Pekudei (Exodus 38:21-40:38) — Worship … As the Lord Commanded
The portion called Pekudei is not a regular occurrence on the Torah Portion calendar. This section for lack of a better word is a sub-division of the VaYakhel portion when it is necessary to “add an extra month” or Adar II on the Jewish calendar and allows for the “catching up” to the Gregorian Calendar. This extra month is necessary because the Hebrew month is based on the lunar year and not on the solar year and basically occurs 7 times every 19 years (https://www.timeanddate.com/date/jewish-leap-year.html).
Anyway, and back to Pekudei, this Torah Portion can be considered “labor intensive” of a read at first glance. It focuses on the instructions for the construction of the priestly garments (including the breastplate and Ephod) and other related aspects for the building of the Tabernacle. The details we find in these verses are … meticulous! And there is a phrase repeated over and over again in this portion that is encapsulated in one verse – “And they tied to it a blue cord, to fasten it above on the turban, as the Lord had commanded Moses.” (Exodus 39:31 – NKJV)
Yes, I emphasized the last section of verse 31 for a reason because you will find those words repeated repeatedly. There was no Baptist committee to discuss carpet color or pew cushions. There was a committee of one and His name was God. He determined every aspect of the Tabernacle was to be about worship to Him and Him alone.
This reality is summarized in the last verses of chapter 40 when we see that the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle when the work was completed and even Moses could not enter. Why was that the case? The word glory (kabod).
In Hebrew, glory is the idea of heaviness and Moses would have been crushed by God’s glory. So … when we ask for the “glory of the Lord” to come down in some of the worship songs today … do we really know what we are asking for in reality? We could not handle the pressure!
However, we perhaps should consider a redesign in our worship today. A redesign to ask him how our worship should better reflect a worship that is about Him and Him alone. Acoustics are fine. Air conditioning is wonderful (especially if you live in Texas) but comfort is not worship. Ease is not worship. Worship is to Him, about Him, for Him … alone. He commands it! Shalom!
