled in
Hebrew without the two yuds that it would normally have. This
defective spelling of their title is an implied rebuke of the leaders
for not bringing their gifts until everything else had been
contributed. Their motive was good. They assumed that the
general contributions would not be enough, so they waited to
see what would be lacking, with the intention of giving
everything that would still be needed, but the national response
was so generous that there was almost nothing left for the
leaders to give. Because they were "lazy" in not coming
immediately, the Torah spells their title defectively. Seeing that
they had been remiss in this instance, the leaders did not repeat
their mistake when the dedication of the Tabernacle was
celebrated. Then they brought their own generous offerings
immediately (Numbers ch. 7) [The Chumash pg. 519].
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(Exodus 16:22) ‫ נׂשיאי‬vs ‫והנׂשאם‬
“And whose spirit moved him” or “v‟chal asher nadabah ruacha atah”.
The key here is “nadabah” which is from the root “nadab” which
means to “impel oneself to freely give” or literally “to spontaneously
give oneself freely”. The spirit within us impels us to give ourselves to
‫ יהוה‬freely, without hesitation and without limits. It’s no coincidence
that one of the sons of Aharon who offered “strange fire” and was
consumed was named Nadab. His spontaneity was actually of himself
and against the conditions of worship set forth by ‫יהוה‬.
As our heart, our inner man is “lifted up” and we give freely of
ourselves to ‫יהוה‬, so is the “contribution”, the “terumah” “elevated” or
“lifted up”. And, that giving of ourselves is simply giving the very
talents and gifting’s that ‫ יהוה‬has given us to help build His Dwelling
Place. All of the Children of Israel played a part in the building of the
Dwelling Place of ‫ יהוה‬and He did dwell in their midst because of it.
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The children of Yisra’ĕl brought a voluntary offering to ‫יהוה‬, all
the men and women whose hearts moved them to bring all kinds
of work which ‫יהוה‬, by the hand of Mosheh, had commanded to
be done. (Exodus 35:29)
Sadly, only a set apart people came that acknowledged their
redemption and the provisions of Yahweh. The true bride of
Yeshua will bring forth her offerings to the Bridegroom and she
will come from within the body of believers.
...But they still brought to him voluntary offerings every morning,
so all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the set-apart
place came, each from the work he was doing, and they spoke to
Mosheh, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for
the service of the work which ‫ יהוה‬commanded us to do.” Then
Mosheh commanded and they sent this word throughout the
camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work
for the contribution of the set-apart place.” And the people were
withheld from bringing, (Exodus 36:3-6)
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A giving heart is infectious.
And Moses said to the children of Israel, "See, the LORD has
called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe
of Judah; and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom
and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of
workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver
and bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to
work in all manner of artistic workmanship. (Exodus 35:30-33)
• Bezalel – In the shadow of El (Elohim)
• Uri – My light
• Hur – Whiten (Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew)
• Judah – praise
Bezalel’s name which means “in the shadow of El”, is a
description of one who is covered by the shadow of the
Almighty. Throughout the Scriptures, living in the shadow of
Elohim is the best place to be.
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Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your
wings, (Psalms 17:8)
..a Michtam of David When He Fled from Saul into the Cave. Be
merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these
calamities have passed by. (Psalms 57:1)
Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings
I will rejoice. (Psalms 63:7)
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under
the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge
and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." Surely He shall deliver you
from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall
cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler. (Psalms 91:1-4)
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Our safety is under the shadow of His wings….covered by His
feathers.
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the
face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)
As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out
its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings,
(Deuteronomy 32:11)
The hovering is done by the Spirit. In one of the most well known
stories of the Scriptures, Miriam/Mary is overshadowed by the
Spirit of the Almighty:
And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will
come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow
you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be
called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)
Just as Bezalel, Miriam was building a tabernacle for ‫ יהושע‬to
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dwell for the next nine months.
That fact alone should alert us to the possibility that he is a
shadow of the Messiah. The Messiah came to build his
assembly…His body. Bezalel built the tabernacle, which we have
learned is a picture of the body of the Messiah. In prior
commentaries we have seen that the completed body/bride
appears in Revelation 21 as the New Jerusalem. ‫ יהושע‬alludes to
that body in the book of John:
Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in
three days I will raise it up." Then the Jews said, "It has taken
forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in
three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples
remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the
Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. (John 2:19-22)
If one of the things he is alluding to is the body of believers, then
He is saying that within three days….within three thousand years
He will repair that sanctuary…His body made up of His people,
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His bride. Verse 21 verifies that He is speaking of His body.
Exodus 35:31 tells us that ‫ יהוה‬filled Bezalel with the Spirit of Elohim,
and in Isaiah we see a similar filling of the Spirit upon Messiah:
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall
grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:1-2)
Both Messiah and Bezalel brought together the spiritual and physical
worlds. The presence of the Spirit is what endowed Bezalel with
wisdom, understanding, knowledge and all manner of workmanship
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Without the one you cannot function in the fullness, example:
Knowledge was pictured as water. The water was poured into a glass,
which was understanding. First a little was poured in, then a little
more. We are that glass and we take in the knowledge as we can. Then
the water-filled glass was handed off to a needy person. That is
wisdom….using what’s in the glass for its intended use. Now part of the
demonstration included more water (knowledge) being poured into the
glass than what it could handle. The water spilled over the sides and
made a big mess. That’s what happens when all we do is take in
knowledge. Taking in knowledge should be more than filling your brain.
It needs to be acted on, or we won’t be able to handle it.
Torah knowledge is like building materials. If it’s only kept up in our
brains, it’s only an imaginary structure. Understanding is the ability to
see the purpose and meaning beyond the Torah knowledge that we
have. Wisdom puts knowledge and understanding to work with the
proper heart attitude and exactly according to the Master’s Plan.
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• Hosea 4:6 - My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because
you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest
for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will
forget your children.
• Malachi 2:7 - "For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And
people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger
of the LORD of hosts. - We are the priesthood and it is our job to have
knowledge and to teach Torah.
• Habakkuk 2:14 - For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of
the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea. - A prophetic view
of the Messianic age and the abundance of knowledge
• 2 Peter 3:18 - but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
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• Proverbs 15:21 - Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment,
But a man of understanding walks uprightly.
• Proverbs 8:1- Does not wisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her
voice? - Understanding seen as the teaching voice
• 1 Kings 3:9 - Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to
judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who
is able to judge this great people of Yours?“ - Understanding is what
Solomon asked for (he too built a dwelling for Elohim)
• 1 Chronicles 12:32 - of the sons of Issachar who had understanding
of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two
hundred; and all their brethren were at their command;
• Psalms 111:10 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A
good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His
praise endures forever.
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• Deuteronomy 4:5-6 - "Surely I have taught you statutes and
judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should
act according to them in the land which you go to possess. Therefore
be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your
understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these
statutes, and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and
understanding people.'
• Psalms 37:30 - The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his
tongue talks of justice.
• Proverbs 4:11 - I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led
you in right paths.
• Proverbs 9:10 - "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. - The fear of
‫ יהוה‬leads to wisdom and knowing Yeshua is understanding. Knowing
about Yeshua is only empty knowledge. It’s water that will spill out of
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the glass.
• 1 Corinthians 1:22-24 - For Jews request a sign, and Greeks
seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a
stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who
are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and
the wisdom of God. - Messiah crucified is the wisdom of ‫יהוה‬.
Bezalel, being filled with wisdom, had an understanding of this
when he built the tabernacle.
• James 3:13 - Who is wise and understanding among you? Let
him show by good conduct that his works are done in the
meekness of wisdom. - Wisdom expresses itself in action.
Many years later, ‫ יהוה‬would give to Hiram these same gifts that
would enable him to build the temple during the reign of
Solomon: Now King Solomon sent and brought Huram from Tyre.
He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his
father was a man of Tyre, a bronze worker; he was filled with
wisdom and understanding and skill in working with all kinds of
bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work. (1
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Kings 7:13-14)
It took wisdom, understanding, and knowledge to build the
tabernacle and the temple…the earthly dwellings for the
Almighty. Why? Because we know that the tabernacle was a
picture of ‫ – יהושע‬both the head and the body of Messiah…and
He is the personification of those characteristics.
but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought
to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of
the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (1 Timothy
3:15)
For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and
those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in
the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit
together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance
of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both
of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:1-3)
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Bezalel was also filled with all manner of workmanship. Let’s take
another look at those verses:
.. He has filled him with the Spirit of God, .. and all manner of
workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and
bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all
manner of artistic workmanship. (Exodus 35:31-33)
The word “workmanship” may have triggered familiar verses in
Ephesians:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:8-10)
What Bezalel was building was a tabernacle symbolic of the head and
the body of Messiah which would house the Spirit of ‫יהוה‬.
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We too, are individual tabernacles, building on our foundation:
Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the
Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will
test each one's work, of what sort it is. (1 Corinthians 3:12-13)
Not only are we individual tabernacles, but we are also being built into
one united spiritual household (picture of the Tabernacle) and this is
pictured in the following verses:
you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "BEHOLD, I
LAY IN ZION A CHIEF CORNERSTONE, ELECT, PRECIOUS, AND HE WHO
BELIEVES ON HIM WILL BY NO MEANS BE PUT TO SHAME." Therefore,
to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,
"THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CHIEF
CORNERSTONE,“ (1 Peter 2:5-7)
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Bezalel is a prophetic picture of the Messiah who, in the end, is going
to build the heavenly tabernacle as pictured in Revelation:
Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I
heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God
is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
God Himself will be with them and be their God. (Revelation 21:2-3)
Of course this is the ultimate desire of the Almighty…that He might
once again dwell among His people….that Messiah may live with His
purified bride.
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Taking a deeper look with Brad Scott on related Hebrew words we
start tying together the concepts of house, tabernacle, and the
bride/body of Messiah. These are all related Hebrew words with the
common root of build (‫)ּבנה‬:
• Son – One who continues the family line. (The idea of building a
house with sons can be seen in Genesis 30.3).
• Rebuild/Restore/Builder
• Plan/Pattern - A model or pattern for building something.
Intelligence : The skill of the mind and hands to build.
• Structure/building - The building of a family or a structure for
housing the family.
Our Creator uses things that are familiar to us to help us understand
spiritual concepts. In Hebrew, to build is literally to take a pattern/plan
and make something of it. The pattern/plan became physical and
“dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Elohim is the builder and His Son
becomes the building. Elohim’s pattern/plan is His Word and the Son
becomes the manifestation of the plan…the building.
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“And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and
Oholiaḇ son of Aḥisamaḵ, of the tribe of Dan. “He has filled them
with skill to do all work of the engraver and the designer and
embroiderer, in blue and in purple, in scarlet material, and in fine
linen, and a weaver, doing any work, and makers of designs.
(Exodus 35:34-35)
Bezalel (in the shadow of El) and Aholiav (the Father’s Tent) were
the builders set up to do the work of the tabernacle. We know
that Bezalel is from the tribe of Judah (praise) and Aholiav is
from Dan (judgment). Therefore it is both judgment and praise
that would build the tabernacle. Verse 34 says ‫ יהוה‬had put it in
their hearts to “teach”. Not only would they see the spiritual
implications (through the understanding given to them) of each
item to be made, but they would teach this knowledge to those
who had hearts to help. One more thing on verse 35. The
Hebrew translated as “engraver” is more often translated as
“carpenter”. ‫ יהושע‬was the son of a carpenter, plus a carpenter is
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one who “builds a house.”
Shimʽon Kĕpha went up and dragged the net to land, filled with one
hundred and fifty-three big fishes. And though there were so many, the
net was not broken.(John 21:11)
The study of gematria gives us the following answers to why 153 fish:
• Bezaleel = 153
• The sons of Elohim (John 1:12) = 153
What does it all mean?
• Bezaleel (153) is the builder of the house.
• The house is a picture of the body or the “sons of Elohim” (153).
• ‫ יהושע‬tells His disciples that they will be “fishers of men” (153).
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Bezalel is a pretty significant person in the Bible, even though he
doesn’t attract a lot of attention. From 1 Chronicles we can get the
family tree of Bezalel.
And Azuḇah died, and Kalĕḇ took Ephrath as his wife, who bore him
Ḥur. And Ḥur brought forth Uri, and Uri brought forth Betsal’ĕl. (1
Chronicles 2:19-20)
Bezalel’s great grandfather was Caleb, one of the spies who came back
with a positive report concerning the Land of Israel. Because of his
faithfulness, he was allowed to go into the Promised Land without
dying in the wilderness. He and his entire household would be
included in this blessing:
except Kalĕḇ son of Yephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and his
children I give the land on which he walked, because he followed ‫יהוה‬
completely.’ (Deuteronomy 1:36)
That means Bezalel survived the 40 years in the wilderness! He and his
family were later given Hebron in the Promised Land!
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And Betsal’ĕl made the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long,
and a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. And he
overlaid it with clean gold inside and outside, and made a moulding of
gold all around it. (Exodus 37:1-2)
The first be made is the Ark. It was made of shittah-tree wood, which
was known to the Egyptians as the Tree of Life. It was an important
plant in their traditional medicine cabinet. The Ark was the most
renown item in the Tabernacle, its heart. Some midrashim suggest
there were two arks. “At that time ‫ יהוה‬said to me, ‘Hew for yourself
two tablets of stone .. And .. make yourself an ark of wood, .. I write on
the tablets .. And you shall put them in the ark.’ “So I made an ark
..“And He wrote on the tablets .. and I turned and came down from the
mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made. ..
(Deuteronomy 10:1-5) The first may have been temporary.
The Ark became "lost" after the destruction of Solomon's Temple by
Babylonian invaders. It is rumoured to be hidden in a number of places
including: under the Temple Mount (most likely), Mt. Nebo, Africa, and
Europe.
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And he made the table of acacia wood, ..And he overlaid it with
clean gold, and made a moulding of gold all around it. (Exodus
37:10-11)
The Table for the Showbread represents ‫ יהושע‬in that the wood
component is a figure of His humanity and the gold speaks of His
deity. The Table reminds us of our fellowship with our High Priest
around the New Covenant Communion table (1 Cor. 10:21).
Around the top of the Table of Showbread was a border one
handbreadth high (Ex. 25:25). It enclosed the twelve loaves set
before ‫ יהוה‬on the Table. The twelve loaves represent the twelve
tribes of Israel, and the high border ["something enclosing"
(Strongs #4526)] points to ‫ יהוה‬being a shield and protection for
His people (Isaiah 49:15-16).
The Showbread (Lev. 24:5-9), was holy bread and were available
only to the priests once they were replaced by fresh loaves.
‫ יהושע‬is the Bread from heaven that all believers, the "royal
priesthood" of the New Covenant, may draw life and strength
from today. Hence, both Manna [heaven sent] and Showbread
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[refined and without lumps or impurity] are types of Messiah.
And he made the lampstand of clean gold. He made the
lampstand of beaten work, its base, and its shaft, its cups, its
ornamental knobs, and its blossoms were from it. (Exodus 37:17)
We are aware that the Lampstand (Menorah) is not really a
candle stick hoder, as the KJV states. It was fashioned from pure
gold, which typifies Yeshua in His complete and holy deity,
the "...true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world" (John 1:10). The Lampstand provided the light for the
Holy Place.
We are not given the dimensions of the Lampstand but we do
know its weight was one talent, or about ninety pounds of gold
and it was somehow hammered out of one large ingot. The
Lampstand is also seen to represent Yeshua, the Stem, and His
followers, the six [number of imperfect man] branches, which
are entirely dependent upon Him for life and fruit. "I am the
vine, ye are the branches" (John 15:5).
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Each branch had three sets of knops, flowers, and bowls. The central
stem had four sets. These knops (buds), flowers (blossoms), and bowls
(almonds) represent
(a) continual fruitfulness, and
(b) the three stages of spiritual growth also seen in the three parts of
Tabernacle itself:
(1) the Courtyard--salvation through ‫יהושע‬/regeneration and
kingdom;
(2) Holy Place--sanctification through the Spirit/fruit and power;
(3) Most Holy Place--revelation of Abba's love/intimacy and glory.
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And he made the incense altar of acacia wood, .. And he overlaid it
with clean gold, .. And he made a moulding for it of gold all around
it. (Exodus 37:25-26)
The Brazen Altar foreshadowed Messiah at Calvary as the Lamb of
God. The Altar of Incense was positioned directly to the front of the
Mercy Seat, but was just outside the thick veil. The Altar of Incense
was where the priest offered sweet incense, representing prayers of
love and devotion coming from sincere hearts (Rev. 8:3-5), on
burning coals. This altar typifies ‫ יהושע‬as our High Priest interceding
before the Throne of Grace for all believers today: "Wherefore He is
able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him,
seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Heb.
7:25). Wood speaks of the Messiah's humanity and gold of His
divinity. He is Elohim incarnate, cloaked in human flesh! The Altar of
Incense had four horns, upward extensions of the top corners.
Horns represent power (2 Chron. 18:10; Hab. 3:4). Hence, horns on
the Altar of Incense symbolized the power of praise and
intercession. His intercession before the Throne of Grace sustains40us
yet today.
And he made the set-apart anointing oil and the clean incense of
sweet spices, according to the work of the perfumer. (Exodus
37:29)
Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. The Tabernacle's holy anointing
(olive) oil was combined with four principles spices (Ex. 30:2225). The spices were symbolic.
1. myrrh, an aroma Esther bathed in for six months. It
symbolizes purification (Esth. 2:12; Song of Solomon 1:13).
2. Another example is cassia. It represents humility and dying
to self (Ps. 45:8).
3. Frankincense symbolizes intercession (Isa. 53:5; Heb. 3:24).
4. Henna, which comes from a shrub with small, but very
fragrant flowers, speaks of repentance (Ps. 51:17).
Spices are also very aromatic. We can safely assume the
Almighty loves sweet-smelling fragrances since words like
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perfume and fragrance appear 76 times in Scripture.
And he made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, ..And he made
its horns on its four corners, the horns were of it. And he overlaid it
with bronze. (Exodus 38:1-2)
All five of the Levitical sacrifices were made at this altar. This altar
foreshadowed the cross of Calvary. It was a place of death, the way of
salvation, sanctification, and peace with ‫יהוה‬.
The person coming with the sacrificial animal to the Brazen Altar and
the priest, would lay his hands upon the animals head, thereby
transferring his guilt and sin to the beast. Then the priest would
slaughter the sacrifice, sprinkle its blood about the altar, and burn the
carcass. The blood of an innocent sacrifice was/is the only effectual
agent of atonement and spiritual cleansing.
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And he made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the
bronze mirrors of the serving women who did service at the door of the
Tent of Meeting. (Exodus 38:8)
The truly pious holy women voluntarily gave the most valued
possessions they owned. The mirrors were polished brass oval plates,
common in Egypt from an early date. They assembled, or
literally "came by troops," at the entrance to the "tent of meeting"
once it had been functioning according to the law of Moses (Ex. 38:7).
We read of Hannah doing the same thing in 1 Samuel 1:9-12. These
sincere women, true seekers, made the most of their limited
opportunities, and their faith and godliness has been rewarded with
the special mention of them in ‫'יהוה‬s eternal Torah! These women are
an example of personal sacrifice for us, and a reminder for those who
have been given many opportunities and much enablement. Believers
today, remain strong, and under His covering by .. the washing of
rebirth, and renewal by the Set-apart Spirit, which He poured out on us
richly through ‫ יהושע‬Messiah our Saviour, (Titus 3:5-6) and then
daily renewing our minds in the Word of Elohim.
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And he made the courtyard: for the south side the screens of the
courtyard were of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long,
(Exodus 38:9)
The courtyard hangings comprised a spotless white wall surrounding
the Tabernacle, and represented the line between faith and unbelief,
righteousness and unrighteousness. The barrier was not made of stone
or wood, but of white, fine twined linen, which spoke of righteousness,
and was a witness to the holiness of the One Whose presence abode
within.
The hangings formed a barrier to everyone who would attempt to
enter except those who ‫ יהוה‬had ordered and sanctified. At the same
time, the white wall was a shield and defence for all within, who
served and came to Him by sacrifice.
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