Tetzaveh “you shall command”
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-
Tetzaveh is the Hebrew word for “you shall command”, this is the name for the weekly Torah Portion reading for the Exodus starting in chapter 27 verse 20 and going through chapter 30 and verse 10.
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 1 Samuel in chapter 15 verse 2 through verse 34.
The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of Mark in chapter 6 with verses 14 through verse 29.
Torah Portion Overview-
In this torah portion, we receive a second portion of the commandments related to the tabernacle and the elements of worship. Israel is instructed on how to make the oil for the lampstand and the command that the lampstand would burn continually. The clothing of Aaron is explained, a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban, and a sash. Clarifying commands are then given on the ephod, the breastplate of judgement, the robe, the crown and turban, and the checkered tunic. Next instructions are given for the inner garment of linen for Aaron and his sons, to avoid impropriety and revealing of nakedness. Then came instructions for the ordination and anointing of Aaron and his sons as Priests. This included specific instructions on the sacrifices that would purify them and set them apart. Then the commandments for the sacrifices for the purification of the altar. Of note is that it seems the priests and altar are consecrated together. Lastly the instructions for the daily sacrifices and the Altar of Incense is given.
Last week we spoke of God’s desire to dwell among Israel. I want to continue to focus on this and how the daily offerings and the altar of incense play into this. This part of the torah portion lays it out this way:
The daily offerings
His desire to dwell among them
The altar of incense
What was the point of all this? What is the heart of the matter? The beauty of the furnishings, the glory of the garments of the High Priest, the richness of all the gold. What was the point? Was it a beautiful dwelling? Was it to exalt the Lord? Yes, and no. The focal point of the entire system was not even worship, it was that God may dwell among them! In other words, the worship, sacrificial system, priesthood, was not the goal. They were the means to the end. The end, the goal, was that He would dwell among them.
“Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old regularly each day. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, and with the first lamb one-tenth of a measure of choice flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb you shall offer in the evening and shall offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as in the morning, for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the LORD. It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. I will meet with the Israelites there, and it shall be sanctified by my glory;”
Exodus 29:38-43 (NRSVue)
There is more here though. As Nahum M. Sarna explains in The JPS Torah Commentary, Exodus,
“First, the text speaks of God dwelling not “in it,” that is in the sanctuary, but “among them,” that is, among the people of Israel (v. 2).”
Once again, God did not want to dwell in the tabernacle, He wanted to dwell among Israel. This is further evidenced by God’s conversation through the prophet with David when he wanted to build a temple for God. When David desired to build a temple for Yahweh, Yahweh responded by saying
“Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in?”
2 Samuel 7:5 (ESV)
Would you build Me a house? Is there a house that can hold Me? Indeed, Sarna goes on to mention in the same Exodus commentary that,
“The Tabernacle and its furnishings are conceived either as earthly replicas of celestial archetypes or as constructions based upon divinely given blueprints and pictorial representations.28 Both notions are found elsewhere in the Bible. According to the Chronicler’s account of the building of Solomon’s Temple (1 Chron. 28:11–19), David had received the specifications from God. Ezekiel;s detailed vision of the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem is likewise said to have been received by the prophet while standing on “a very high mountain,” as is told in Ezekiel 40:2. The notion of a celestial temple, a sort of cosmic sanctuary, is clearly conveyed in the vision of Isaiah 6:1–8. It is explicit in Micah 1:2–3, which foresees the Lord coming down from “His holy abode,” from “His dwelling-place” to “stride upon the heights of the earth.” The psalmist, too, declares that “the LORD is in His holy palace; the LORD—His throne is in heaven” (Ps. 11:4).”
If Heaven is His throne and the earth is His footstool then surely a tent, even a temple, cannot contain Him! Indeed, that is not His desire! He wanted to dwell among His people.
To put it a way that applies to us today, God does not want to dwell in a church building, He wants to dwell with His people. Our bodies, as I have mentioned many times, are the temple. We contain Him. We are the place where He wants to live.
And so the temple was not the focus. It was not the point of the matter, although it was important! As Eugene Carpenter explains in the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary, vol 2, Exodus,
“Now the author-editor emphasizes its [the Sabbath] observance again, when it must not be desecrated even while building the holy tabernacle that would house Yahweh. This should have alerted God’s people that the means used to worship him were not to be focused even on the tabernacle—rather, the focus of his people was to be Yahweh himself. Focusing on him was more important than focusing on the holy paraphernalia that surrounded and “housed” his holy presence.”
(I have added [the Sabbath] to help clarify the quote.)
Thus the worship was a function of Him dwelling with them. This worship included the daily sacrifices. Just as a house has daily meals that build the relationship of the family, so too the house of Yahweh had daily meals that was supposed to build the relationship of Yahweh with His people. As T. Desmond Alexander explains in Apollos Old Testament Commentary for Exodus,
“The purpose behind manufacturing the tent and appointing the Aaronic priesthood is that daily sacrifices of atonement will be offered so that YHWH may meet with the Israelites (cf. Num. 28:1–8).”
The people of Israel are His people and thus He should dwell among them. The daily sacrifices consisted of lamb, fine flour and oil (bread), and wine. In other words, it was a meal made up of bread, wine, and meat. Thus, a system existed that, as He dwelt among them, provided for regular table fellowship so that the people would come to know Him. But there is more than just a daily meal or table fellowship here. It is not a coincidence that the Alar of Incense instructions are given right after the daily sacrifice commands.
“You shall place it in front of the curtain that is above the ark of the covenant, in front of the cover that is over the covenant, where I will meet with you. Aaron shall offer fragrant incense on it; every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall offer it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps in the evening, he shall offer it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations.”
Exodus 30:6-8 (NRSVue)
What was the point of the altar of incense? The New Testament tells us that the incense represented the prayers of the people coming up before God.
“The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand.”
Revelation 8:4 (CSB)
God hears our prayers and they are a beautiful thing to Him. He hears us. He hears when you cry out to Him, He is listening. They come up before Him, like a cloud of incense. The “smell” of our communion with Him is a delight because He desires us to know Him. He wants to talk with us and us to talk with Him. The altar of incense was a shadow of this relationship. It was to point us to God, to show us that we can come to Him in prayer.
And so these two things come together, the daily meal, and daily communication, prayer, to show the method of the relationship. God wants to know us, He wants to dwell with us, He wants to dine with us, and He wants to speak with us.
Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-
Exodus 27:20 The instruction to make oil for the lampstand so that the lampstands burn continually.
Exodus 28:1 The instruction for the clothing of Aaron; a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban, and a sash.
Exodus 28:6 The instructions on how to make the ephod.
Exodus 28:15 The instructions on how to make the breastplate.
Exodus 28:31: The instructions on how to make the robe.
Exodus 28:36 The instructions on how to make the crown and turban.
Exodus 28:39 The instructions on how to make the checkered tunic and tunics for his sons and linen garments.
Exodus 29:1 The instructions on the anointing and ordination of Aaron and his sons and the sacrifices.
Exodus 29:36 The instructions on the sacrifices for purification of the altar while the priests are set apart.
Exodus 29:38 The instructions on the daily sacrifices.
Exodus 20:1 The instructions for the Altar of Incense.
Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-
1 Samuel 15:2 God commanded Saul to devote the Amalekites to destruction (utterly wipe them out) and he defeated them.
1 Samuel 15:8 However, Saul did not obey and spared the king and the very best of the Amalekites.
1 Samuel 15:11 Because of this God rejected Saul as king because of his disobedience.
Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-
Mark 6:14 John the Baptist was arrested and beheaded by Herod.
Bibliography
Eugene Carpenter, Exodus, vol. 2 of Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), 250, 252-253, 280, 284-285.
T. Desmond Alexander, Exodus, ed. David W. Baker and Gordon J. Wenham, vol. 2 of Apollos Old Testament Commentary (London; Downers Grove, IL: Apollos; InterVarsity Press, 2017), 597.
Thomas B. Dozeman, Commentary on Exodus, The Eerdmans Critical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 659.
Nahum M. Sarna, Exodus, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991), 158–159.
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