In our Torah portion for this Shabbat (i.e., parashat Terumah), God provides instructions about creating the great “Ark of the Covenant” (אֲרוֹן בְּרִית־יְהוָה). Note that the Hebrew text says “they shall make an ark of acacia wood” (Exod. 25:10). Unlike other furnishings of the Tabernacle that were made by Betzalel, the text uses the plural verb here: “they shall make an ark” (וְעָשׂוּ אֲרוֹן), which implies that every person had a part in upholding the Torah. More – each person had a part in the place of blood atonement offered upon the kapporet – the cover of the Ark – which again symbolizes that Yeshua offered his life for the sins of all who would trust in him (1 John 2:2).
Note further that the Ark’s dimensions were given in fractional measurements, “half-cubits” used to describe its length, width, and height, as we read: “They shall make an ark of acacia wood (עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים); two cubits and a half (וָחֵצִי) shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height” (Exod. 25:10). The sages comment that the “half-cubit” is symbolic of our fractional understanding, alluding to mystery and even paradox. “You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a crown of gold (זֵר זָהָב) around it” (Exod. 25:11). The heart of the Tabernacle held the law of God, a picture of Yeshua who bore the law of God within his heart (Matt. 5:17-18). And though the Ark was made of wood from the common thorntree, it was covered inside and out with pure gold and bore a “crown” where the sacrificial blood was offered for atonement, a picture of Yeshua who clothed himself in our humanity, bore the crown of thorns, and shed his blood for our eternal atonement (Heb. 9:12).
Recall that before the revelation at Sinai God instructed Moses to set a “boundary” (i.e., hagbalah: הגבּלה) around the mountain with the stern warning that whoever would transgress the imposed limit would die (Exod. 19:12). But why did the LORD command this distance from the people at the time of such intense revelation? Why, for that matter, were God’s first words to Moses, “do not come closer” (אַל־תִּקְרַב הֲלֹם) when he encountered the LORD before the burning thornbush (Exod. 3:5)? In response to such questions the sages have said that there is a fundamental “dialectic” or tension at the core of our connection with God. On the one hand God is utterly holy, sacredly separate, infinitely transcendent, and entirely beyond our understanding, while on the other hand God is entirely present within creation, upholding it and providentially sustaining it, and who is near to all who sincerely call upon him (Psalm 145:18). God is both Elohim (אלהִים) – the Master of the universe and ruler of all possible worlds — the sole Creator (הַבּוֹרֵא) and the only true Judge and moral authority (הֲשֹׁפֵט הָאֲמִתִּית), yet he is also YHVH (יְהוָה), the source of our breath (Gen. 2:7; Num. 16:22), the compassionate Savior (הַמוֹשִׁיעַ), the intercessor (מַפְגִּיעַ), the Redeemer (הַגּוֹאֵל), the Healer (הַמְרַפֵּא), and Lover of our souls (חובב נשמתנו). God is both fully holy (separate) yet his glory pervades and fills the world (Isa. 6:3).
The Scriptures reveal that the Mishkan (or “Tabernacle”) was intended to provide an elaborate “parable” or “pattern” that points to the salvation of our God (יְשׁוּעַת אֱלהֵינוּ). First, the Mishkan designated a central and sacred place (מִקְדָּשׁ) representing the Divine Presence, with the tribes carefully arrayed on each side (east, west, north, and south), and the four families of the Levites arrayed on each side of the courtyard (Num. 2). The gate to the Mishkan opened from the east, where the tribe of Judah was positioned (Gen. 49:10) and where the Kohanim (priests) had their camp just outside the court (Heb. 7:14). As you entered the Mishkan itself, you would immediately behold the mizbe’ach (i.e., copper altar), which revealed the “korban principle,” namely, that the only way to draw near to God is by means of sacrificial blood offered in exchange for the sinner, as stated in the Torah, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (Lev. 17:11), and “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Heb. 9:22).
The world might be in a frenzy over various earthly fears, but understand that the LORD God of Israel is upon the throne, friends. As it says in our Scriptures: “For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, the great king over all the earth” (Psalm 47:2). Those of faith understand history – including the End of Days – as the expression of God’s sovereign and providential hand. The gracious Savior always works “all things together for the good” of those who are trusting in Him. Ein od milvado (אין עוד מלבדו) – there is no power that can be exercised apart from God’s consent and overarching will. Indeed all authority in heaven and earth belongs to Yeshua, the “the Ruler of the Kings of the earth” (עליון למלכי הארץ). As it is written, “All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name” (Psalm 86:9).
In our Torah reading for this week (i.e., 
The Spirit of the Lord comforts and reassures those who trust in Him: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם), and they will never perish – no, never! – and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). Note that the Greek grammar in this verse uses a “double negation,” which is the strongest way to deny something. In other words, if the question were asked, “Will one of these sheep perish?” the answer is emphatic: “No, no, it will never happen! It is unthinkable!” Indeed all those who belong to Messiah “shall never, ever perish – not into eternity (εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα).” It is an eternal certainty that you who are trusting in Yeshua will never perish, and no power in heaven or earth will be able to take you out of God’s hand… “Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue you all the days of your life, and you shall dwell in the Presence of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6).
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world; if any one loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he’s in prison (Dostoevsky). We may abstain from overt forms of worldliness, but when we subconsciously accept the unspoken assumptions and values of this world, we become functional idolaters. Worldliness seeks its comfort in the present hour; it has its own mythology and religious worship.
Undoubtedly part of the reason for moral failure within the church comes from deceptive theology and the doctrine called “antinomianism,” that is, the idea that faith in Yeshua implies that we are no longer “under the law”and therefore we are free to live apart from what the Torah (and by extension, the New Testament) plainly says and teaches… This is clearly a mistake — a serious confusion between the terms of the former covenant at Sinai with the timeless truth of God’s eternal Torah, or moral will… After all, the New Covenant (ברית חדשׁה) of Yeshua is the one in which the Torah of the LORD would be written upon our hearts (see Jer. 31:31-34). Genuine followers of Yeshua therefore will love the Torah of the LORD, since God does not lie or change His mind, and Yeshua our Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Num. 23:19; Psalm 33:1; Heb. 13:8). As it is also written: “Blessed is the person who delights in the law of the LORD (תורת יהוה) and meditates upon its truth day and night (Psalm 1:1-2). Amen, for the life of the follower of Yeshua “we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the sake of the truth” (2 Cor. 13:8).