Ki Tisa (When You Elevate)
Ki Tisa (When You Elevate)
9) Exodus 30:11–34:35
God’s voice is powerful.
I love the definition of prayer I once heard that conceived of prayer as “power clothed in language.” Psalm 29 makes much of the power of the “voice of the Lord” and ends in the blessing of God’s peace—His Rest in the Soul and eventually on a renewed earth.
One way I believe God is restoring His rest on the earth is by purifying the community of God’s people from inherited anti-Judaic bias that has festered for 1,900 years, more formally for 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea (specifically, “The Passover Controversy”). This inherited bias robs the people of God from the blessings of rest in God.
One specific way I see God chiseling away this bias is by restoring the clarity of our ability to rightly read and understand God’s word—the Bible. The Bible Project has done more to recover the macro-narrative of the Bible without perpetuating either of the two main toxic heresies of “anti-nomianism” (anti-law) or “replacement theology.” Check out this new “Visual Commentary” from the Bible Project that helps us get beyond the artificial chapter and verse dividers and better orients us to the “shape” of the written Word of God. Ultimately, the point of this restoration is to more easily hear the voice of God.
The Parashah Project promotes a “parashah approach to Scripture” by making an ancient Jewish tradition of “chunking” the Word of God accessible in modern times without the benefit of knowing Hebrew or Jewish tradition. This week’s passage has some interesting “chunking” that ultimately work to illuminate and amplify God’s purposeful re-creation unto soul-rest for His followers which is unto the Restoration of All Things (Acts 3:21).
The opening 5-word phrase from Exodus 30:11 is below in Hebrew and means, “And God spoke to Moses, saying…” This phrase shows up 7 times and thus amplifies the pattern of creation that leads to a time full of rest and the Presence of God.
God’s word to Moses is powerful. God’s word to you is the true source of power for your soul rest and the key to your life’s fruitfulness! Exodus 25:1 is the first instance of this phrase with Ex. 25:8 focusing on God’s purpose of Relational depth (for Kingdom breadth) through His manifest Presence:
Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. (NLT)
This week’s portion begins with the 2nd occurrence of this 5-word Hebrew phrase and continues a “chunking” pattern through to the 7th occurrence which, not coincidentally, is all about the Sabbath, relational access to God’s Presence, and invitation deeper into His shalom—His rest!
Specifically, here are the 7 occurrences of God’s word to Moses—focusing on relational access unto depth—six of which are in this week’s portion.
Exodus 25:1 (instructions for God to dwell with us so we can access Him)
Exodus 30:11 (everyone counts…and the cost of atonement and access to God’s Presence is the same for everyone regardless of socio-economic status)
Exodus 30:17 (access requires cleansing)
Exodus 30:22 (access requires anointing)
Exodus 30:34 (access, similar to prayer, carries a sweet aroma)
Exodus 31:1 (God fills His people with His Spirit purposefully to “scale-up” access")
Exodus 31:12 (Sabbath is a “beachhead” in time to bring God’s Presence “on earth as it is in heaven” and is an “eternal sign” designed to teach us that God is the One Who makes us holy)
Imagine being on top of a mountain and God speaks these to you:
“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Let that sink in. This actually happened to Moses. The context, however, involved some serious trouble. The golden calf debacle, described in this week’s portion, is followed by Moses’ pleading intercession.
In truly Messiah-like fashion, Moses sacrificially offers to take the judgment for this sin of the Israelites. God relents, however, and makes this precious promise to go with them…and God’s Presence would be the true source of rest (Ex. 33:14).
Rest.
Rest is not only something that God commanded once a week on the Sabbath. It also describes our state of being in perfect union with God, even while we are working. God’s pattern of rest includes 6 + 1. Six days of work and one day of rest. This rhythm is baked into the very fabric of creation and redemption (for a discussion of these aspects of the 4th commandment regarding Sabbath, see the post from a few weeks ago on Yitro).
Dig in this week to God’s word and let the commentary, linked below, be a guide deeper into God’s rest in your soul. Hang on, though, because this week is also a deep descent into the golden calf debacle. But don’t worry, the bad news is always a platform for God to announce and amplify His Good News! And the next week begins with a re-announcement of a Sabbath command designed to point us to the Lord of the Sabbath!
Readings for the Week:
Torah: EXODUS 30:11–34:35
Prophets: 1 KINGS 18:1–39
Apostolic Writings: 2 CORINTHIANS 3:1–18
Click HERE for the online Parashah commentary.
Shalom,
Thomas