Vayaq’hel – And he assembled
Shemot (Exodus) 35:1 – 38:20
Melekim Alef (I Kings) 7:13-51;
2 Corinthians 9:1-15; Revelation 11:1-13
Leslie and I love to walk a sandy beach together as close to the waves as we can. The Pacific Ocean was named for its generally pacifying nature.
There’s something about the cycle of waves washing onshore, and then retreating until the next wave rolls in, that is so relaxing and peaceful, yet invigorating.
Seeing Cycles With a View From Eternity
The ocean wave cycle offers us a view from eternity. It is a perspective for those who understand how YHWH brings in an issue in life that at first seems so strong and harsh, but gradually dissipates as it’s undercut by the retreating wave. He always comes through to deliver us out of all our afflictions, no matter how large the waves. Even life’s storms pass by in time and cause strong surges further inland. Calm will eventually return.
No matter how strong the wind nor how large the wave is, the Word of God on the second day of creation set an eternal boundary that cannot be transgressed. ‘El (God)’ in paleo means ‘Strong Controller.’ Ocean waves remind us how His Word controls all things.
Nicole C Mullen in her powerful song ‘Redeemer’ sang it this way: “Who told the ocean, you can only come this far?” The song rejoices in the assurance of the resurrection of the redeemed to come. Although the wave of death will overwhelm our bodies, those having been baptized in Yeshua will one day rise again. The wave of death will certainly retreat to be overcome by the wave of the Resurrection and the Life in Adonai Yeshua!
Viewing from the big picture of time, revivals in Biblical times were like waves. The glory cloud manifested in the assemblies of Yah’s people when the Tabernacle and the Temple had just been built. But even in modern times, those who experienced the glory of a former visitation of YHWH are often the ones who undercut the next wave of revival.
The Builder of the First Dwelling Place
Consider what had to happen and who built the first Dwelling Place of YHWH, the Mishkan, the Tabernacle in the wilderness, before the glory came:
“See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and bronze, and the cutting of stones for settings, and the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship.” Exodus 31:2-5
Moses was given the pattern of the heavenly Mishkan, the Dwelling Place where YHWH’s throne is, but Betsalel was given the vision and the spiritual gift of how to build it (Bill Cloud commentary, 2023). The meaning of his name and the tribe he’s from give us a clue as to why Abba elected him. ‘Betsalel’ means ‘in the shadow, protection of God.’ His character was for him to dwell in a place of intimacy, in the secret place, abiding in the shadow of Shaddai (Psalm 91:1) That’s where true wisdom comes from, having an intimate relationship with the Father through Yeshua, the Son of Elohim. More than just knowing the pattern, wisdom that comes from intimacy with the Creator is needed to accomplish the purpose and plan of YHWH using the knowledge He instructed.
To begin to see a common thread on the builders of the Dwelling Places of YHWH Elohim, notice that Betzalel was wise-hearted and ‘of the tribe of Judah’.
Who did the Master Architect choose to build His dwelling places? Could this tribe be integral in the last day’s revival?
The Builder of the Temples
What other wise-hearted man did YHWH choose from the tribe of Judah to build His Dwelling Place? Yes, it was King Solomon, son of David, also of the tribe of Judah, whom YHWH had to build the first temple in all its glory (1 Kings 8:10).
God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. 1 Kings 3:11-12
Both Betsalel and Shlomoh were endued with the Spirit of Wisdom by YHWH. Both builders were of the tribe of Judah. These are two obvious common threads. Do these threads continue in the Scriptures for builders of the Dwelling Place of Elohim?
What about the second temple, called the Temple of Herod? Did the glory of YHWH come there to revive the people?
Since Yeshua is YHWH Who came in the flesh, the Messiah is the only one wiser than Solomon (Matthew 12:42, Luke 11:31, 1 Cor 1:24). He is also from the tribe of Judah. Yeshua is the glory of YHWH (John 1:14, 11:40, 12:40; Acts 7:55). So when Yeshua showed up at the temple, the glory of YHWH came. He is the exact representation of Yah (Hebrews 1:3), the greatest manifestation of the glory of God to visit any assembly. ‘Ben’, ‘Son’ in Hebrew, means ‘builder of the house.’ Yeshua came to build the Dwelling Place of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of souls He regenerates through His saving Word.
After His resurrection, was there another wise builder of the temple of the Spirit to arise by the Spirit of Yeshua (Philippians 1:19)? Paul, a Benjamite, was raised in the Torah and a Jewish culture (Philippians 3:5-6). Benjamin was a tribe in the southern Kingdom, called Judah. Paul did not renounce his roots after he was born again (Rom 11:1). Many signs and wonders of the glory of YHWH followed Paul and his work. Paul was a builder of Yah’s Dwelling Place by building assemblies in the Western world of the goyim.
Will the assembly I attend be filled with His tangible Presence when the last great wave of revival sweeps over this planet? Are we truly building a Dwelling Place, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, according to the pattern that YHWH Elohim shows us in the Scriptures?
The glory of YHWH filled both the Tabernacle and the Temple. That’s how we will know if we are truly building a Dwelling Place for Abba’s family according to the pattern given on the mount. We will know someday if the glory cloud, the manifest Presence of YHWH Elohim, fills the assembly, the temple of the Ruach HaKodesh, if we are wise-hearted and do our work right (Bill Cloud commentary, 2023).
A Prophecy of the End Times Revival
“Come, let us return to YHWH. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, so that we may live before Him.
So let us know, let us press on to know YHWH. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth. What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud, and like the dew which goes away early. Hosea 6:1
Despite the two houses’ failures to be faithful to YHWH and His promises, YHWH will revive His people ‘after two days’ and will ‘raise us up on the third day.’
Peter gave us an interpretation of these ‘two days’ and the ‘third day’ when he wrote:
‘But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.’
2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4
Close to two thousand years, ‘two days’ have transpired since Yeshua came the first time. Depending on when you start counting the years since Yeshua walked the earth, we are very soon entering ‘the third day.’ The latter-day revival is much needed, since so many of Yah’s people need mending and healing – not just physically and emotionally, but with relationships. Not just torn relationships between married couples, but the vast number of denominational and congregational splits will be healed.
And not just denominational rifts, but Yeshua will mend the great gulf between the house of Ephraim (Joes) and the house of Judah (Jews). Ezekiel prophesied that the two sticks will come together (Chapter 37) in His hand. Did Yeshua prophesy the same restoration of the two houses of Israel? I believe that there are parables that do just that – with a warning.
The Elder Son and His Prodigal Brother
The father had run out to bring his prodigal son back home and was ready to celebrate his return with a big feast! But like a retreating wave undercutting the next one coming in, his oldest son wasn’t having any of it.
“But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’
(Listen to the undercutting, murmuring, retreating wave coming against the prodigal son.)
But he became angry and was not willing to go in, and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
(How did the father of the two sons respond to that? His response was overwhelming!)
“And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'”
Luke 15:22-31
What other parable carries this same common thread of the former and latter waves?
The Early and Latter Laborers in the Vineyard
There is another parable of Yeshua that holds a common thread with the prodigal son parable. Don’t you just love the wisdom offered us in the parables of the Messiah?
And going out about the eleventh hour, he found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is just.’ But evening having come, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them the wage, beginning from the last to the first.’ And the ones having come the eleventh hour each received a denarius. And having come, the first supposed that they would receive more. And they also each received a denarius. Matthew 20:6-10
Watch this! Here comes the retreating undercutting, murmuring wave from the previous wave of workers against the last incoming wave.
And having received it, they murmured against the housemaster, saying, ‘These last have performed one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’
Matthew 20:11-12
What does the Master say to this undercutting comment? Which voice should we line up with at the end day when the last wave of souls comes into the shores of the Kingdom?
But answering, he said to one of them, ‘Friend, I do not wrong you. Did you not agree to a denarius with me? Take yours and go. But I desire to give to this last as also to you. Or is it not lawful for me to do what I desire with my things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ Matthew 20:13-15
I love how the Master counters the narrative of the earlycomers and stands with His decision as the Authority on the matter of mercifully rewarding His latecomers! Yeshua gave us this parable for a reason because He knows that those who have been part of a previous wave coming into work for Him in the fields of souls will have two choices:
To be part of the retreating, undercutting wave of murmurs, or to speak in submission and alignment with the Master’s words appreciating and rewarding the last wave of souls.
So the last shall be first, and the first last; for many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 20:16
We’ve heard this passage quoted many times. It would behoove us to consider its context. Let’s ride the wave like a surfer and not go with the retreating wave to get washed up onto the shore!
As Far As the East is From the West
In the Psalms, could our merciful Father in Heaven be eluding to something other than just how far away from Him that He removes our sin?
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy for those who fear Him. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his sons (benai), so YHWH has compassion on those who fear Him.
Psalm 103:11-13
Who are the Father’s children on whom He forgives sins, but are the descendants of all twelve sons of Israel? From the Torah, we know Judah was camped in the east and Ephraim in the West. The two houses are still largely understood that way: the Western Christian world and the Jews in the land of Israel in the Middle East. Could this not only be a reference to how He forgives those who fear Him but also a prophecy on how far apart the two houses of Israel would become?
Do the Jews consider God-fearing Joes, mostly known as Constantine Christians who believe in Jesus, to have their Torahless sins removed from them? Do Joes consider God-fearing Jews who accept Yeshua as their Messiah, but do not renounce all their rabbinic Jewishness, to have their transgressions removed from them?
In my humble opinion, when it comes to an understanding of who is righteous, the two houses of Israel seem to see each other ‘as far as the East is from the West.’
Rebuilding the Fallen Sukkah of David in Our Day
What will characterize the last great revival? Who will be involved? What will be restored?
And the words of the Prophets are in complete harmony with this for it is written, ‘ “After this, I will return; and I will rebuild the fallen tent (sukkah) of David. I will rebuild its ruins, I will restore it, so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, that is, all the Goyim who have been called by My Name,” says Adonai, Who is doing these things.’ All this has been known for ages. Acts 15:15-18 (CJB)
Notice that this prophecy is not for the restoration of the Tabernacle of Moses, the temple of Solomon – but of the fallen tent of David. Why ‘the sukkah of David’ in this prophecy?
King David was of the tribe of Judah at a time of victorious battles taking back the land of Israel for all twelve tribes. King David didn’t build the temple because of bloodshed, but he did build an open-sided, mobile, temporary tent – a sukkah. David of the tribe of Judah was not just the builder, he served as a priest there, foreshadowing the Messiah Yeshua. David freely worshiped His Elohim in the sukkah, playing the harp, singing, and praising Him before the ark of the covenant. Unlike the Tabernacle and the Temples, a man from the tribe of Judah, not Levi, had access to the Divine Presence where YHWH dwelt temporarily. The sukkah of David pictures a time when YHWH would dwell in temporary tents of humans like you and me, where He dwells on the thrones of the hearts of the blood-bought, redeemed souls from both houses of Israel.
Like a wave, the sukkah of David had fallen, and the next wave of glory came into Solomon’s temple. But YHWH says His last wave will be like David’s sukkah, not like Solomon’s temple. The wise-hearted council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) saw the wave of goyim (gentiles) coming in to be like the wave of Israelites coming into the land during King David’s reign. Since Yeshua is coming back as the Lion of Judah, wouldn’t the last wave, the last harvest of souls be similar?
Believers in Yeshua have a choice to make. Will we be undercutting the last wave of revival with murmuring narratives of the previous waves, previous revivals, reformations, renewals, or awakenings? What about we who have been in Hebrew Roots for years, especially those of the previous wave starting in 1998 into the early 2000s?
Will we accept wise-hearted men from the tribe of Judah to be part of rebuilding the ‘sukkah of David’ in our midst? Or will we undercut anyone or anything called ‘Jewish’?
Sure, we need to use wisdom and discernment, always keeping our eyes on Yeshua and in submission to our Master. But He’s not coming back renouncing His tribe. He’s coming back roaring like a lion king from His tribe!
Let’s not murmur like the retreating wave against the in-coming, mighty wave of revival. Let’s go with the flow of the two houses of Israel, joined together in the last great wave of revival before His return!
Blessings in the Name of Yeshua, our King and High Priest,
David