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Today’s Torah portion is entitled Pekudei meaning “An Accounting” and goes from Exodus 38:21 through chapter 40 and completes the book. It includes a description of the quantities of each material used in the Tabernacle’s construction; as well as the colors, elements, and detail required in creating the priestly garments. Moses inspects everything, and the Tabernacles is set up for the first time and consecrated.
God’s place of worship was to look a specific way and to include beautiful and costly materials. Adonai gave Moses a list of what was required, and the people eagerly supplied the materials; including fine linens of blue, purple, and scarlet. The people supplied about one and a half tons of gold, four tons of silver, and about two and a half tons of bronze!
Just as the Tabernacle was lavishly adorned, God required the High Priest to wear beautiful, ornate garments including finely woven fabrics, gold, and costly jewels. The garment of the High Priest was visually beautiful, and as he walked it was also pleasing to the ear, because of the small bells attached to the hem of his garment. There was a golden plate attached to the turban, inscribed with the words, “Holy to the Lord”. These words on the turban on his head were a reminder that he was set apart to Adonai, and when the people saw him they were also reminded that although he is a fellow human and capable of mistakes, the High Priest occupied a sacred position and was to be respected.
God directed that the ephod or shoulder pieces each be set with an onyx stone mounted in gold filigree. Each stone was to be engraved with the names of the sons of Israel in birth order. The breast piece was to be mounted with 12 different precious stones each engraved with a name of the 12 tribes of Israel. Whenever the High Priest would put on his ceremonial garment it would be a reminder who he was representing before the Lord. The fact that God chose gold and various precious stones speaks volumes as to how much He values us. Just as gold and jewels are costly and beautiful, Adonai in His infinite wisdom can see precious jewels where we see rags. After all, even precious stones must first go through the process of having their impurities removed before they can be set into jewelry. After everything was complete Moses inspected every item. Seeing that everything was done as the Lord had commanded Moses blessed the people.
In chapter 40 God commanded Moses to personally assemble the Tabernacle, and then gave him the exact order in which the Tabernacle was to be assembled. Moses was to anoint each item and each person involved in the offering of those sacrifices. But of all the items he anointed, the altar was deemed most holy. Moses himself placed the tablets with the Ten Commandments into the Ark, attached the poles, and then sealed it with the Ark covering. When the Tabernacle was erected, the cloud of God’s glory covered the Tent of Meeting, and in that moment Moses could not enter it. From that time on the Lord resided over the tent by day as a pillar of cloud and by night as a pillar of fire. In all our wilderness travels the pillar was God’s signal to Israel to either remain where we were or to move out.
My take on today’s parasha is that, just as the Israelis gave generously when they were invited to contribute to the building of the Tabernacle, we should be generous and eager to participate in the work of Yeshua’s ministry. In all things our priority should be to please God, the One who saw fit to bear our punishment and disgrace.
But it must be sincere and from the heart and not mere outward religion. Adonai is much less interested in our outward appearance than in the condition of our heart and our thoughts. In Matthew chapter 23, Yeshua said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
One might ask, “How should I present myself to God?” We should approach God with sincerity, reverence and respect. To respect Him is to give Him priority in the use of our time and resources, and He should have first place in our heart. To reverence Him means that in everything we should give Him our very best, not our seconds. Sincerity means that our inward and outward appearance should match. We must not forget that our thoughts eventually dictate our actions, and that above all else it is our attitude towards Adonai that truly matters. A person can be ever so well dressed, yet have a heart as black as coal. But thanks be to God, He has a way of transforming us lumps of coal into precious diamonds, fit for His use.