Parsha Ponderings:
By Elizabeth Darby Bass, Sabbath Streams Ministries
Parsha Terumah: Exodus 25:1 - 27:19
In last week's reading the beginning of the covenant God makes with the nation of Israel is presented. The passage states "Moses came and told the people all the Lord's words and all the decisions."1 And their response was "We are willing to do all the words that the Lord has said," Not once, but twice they respond to God with a resounding "Yes, we will do."
And the elders then joined Moses and had a feast before the Lord. And they saw the footstool of the Lord. What an awesome experience. They were given a vision of the Most High God and they sat and ate in His presence.
Then Moses went up the mountain by himself to receive from the Lord the specific directions for living as a people of God. So what were those directions? How were they to live as a people of God? This is what this week's reading begins to tell us, the directions that God gave to Moses for him to take back to His people.
It begins with God saying, "Take an offering, build me a sanctuary and prepare my people. So that I may dwell with you." 2To live as a people of God, It appears that God must first dwell among them. This is His desire, to dwell among the people, to be at the center of community, to have a place where His people can come to look to Him and to commune with Him. And it all begins with an offering, an offering from willing hearts. And not just any offering will do. A specific list is given to Moses of the items God wants. This list includes gold, silver and bronze, cloths of blue, purple and scarlet, flax, goat hair, and two types of skins, wood, oil, spices, stones and gems, fifteen items in all.3
Numbers interest me at times. And, since I know that there are no accidents or coincidences with God. There must be a reason for the request for fifteen items. When I think of the number fifteen, I think about the fact that it is product of five and three. Five is the number of grace and three the number that represents Divine Completeness.4 That sounds good to me. There are three precious metals listed, three colors and types of cloths. All of which can have their own meanings and applications. But for some reason I was stuck on the number fifteen and so I looked deeper into its meanings and I found out that there is more to the number fifteen than is seen at first glance.
In the Hebrew, the number fifteen is unique. It is not written in the standard form because that would result in an abbreviated form of the Name of the Almighty, Yod (ten) and Hey (five). But this is a name which is considered too sacred to be written without due honor and protection.5 The sacred Name is not to be treated as reducible to a common number. And yet, I find it a beautiful thing, that here God is asking for gifts, gifts from the people to build HIS house. And He has placed His name even on the number of gifts to be given. It is written that worship was to be brought to a place God would set apart, by placing His name upon it.6 Even in the requested collection, God's name is there.But, because of the extra protection given to the name, the number fifteen is not written in this manner. To protect His name from any common use, the number is written by using the numbers nine and six. Where God has placed his name, rabbinical law has changed it.
Looking deeper, there is more.
In looking at the use and meanings of numbers, by changing the numbers used, it is not just the name that shifts. Yod, as a letter means hand, or monument. As the number ten, it signifies government. Hey, as a letter represents the Spirit or breath of God and as said before, the number five relates specifically to grace. These together say to me that the number fifteen may represent God's hand of government by Spirit and grace.
What about the numbers nine and six? Well, I'm glad you asked. The letter Tet means "to sweep out" (by judgment) and as a number, nine is the number of finality and judgment. Vav, the letter that represents six, means "Humanity" and, as a number, six is the number of man and of work. Put that together and we get a whole different representation.
By changing the way the number is written, we move away not just from His name, but also away from a government or hand of grace, and we end up with judgment, finality and man's work.
Somehow I don't believe that this was the intent of the Almighty.
Remember the initial instruction says, "Take an offering, build me a sanctuary and prepare my people. So that I may dwell with you" 7He wants to live with His people. He wants to have close relationship, not the distant, "I'm in the sky, you are down there" type of relationship that most of us have been so familiar with. He wants to dwell among us – this implies a closeness that comes from Love and Grace, not from Judgment and effort. It comes out of Spirit and Grace. It is the difference between pure religion and religiosity. Pure religion is that which makes a sanctuary, and causes it to touch people.8 Religiosity creates a judgment hall – a place of condemnation. No one wants to be there.
In Isaiah 66, we are told God chooses to dwell with the one "who is humble and contrite in spirit." True humility recognizes that there is no earning God's presence; there is no way to be good enough, do right enough or to perform enough sacrifices. God will draw near to those who know that it is not because of who we are at all. But because of who HE is --- it is by His name that we draw near to Him and He is able to draw near to us. Yeshua said that what we ask, in His NAME we will receive.9 Peter said that "there is no other name under heaven . . . by which we can be saved.10This is grace. This is Spirit. It is all found in His name.
Your Name, is a strong and mighty tower,
Your Name, is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
‘cause nothing has the power to save, but Your Name.11
Father, may we never forget that it is by grace through faith in Your name that we come to You. May we remember that our works never have and never will be our path to You. As we learn Your ways and as we seek to be obedient to all You teach us, may we never let it go to our heads but always and forever stay in our hearts.
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3. http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/1311/jewish/Terumah.htm
4. Crownover, Rose "The Symbolic Meanings of Numbers" available at http://www.bannersbyrose.com
5. http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_Eight/Letters_as_Numbers/letters_as_numbers.html
11. "Your Name," words and music by Glenn Packiam and Paul Baloche ©2006 Integrity's Hosanna! Music