1.Purim usually comes close to the time of the reading of the Parshat Tetzaveh. One connection between these two passages of scripture is the importance of clothing. Several times in the book of Esther clothing is mentioned. In the Parasha this week priestly clothing is described in detail. In Hebrew the word for clothes is begged while the word for a deceiver is boged. What important point can we draw from this? What stories in scripture can you find where clothing is an important part of the story?
Clothing is an important part of scripture.
Hebrew word for clothes is begged
Hebrew word for deceiver is boged.
Clothes can disguise a person
We can be deceived by only looking at the outward appearance of a person.
Joshua 9:3-6 The Israelite were deceived
“However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded[a] with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”
Other examples in scripture:
Joseph’s coat told his brothers he was the favorite
G-d made clothes for Adam and Eve
Mordecai wore sack cloth and ashes
Prodigal son was given the best robe when he returned home
Mark 12:38 Yeshua criticized scribes for their dress.
“As he taught, Yeshua said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.”
If we judge a person by the clothes they wear what might happen?
It can prevent us from truly knowing that person.
We may be deceived
We also may reject a person as unworthy of our time.
We might miss an opportunity because of our first impression is based on what we see.
2.In the first verse of our Torah portion, Exodus 27:20, we read, “You shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed/crushed olives for the luminary to cause the lamp to burn continually.” What insight into our spiritual life does the “process of crushing of the olives to give light” give us? Is the same idea found anywhere in the Messianic scripture?
G-d allows crushing in our lives.
Purpose – opportunity to grow, to mature.
Same idea in Messianic scripture
James 1:2-3, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faithproduces perseverance.”
Strangely – we grow most during testing.
When things go well we relax,
We settle down and become satisfied.
In times of testing we become pure oil for the Lamp of G-d.
The Purim story in the book of Esther was a time of testing, of crushing.
Jews met the challenge -came together and overcame this order handed down by the king.
It began with a young girl who stepped up for such a time as this.
There is no doubt we will be tested.
Things will come to test us.
Our choice is, how will we react?
Will we produce oil that brings light or will we be crushed completely by the test?
From our Torah portion we see that the oil was the driving force used by G-d to bring light, so may it be with us.
Speaking of facing trials in life and experiencing the difficulties of being crushed, here is a testimony from Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz. He is married and the father of seven children. He has been rendered immobile by ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Unable to speak or type, he uses his eyes to write thoughts on the weekly Torah portion. Here are his thoughts on the crushing of olives to give light.
Rabbi Hurwitz: “We all are at times “crushed”—tested with suffering in one form or another. What we do with it is our choice. You can choose to “grind”—to wallow in self-pity—or you can use your crushing experience to lift up those around you.
Choosing to use your experience for the positive will not only uplift those around you, but will give meaning and purpose to your situation.
Before, I was “talented.” I could teach, lecture, sing, dance and play guitar, and I was strong and handy. Within two years, I watched that all slip away. Now I’m left with my heart, my brain and my smile. Being crushed has brought stronger connections, new abilities, higher purpose and deeper meaning. Before, I used my talents to make people happy and to educate them. Now I get to do that and much more.
With this attitude, I have gained an added extra. I feel happy and fulfilled, and the people around me seem happy and uplifted. Yet it is time for the crushing to end, and enjoying the light to begin.”
3.The altar of incense was to be burned every day. In Hebrew it says, in the morning, in the evening. Exodus 30:7-8, ““Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the L-rd for the generations to come.”
The Hebrew word for incense is “ketoret” which has the basic meaning of connecting. So what do you think the purpose was to have incense burning continually in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple? What priest in the Messianic scripture was in the Temple burning incense when an angel of the L-rd spoke to him?
The Hebrew word for incense is Ketoret or to connect.
Do you connect experiences in your life with different smells?
If I smell challah baking in the oven I think of Shabbat.
It connects me to memories of past Sabbaths.
Ketoret can be a place of total connection with G-d
Our life can be a sweet smell before Him
This is how our life is to be each and every day.
Our life is meant to be that offering from morning until evening, to always be before Him.
Exodus 28:36 The High Priest wore on his forehead, “Holy to the L-rd”
We are holy to the L-rd,
not just when it is convenient but always.
It affects everything about our life, even to the clothes we wear.
The priest was to wear clothing that set him apart.
If he came before the L-rd in his everyday clothes, he would not be fulfilling his role as priest.
What priest in the Messianic scripture was in the Temple burning incense when an angel of the L-rd spoke to him?
Luke 1:5-13, “ In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of G-d, observing all the L-rd’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.
Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before G-d, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the L-rd and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
Then an angel of the L-rd appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.”
4.Now to another thought from this Torah portion. In Exodus 29:38-42 we read of the daily offering of a lamb in the morning and one again in the evening every day in the Mishkan and also later in the Temple. Can you find a spiritual lesson in these verses for us as Believers?
This was the continual burnt offering.
Hebrew for continual is tamid.
It means always, never ending.
A burnt offering was totally consumed on the altar
its smoke rose up before the L-rd continually.
a symbol of the total dedication of the people to the L-rd.
The ashes of the lamb in the morning formed the foundation of all other offerings of the day. In the evening another lamb was burnt
it completed each days prayers and sacrifices.
Evening offering ashes were not removed until they were replaced by the next morning’s offering of the lamb for the new day.
This is a beautiful pattern with a strong spiritual lesson
John 1:29, “next day John saw Yeshua coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of G-d, who takes away the sin of the world!
Yeshua, the Lamb of G-d,
stands continually before the Father an on-going sacrifice for His people.
Yeshua was offered once to bear the sins of many.
He will appear again to bring an end to this age and to take us home to spend eternity worshiping the Father. Like the lamb on the altar continually, Yeshua represents us before the Father continually.