Beth Elohim Messianic Synagogue
Parashah #20: Tetzaveh (You are to order) Sh’mot (Exodus) 27:20-30:10
Haftarah: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 43:10-27
B’rit Chadashah: Philippians 4:10-20
The term Levitical priesthood is not found in the Tanakh, but it is found in the B’rit Chadashah, although only once in Hebrews 7:11. This term refers only to the high priest, Aharon, and his sons but also applies to the entire tribe of Levi because they were appointed to minister to the priests and their work. Understanding the office of high priest is essential to having the ability to make the connection between Aharon and Yahshua’s roles as high priests.
As the Levitical priesthood was established, this process set apart and made changes to the selection and work of priests. Until that time, there had been others who served in the role of priest such as the heads of the tribes of nations. The Levitical priesthood differed from the previous selection of priests in that it was hereditary. Only Aharon and his sons could represent G-d in this role, doing away with the heads of families being able to serve in that role. The Levitical priests centralized the priesthood as they fulfilled the role in the tabernacle. This was a way to ensure that the proper procedures were followed when the people served G-d through their sacrifices. The priests would also be clothed in a very special way to honor G-d and His dwelling place. The garments had significant meaning in and of themselves. So how did it happen that Aharon and his sons were called to fulfill this special role?
In the Torah, neither Aharon nor the tribe of Levi were the first called to be priests. At first, the entire nation was called: “ Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel” (Ex 19:5-6).
The establishment of the nation as a kingdom of priests was to be accomplished by the sanctification of all the firstborn males (Ex. 13:11-13;22:29; 34:19; Num. 18:15). The sanctification of the firstborn male served two purposes. First it was to be a reminder of the nation’s deliverance from Egypt. The second purpose of separating the firstborn male was to establish a way of selecting the priests. This would make the nation of Israel a kingdom of priests. However, the firstborn paradigm was replaced by Aharon and his sons according to G-d’s instructions.
We learn in Exodus 19:5 that the privlege of being a kingdom of priests depended on their obedience to the covenant. Exodus 32 describes the breaking of this covenant when the nation worshipped the golden calf, abolishing the old system of designating priests. It was at this time the Levites were chosen over the firstborn because it was the Levites who stood with Moshe for G-d over worshipping the golden calf and keeping the covenant that G-d chose Aharon and his sons as a perpetual priesthood. Fortunately, we are told in the B’rit Chadashah that those who follow G-d’s Torah/Instructions are a new priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6). But this privileged status carries great responsibility. In the Haftarah for this parashah, we will see how disobedience of G-d’s explicit instructions resulted in G-d’s severe punishment.
The word consecration means to be completely set apart or dedicated to the service of G-d. Aharon who was the high priest, chosen by G-d, and his sons were consecrated at a different time and in a different way than the remainder of the Levites. The fundamental difference between them was that the priests ministered to G-d, and the Levites ministered to the priest.
Exodus 28-9 give us the first revelation concerning the consecration of the priests. These chapters give the detail of the priestly garments, and the details of the consecration rites and offerings. The actual consecration of Aharon and his sons described in Leviticus 8 did not occur until eight and one -half months after their selection. This delay may have been necessary in order to build the tabernacle and the interruption caused by the nation’s idolatry described in Exodus 32 with the incident of the golden calf.
The consecration and the presentation to the people was extremely important because the high priest would now be the only representative of the people to G-d. The entire nation was called to the door of the of the tabernacle or gate (Ex. 29:4). The presentation was designed to impress upon the people and the priests, the important responsibility G-d laid on the priesthood. This has significant import today for true believers who are the new priesthood according to 1 Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, G-d’s special possession, that you may declare the praises pf him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” This is an awesome responsibility that we should never forget or minimize. In the case of this initial consecration of Aharon and his sons as the priesthood chosen by G-d, the people understood that the priests of Israel could no longer be selected from among the tribes, but was exclusive to the Aaronic line. There would be no excuse when they would later rebel against G-d’s choice described in Numbers 16.
After the presentation ceremony, Moshe brought Aharon and his sons to the laver to be washed (Ex. 29:4; 40:12; Lev. 8:6). This washing attests to the inherent sinfulness of man, even Aharon and his sons as priests who could not possibly represent the sinlessness of Yahshua. “For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity” (Heb. 7:28). Their physical cleansing symbolized the complete purity of Yahshua and the physical and symbolism of the washing ritual became a daily occurrence. This practice also served to remind the priests then and the “new priesthood” to which true believers belong of our need to cleans ourselves of any sinfulness within our hearts as we seek a pure heart before our Messiah (Psalm 139). The priests washed their hands and feet indicating attention to the entire body, physical and spiritual, before ministering at the brazen altar or entering the sanctuary (Ex. 30:20-21).
There is a plethora of information on the specific clothing of Aharon as the high priest. However, due to the limits on the human attention span, I will restrict my comments to two concerning the priestly garments.
The ephod, referred to as the “ritual vest” was a special garment reserved for the high priest to wear. It was used for the attachment of the breastplate and was woven of fine blue, purple, scarlet, and gold linen. Two shoulder pieces were made of onyx and had the names of 6 tribes on each. The ephod signified the responsibility of the high priest in representing the nation to G-d (Ex. 28:12). The names of the tribes on the onyx stones that were placed on both shoulders served as a reminder of the tremendous responsibility Aharon had as the only intermediary between G-d and the people.
The most noticeable part of the priestly garments was the breastplate, called the ‘breastplate of judgment” in Exodus 28:15. This name was given because in the back of the breastplate was a pocket for the urim and Thummim, which were used by the high priest to obtain G-d’s will for the people. According to Dr. Bruce Waltke in his book entitled “Finding the Will of G-d” (pp.62-4)
“We are not exactly sure what the urim and Thummim were, but the priest carried in his breastplate perhaps two sticks or stones, one white, and the other black, that would give a yes or no answer to a specific question. Should Israel be preparing for battle, they would somehow shake or toss the sticks. If they turned up black the Israelites would not go into battle, and if they turned up white they would proceed into battle with the knowledge that they were within the will of G-d. That is one form of divination G-d allowed in the Old Testament… 1 Samuel 28:6 makes a clear a definite answer was not always attainable so it may not have been as simple as tossing two stones on ground. Moses never used them; they were given for the high priest in aiding those who could not find G-d’s guidance any other way.
Some translate the words urim and Thummim to mean “curse” and “blessing, “ others simply “dark” and “light” and “perfections.” There is no proof that there were only two items; some early rabbis believes that the urim and Thummim were a series of stones with Hebraic characters on them by which the L-rd could spell out a message for the high priest. However, most scholars believe them to be two sticks or stones; perhaps precious stones, that G-d used in a miraculous way to reveal his will. They were used for national decisions like going to war, and for priestly matters.
The Old Testament seems to indicate that the urim and Thummim faded from use during the early days of Israel’s monarchy, and are only referred to once after the Babylonian exile. This may be so because the institution of the monarchy G-d inaugurated the office of prophet. The prophets now participated in G-d’s heavenly court and communicated G-d’s messages to the courts in Jerusalem and Samaria. Apparently prophets who revealed G-d’s word to the king replaced the urim and Thummim, through which He revealed His mind to the priest”
The last item I want to discuss is the mitre. The mitre was the special headdress reserved specifically for the high priest (Ex. 28:36-38;39:30,31). It was probably turban shaped and was made of white linen. The only ornamentation was a gold plate and a blue ribbon used to fasten the plate to the mitre. The most significant thing was the inscription on the plate “Holiness unto the L-rd.” This signified the consecration of the high priest, whose work as a mediator, by way of offering sacrifices, typified and prophetically symbolized the efficacy of Yahshua as our high priest and as the “lamb of G-d” who takes away the sins of the world.
Now I want to compare this item of the priestly garb that was directed by G-d in every detail to the mitre worn by the Catholic Pope. In the Catholic Church, the Pope wars a three-tiered crown. It is shaped like three domed beehives, in order to give it the appearance of three rounded crowns., one on top of the other- indicating that he wears a triple crown as ruler of heaven , earth, and under the earth.
Vicarius Filii Dei means Vicar (or Vicegerant) of the Son of G-d. The term ‘Vicegerant” is from the Latin for “in place of.” This is the title applied to the Pope of Rome, and proclaims that, next to G-d and Christ, he is the third ruler of all things in heaven, on earth ,and under the earth. Although for long centuries, the official title of the Pope of Rome has been Vicarius Filli Dei, official Vatican authorities currently claim it was never a title of the pope. Their problem is that this, the special title of the pope for centuries adds up to 666, which Revelation 13:18 says is the Number of the Beast. In order to avoid that identification, it is said that Vicarius Filii Dei has never been his title (sdadefend.com), but this of course is just another “bit” of disinformation defines as follows: “ Disinformation is false or misleading information deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic deceptions and media manipulation tactics to advance political, military, or commercial goals (en.wikipedia.org).
Just as the entire tabernacle, structure, furniture, materials, and priestly ministry were the anti-type of Yahshua and the Temple in heaven, today I have shown you the counterpart force of evil who is making every effort to deceive the world through religion, specifically all forms of Christianity starting with the Roman Catholic Church, described in Revelation 17:18 as “the great harlot.” The woman in John’s vision is Babylon (Rev. 17:5) although her name in “Christian” times is Rome. Rome and Babylon were both the capital cities of world-empires that became corrupt. This correlation is critical to our understanding of the judgement of Rome and societies that have adopted the Hellenistic Roman paradigm of living; democracy that leads to license and corrupt, antinomian lifestyles that will be judged just as described in John’s vision.
Haftarah: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 43:10-27
Many Christian denominations have difficulty with this haftarah as it describes the future reinstitution of the sacrificial system described in our parashah. It is not uncommon for a Christian to say, “ to reestablish the sacrificial system means you will be crucifying Jesus all over again.” This is a statement made in biblical ignorance and should be corrected in love by true believers who know the truth of the matter. In the Book of Revelation 2:27 “I will give authority over the nations; he will rule them with a staff of iron and dash them to pieces like pottery.” This is part of the narrative in which the Messianic Community in Thyatira is rebuked for allowing a false prophetess who is teaching against G-d’s Torah to continue among the congregation. In fact, this rebuke is for any organization that has such people within it and continues to allow them to mix with true believers and to teach contrary to G-d’s Word. The point is that G-d is not “all love” as promoted by many Christian clergy. This narrative is just one of many examples describing G-d’s truth, justice, and righteousness. Yahshua will express these same attributes of justice, righteousness, and truth during the millennial kingdom with the sacrificial system reinstated for that time because He never changes. The truth of G-d’s/Yahshua’s consistency is described in this haftarah as well.
Any deviation from the exact instructions of G-d, whether in constructing the tabernacle, making the priestly garments, the process of offering sacrifices, or the consecration process for the priests was connected with Israel’s rebellion. Therefore it follows that the restoration, according to the pattern of G-d’s Law, was symbolic of their return to obedience. It is only through heartfelt, unconditional repentance that “if they[and we] become ashamed of all they [we]have done, that they would be shown the plan for G-d’s “house” as He will again dwell with His people. Today, the concept remains the same. Repentance through accepting the sacrifice of Yahshua through faith and obedience to G-d’s Torah along with His grace will take us through the narrow gate to eternal life(Matt. 7:13-14.)
B’rit Chadashah: Philippians 4:10-20
This passage is a reminder that this world is not our home. The tabernacle described in our parashah was an antitype, an example of one that exists in heaven. Staying true to our Elohim means following his Torah as closely as possible, learning, and growing daily in knowledge and wisdom to be used for His glory, just as Aharon and his sons were consecrated to the service of G-d throughout their lives as priests. We are to be content with our status knowing in our hearts and minds that G-d is in control just as He demonstrated with the Levite’s rod with Aharon’s name on it, making the rod blossom and bloom , symbolizing the perpetuality of the priesthood to be held by Aharon and the high priest, and his sons as priests, and the consecrated status of the Levites as managers of the tabernacle.
May we always strive to keep our priorities straight, buffeting our human drive for things beyond our needs, praying about everything. G-d knows what we need before we even ask but it is good for us to address our supplications to Him and give Him praise for His answers, whether or not they “match” our requests. G-d knows what is best for His children and in this we need to trust and love G-d with all our hearts, souls, and might.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Tamah Davis-Hart