Good Morning.
And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be one tabernacle. (Exodus 26:6)
As Scripture continues to describe the different components of the sanctuary, curtains of great size are mentioned as well as loops and the clasps to hold them all together. In fact, there is an interesting concept revealed within this part of the instructions that centers on the fifty gold clasps. For the tabernacle to function properly — which is to say, to be the proper abode for the Most High God — all of these different pieces and components had to be put together according to the pattern and had to function as “one tabernacle.” And so it is interesting to see that the Hebrew text uses the word אחד echad to describe the tabernacle as being “one.”
This word, echad, is the same Hebrew word that describes God as being “one.” The Shema — the central tenant of our faith — says, “Hear O Israel, the LORD our God is one (echad). According to Yeshua, this is the greatest of all commands, and so it is both logical and fascinating to consider that the place where He wished to “dwell among” His people was to be echad as well. Let’s look at it like this: unless all the components were in their proper place so that the sanctuary could be “one,” God’s Presence would not have been in the sanctuary. Without Him, the sanctuary would have simply been a collection of different articles, some common and some precious, with no real purpose.
In this we see a very important principle that speaks to all of God’s people today. Though we may be unique and have different skills and gifts, in the end, we are to be one people and one body that serves His purpose in the earth. In fact, unless we learn to come together as one people and function properly, we risk being a body without the power of His Presence. On the day of Pentecost, the sound of a rushing mighty wind came only when God’s people were “in one place, in one accord.” In other words, we are called to come together and be echad, even as He is echad. This will happen because on the eve of His crucifixion, Yeshua prayed that we, as His people, would be one even as He and the Father are one. It will not be easy but, nevertheless, we are charged with this duty and thus we pray, “LORD, make us one.”
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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