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Daily manna from the Torah by Dr Ketriel Blad


Tetsaveh 20-7

You shall command

Exodus 30:1-10

And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them, and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it.

Ex. 30:4 ESV

Why was the altar mobile?

All the artifacts for the tabernacle were made mobile. The tabernacle itself was a sanctuary specially prepared to travel with the sons of Israel in the desert. This is not only due to practicality for the sons of Israel's time of transit but it also represents a very important lesson for our personal lives.

Everything is moving in this world; the only one who doesn't is the Eternal. However, He interacts in this moving world as if He were moving too. (cf. Ez. 18).

Everything around us and within us changes from the moment we are born in this world. There is a trend in men that grows as years go by i.e. the trend of not wanting to change. What we learn through life creates a safety barrier somehow, and it becomes easier to stand still within a comfort zone. That's why any change becomes a challenge for the comfortable mind that has gotten used to something. Change requires new efforts and new risks of being wrong. That's why the comfortable man becomes enemy of change. This comes from the yetser harah - the evil inclination.

If we look at the altar and we apply it to the righteous' prayer life and devotion, we can stress the fact that just as the altar, the latter has to be mobile and flexible. Our prayer life and devotion to the Eternal have to adjust to any new situation in which we find ourselves. As sacrifices were required every day, thus every day requires a new surrender to the Eternal.

We can't live before the Eternal based on the way we related to Him yesterday, we can't live in intimacy with Him in a hope of what could come tomorrow. We have to surrender every day, no matter how we feel, no matter what the circumstances. Our altar has to be flexible, mobile and has to be moving with circumstances in a way that our surrender to the Eternal can remain constant.

Dear disciple of Yeshua: If you have left your altar behind, go back and lift it again. Take it always with you. Don't neglect your daily devotion to the Eternal. Move forward in your prayer life and walk with the Eternal towards the goal He has for your life.

Shabbat shalom,

Ketriel


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