Parasha Tetzaveh 5782

Me

I don’t say this to brag by any means, but I have been a believer in Yeshua HaMishiach for the overwhelming majority of my life. In fact, I came to faith when I was seven years old, I’m now 39 so that means I have been a believer for 32 years, so almost 3/4 of my life. But I haven’t always been good at it… I haven’t always put a lot of effort into striving to be holy… I haven’t always put a lot of effort into striving to lead others to holiness in Yeshua.

I would say that out of the past 32 years of my faith walk a significant portion of that has probably made a much bigger fool of the Good News before others than it has led anyone to find salvation. Now, don’t get me wrong, that isn’t to say I didn’t have moments of grace or that I haven’t been used by God despite my own failures. But I can tell you that as easy as it is to see my Tzitziyot hanging from my tallit katan everyday and be reminded of the Torah, it is just as easy to ignore them hanging there too.

Now, at this point in my life, and especially with my yearning to walk faithfully not only in Messiah but in His calling and direction in my life, my priorities are a lot different now than they maybe have been over the years. I desire to be fully devoted to Yeshua. I desire to give Him my all in service and in faith. I desire for my walk and my life to draw others to Yeshua long before my mouth gets involved. I desire that every aspect of my life from the inside out proclaim that I am holy because Adonai my God is holy.

And I think about all the missed opportunities I have had to lead others to the Lord at times when I wasn’t super-concerned with walking in righteousness myself and it breaks my heart. But, at the same time it energizes me… I can look back over the course of my life and see not only my failures, but I can see where improvements were needed and I’m in a place in my life now where I’m willing to allow the Ruach HaKodesh to make those improvements and I’m willing to humbly submit.

We

And, considering we are all humans, and we are ultimately all descended from the same fallen bloodline of Adam and Chavah, I’m sure whether we want to admit it or not we all know exactly how that feels… It is safe to assume that each and everyone of us can look back over the course of our lives in Messiah and see plenty of moments in which we weren’t really to focused on being in Messiah.

I’m sure we can all think of times when we were taking Yeshua’s words to not be like the Pharisees just wanting people to see our “righteousness” and use it as excuse to just not be righteous at all.

I’m sure we all have moments in our lives in which we look back and recognize just how much we were really not living a righteous and holy life…

I don’t know about you, but for me, these moments of failure have become reminders not of our failures but rather of His grace and mercy… Reminders of His love for us… Reminders that as far as we’ve come there is always room for improvement.

God

This week we read Parasha Tetzaveh, Exodus 27:20-30:10, in which we see the continuation of Moses upon the mountain receiving further instruction from the Lord for Israel. In particular, the Parasha opens with the command for the pure olive oil for the Ner Tamid and the expectation of the Kohenim to keep the Ner Tamid properly prepped and burning.

We then move into chapter 28 which focuses on the garments and accoutrement the priesthood, and especially the High Priest were to wear in service in the Tabernacle and how each item was to be made.

In chapter 29 the Lord describes to Moses the procedure for consecrating the priesthood and the various sacrifices that were a part of their consecration into the priesthood. We see the actual inactment of these commands in Leviticus 8-9.

Finally, Parasha Tetzaveh wraps up with the description of the altar of incense that was to be built and housed in the inner courts of the Mishkan.

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend taking some time later today to sit down and read through the entire Parasha because there is so much interesting and intricate detail that we find here—better yet, do so throughout the week to familiarize yourself with the Parasha before Shabbat.

But, with that said, I want to focus on one specific part of Parasha Tetzaveh today, something that stood out to me in a very interesting way, something I honestly haven’t noticed before, but something I feel is a pretty important Torah nugget for us today. And as we look at the Word today I want us to keep this principle in mind…

Being holy is a biblical ordinance, but it requires personal action under the authority of the Ruach HaKodesh.

(Repeat)

So let’s dive into the Parasha Tetzaveh together…

As I mentioned earlier, Exodus 28 deals exclusively with the divine design of the Priestly garments and regalia that Aaron and his sons would wear. Keep in mind, to this point none of these Tabernacle and Priesthood furnishings have actually be created yet. Moses is still on Mount Sinai within the Shechinah of HaShem and is receiving the rest of the Torah on behalf of Israel because they were too afraid to hear HaShem’s voice again. So Moses is on the mountain receiving this divine download of the designs of the Tabernacle and Priesthood regalia which he will then relay to Bezalel and Oholiab who will be in charge of the building of the Tabernacle as we see in Exodus 31.

As we look through Exodus 28 we see the command to make specific garments for the priesthood which include:

Exodus 28:4 TLV

These are the garments that they are to make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so that he may minister to Me as a kohen.

And each of these pieces that the priest is suppose to wear in service before the Lord in the Tabernacle has some unique role to play in serving as a memorial or reminder of Israel before Lord.

But there’s one specific piece that the High Priest was suppose to wear that I want to focus on today, and the rabbis and sages tell us it was perhaps one of the most important requirements that the High Priest had to wear.

Exodus 28:36–38 TLV

“Also you are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘HOLY TO Adonai.’ Attach it with a violet cord onto the turban, on the front of the turban. So it will rest on Aaron’s forehead, so that Aaron will bear away the iniquity committed regarding the holy things, which Bnei-Yisrael set apart as all their holy gifts. It is to be always on his forehead, so that they may have favor before Adonai.

The Kohen was commanded to wear a turban or a mitre as part of the specific garments and regalia he was required to wear in service before the Lord in Tabernacle. With the mitre was a gold plate (in Hebrew Tzitz) that would sit on the forehead and be tied around the mitre. This gold plate had the phrase Kodesh LaAdonai, which means “Holy to Adonai,” engraved upon it as a seal. Exodus 28 says that the specific purpose of this plate is for Aaron to bear the iniquity, the sin of Israel with regard to the holy things.

There are actually several key pieces that were a part of the priestly garments that had significant meaning and purpose before the Lord as the High Priest served as intermediary for Israel. First are the onyx stones engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel which were fastened to the shoulder of the ephod and served as a memorial with which Aaron would bear the names of Israel before Adonai as a reminder.

Next is the breastplate with twelves stones of varied colors, each one representing and bearing the name of a different tribe of Israel. Exodus 28:29 says that Aaron was to wear the breastplate of judgement over his heart as a continual reminder of Israel before Adonai.

Then there are the Urim and Thummim, which we see later have a prophetic function as well, that were attached to the breastplate and rest near Aaron’s heart as well when he goes before the Lord. The breastplate, which consisted of the onyx stones on the shoulders, the jewels representing the twelve tribes, and the Urim and Thumim, as a whole would be called the Choshen HaMish’pat or the Breastplate of Judgement. With this over his heart, Aaron would bear the judgement of B’nei Yisrael whenever he was in service in the Tabernacle before the Lord.

Add to this the Turban and gold plate and the High Priest was decked out in bling…

But, as I was reading through and studying Parasha Tetzaveh this week something unique about the gold plate on the high priest’s forehead stood out to me. And it is something profound in the Hebrew. So let’s double back and reread those verses again real quick…

Exodus 28:36–38 TLV

“Also you are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘HOLY TO Adonai.’ Attach it with a violet cord onto the turban, on the front of the turban. So it will rest on Aaron’s forehead, so that Aaron will bear away the iniquity committed regarding the holy things, which Bnei-Yisrael set apart as all their holy gifts. It is to be always on his forehead, so that they may have favor before Adonai.

What was the point to this plate? So that Aaron, Israel’s intermediary, would bear the iniquity of Israel with regards to the holy offerings. And there’s always been great debate amongst the rabbis over what offerings this is referring to. Some say to the Chelev, or the specific fat around some of the organs which aren’t allowed to be eaten. Other say it is in connection to the to the Korban Tamid, or the daily offerings made in the morning and afternoons.

But, Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, better known today as Rashbam, who was a 12th century rabbi says: “… All of the sacrifices that the Jewish people bring, i.e., Olah (whole burnt offering), Chatat (sin offering), or Asham (guilt offering), to atone for them (those required to offer such sacrifices), that the Tzitz (the gold plate) would join with the sacrifice itself to cause them (the transgressors) to be remembered before the Holy One, Blessed Be He, that they (the sacrifices) should find favor and remembrance for the Jewish people and thereby accord them atonement (for their sins).”

So, in other words, the Tzitz or the gold plate was to serve a very unique and particular role in joining with the sacrifices for sin or iniquity or transgression for Israel to be remembered for atonement by HaShem. What Rashbam is getting at here is that these sacrifices the priest would be making all have connection to being some sort of atonement. We need atonement because we have sinned against the Lord by transgression His Torah. And he is saying that the gold plate on the priest’s forehead is a huge part of the process as it is a reminder before the Lord that He is atoning for our sins because we are to be Kodesh LaAdonai, we are to be holy because He is holy, AND we can only be holy because He is holy.

Being holy is a biblical ordinance, but it requires personal action under the authority of the Ruach HaKodesh.

Now, here’s where things get really interesting in the Hebrew of these verses, particularly verse 36 and 37

Exodus 28:36–37 TLV

“Also you are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘HOLY TO Adonai.’ Attach it with a violet cord onto the turban, on the front of the turban.

The gold plate in Hebrew is called a Tzitz, which I have said a few times now and this word should sound pretty familiar to most of you. It is the masculine form of the word tzitzit, the tassels we where on our Tallit Gadol and Tallit Katan. And this gets even more interesting because in verse 37 where it says the Tzitz is to be attached to the turban by violet or blue cord, the exact Hebrew here is Petil Tekhelet. So the Tzitz is engraved with the words Kodesh LaAdonai and is attached to the mitre by Petil Tekhelet. This serves as a reminder before HaShem that He has called Israel to be Holy to the Lord even as Aaron is making atonement for the less than holy sins of Israel.

As to the Petil Tekhelet the Talmud says in Sotah 17a:

But what is the benefit imparted by the thread of sky-blue wool? The Gemara answers: As it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir would say: What is different about sky-blue from all other colors such that it was specified for the mitzva of ritual fringes?

It is because sky-blue dye is similar in its color to the sea, and the sea is similar to the sky, and the sky is similar to the Throne of Glory, as it is stated: “And they saw the God of Israel; and there was under His feet the like of a paved work of sapphire stone, and the like of the very heaven for clearness” (Exodus 24:10). This verse shows that the heavens are similar to sapphire, and it is written: “And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone” (Ezekiel 1:26). Therefore, the throne is similar to the heavens. The color of sky blue dye acts as an indication of the bond between the Jewish people and the Divine Presence.

Now, let’s jump forward a little bit to Numbers 15...

Numbers 15:37–41 TLV

Adonai spoke to Moses saying, “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael. Say to them that they are to make for themselves tzitzit on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and they are to put a blue cord on each tzitzit. It will be your own tzitzit—so whenever you look at them, you will remember all the mitzvot of Adonai and do them and not go spying out after your own hearts and your own eyes, prostituting yourselves. This way you will remember and obey all My mitzvot and you will be holy to your God. I am Adonai your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am Adonai your God.”

Adonai tells Israel that we are to wear Tzitziyot or tassels on the corner of our garments l’dor v’dor attached with a blue cord… And I want you to pay close attention to this… The Hebrew here says Tzitzit (singular) attached by Petil Tekhelet… Yes, you heard that right… The same exact words in Hebrew as with the gold plate on the forehead of the Kohen HaGadol.

What was the purpose of the Tzitz attached with Petil Tekhelet on the forehead of the Kohen HaGadol? To remind Adonai of His call for Israel to be Kodesh LaAdonai even while the Kohen is making atonement for our sins, or our falling short of holiness…

And what is the point of the Tzitzit attached with Petil Tekhelet on the corners of our garments? So that we will look at them and be reminded of the Torah and follow the Torah rather than spying out and chasing after our own sinful hearts… Another way we might word this is the Tzitzit attached with Petil Tekhelet Israel was commanded to wear is to remind us of HaShem’s call for us to be Kodesh LaAdonai BEFORE we sin and need atonement.

See, the connection between the Tzitz attached with Petil Tekhelet on the forehead of the Kohen HaGadol and the tzitziyot attached with Petil Tekhelet on the Tallit Gadol or Tallit Katan is tremendously important symbolically. It could be said that whereas Aaron, wearing the Tzitz on his forehead, is charged with helping the sinner who has ALREADY sinned and now wishes to atone for his iniquity, the intent of the Tzitziyot is to serve as a constant reminder of God and His Torah before our hearts and eyes always, thus hopefully helping the person avoid sin altogether and thereby not require atonement.

Now, we recognize that, even with Tzitziyot—as Paul says—we all have fallen short of the Glory of God. And even with a high priest who would serve as an intermediary to atone for our sins in the Mishkan we would continue to—as Paul says—fall short of the Glory of God.

Now, let’s take this a little further… The Hebrew word Tzitz can mean flower or blossom, and it can also mean wing (as in their will be healing in His wings). This idea of the word Tzitz meaning flower or blossom is also important because the knots by which the Tzitz were tied onto the Turban and the knots by which the Tzitziyot are tied can remind us of blossoms of plants. And I know this can come across as a bit of a stretch, but follow me here for a moment.

Another location we see the word Tzitz in the Torah is in Numbers 17:8 when Aaron’s rod blossoms and produces almonds. The Hebrew says Vayatzitz tzitz, literally “and it blossomed blossoms”. This idea of Tzitz connecting to blossoming of flowers is powerful when we take into consideration another passage we find in the Tanakh which uses this word…

Isaiah 40:6–8 TLV

A voice is saying, “Cry out!” So I said, “What shall I cry out?” “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades. For the breath of Adonai blows on it. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades. But the word of our God stands forever.”

Here, in all three verses, the word translated as “flower” is the word Tzitz. Notice the words the Prophet Isaiah is being told to proclaim… He compares humanity to the grass and and flowers of the field, all of which are beautiful, but because of sin in our lives we, like the grass and flowers, fade or die… But even when our lives are dried up and gone, the Word of the Lord will stand forever… Adonai commands the Kohen Gadol to wear the mitre on his head with the Tzitz engraved with Kodesh LaAdonai upon his forehead which is affixed to the mitre with Petil Tekhelet. All of this is to remind Adonai that despite our sins and failures, He has called us to be holy unto the Lord because He Himself is holy and to seek His atonement and forgiveness for our sins. Then, later in Numbers 15, all Israel is commanded to wear Tzitzit attached with Petil Tekhelet to remind us that we are called to live by the Word of the Lord so that we can be holy.

This passage in Isaiah 40 is quoted in a very interested passage in 1 Peter...

1 Peter 1:18–25 TLV

You know that you were redeemed from the futile way of life handed down from your ancestors—not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with precious blood like that of a lamb without defect or spot, the blood of Messiah. He was chosen before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through Him you are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your trust and hope are in God. Now that you have purified your souls in obedience to the truth, leading to sincere brotherly love, love one another fervently from a pure heart. You have been born again—not from perishable seed but imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All humanity is like grass, And all its glory like a wildflower. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed as Good News to you.

Here’s the connection I want us to see today. The whole purpose to the role of the high priest was to serve as an intermediary between mankind and God because of our sins to seek atonement for our sins. The High Priest was commanded to wear a Tzitz with Petil Tekhelet upon his head to remind Adonai of the holiness He has called us to despite our sin. And then Israel was brought into this reminder on a personal level by being commanded to wear tzitziyot with Petil Tekhelet to remind us to rely upon His Word and covenant so that we don’t fall prey to temptation and sin and we strive to walk in holiness because we are to be holy because Adonai our God is holy.

Being holy is a biblical ordinance, but it requires personal action under the authority of the Ruach HaKodesh.

Yeshua became our High Priest in the Order of Malchi-Tzedek in order to serve as the ultimate intermediary, offering His life for final atonement for our sins. Through His offering He didn’t just cover our sins so that we could attempt to live holy lives… No, our Kohen Gadol takes up residence in our hearts and lives, writing His Word upon the flesh of our hearts, injecting His Word into our DNA and through the indwelling of His Ruach HaKodesh we can become Kodesh LaAdonai by His strength, not by our own.

We no longer have to rely on a High Priest who is also human, who will also sin and fall short of the Glory of God. We no longer have to rely on a high priest who has to atone for his own sin before atoning for ours. We have a High Priest who is spotless, who is perfect, who is God Himself robed in flesh.

And here’s a key component to both the Tzitz and the Tzitziyot, the rabbis tell us they were both meant to be seen. When one saw the Kohen Gadol in his priestly garments one of the most visible and attention drawing things he wore would have been the gold plate proclaiming Kodesh LaAdonai.

The same is true with the Tzitziyot, they were commanded to be worn to be seen… How else are the tzitziyot going to remind of to be Kodesh LaAdonai by His Word if we can’t see them because they are hidden from us?

And in the same sense, the first thing people should notice about us as followers of Yeshua, as those redeemed and restored by the Blood of the Lamb, is that we are Kodesh LaAdonai. Our walk and our faith should be visible and obvious… Not in an arrogant way, not in an attention seeking manner, not in such a way that we are trying to make ourselves come across as better than anyone else… We have been bought and redeemed by Yeshua HaMashiach, our Kohen Gadol in the heavenlies so that we can emulate His life, so that we can emulate His righteousness and Holiness. In fact, and even more so, we have been bought and redeemed by Yeshua so that He can become our Holiness...

Ephesians 4:22–24 TLV

With respect to your former lifestyle, you are to lay aside the old self corrupted by its deceitful desires, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self—created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Being holy is a biblical ordinance, but it requires personal action under the authority of the Ruach HaKodesh.

You

When you consider where you life is today, would you say you are life is Kodesh LaAdonai? Are you fully submitted to the authority of the Ruach HaKodesh? Is Yeshua HaMashiach the true High Priest in your life? Or do you still find yourself giving into the the temptations of the world around you more than the ways of Adonai? When the world sees you are they seeing an air of pseudo righteousness that you want to be seen? Or are they seeing a righteousness that can only be found in Messiah Yeshua and the indwelling of the Ruach HaKodesh?

We

If our worship team will make their way back up to the bimah. (Unmute the worship team)

The beauty of the gold plate on the priest’s forehead and it’s connection to the tzitziyot worn on our tallit is such a powerful reminder to us of the call to holiness. I think often in the Body of Messiah we have this notion that because we are saved we have nothing left to worry about, but salvation should lead to discipleship and discipleship should lead to a continuous growth in the Ruach HaKodesh.