In chapter 29 of our current portion, we catch a glimpse of the importance of blood sacrifice. Our God is a God of covenants. His covenants are ratified with the shedding of blood. The old Christian hymnal says it all: "There's power in the blood!" Actually, the reason that there is "power" in the blood is because the Torah explicitly teaches that there is "life" in the blood. The Torah paints a picture in 29:10-45 that an acceptable sacrifice sanctifies both the altar and the person who touches the altar (29:37). The sacrifice served an important function in the life of the average Isra'elite. Allow me to conduct a word study to explain. In our text of Ephesians chapter two we read, "But now, you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of the Messiah's blood. (2:13) There is a play on words found in the Hebrew thought conveyed in this passage, but not found in the English or the Greek. The Hebrew word for "sacrifice" is "karban". The sacrifice in question here is undoubtedly Yeshua's own. His was the spotless offering that was placed on God's altar, for the remission of the sins of the world. In our parashah we are told that the offerings of the morning and evening lambs, offered at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, would create a pleasing aroma before ADONAI. These offerings would be at the place where HaShem would meet with and speak to the people (29:38-43). Moreover, verses 45-46 go on to promise that HaShem would live among his people (read last week's parashah), and that they would indeed know that he was the very one who delivered them from the slavery of Egypt. The sacrifice brought the people near to their God and it brought God near to his people. The Hebrew word translated as "near" in our above passage in Ephesians, is "karav". Here is the play on words: because of the sacrifice (karban) of Yeshua, we have been brought near (karav) to our Holy God! In fact, the two Hebrew words share the exact same root word. These words are not to be confused with the Hebrew word "keruv" which is translated as "cherub". Even though it was between the wings of the "k'ruvim" (cherubim) that the Glory of God was manifested, and it was the Mercy Seat (cover to the Ark) where the blood was splashed. The point is clear: our God instructed his people to offer the blood sacrifices in order that the covenant requirements might be met. Covenants are our key to relationship with an otherwise unapproachable, Holy God. It started with a sacrifice in B'resheet 3:21, and since then, there has existed a "scarlet thread" that has run through the entire Bible!

Chapter 31 1-11 I have singled out B'tzal'el the son of Uri the son of Hur, of the tribe of Y'hudah and his assistant Oholi'av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe Dan. These men were supernaturally gifted to oversee the construction of the fore-mentioned Mishkan (Tabernacle) and its furniture. The lesson is obvious: when HaShem sends his people to perform a task, he will also equip them with the necessary skill and gifting to accomplish the task for his glory. Conversely, if someone is occupying an office within the Body of Messiah, and there seems to be a lack of supernatural gifting and ability to function correctly within the said office, then the individual might want to "re-check" his or her calling to make sure they're in the right spot.

Along with the fact that it is a memorial of Creation, the Sabbath day is also an identification of HaShem's authority. Only he could set a day apart as holy (read B'resheet 2:1-3). Only he could sanctify a day as an eternal memorial of his uniqueness. No other created being has this authority. This includes man. This includes religious institutions. When we attempt to override this authority, we undermine the very character, identification, and nature of our All-mighty God. Once we find ourselves playing God, it is then that we are in serious trouble. While it is true that we have been given the authority to make lasting decisions governing everyday communal matters (read Mattityahu 18:15-20 to understand an often-misunderstood application of heavenly authority), we have not been given the authority to switch God's Sabbath Day, nor to abrogate it.

Chapter 34 5-7 This is the famous "Thirteen Attributes of Mercy", of HaShem, as identified by the sages. The ministry of which I was a former writer, First Fruits of Zion, has this to say about these attributes: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty…" This passage—or ‘The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy’ as the rabbis call these verses—has become one of the central doctrinal expressions in Judaism. The verses have found their way into the Siddur and are recited on fast days and Yom Kippur. According to Hertz, "All schools of Jewish thought agree that these momentous and sublime attributes enshrine some of the most distinctive doctrines of Judaism." What does God’s forgiveness and compassion actually look like in flesh and blood? The answer, of course, is that we should look immediately to Yeshua the Messiah. For, "in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form." (Colossians 2:9). By looking for these Thirteen Attributes in the person of the Messiah, we are implying that there is an intimate connection between the Messiah and God. This is not just an imitative connection, but a substantive one—as the Lord is, so is the Messiah. Moreover, Messiah is the walking embodiment of all of these Thirteen Attributes.' (Taken from a commentary to Ki Tissa, March 6, 1999, available at http://www.ffoz.org)

As I stated in a previous parashah, God's system of animal sacrifices was never intended to be a permanent one. In fact the etymological background of the word Torah (the root word being an archery term meaning to “direct towards the goal”) also suggests that the fullest measure of HaShem’s forgiveness was not found in the earthly copies, but rather, in the heavenly originals. Yet, during the time period of the TaNaKH, the animal sacrifices were authentically God's system. In other words, if you were a citizen of this community of former slaves, and you wanted to operate within a covenant relationship with its Savior, then you had no choice but to participate in the sacrificial system. There was no room for circumvention. Why would HaShem require exclusivity? Because, in his established order of things, only the blood could make atonement for their lives (read Leviticus 17:11). Moreover, he was teaching each and every participant an important aspect of his established spiritual laws. The entire Levitical Priesthood and its order of things served to point the way to the ultimate sacrifice that would take place in Messiah Yeshua. We know this using our hindsight, which is 20/20. In fact, as the budding young nation learned to walk in their new calendar—HaShem’s calendar, they would have the opportunity to learn about a great many aspects of the unfathomable grace and mercy of their Husband. In singling out just the Feast Days as an example, we have noted that the word for “appointed time” is “mo-eyd.” Interestingly, this meaning conveys the sense of the “dress rehearsals” that occur before an actual play. In this way, HaShem masterfully designed the Mikra’ey Kodesh (Holy Convocations) to act as dress rehearsals for his children. “Of what?” you might ask. The Feasts of ADONAI are dress rehearsals of Messianic Redemption.

The "Old Testament" saints were not "saved" by a different system than the one in which we rely on. If they were, then this would suggest that there were really two separate ways unto righteousness—a theory, which we know, cannot be true. To be sure, Yeshua himself stated emphatically that he was THE way, and that NO man can come unto the Father except through HIM. The sacrifices, performed with a genuine heart of repentance, afforded real-life forgiveness, but only to the purification of the flesh! However, the temporal blood of the animals in and of themselves—and by themselves—could not even take away sin; only the eternal blood of the Perfect Sacrifice—to which the animals pointed—could purify both flesh and soul. Thus you could say that the blood of the animals “moved” as it were, the sin from the body of the person to the Mercy Seat (the earthly altar) where God would in fact grant genuine atonement (washing of sins in the flesh) because of the reality of the Heavenly Altar. The objective faith of the individual still remained dependent upon God’s Promised Word to Come, namely Yeshua himself, yet his obedience was demonstrated by adherence to explicit Torah commands where sacrifices were concerned. What is more, the salvation of the eternal soul of an individual was always dependent upon a circumcised heart, exactly as it is today. In summary then, the sacrificial system was not designed to bring the participant to the goal, namely a purged conscience and salvation of the individual. Sacrifices were for dealing with sin in the flesh. Only genuine faith in the Promised One could move God’s heart to reckon to one’s account “righteousness” as was done for Avraham. The Torah was weak in that it could not bring to the goal of salvation the heart of an individual. Only the Spirit’s supernatural work could—and always will be able to—do that.

With Parashat P’kudei (say “P-koo-day”) we have reached our final parashah of the book of Sh’mot (Exodus). Remember that I’ve explained to you that the word “sh’mot” is the plural form of the Hebrew word “shem” which means, “name”. We’ve discussed some pretty significant names in the book of Sh’mot. The parashah is relatively short, like it’s previous portion, and is read with Parashat Vayak’hel in regular years. Our current and final portion of Sh’mot ends with the assurance that the Spirit of the Holy One led them every day and night during their time in the wilderness: “For the cloud of ADONAI was above the tabernacle during the day, and fire was in [the cloud] at night, so that all the house of Isra’el could see it throughout all their travels.” (40:38) Every single incident and detail mentioned above has been under the divine care and leading of our Unmatchable Heavenly Abba! Even our gross (surely upsetting) sin doesn’t escape the plans of God. If we place our genuine, trusting faithfulness in his Loving Hand, then our journeys, like that of ‘Am Yisra’el, will not be arbitrary. On the contrary, the B’rit Chadashah promises us that our relationship with HaShem through Messiah Yeshua is indeed on a well-planned out course (read Romans 8:28-30)! This road of “faith in Messiah” is non other than a course of righteousness and glorification! “Halleluyah!” That is something to get excited about! It is customary after the completion of a book of the Torah to say, “Chazak, chazak, v’nit’chazek!” (Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!)

As I stated in a previous parashah, God's system of animal sacrifices, with their ability to cleanse or “wash” the flesh, was never intended to be a permanent one. Conversely, the animal sacrifices were not intended to be a “temporary fix” either. In fact the etymological background of the word Torah (the root word being an archery term meaning to “direct towards the goal”) also suggests that the fullest measure of HaShem’s atonement (Hebrew=kafar is usually translated “to atone,” “to cover over,” “make reconciliation,” “pacify,” “propitiate,” “purge.” ) was not found in the earthly copies, but rather, in the heavenly originals. Yet, during the time period of the TaNaKH, the animal sacrifices were authentically God's system. In other words, if you were a citizen of this community of former slaves, and you wanted to operate within a covenant relationship with its Savior, then you had no choice but to participate in the sacrificial system when approaching the Holy Tabernacle/Temple where God concentrated his Glory. There was no room for circumvention. Why would HaShem require exclusivity? Because, in his established order of things, only the blood could make atonement for their lives (read Leviticus 17:11). Tim Hegg makes a case for the meaning of the word kafar rpk as “wipe off, smear on” in this quote from a short paper available from his site at torahresource.com as of 3-20-07...

With the tamid explained we are better poised to examine the remaining five offerings of Leviticus chapters 1-5. These five are the types of offerings introduced in the opening pages of Leviticus: 'Olah (Burnt Offering) – Lev. 1:1-17 Minchah (Grain Offering) – Lev. 2:1-16 Sh’lamim (Peace Offering) – Lev. 3:1-17 Chata’at (Sin Offering) – Lev. 4:1-35; 5:1-13 ‘Asham (Guilt Offering) – Lev. 5:14-26 The first three could easily be considered “freewill offerings”, brought before HaShem by anyone at various times in the life of anyone in the community. The last two were required to make restitution for various sins. Such korbanot (chata’at and ’asham) are referred to as “expiatory”. The expiatory korbanot shall occupy the bulk of the latter part of this commentary.

HaShem’s intent is to draw us close to him in genuine, loving fellowship. To this end, he has designed the entire flow of the Torah to lead us to the goal of developing the kind of trusting faithfulness that produces obedience and surrender to his Son, Yeshua HaMashiach! In the Torah, we see that a broken and contrite heart is the seedbed that will produce such a trust in HaShem. The sacrifices make up for the fact that we are less than perfect (sinless or blameless) in our attempt to secure a right relationship with our Heavenly Abba. Does the Torah expect perfection? No. Rather, it anticipates our failures and shortcomings, and consequently, makes the necessary provisions for them to be taken care of. Consider the example of the parents of Yochanan the Immerser (John the Baptiser) in Luke 1:6. The Torah states, in no uncertain terms that, "Both of them were righteous before God, observing all the mitzvot and ordinances of ADONAI blamelessly." Today HaShem is still speaking…bidding…indeed "calling" unto his children. The B’rit Chadashah (Apostolic Scriptures) informs us, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." (Hebrews 1:1-3, KJV) Yes, HaShem is calling to us through the person of his only, unique Son! He desires for us to draw close to him in with a true heart! The paradox lies in the fact that unless he draws us, we will not seek his face, yet he bids us to seek him so that in seeking, he may indeed be found!