Haftarah Terumah
“God’s Earthly Tabernacle”
1 Kings 5:26-6:13
excerpted from TorahScope Haftarah Exhortations
In Terumah (Exodus 25:1-27:19), the details of the wilderness Tabernacle, which will house the presence of God, are relayed. Its opening verses, not only describe the variety of materials required for construction, but most importantly refer to the stirred hearts which willingly offered the resources:
“Speak to the children of Israel, that they take an offering for me. From everyone whose heart makes him willing you shall take my offering. This is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, bronze, blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red, sea cow hides, acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense, onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate. Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all of its furniture, even so you shall make it” (Exodus 25:2-9, WMB).
The balance of the parashah gives instructions to Israel, so that the constructed sanctuary would be a suitable place for the Holy One to dwell among His people. Unsurprisingly, when the Sages were determining a parallel passage for Terumah, they turned to the description of how Solomon’s Temple would be built. In 1 Kings 5:26-6:13, there was an emphasis placed upon the labor demands, the management of the construction project, the timing, the dimensions, and the implements used. While King Solomon was given wisdom by God, it was his father King David who was actually responsible for conceiving the plans and designs of the structure, and the implements for worship:
“Then David gave to Solomon his son the plans for the porch of the temple, for its houses, for its treasuries, for its upper rooms, for its inner rooms, for the place of the mercy seat; and the plans of all that he had by the Spirit, for the courts of the LORD’s house, for all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of God’s house, and for the treasuries of the dedicated things” (1 Chronicles 28:11-12, WMB).
As you read through the details describing the construction of the First Temple, you might note one significant difference in comparison to the construction of the wilderness Tabernacle. Despite the wisdom given to Solomon, and a time of peace with potential adversaries present, in order to build the Temple—it is apparent that Solomon was required to use forced labor. The freewill offerings of the wilderness generation and the obvious supernatural gifting of the Tabernacle, its implements and accoutrements, and the artisans employed, are not noted for readers. Instead, there is an emphasis on this as a massive public works project, with all of the moving parts and infrastructure needed to complete the task:
“The LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together. King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. He sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: for a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home; and Adoniram was over the men subject to forced labor. Solomon had seventy thousand who bore burdens, and eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains, besides Solomon’s chief officers who were over the work: three thousand three hundred who ruled over the people who labored in the work” (1 Kings 5:12-16, WMB).
For comparative purposes, reflecting upon how God used workers to build His mobile sanctuary, and then His more permanent structure in Jerusalem, allows one to realize how He was intimately involved in the details. Whether He was communicating His construction plans through Moses or David, the fact remains that He used human instruments to not only receive His instructions, but also implement them using the appropriate materials. After all, when there is something being built to house the glory of God on Earth, a significant degree of holiness is attached to it. This is verified by the fact that Solomon’s construction crew was compelled to avoid the use of construction tools at the site of the Temple. Apparently, the precept established centuries earlier in the wilderness, not to use tools on the Tabernacle altar, was being honored by those chosen to construct the Temple:
“You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you. If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it. You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it” (Exodus 20:24-26, WMB).
“The house, when it was under construction, was built of stone prepared at the quarry; and no hammer or ax or any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was under construction” (1 Kings 6:7, WMB).
It appears that both of these ancient generations were not only aware of the holiness attached to these structures, but were very serious about their specific roles in the construction programs. The concluding remarks recorded in our Haftarah selection, summarize the primary reason for the construction of the Temple:
“The LORD’s word came to Solomon, saying, ‘Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, and execute my ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel’” (1 Kings 6:11-13, WMB).
Clearly, what the Holy One desires to do, is to dwell among an obedient people—who not only walk in diligent remembrance of His commandments—but also walk in His ways and learn from these commandments. The God who glorified Israel would not only have Him living in their midst, but He promised to never forsake them. What a wonderful promise! But did you notice the if caveat weaved into the exhortation? Can you discern the nuance between dwelling and living among the people, and Him forsaking them? Let me explain.
God’s love for His people and His promises to them are irrevocable. He does not lie, nor can He lie (Numbers 23:19). Yet there is a great distinction to be made between dwelling with someone, and simply not forsaking him from a great distance. In more tangible terms, imagine that you have a very wise and godly grandparent or great-grandparent, who actually lives with you in your home. Consider how you would have the opportunity to not only consult with this person, but also be mindful of his or her needs, recognizing that he or she is monitoring all which is going on in the household. Since you respect, and to a certain extent revere, the wisdom and counsel of this elderly person—who is intensely interested in your well being and success—you take the liberty to frequently seek advice and counsel, and perhaps even prayers, when it comes to vital decisions or situations. Since you value their input into your life, you want to please them by your behavior. You want to demonstrate your own growing wisdom and maturity to them, via a life which is pleasing to the Lord you both serve. If you have ever had an elderly person live with you, then perhaps you can identify with how his or her presence adds a valuable dimension to home life.
On the other hand, if you have a grandparent or great-grandparent who lives a great distance away, where you are only seeing them occasionally, you do not have the direct input which comes from close proximity. Your relative is not living with you and interacting with you on a daily basis. However, because he or she continues to love you and wants you to succeed and have a wonderful life, he or she will never forsake you. Your relative might pray for you at a distance, and always be available for advice if you call them. Your relative will not necessarily force himself or herself upon you. Being older and wiser, your relative will know from life experience, that trying to force opinions on a younger person is not usually successful, unless and until the younger person actually comes to them with questions for advice. In a similar way, this is what the Lord does, especially if a wayward child fails to obey the basic precepts, ordinances, laws, and ways which have been articulated to receive His blessings. What often happens, unfortunately, is that those who are not walking in God’s ways, do not necessarily want to communicate with godly people, or by extension God Himself.
We see the pattern established from these ancient texts. God really wants to dwell with us on our “wilderness” journey, and even more so when we finally settle down at a more permanent location. We are specifically told in the Apostolic Writings that the very presence of God, by His Holy Spirit, takes up residence inside of us as redeemed individuals, who then compose the corporate Tabernacle or Temple of God (Romans 12). Upon receiving a heart of flesh endowed with the Holy Spirit, Believers actually become vessels who are set-apart for the righteous acts which the Holy One will accomplish through us. What a great responsibility and honor to be so chosen to be His representatives on Earth! The desire to dwell in His children (1 Corinthians 6:19) was similar in Moses’ and David’s era, as it was in the era which Jeremiah foresaw as he foretold the New Covenant to be manifest:
“‘Behold, the days come,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ says the LORD. ‘But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ says the LORD: ‘I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. They will no longer each teach his neighbor, and every man teach his brother, saying, “Know the LORD;” for they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,’ says the LORD, ‘for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more’” (Jeremiah 31:31-34, WMB).
God promises that He will give His children a new heart of flesh, and place His Spirit inside of them so that they can obey Him:
“I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes. You will keep my ordinances and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27, WMB).
Those who have the Holy Spirit are able to abide with God, keep His commandments, and most significantly manifest His love to others. God’s people are able to function just like the Tabernacle or Temple was to originally house His presence. As Yeshua taught,
“I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever: the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive, for it doesn’t see him and doesn’t know him. You know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. One who has my commandments and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him” (John 14:16-21, WMB).
Our challenge is to recognize that we make up the Temple of God—something far greater than a structure built by the hands of humans. We have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who like that elderly grandparent, is available for counsel without imposing His will. The Lord is still looking for stirring hearts who willingly, not under force, desire to know Him and serve Him with all of their might. May we be blessed to seek Him with all of our hearts!
