Tetzavah (You [Moses] shall command) Exodus 27:20 to 30:10; Ezekiel 43:10-27; Hebrews 13: 10-16
Moses was told to: “Command the Israelites to bring clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning.” (Exodus 27:20)
Aaron’s four sons, Nadab, Avihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, (who were initiated into the priesthood over a period of 7 days) were responsible for keeping the lights of the Menorah burning continually, “as a permanent regulation throughout all generations.” (v21)
So what would happen when the Temple was destroyed in 70AD if this was to be a permanent regulation? Had God given the Israelites an impossible command? Messiah Jesus became the answer to this dilemma. Those who are born-again into His Kingdom, both Jew and Gentile, have become priests of the Most High who serve Him day and night and bear His fingerprints that shine brightly in a dark world!
This is a beautiful and incredible illustration for all who love Messiah Jesus who is the ‘Light of the World,’ whose Light shines in us (John 8; Matt 5:14-15). He is the central stem of the Menorah (candlestick) the source which flows into each one of the other six stems, six being the biblical number that represents (in this case) redeemed mankind. Those who love Yeshua (the ‘Light of the World,’) have the stamp of His Menorah permanently lit up in our lives. (John 8; Matt 5:14-15) It is not an electric light bulb which we can switch on or off at will – and we don’t need to worry about spiritual load shedding, for God who is our source will never fail us. The level of brightness depends on how willing we allow Him to take control of our lives.
It is easy for those who live in the free world to share the Gospel through words, because it costs relatively little but unless we walk the walk our witness remains empty. Among the most sobering words in the Bible are in Matthew 25:30-6 in the Parable of the Sheep and Goats.
Our righteousness is not determined by good works, but they become the fruit of our living relationship with God through Yeshua – a tree which is known by its fruit. There are many good people in hell because they bought into the lie that living good lives alone is sufficient for salvation.
The Temple Menorah was formed by beating one piece of gold weighing 100 pounds representing His body fashioned out of ‘one piece’ of pure gold. A replica stands outside the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, prepared for use when the 3rd Temple will be built. The Menorah has 7 branches which speaks of many different things. It was fuelled by the purest of oil set apart and sanctified by the priests who maintained it night and day.
Only those who served in the Holy Place had access to it because nothing defiled could enter this inner sanctuary of the Temple. God is looking to transform us into His image to be refined as pure gold without impurities because this is His desire that we become changed from glory to glory by His Spirit. Although during Temple times the Menorah was confined to the Holy Place we can shine with the same glory throughout the world wherever God has placed us.
The olive oil used for lighting the Menorah was also used for the anointing of the High Priest for service. The word ‘Mashiach’ comes from the word for anointing (‘meshichah’). When we are immersed in His anointing oil we will experience the fullness of His presence and glory in our midst.
The olives for the oil used were harvested using long sticks to beat down the olives from the trees which fell on blankets and then gathered. The bitter juices from the olives were then squeezed out in a large press. The cost of being a true disciple of Yeshua does not come cheap. The ‘bitter juices’ bring us into a deeper walk with Him when we allow Him full access into our lives even those areas that are concealed.
It is here in this Torah portion that we read for the first time in the Torah details of the robes worn by the priests as they ministered in the Holy place of the Temple. These are described as: ‘lekavod ule-tiferet’, “for glory and beauty.”
Until now the Hebrew word, ’kavod’ meaning glory or honour was used and confined only to God. Now a new word is introduced which in the Hebrew is, ‘tiferet,’ meaning ‘glory and beauty’ as applied also to the priesthood. They carried His glory as they served Him in the beauty of holiness. Psalms 29 and 96, exhort us to, “worship Him in the beauty of holiness” which in context was referring to the priesthood, but in 2 Cor. 3:18 Paul applies it to every believer whether Jew or Gentile who have become priests of the Most High God:
“So all of us, with faces unveiled, see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord; and we are being changed into his very image, from one degree of glory to the next, by Adonai the Spirit.” (2 Cor.3:18)
In this Torah portion the Tabernacle (Mishkan) became a “home” for the infinite God within a finite space. It is the same for us when we allow the Holy Spirit to fill our lives and we yield our bodies to Him as a ‘Temple of the Holy Spirit.’
“ Or don’t you know that your body is a temple for the Ruach HaKodesh who lives inside you, whom you received from God? The fact is, you don’t belong to yourselves; 20 for you were bought at a price. So use your bodies to glorify God. (1Cor.6:19-20)
After the revelation at Mount Sinai the Israelites became a covenant people to a sovereign God and were betrothed to Him through a ‘Ketuba’ (Marriage contract) revealed in the 10 Commandments. Every believer is also betrothed to Him through the blood sacrifice of Yeshua freely given to us through the laying down of His life for our sins.
God has called us to be a nation and a priesthood, where Yeshua is in the centre of our service not around the edges. The Mishkan (Tabernacle) itself was set in the middle of the camp as a perpetual sign to understand the importance of placing God in the centre of everything.
In the time of the Temple it had music. There were choirs of Levites worshipping God singing psalms and causing mayhem amongst their enemies who scattered in panic to its sound. Since the destruction of the Temple, the Jewish people have the Torah but they have lost the melody because they have still to discover Yeshua as their Messiah.
Should any believer relegate Yeshua to any place other than in the centre, we will also lose sight of Him and our ‘song’ will be no more than a sounding gong and an empty shell.
The problem is we can easily become too comfortable and lapse into political correctness and compromise with the world placing our relationship with God in second place. This was a key problem well illustrated in the story of Purim that created the problem which eventually threatened the very existence of the Jewish people..
