‘FOR YOUR BENEFIT!’

“You who fear HaShem! Trust in HaShem! He is their help and their shield!” Psalms 115:11

We are living in great and perilous times, unlike anytime in our lifetimes! We very literally are on the cusp of World War III and that is NOT an exaggeration! The level of debauchery and rebellion against HaShem within societies around the globe has reached the Days of Noah level or perhaps even surpassed that level, in my opinion anyways!

A few times a week I will peruse the various Christian blogs, not looking for an argument, but simply to get a tone for what is being spewed out of the pulpits today and it is shocking! The level of outright disdain, disgust and dare I say hatred of HaShem and His Torah is astounding! Why do I bring this up? Because the deeper the world falls into chaos, is again in my opinion, directly connected to the Replacement Theology doctrine being spewed from the pulpits. Lawlessness (Without the Torah) will increase in the Last Days and it certainly is today, without question!

One of the common complaints/teachings from various leaders within Christendom today is the Torah of HaShem is literally evil! The Torah is the source of death and destruction and anyone who attempts to learn the Torah has forfeited their salvation and is destined for the deepest, darkest pits of Hell (No joke!). Further, they teach the Torah is what deceives and is the main reason why ‘Jesus’ came, was to keep the Torah, so humanity would no longer be bound to these chains of bondage and death! And then these same teachers will claim their ‘Jesus’ is G-d in the flesh, the very G-d Who gave the Torah, Who says His Torah is good, a tree of life, Who never changes, Who reveals the end from beginning and does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets. If this is the case, then this ‘Jesus’ character is either a master deceiver and a liar or he is bi-polar and needs to be put on medication (Sarcasm)!

My point for starting this Op off citing this, is to once again show the massive deception of Replacement Theology is out there and its growing by the day! Consider the so called ‘revival’ going on at the various colleges around America today! Is it legitimate? Not a chance! Match what is happening there to what we read in the Tanakh and the Apostolic Writings and can assure you they do NOT match up! Its all part of the conditioning of the masses to accept the False Messiah when he comes on the world scene, which I believe is very soon to happen. I believe this man is already on the world scene today, just waiting for the moment to be propelled to his place of global power and who will he claim to be or claim to come in the name of? Jesus Christ!

This all said, this weeks Torah portion, as I prepare this Op, is Tetzaveh, found in Exodus 27:20-30:10/I Samuel 15:2-34. Last weeks Torah portion i.e. Terumah, cites the foundational verse which sets the tone for the rest of Scripture….Exodus 25:8 “They shall make a Sanctuary (Mishkan) for Me, so that I may dwell among them!” The Mishkan (Tabernacle) and the Mikdash (Temple), are interchangeable and one in the same and the center of just about everything discussed in His Word! Keep this in mind as we proceed, but as always, never forget what HaShem says about Who He is and His eternal characteristics:

• HaShem never changes per Num 23:19/Mal 3:6/Hebrews 13:8/James 1:17
• His Word is firmly established per Psalm 119:89
• He reveals the end out of the beginning per Is 46:10
• He does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets per Amos 3:7
• He says there is nothing new under the sun per Ecclesiastes 1:9
• He says His Torah is the ONLY truth there is per Psalms 119:142
• He says His Torah is a tree of life and eternal per Proverbs 3:18-19 and Psalm 119:160
• He says His Torah is perfect and restores the soul per Psalm 19:7
• He says His Torah makes the simple one wise per Psalm 19:7
• He says His Torah Is freedom and liberty per Psalm 119:45 and James 1:25
• He says His Torah is the only good doctrine there is Proverbs 4:2
• He says His Torah will add length of days and years of life and peace per Proverbs 3:2
• He says all of the ways of His Torah are ways of pleasantness and peace per Proverbs 3:17
• He says His Torah is for our good and well-being per Deuteronomy 6:24
• He says His Torah is health for our lives per Proverbs 3:8
• He says His Torah is life to our soul and a graceful ornament for our neck per Prov 3:22
• He says His Torah is better than pearls and all desires cannot compare to it per Prov 8:11
• He says those who walk with His Torah are praiseworthy per Psalms 119:1
• He says observing His Torah is how we purify our path per Psalms 119:9
• He says His Torah is better than thousands in gold and silver per Psalms 119:72
• He says His Torah brings abundant peace to those who love Him and His Torah per Psalms 119:165
• He says there is one Torah for all per Exodus 12:49/Leviticus 24:22
• He says those who hate His Torah love death per Proverbs 8:36
• He says His Torah is the way of faith per Psalms 119:29-30
• He says His Torah makes us wiser than our enemies per Psalms 119:98
• He says His Torah is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path per Psalms 119:105
• He says one who finds His Torah has found life per Proverbs 8:35
• He says one who finds His Torah has found favor from HaShem per Proverbs 8:35
• He says Messiah Yeshua is the GOAL of His Torah, meaning without His Torah, Messiah cannot be known per Romans 10:4
• He says if we had believed Moshe/Torah, we would have believed Messiah per John 5:46
• He says His salvation is far from the wicked for they sought not His Torah per Psalms 119:155
• He says to hold fast to and guard His Torah, for it is our life per Proverbs 4:13
• He says His Torah is the bread of life per Proverbs 9:5

“The Temple in Jerusalem is over, done away with and has been replaced by the Church! The only reason for the Temple in Jerusalem in the Last Days is for the Antichrist!” Very common statement from Replacement Theology doctrine today which has absolutely zero truth to it!

To continue on from Exodus 25 above, Exodus 25:9 says “Like everything I show you (Moshe), the form (Tavnit/Blueprint) of the Mishkan, and the form (Tavnit/Blueprint) of all its implements; AND SO SHALL YOU DO!” So, we see HaShem is the One Who is giving Moshe the blueprints of everything concerning the Mishkan/Mikdash! But it is here in this seemingly insignificant statement at the end which He says ‘And so shall you do!’ which in Hebrew means ‘You do it EXACTLY as HaShem has shown to do and you may not deviate at all, it must be exact!’ Further, in Hebrew, this verse has the letter ‘Vav’ in it. The letter ‘Vav’ the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which according to Rashi, changes the tense of the command from just applying to the generation of Moshe’s day, but applies to EVERY generation, to include ours today in 2023 and beyond! Consider that!!! If you are reading this Op, this command to build the Mishkan/Mikdash applies to you right now!

The term ‘Mishkan/Mikdash’ are both interchangeable terms. Shevuos 16b from the Talmud Bavli states “It is well with your assertion that the Temple is sometimes called a Tabernacle, for it is written ‘And I will place My Tabernacle in your midst’, which refers to the Temple as well. Leviticus 26:11. From this we see that any dwelling for the Divine Presence that is placed among you is called Mishkan. This includes both the Tabernacle and the Temple. Moreover, this verse is a promise of a future establishment of a Tabernacle, whereas the Tabernacle of the Wilderness had already been erected by the time this verse was said to Moshe. Hence, what Mishkan was HaShem promising to place among them in the future if not the Temple that was eventually to be built in Jerusalem? Thus we see the Torah refers to the Temple as Mishkan.”

So, the question must be asked, ‘Is the Torah and the Temple of HaShem meant to benefit HaShem when we obey Him?’ Can man do anything to provide something for HaShem? Absolutely NOT! HaShem is One and He has everything and has need of nothing! So, why then does He command man to obey His Torah and to build Him a Mikdash? Deuteronomy 10:12-13 sums it up best “Now, O Israel, what does HaShem, your Elohim, ask of you? Only to fear HaShem, your Elohim, to go in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve HaShem your Elohim, with all your heart and with all your soul. To observe the commandments of HaShem and His decrees which I command you today, FOR YOUR BENEFIT!”

An excerpt from the Book of the Mitzvos #95 addresses this question and says “HaShem is not requesting anything from you when commanding that you observe His mitzvos; rather, due to His great goodness, He desires to bestow goodness upon you, so all that He asks of you is for your benefit. Deuteronomy 10:14 states ‘Behold! To HaShem your Elohim are the Heavens and the Highest Heavens, the earth and everything that is in it.’ That is to say, He has no need for your performance of mitzvos, since everything is His; rather, it is due to His love for you that He commanded you to perform them, so as to provide you with merit. In short, the reason HaShem gave us His mitzvos is to enable us to attain closeness to Him and benefit from His goodness.”

So, does the Sovereign of the Universe, actually require humanity to build for Him a structure for Him to dwell in or is He using this command force us to interact with Him and learn concepts we would normally shrug off? Continuing from the Book of the Mitzvos #95 says “And now that we have reached this conclusion with regard to the mitzvos of HaShem, blessed is He, in general, it compels us to say further that our constructing a Temple dedicated to HaShem, blessed be He, and our conducting of prayers and offerings in it before Him, are all in order to prepare the hearts of man to be focused upon His service, may He be exalted. It is not because He needs to dwell among men or to come beneath the shelter of their roof, even if they should construct it most fittingly, with cedars of Lebanon or with cypress. Indeed, the Heavens and Highest Heavens cannot contain Him, and they, in fact, exist only by His Will! Surely, then, is it absurd to think that a building constructed by man would be able to contain Him, or that His Honor should need such a building; Heaven forbid the thought! Thus, the matter is most obvious and clear, that all this is commanded in order to improve our corporeal nature; for physical entities become improved through the actions and through consistently performing them, the thoughts of the heart become purified, cleansed, and refined. It follows that since HaShem wishes for the betterment of His creations, as we have said, He therefore commanded us to establish a place that is pure and spiritually clean, with the ultimate degree of cleanliness, so that the thoughts of men should be purified there and so that their hearts should become attuned toward Him there.”

Again, we see HaShem gives these commands to keep His Torah and to build Him a Mikdash, not for His benefit, but for ours!! And why? Because His Torah and His Mikdash teach us of Who He is and what kedushah (Holiness/being set apart to Him) is truly like! In other words, we grow in our walk with Him by learning, studying and walking in His Ways. We will know Who He is and we will know His Agent i.e. Messiah Yeshua, Who teaches only HaShem’s doctrine and HaShem says both His Torah and Temple are eternal! Messiah CANNOT be someone who teaches the Torah and Temple are now tossed out and replaced, its biblically impossible! Keep this in mind!

The Book of the Mitzvos #95 further says “Within the confines of the purity and sanctity (Kedushah) of the Beis HaMikdash (Temple), man elevates his perspective and nurtures an ability to recognize HaShem’s Attributes and to engage in mitzvos OUT OF LOVE for Him.” So, not out of some religious rote do we pursue HaShem, but out of love, devotion and loyalty to Him and how is that done? Only one way! The Torah and the Temple! Yeshua taught exactly the same doctrine as the Agent of HaShem!

Why did HaShem choose the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as THE PLACE to put His Name and Throne on earth? The continued commentary from the Book of the Mitzvot #95 says “HaShem, blessed is He, chose the specific location of the Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple), and prepared it for the betterment of man. Perhaps He chose this location because it is precisely the center of the world, and the center is more select than the edges, or, perhaps He chose it for some other reason that may exist. Blessed is He, Who knows the reason!”

Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 2.2 from the Mishneh Torah addresses this and says “It is universally accepted that the place on which David and Solomon built the Altar, the threshing floor of Onan, is the location where Abraham built the Altar on which he prepared Isaac for offering. Noah built an altar at that location when he left the ark. It was also the place of the Altar on which Cain and Abel brought offerings. Similarly, Adam, the first man, offered an offering there and was created from the place where he would find atonement.” Once again, we see HaShem is unchanging and He reveals the end from the beginning!

Now does it make much more sense why He commands us in Ezekiel 43:10-11 for us to learn EVERYTHING i.e. Blueprints, gates, structures, services, garments, offerings, functions about His Temple? In doing so we will become ashamed of our sins and truly repent and seek His Face out of love, devotion and loyalty!! I can attest to how studying His Temple has drastically changed my life and my walk and understanding of HaShem and certainly the Apostolic Writings! Now, the Apostolic Writings make sense and fit perfectly within the Tanakh! Further, what Paul teaches in that Christendom has so horribly distorted, ‘We are the Temple of HaShem’! In other words, we are to take what we learn in the Temple of HaShem in Jerusalem and apply those principles to our lives and live them out in service to HaShem!

This all said, I am embedding the following video from my great friend and teacher Joseph Good of HaTikvah Ministries. This video was recorded 28 Feb 2023 and is from Joe’s weekly Chavurah teaching every Tuesday night on his website. This video entitled ‘Build Me a Mikdash’ discusses the Mishkan/Mikdash extensively and ties in with this Op (Used with Joe’s permission):

https://www.facebook.com/HatikvaMinistries/videos/730084035428196

Much to consider!

SOURCE MATERIALS

• The Book of the Mitzvot by Artscroll
• The Chumash with the Teachings of the Talmud by Artscroll
• The Schottenstein Talmid Bavli by Artscroll