Brian Somers vaYakhel
Torah: Exodus 35:1 – 38:20
Haftarah: I Kings 7:13-26, 40-50
Brit Chadassah/New Testament: Hebrews 9:1-11
P’kudei
Torah: Exodus 38:21 – 40:38
Haftarah: I Kings 7:51 – 8:21
Brit Chadassah/New Testament: Hebrews 8:1-12
This week is the first double portion of the Torah reading cycle for 2020-2021. For convenience, I will treat both of them as a single portion. These two portions are also the last chapters in the book of Exodus, Sh’mot in Hebrew.
When Moses had received all of the instructions from YHVH on what to do and how to proceed, he gathered together the congregations of the sons of Israel and relayed to them what YHVH had commanded.
2 “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3 You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”
Exodus 35:2-3
The first thing was the importance of keeping the weekly Sabbath. A moment’s thought should make it clear that while making the various components of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was important, working six days and resting on the seventh day was more important to YHVH. He was not in a hurry and He is not a slave-driver; rather, He cared and still does care about His people. They’re not in Egypt anymore, and they are a free people subject to YHVH.
Once that was made clear to all, Moses then began the process of gathering materials and getting the craftsmen organized.
First the materials:
4 Moses spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying, 5 ‘Take from among you a contribution to the Lord; whoever is of a willing heart is to bring it as the Lord’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze, 6 and violet, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, 7 and rams’ skins dyed red, and fine leather, and acacia wood, 8 and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, 9 and onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece.
Exodus 35:4-8
I highlighted “whoever is of a willing heart” because that contrasts with the way the Egyptians treated the Israelites. Whether they wanted to or not, they had to do what the Egyptian overseers said. Now that they are ruled by YHVH, He wanted His Mishkan to be built by free people working together happily and in freedom.
Second the craftsmen:
10 ‘Have every skillful person among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 11 the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 12 the ark and its poles, the atoning cover, and the covering curtain; 13 the table and its poles, and all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand also for the light and its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the altar of incense and its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the doorway at the entrance of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; 17 the hangings of the courtyard, its pillars and its bases, and the curtain for the gate of the courtyard; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the courtyard and their ropes; 19 the woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to serve as priests.’”
Exodus 35:10-19
Looking over the list, there was definitely a need for every skilled craftsman to participate in the construction. Again, this goes to the point that every Hebrew Israelite man needs to be skilled in one or more areas, so they can contribute to the community as a whole.
The next passage to consider shows how both men and women were involved, as this was definitely a national effort.
20 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel departed from Moses’ presence. 21 And everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the Lord’s contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 Then all whose hearts moved them, both men and women, came and brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and bracelets, all articles of gold; so did everyone who presented an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 Everyone who was in possession of violet, purple, or scarlet material or fine linen or goats’ hair, or rams’ skins dyed red or fine leather, brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a contribution of silver and bronze brought the Lord’s contribution; and everyone who was in possession of acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. 25 And all the skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in violet, purple, and scarlet material, and in fine linen. 26 And all the women whose heart stirred with a skill spun the goats’ hair. 27 The rulers, moreover, brought the onyx stones and the stones for setting for the ephod and for the breastpiece; 28 and the spice and the oil for the light and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 The Israelites, all the men and women, whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work, which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a voluntary offering to the Lord.
Exodus 35:20-29
The Hebrew Israelites were a patriarchal society. This shows that while the congregation of the sons of Israel received the commandments, their wives helped their husbands fulfill those commandments with voluntary contributions of materials and skills in weaving. This also shows that, in addition to the men, the women should have their own skills.
From Exodus 36:1 – 39:32, Moses made a detailed record of what was made and how it was made. For the present purpose, the takeaway would be that no detail should be overlooked, and even the smallest thing has value.
After the craftsmen had completed all their work, they brought their work products to Moses and he inspected everything. Given the detailed notes that he recorded, I think it’s a safe assumption that Moses worked very closely with the craftsmen in their labors so the end product would match the specifications. This earned them a blessing.
42 So the sons of Israel did all the work according to everything that the Lord had commanded Moses. 43 And Moses examined all the work, and behold, they had done it; just as the Lord had commanded, this they had done. So Moses blessed them.
Exodus 39:42-43
Then Moses himself now proceeded to assemble everything together, undoubtedly with assistance. What is notable is that he set up the tent and its curtains first, and then set up the Holy of Holies and worked his way outside burning incense as he went, as instructed.
The sacred space must be set up and set apart and then work from the inside out. The most Holy of Holies takes pre-eminence but is truly screened and set apart. Only once a year, does the High Priest enter the Holy of Holies, but no one else does. Truly Yeshua said, “no one has seen the Father but the Son of Man”. Everything else speaks of the Son of Man.
The assembly happened on the first day of the first month of the second year (Exodus 40:2, 17). Therefore, we can presume up to nine months were required to craft everything for the Mishkan. The children of Israel arrived at Mount Sinai in the third month after they left Egypt (Exodus 19:1). Numbers 10:11 records that on the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the children of Israel left Mount Sinai for the Promised Land. That was nearly a year.
Again, this shows that they didn’t rush and they took their time to turn out a quality product worthy of the Most High, resting every Sabbath. Moreover, there is this statute:
5 “When a man takes a new wife, he is not to go out with the army, nor be assigned any duty; he shall be free at home for one year and shall make his wife whom he has taken happy.
Deuteronomy 24:5
YHVH was going to take Israel to war to conquer the Promised Land. He had just taken Israel to Himself so He spent a year with them at Mount Sinai.
With this observation, we end our study and discussion of Sh’mot, the book recording YHVH’s going into Egypt and taking out Israel to Himself.