Pekudei “accounts”

It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.

As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.

Torah Portion Name and Readings-

Pekudei is the Hebrew word for “accounts”, this is the name for the weekly Torah Portion reading for the Exodus starting in chapter 38 verse 21 and going through chapter 40 and verse 38.

Prophets and New Testament-

It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of Ezekiel in chapter 45 verse 16 through chapter 46 verse 18.

The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Luke in chapter 22 with verses 1 through verse 13.

Torah Portion Overview-

In this torah portion, we get to see the finalization of the construction of the Tabernacle, the home of Yahweh on Earth! The Torah portion starts by describing the amount of gold, silver, and bronze that was given and the items it was used to construct. Bezalel and Oholiab fashion the garments of the High Priest and the Priests, his sons. Then Israel completed the work of the Tabernacle and its furnishings, articles, and all the holy garments. Fitting with the idea of sacred time and the calendar of the Torah, Yahweh instructs Moses to set up the Tabernacle on the first day of the first month. With this He was commanded to anoint each article and the furnishings which filled the Tabernacle. Lastly, Aaron and his sons were to be anointed as priests. Moses followed the instructions of Yahweh exactly and on the first year of the first month, in the second year since they left Egypt, the Tabernacle began to function as a place of sacrifice and worship to Yahweh. When this was complete the Glory of Yahweh filled the Tabernacle, so that even Moses could not enter!

This is the final and most glorious moment of the Tabernacle. All of the instructions have led to this point; Yahweh coming to dwell with His people! How can a tent, even the Tabernacle, contain the Glory of God? It cannot!

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.”

Exodus 40:34-35 (NRSVue)

When the Tabernacle was erected the cloud of His Glory filled it! This showed the people that Yahweh was there, and that He had come to dwell in it. Later David would desire to build a temple to Yahweh. The torah did not instruct how to build a temple but a Tabernacle. This was because the people traveled from place to place before coming to the land. They would not have been able to build a temple. Yet once they were in the land David desired to honor Yahweh! And so he asked of the Lord that he could build a temple. Because of the blood that David had shed God would not allow him to build the temple, however, He promised that his son Solomon would build a temple. 480 years after Israel left Egypt, Solomon started to build the temple (in his fourth year of his reign) (1 Kings 6:1). He finished it in the eleventh year of his reign (1 Kings 6:38) (10th century BC). After he built the Temple he prayed that the Lord would dwell in this new temple. After he had finished praying the Lord showed that He had come once again, to dwell on earth in this Temple, by sending fire down from heaven to start the altar’s fire. He then filled the temple again with His glory, just as He had done with the Tabernacle of Moses.

“When Solomon had ended his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the house of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house. When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

2 Chronicles 7:1-3 (NRSVue)

After Solomon died the kingdom split because of his wickedness and disobedience. The Northern Kingdom began to be ruled over by another king, Jeroboam. Eight kings later Ahab ruled in the land of Israel and he was wicked. Ahab and his wife Jezebel sought to establish and expand the worship of Baal in Israel. Because of this Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest. Who is the true God/god of Israel, Yahweh, or Baal?

“Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come closer to me,” and all the people came closer to him. First he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been thrown down; Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, “Israel shall be your name”; with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD. Then he made a trench around the altar, large enough to contain two measures of seed. Next he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. Again he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time, so that the water ran all around the altar and filled the trench also with water. At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust and even licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD indeed is God; the LORD indeed is God.”

1 Kings 18:30-39 (NRSVue)

The altar had been consecrated with fire, once again showing that the worship of Yahweh was the only true and valid religion in Isarel. We can see a pattern here. With the Tabernacle of Moses, the Glory filled the Tabernacle, with the Temple of Solomon, fire came down to light the alar and the Glory of the Lord filled the Temple, with the altar of Elijah, although it was not a temple or tabernacle, the fire of the Lord lit the altar! These signs showed that the places of worship were valid and chosen by Yahweh.

As for the first Temple, He continued to dwell there. We know this, for because of the idolatry of Judah, Yahweh’s Glory eventually left the Temple.

“Then the glory of the LORD went out from the entryway of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. The cherubim lifted up their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight as they went out with the wheels beside them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew that they were cherubim. Each had four faces, each four wings, and underneath their wings something like human hands. As for what their faces were like, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the River Chebar. Each one moved straight ahead.”

Ezekiel 10:18-22 (NRSVue)

However Ezekiel also saw a day when the Glory of the Lord would return again and fill a temple! We call this “Ezekiel’s Third Temple” today. There is considerable debate as to whether the temple is a literal temple to be built at some point, either before or during the Great Tribulation, or perhaps afterwards in the Kingdom. Others say that the temple is metaphorical and not a physical temple at all. Either way, the temple of Ezekiel has never existed (physically).

“Then he brought me to the gate, the gate facing east. And there the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east; the sound was like the sound of mighty waters, and the earth shone with his glory. The vision I saw was like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city and like the vision that I had seen by the River Chebar, and I fell upon my face. As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, the spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me out of the temple. He said to me: “Mortal, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will reside among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their prostitution and by sacrificing to their kings at their death. When they placed their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them, they were defiling my holy name by their abominations that they committed; therefore I have consumed them in my anger. Now let them put away their idolatry and sacrifices to their kings far from me, and I will reside among them forever. “As for you, mortal, describe the temple to the house of Israel, and let them measure the pattern, and let them be ashamed of their iniquities. When they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the plan of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, and its whole form—all its ordinances and its entire plan and all its laws; and write it down in their sight so that they may observe and follow the entire plan and all its ordinances.”

Ezekiel 43:1-11 (NRSVue)

However, the people sinned against the Lord and sometime after the Glory of the Lord departed from the temple it was destroyed by the Babylonians.

This was not the end of worship for Yahweh in Israel though. For the Lord brought back the habitants of Judah and led them to rebuild the Temple. We call this the Second Temple. However, even though they rebuilt the temple, we have no instance of the Glory of the Lord filling the temple, nor do we have fire coming down from heaven. In fact, the Glory of the Lord was conspicuously absent from the temple and Israel, at least as far as we know, until it showed up in the person of Jesus Christ. We know that Jesus referred to Himself as a Temple.

“Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.”

John 2:19-21 (ESV)

Indeed, He is, for He is the Living God! Thus His body must be a temple, for it contains the Spirit of Yahweh! We know that He was both fully God and fully man, this is not to imply anything else. However, I want to emphasize here that Jesus was in fact Yahweh in the flesh, and therefore, His body contained Yahweh. This is clearly a “temple”.

During His ministry there was another event that clearly showed that He is the Temple. Jesus ascended a mountain (think of The Second Temple being on the mountain of Jerusalem) and was transformed before the three disciples. Just as with the Tabernacle and Temple, we see the cloud of His Glory, as well as the witness of the Tabernacle and the altar of Elijah, in the presence of Moses and Elijah.

“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.”

Matthew 17:1-8 (ESV)

We see Jesus as the Temple again in Revelation, where it explains that there is no temple (thus proving that Ezekiel’s Temple cannot be a temple in the Kingdom), for the Lamb of God is the Temple!

“I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.”

Revelation 21:22 (NRSVue)

From this Temple, Jesus, flows the river of life, and on each side of the river are trees. These trees are the Tree of Life!

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

Revelation 22:1-2 (NRSVue)

Here we see a clear restoration of Eden! For in Eden a river flowed through it, from the mountain (as we have shown in previous blog posts), through a sacred garden with the tree of life. Once again, in Revelation we see the same water of life or river of life flowing from the throne of the Father and Jesus, and on either side the Trees of Life. Of note there is more than one Tree of Life, and no Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil! It is even more interesting that Revelation is clearly drawing from Ezekiel’s Third Temple, and replacing the Third Temple with Jesus! Thus, we can see the answer to the question of the Temple. The temple is Jesus!

“Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there water was flowing from below the entryway of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east), and the water was flowing down from below the south side of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east, and the water was trickling out on the south side. Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured one thousand and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand and led me through the water, and it was up to the waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, “Mortal, have you seen this?” Then he led me back along the bank of the river. As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other. He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish once these waters reach there. It will become fresh, and everything will live where the river goes. People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”

Ezekiel 47:1-12 (NRSVue)

We know that we are also the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We are filled with the Spirit of Yahweh, He dwells in us. Just like the altar of Solomon’s Temple and the altar of Elijah, our heart is lit on fire by the Holy Spirit!

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Matthew 3:11 (ESV)

However, some would replace the fire of the Holy Spirit with the fire of men. The power of the Holy Spirit is supposed to be the fire that burns in our soul, lighting all that we are. We are supposed to burn with unquenchable fire. Yet all too often that can be snuffed out. We must tend the altar of our heart and keep the blaze aflame! We must seek Him with prayer and pour out to Him the sweet incense of our prayers! We must call out to Yahweh, to light the altar of our heart with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Is our heart ablaze with the fire of His Holy Spirit?

Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-

• Exodus 38:21 The weight and measure of the gold, silver and bronze and what they were used for.

• Exodus 39:1 Bezalel and Oholiab made the garments of the High Priest.

• Exodus 39:32 Bezalel and Oholiab and the Israelites complete the work of the Tabernacle and it’s furnishings and articles, as well as the garments of the High Priest and Priests.

• Exodus 40:1 Yahweh commanded that the Tabernacle be set up on the first day of the first month, and the furnishings and articles were to be anointed and Aaron and his sons were to be anointed.

• Exodus 40:16 Moses followed the instructions of Yahweh on the first day of the first month, in the second year since they left Egypt.

• Exodus 40:34 The Glory of Yahweh fills the Tabernacle.

Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-

• Ezekiel 45:16 The instructions for the ruler or prince to provide for sacrifices during the New Moons, Sabbath and feasts.

Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-

• Luke 22:1 The Chief Priests and Scribes seek to murder Jesus.

• Luke 22:3 Judas agrees to betray Jesus and seeks to do so.

• Luke 22:7 The disciples prepare the Passover sacrifice and meal.

To Watch an overview of this week’s Torah Portion CLICK HERE