T’rumah (Contribution) Exodus (Sh’mot) 25:1-27:19
1.What difference do you see in the Israelite’s relationship with G-d and the relationship Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had with G-d? Do you see the difference causing any problems?
G-d spoke directly to
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah intimately, like a friend.
He told Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child.
He explained to Rebecca why she was suffering such acute pain in pregnancy.
He appeared to Jacob at key moments in his life telling him not to be afraid.
That is not what the Israelites had experienced until now.
They saw G-d bringing plagues on the Egyptians.
They saw Him divide the sea.
They had seen Him send manna from heaven and water from a rock.
They heard His voice at Mount Sinai.
They said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have G-d speak to us or we will die.” Exodus 20:19
Spoke to Abraham: Genesis 12:1-3, “The L–rd had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Spoke to Isaac: Genesis 26:1-5, “Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the L-rd appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
Spoke to Jacob: Genesis 35:1, “G-d spoke to Jacob: “Go back to Bethel. Stay there and build an altar to the G-d who revealed himself to you when you were running for your life from your brother Esau.”
The lack of a personal relationship hindered them in their walk with G-d.
They were not personally involved
They completely relied on Moses to hear from G-d for them.
We cannot depend on a pastor or spiritual person to hear from G-d for us.
We cannot live off of someone else’s relationship or experience with G-d.
It takes effort and discipline to build our personal knowledge and relationship with G-d.
2.Why did G-d give the command to build a sanctuary for Him and why did G-d give the command specifically after the sin of the Golden Calf?
G-d can be accessed anywhere – on the highest mountain or in a city slum
G-d does not live in buildings.
G-d lives in builders.
He lives not in structures of stone but in the human heart.
G-d says, “Let them build Me a sanctuary that I may dwell in them” Exodus 25:8
G-d gave the command specifically after the sin of the Golden Calf.
The people made the Calf after Moses had been on the mountain for forty days
As long as Moses was in their midst, the people knew that he communicated with G-d, and G-d with him, and therefore G-d was accessible, close.
When Moses was absent for nearly six weeks, they panicked.
Who else could bridge the gap between the people and G-d?
How could they hear G-d’s instructions?
How could they make contact with the Divine Presence?
In building the miskhan they would have a visual presence in their midst where the glory of G-d would reside. But there is more to this command than just seeing the Mishkan from day to day..
The key word in Ex. 25:8 is the verb sh-ch-n, to dwell, “Let them build Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.”
Never before had it been used in connection with G-d.
From it came the word Mishkan meaning a sanctuary, and Shechinah, the Divine Presence.
Central to its meaning is the idea of closeness.
Shachen in Hebrew means a neighbor, the person who lives next door.
What the Israelites needed was a way of feeling as close to G-d as our next-door neighbor.
G-d had to be accessible to them, not just to the pioneers of faith – the patriarchs and matriarchs – but to every member of a large nation.
How do we come to sense the presence of G-d?
It isn’t difficult to do so standing at the foot of Mount Everest or seeing the Grand Canyon.
But how do you feel the presence of G-d in the midst of everyday life?
Not when it is surrounded by thunder and lightning as it was at the great revelation,
but today, just a day among days?
That is the life-transforming secret of the name of the parsha, Terumah.
It means “a contribution.”
G-d said to Moses in Exodus 25:8: “Tell the Israelites to take for Me a contribution. You are to receive the contribution for Me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give”. The best way of encountering G-d is to give.
The very act of giving teaches us what we give is part of what we were given.
It is a way of giving thanks, an act of gratitude.
If God is present, it means that what we have is His.
He created the universe.
He made us.
He gave us life.
He breathed into us the very air we breathe.
All around us we see G-d’s generosity:
The world is God’s art gallery and His masterpieces are everywhere.
When life is a given, you acknowledge this by giving back.
3.Exodus 25:8-9, “ Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.”
In verse 8 we read G-d saying let them make Me a “sanctuary.” The word in Hebrew is Mikdash, which is always used when speaking about the Temple in Jerusalem. In verse 9 G-d uses the word Mishkan, which is always translated as Tabernacle. So the question arises, why did G-d not use the same word in both places?
The Tabernacle is a temporary sign of G-d’s presence
It traveled with them until they reached the Land.
Once arriving in the Land it would be replaced by the Temple where G-d’s presence would dwell forever. In both cases G-d’s presence was not confined to a structure but dwelt in the people and infused their daily life with His being in them always.
So, maybe here G-d is saying to them,
“I will be with you here in your wanderings and also when you arrive in the Land. If you allow it, I will infuse your life with My will and you, by extension, will bring Me into everything you do. You will become an example of Me to the world around you.”
As we have said earlier G-d would dwell in them. “Let them build Me a sanctuary that I may dwell in them” Exodus 25:8
Even into exile G-d would not leave them.
Deut.30:3, “Then the L-rd your G-d will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you”.
G-d’s purpose has not changed today.
When we come to faith what happens?
The Spirit of G-d indwells us and our life is changed.
Our goals reflect that change.
Our actions reflect that change.
II Cor 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
4.How do we make a sanctuary for G-d today in our life? Are there verses in scripture giving us direction in doing this?
The Messianic scripture speaks to us about this very subject.
I Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are G-d’s temple and that G-d’s spirit lives in you.”
Eph.2:19-20 speaks of us being built together into a dwelling of G-d in the Spirit, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with G-d’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Yeshua the Messiah himself as the chief cornerstone.”
A central part of the Tabernacle involved animal sacrifice
In order to build our personal sanctuary we must be ready to sacrifice parts of ourselves.
Just as animal sacrifices were made at the Tabernacle and Temple, in our own personal sanctuary we must sacrifice our own passions, pleasures and fleshy desires to the Father.
As we live each day our goal, our life should reflect that G-d is in us.
We are a sanctuary for Him in our life so that He may accompany us in everything we do.
As we look at the Torah portion we see a pattern.
As we have read, everyone was involved in the building of the Mishkan.
Everybody had an investment in the building.
Up until this time G-d had done everything for them.
Now they were given the opportunity to be involved.
By being involved they could take ownership of the Mishkan.
They could look at a curtain or a socket for a board and say, “I contributed to that.”
It is like this in our walk of faith.
G-d calls us, saves us and provides us with spiritual food.
We are to mature and become His partner in bringing His Presence into the world.
This requires us to be active, helping others, touching lives, making a difference in the world. Each of us has something to contribute.
So as we read these chapters about the Mishkan, look for what the scripture is saying to you personally. How does it apply to your life each day? How can we welcome G-d’s presence in all we do? How can we carry Him into every part of our lives, even those times when we are alone or with friends and family? How can we be the Mishkan of G-d today?