The order of things matters!
Have you ever become so familiar with something that you
forget its order? For so long the picture of the completed Tabernacle has been
in my mind that I forgot the order in which it takes place. This year it hit
me, the order of the building of the Tabernacle is significant. It was this
week’s portion Tetzaveh that illuminated the thought.
The ordering of building the Tabernacle
Here are the steps up to this week’s portion in order. I
have not included all of the details for brevity sake.
1. The
ark of the covenant/testimony
2. The
table of the bread of the presence
3. The
menorah
4. The
mishkan/tabernacle
5. The
bronze altar of sacrifice
6. The
court of the Tabernacle/the fence around it
7. Oil
for the menorah
8. The
priest’s garments
a. Aharon’s
and the future High Priest’s
b. His
sons and descendants
9. Consecration
of the priests
10. The altar
of incense
Burning incense is a form of worship
I find it curious how far down the list the altar of incense
is. Many times Israel is chastised because they burnt incense to other gods,
the hosts of heaven, and the queen of heaven. In the Book of Revelation we
read:
“And when He opened the seventh seal,
a silence occurred in Heaven, about a half hour. And I saw the seven angels who
stood before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came
and stood on the altar, having a golden censer. And many incenses were given to
him, that he should give them with the prayers of all the saints on the golden
altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incenses went up with the prayers
of the saints out of the hand of the angel before God. And the angel has taken
the censer, and has filled it from the fire of the altar, and cast it into the
earth; and sounds and thunders and lightnings and earthquakes occurred.” (Rev
8:1-5)
Incense seems to be an important part of our communion with
our Father in Heaven and is mentioned as going up with the prayers of the saints.
So why is the construction of the altar of incense listed as the last part of
the Tabernacle?
Prerequisites to prayer
Perhaps it is because prayers, and the incense that accompanies
them, require more preparation and are more weighty than we often give them
credit for. Consider this, the ark, the showbread, the menorah, and the mishkan
all represent Elohim.
The altar of sacrifice represents us, and the earthly
mission of Yeshua.
Then we have the court of the mishkan, the fence around it,
and it represents the separation of the holy from the general population and
strangers.
Next is the oil for the menorah, the Ruach ha Kodesh given
to us to lead us into all truth and be a comforter.
Then comes the garments and consecrations of the Kohen ha
Gadol, the High Priest and the priests. We know from the apostolic writings that
Yeshua is our High Priest, our Mediator with the Father as was Aharon.
Finally comes the altar of incense. The shadow shows me that
in order for our prayers to reach our Father in Heaven, the whole system had to
be put into place. We needed a mediator, sacrifice, the light to see Him, His
presence, and a kadosh/holy/separated place to meet with Him.
Prayer time is separate time
I have seen a plaque that says “Time spent fishing is not
deducted from a man’s life.” Maybe, but prayer time might better qualify for
the exemption. With the construction of the Tabernacle in this order we see
that prayer time is separate from the world, it comes after all the
construction and furnishing. What follows in next week’s portion is the “tax”
but literally the kopher neshama l’Yehovah,
covering of soul to Yehovah.
The incense from the golden altar appears to do for Israel what
the High Priest’s censer does for him when he enters the Holy of Holies. It
covers our souls so we don’t perish.
May we ever be consistent in offering up our prayers before
our Father that they may be a pleasing aroma to Him and remind Him that we are
here and we are faithful.
Shavuah Tov
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please share your feedback and insights you have gained from the portion.