Shemot (Exodus) 25:1–27:19

After so many years reading and studying God’s Word, I am still amazed by its continuity. From the beginning to the end, we see that He is indeed the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Perhaps the most stunning reality that I find in the Word is the fact that God, the Creator of the universe, created man and woman in order to have relationship with us. It’s easy for us to take this for granted, but if you really meditate on that, it's astounding! God’s amazing endless love and grace is something that I hope each of you know — or will know — in a deeply personal way.

In Chapter One of the Book of Beginnings (Genesis), we read that the peak of God’s incredible creation was man. In fact, the way He creates man is very intimate, from molding him by His own hands to the breathing into his nostrils:

Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
—Beresheet (Genesis) 2:7

He also gave us the Sabbath because of His love for us, and His desire to have relationship with us. The Sabbath is a day when He stopped from His work of creating in order to spend time with us, and for us to spend time with Him.

In our weekly reading, we read of yet one more act of God’s amazing love, the end result of which was to dwell among us, men. Our reading opens with the words,

Tell the sons of Israel to take a donation (offering) for Me; from every person whose heart moves him you shall take My donation.
—Shemot (Exodus) 25:1–2

The purpose of this instruction is found in Exodus 25:8, “And let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.” Once again, we see God’s desire to have relationship with us, the peak of His creation and therefore, He commanded the Sons of Israel to build for Him a sanctuary that He may dwell amongst them. What a wonderful picture of His truth, love, and grace!

My dear brothers and sisters, His endless love and grace, did not stop here; it is actually an amazing picture of what was to come and be fulfilled in the image of Yeshua our Messiah,

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
—John 1:14

Yeshua Himself is the ultimate way that God has chosen to dwell amongst us, and as we learn from the books of Zechariah and Revelation, so it will be in the future when He returns:

“Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the LORD.  “And many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.”
—Zechariah 2:10–11 (2:14–15 in the Hebrew Scripture)

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
—Revelation 21:3–4

What an amazing picture of the God who was, who is, and who is to come!

Shabbat Shalom,
Moran