2.20.26 – The Big Picture

Have you ever looked at a picture of an object at an extremely high level of magnification? At first, it is completely unrecognizable, but the more you zoom out, the more the picture begins to take on the shape and dimension of your object. If we zoom out even further, it becomes even more familiar until you eventually recognize the object. At that point, it seemed so obvious what it was—why did you not recognize it at first? Maybe it is because you were so caught up in the details that you could not see the bigger picture. So to speak, how does the same problem affect how we study the Bible?

Parsha Terumah ("contribution") opens with God giving Moses instructions for building the Mishkan, the holy Tabernacle. When reading through this section of the Torah, and the portion that follows, it is easy to get overwhelmed with all of the details given that describe how the Tabernacle structure was to be constructed (Ex. 25–28). We read about the acacia wood, gold, silver, bronze, multicolor yarn, white linen, goat hair, ram skin dyed red, and more (Ex. 25:3–7). We read that each individual item had to be so many cubits wide or so many handbreadths thick.

Many people attempt to skip over these details and fast-forward to where the story picks up, so to speak, but we need to remember the significance of what we are reading. These instructions served as the blueprint for Moses and the children of Israel to build an incredible structure called the Tabernacle. They needed to have detailed instructions so that the pieces would come together to create something spectacular.

However, one particular detail at the beginning of these instructions is easy to overlook, when God tells Moses that He wants the children of Israel to build a dwelling place for Him (Ex. 25:8):

"And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst" (bitocham / tavek).
(Ex. 25:8)

Therefore, the passage reads: "And let them make a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst" (bitocham / tavek). In other words, the physical structure of the Tabernacle was not an end in itself. It was to facilitate a relationship between God and His people. God did not need a house to live in. He needed a place for His presence to permeate this world through His people! This temporary structure was eventually made into a permanent structure through the guidance of King David and the direct supervision of his son Solomon.

The Tabernacle was replaced with a magnificent structure we call the Holy Temple. But even then, King Solomon knew that God could not be contained in a structure made by man, as he said in his prayer for the inauguration of the Temple:

"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built!"
(1 Kings 8:27)

Although the Lord's presence cannot even be contained in a physical structure, we learn from diligent students of His Word and from the Apostle Paul that we can build a sanctuary for His presence on levels other than the physical. Huh?

Paul tells us one of these keys by connecting these two ideas in his letter to the Corinthians. He reminds them that they collectively represent an expression of the holy Temple:

"Do you not know that you (plural) are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him, for God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."
(1 Cor. 3:16–17)

No, they had not replaced the holy Temple built by Solomon—the one that God's presence filled upon its dedication. Paul merely used metaphorical language to convey this point, but they had displayed the dwelling of the Spirit of God in an undeniable way, and therefore they could be seen as a sanctuary for His presence. When Paul says "you are God's temple," it is in the plural. He is saying that corporately they embodied the holy Temple because they represent the individual intent of God's sanctuary on earth.

It is the same for us. By ourselves, we are like individual materials. We are like the materials used to build the original sanctuary. Only when we are joined together do we become the holy house of God.

Sometimes we get so focused on our own personal relationship with God that we lose sight of the larger picture of our faith. We forget that individually we are not the whole. Only when we come together as the body of Messiah do we become the holy house wherein His presence dwells. I am not God's sanctuary; you are not God's sanctuary. He is still building us into that amazing Temple. However, when we hear that we are His Temple, Paul is speaking of those things which are not as if they are (Rom. 4:17):

"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together is growing unto a holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."
(Eph. 2:19–22)

He wants to build a sanctuary within us together. Yes, God reveals Himself to the world through individuals, but only through people can He do His greatest work. When we come together and are unified as the people of God, the world will be able to see the clearest picture—in this case, the hidden Tabernacle of God.

Let us work together to make sure they see the dwelling of God on earth in us!

Happy Preparation Day and Shabbat Shalom!

Alan