2.21.26 – Connecting Heaven and Earth

One of life's greatest questions for believers is: "Is the Torah—the first five books in our Bible—a bridge or a barrier?" In this week's Torah portion, Terumah (an elevated, voluntary contribution), God, in blueprint form, speaks to Moses and asks the people to bring an offering (terumah) so that He can dwell in their midst (Ex. 25:8)—a place surrounded by a barrier wall of fine twined linen and only one access point. This structure will provide limited access, layers of separation, and restricted space. Huh? If God wants to dwell in their midst, what is this all about? Is this about intimacy or exclusion? Will this holy structure, built with holiness and separation, draw us near or keep us out? Inquiring minds want to know!

Up to this point in the Torah, we hear nothing mentioned about a plan to build a Mishkan (a tabernacle). God had delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, taken them to be His treasured possession, and given them His covenantal terms—completely expected (Ex. 3:12; 19:3–8). It seemed like a finished product, with the exception of taking them to their land (Deut. 6:23–25). Now, however, Moses is up on Mount Sinai for a forty-day period, where God gives him a blueprint of an intimacy structure. Remember that the people do not have a clue what is going on up there!

The plans that the Lord has given him are to build a portable structure that they would set up and tear down at each of their encampments. The Mishkan would become a holy edifice that would allow interaction between God and man. It would be something like a portal by which the priest and those who would bring an offering (korban) would enter into the presence of the Almighty—similar to what only Moses was allowed to do at this point.

But in order to accomplish this momentous task, the children of Israel would have to work together for this common cause (Ex. 40):

"The LORD said to Moses, Speak to the children of Israel that they take from me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him, you shall receive the contribution for me."
(Ex. 25:1–2)

What was the goal of this offering (terumah)? Was it so that God could dwell in the structure? Was it so that they could rival pagan religious practices? No, no, no! :-) He gives Moses the reason:

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

The Lord desired the tabernacle to be built for the single reason that He wanted to create a connection between God and man—a structure that would cross over both time and space to facilitate a connection between God and man, uniting him with his Creator, as it was in the Garden.

However, in order for the structure to fulfill its purpose, it could not be just a structure. It had to be built in such a way that it was a miniature copy of the divine structure that already existed in the heavenly realm:

"Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and all its furniture, so you shall make it."
(Ex. 25:9)

The author of the book of Hebrews emphasizes this point by saying that the tabernacle was created to serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things (Heb. 8:5). It was to be the closest thing on earth to the dwelling place of God in heaven. Its sanctity (holiness) was unparalleled. But the sanctity could not exist without boundaries.

Holiness can exist only within boundaries because holiness is defined in terms of boundaries. The tabernacle proper and all its furnishings were strictly off-limits to the common Israelite. Only the Levites were allowed access to this holy house, and even they were limited in their access. Portions of it were accessible only by the Kohanim (the priesthood). But if the idea of the tabernacle was to be a connector between God and man, then why was access to it restricted and only for a selected group of people? Should it not have been freely accessible to everyone?

In a marriage (Ex. 19–24), intimacy is not achieved through allowing others equal access to our spouses. Intimacy is achieved only through establishing the proper boundaries in order to protect the relationship between a man and his wife. In a healthy marriage, no one else should occupy the space in our hearts reserved only for our spouse. This is protection against infidelity.

Why does the Ark of the Covenant alone rest at the heart of the Tabernacle? Because it contained the covenant—the boundaries that allowed for God to have intimacy with man. True intimacy exists within boundaries.

The world wants us to believe that boundaries are barriers to intimacy. And unfortunately, a large part of the religious world has fallen for this line of reasoning as well. However, rather than barriers, those boundaries undergird holiness and intimacy.

The Tabernacle established boundaries for the children of Israel, but only for the purpose of becoming a bridge by which they could encounter the God of the universe. The Torah establishes boundaries between common man and a holy God. We can view it as either a barrier or a bridge. How do you view it?

Shabbat Shalom,
Alan

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