“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution.” (Exodus 25:1–2 NASB)

Are we offering the Creator of Heaven and Earth — and by extension, those around us — the best of our time and resources? After Heaven gave the best to Earth to remove from memory sin, transgression and iniquity, in the birth, death and resurrection of the Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ).

The meaning behind the name for Torah reading תרומה Terumah is “a set aside” or “raised up” portion, aka a “heave offering.” It’s to set aside the best of best for God. Offerings and tithe are not the same thing. All of what was given for the Tabernacle were free-will offerings. The tithe was designated for the upkeep of the priestly families, not for the tabernacle itself.

In Hosea 14, God gives Hosea an example to the Northern Tribes of Israel of how to repent of their sins when they can no longer make offerings to Him.

“Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity And receive us graciously, That we may present the fruit of our lips.

“Assyria will not save us, We will not ride on horses; Nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’ To the work of our hands; For in You the orphan finds mercy.”

I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from them.

I will be like the dew to Israel; He will blossom like the lily, And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.

His shoots will sprout, And his beauty will be like the olive tree And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.

Those who live in his shadow Will again raise grain, And they will blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.” (Hosea 14:1–7 NASB)

One interpretation is that the prayers of the exiles are a substitute for the animal offerings they can no longer present to Him. We use our best words, our most eloquent words and offer them to God. Our sincere words that come from the heart become the offering.

What means something to God is not the object itself as God owns everything on the earth, whether it’s pretty or ugly, functional or nonfunctional. What God wants is the heart behind the gift. It’s the desire to give that God appreciates.

Does Heaven have the mercy seat covered?

The words used to described what the Tabernacle was to look like can’t show us perfectly what the Tabernacle looked like. That is why God repeatedly states, “as it was shown to you in the mountain, so they shall make it.”

Moses designed and built the Tabernacle based on what God showed him. The heavenly Tabernacle does not have physical items, such as wood, animal skins, etc., so the earthy tabernacle mimics what God showed Moses in heaven. The earthly Tabernacle was a replica of what Moses saw in heaven.

Even though God says He wants to dwell with His people, He can’t dwell in close proximity to mankind because His perfect purity would kill us if we came into direct contact with Him. Flesh and blood can’t inherit the Kingdom of God.

What’s inside the ark includes God’s testimony in the 10 Commandments. One’s testimony lasts as long as one is alive. Our testimony only lasts as long as we are alive, but since God is eternal, His testimony is also eternal.

The ark was made primarily to house God’s words. When God says He is dwelling among the people, what is actually dwelling with His people is His Word. God cannot be confined into a mere box, even a finely decorated one.

“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.” (Exodus 25:17 NASB)

The word “mercy seat” is the second worst English translation of the Hebrew ...