A Blueprint for Fellowship with The L‑rd
This passage gives us a set of blueprints for how the Tabernacle was to be laid out. If we look carefully at the specifications, it appears to be nothing more than a very ornate tent. This tent measured 45 feet x 15 feet and was surrounded by an enclosed courtyard. In the courtyard itself there was a large brass altar for burnt offerings and a brass bowl, the laver, for washing of hands. The tent was divided into two sections by a large, velvet curtain.
In the first section, the Holy Place, there was a table with a number of loaves of bread, a candelabra and an altar of incense. In the second section, the Holy of Holies, there was a wooden box, called the Ark, which contained the Ten Commandments (stone tablets), manna and the rod of Aaron. The Ark was covered with a golden lid and above it were golden statues of two angels. The furniture in both the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was overlaid with gold.
These blueprints portray a structure that was not particularly impressive—certainly not by the standards of the spectacular temples in Egypt. What was spectacular about the Tabernacle was that the L‑rd was present there. He hovered over the Ark with its lid (the Mercy Seat) and between two angels. It is important to remember that the Tabernacle was pitched in the center of the tents of Israel—symbolizing that the L‑rd should be at the core of their lives.
We sometimes get so lost in the details of the Tabernacle and the Temple that we forget why it existed—this was a place where the L‑rd had fellowship with the people of Israel. Men and women who wanted to get cleansing from sin or who just wanted to fellowship with G‑d came to the Tabernacle.
As they followed the L‑rd's guidelines for holy living, they experienced the joy of meeting with the L‑rd. The book of Hebrews encourages us to come into the presence of the L‑rd boldly (4:16). Yet sometimes we have taken "boldly" to mean "casually" and "flippantly." This Torah portion reminds us that the L‑rd has not changed—He is still a holy G‑d who demands our respect and who expects us to be serious about holiness.
A final note—the Tabernacle was built entirely with free-will offerings brought by the people of Israel. That's why this portion is called "Terumah"—"an offering," but literally, "that which is lifted up [to the L‑rd]." The implication is that the people of Israel were to bring their offerings joyfully. As we'll see in Exodus 36, they brought so much that Moses had to command them to stop. How much does fellowship with the L‑rd mean to us—are we willing to commit our resources (time and energy) to construct our own "altar"?