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Friday, February 16, 2024

Shabbat Readings Terumah- Offering ! Thoughts and Resources~

Terumah / Offering Shabbat Readings for 7 Adar I  5784 / February 17, 2024

Updated: 7 Adar 1 9:45 a.m.
Note: Although I am still adding to this post, I am posting it now so people who might need some of these resources for Shabbat can find them.  Creator willing, I will be back to add to this. Please excuse the errors. How many can you find.? Message me here on X with any questions or suggestions @Sister_Su

The prescribed readings for this week's Shabbat posted by Messianic Rabbi David Stone Jr. on Facebook are:
  • Torah- Exodus 25:1-27:19 
  • Haftarah- 1Kings 5:26-6:13 
  • New Covenant- 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 and Romans 13
The name of the Torah portion is "Terumah" which means 'Offering". 
Image of Hebrew MAsoretic Text Terumah . Link opens on the Blue Letter Bible Page in a new Tab
Hebrew Masoretic Text- Terumah from Blue Letter Bible.org


Rabbi David Stone Jr. welcomes people to join their congregation in person or online on Shabbat/Saturday 02/17/24 10:30-10:55 AM for fellowship and set up time and 11 AM to 12:30 PM for the teaching. 
Their Congregation meets at Christian Fellowship Church 3950 Pointe Parkway, Beaumont Texas 77706.  Park near the main office entrance in the front of the building.  They are in Classroom #2 just past the restrooms.

You can view the Facebook live on Rabbi Stone Jr's Facebook profile.. If you are not a Facebook user, you can also see the live session and replay here:
 Note: This blog has referral links that help our writers eat when you make purchases through them. Please do not make purchases on Shabbat.

Children's Ministry Resources - Terumah 

This week I am going to start by searching for Children's Ministry Resources. Keep checking back, as I am praying to be able to post more updates.

Torah Reading Children's Ministry Resources - Exodus 25:1-27:19

This is about the Israelites  building the Tabernacle - the mobile temple in the desert. Note: Most of these resources place more of an emphasis on temple building, and the importance of preparing our schools, homes, and bodies to be suitable dwelling places for the Holy Spirit. I am looking for more Children's Ministry resources that are aimed at the overall theme for this week - The Importance of Joyful Giving.
Important Scripture:
Image of Exodus 25:2 in Hebrew. Link opens in a new tab on the Blue Letter Bible website
Exodus 25:2 Masoretic Text from Blue Letter Bible.org


Haftarah Reading Children's Ministry -  1 Kings 5:26-6:13

This is about the building of the temple by Shlomo /Solomon.

New Covenant Reading- Children's Ministry- 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Most of the children's ministry resources in 2 Corinthians 9 focus on the importance of sowing generously and giving cheerfully. This aligns with this month, the month of Adar - the month of being joyful and gaining strength through joy.
Some things that could be used with this scripture are:

New Covenant Children's Ministry Resources -Romans 13

Telling children to obey people in authority needs to be tempered with some guidance about how sometimes it might be better to not obey the people in charge of them - for example a babysitter who tells them to do something that is against the laws of Our Creator.

Thoughts on This Week's Shabbat Readings based on the Torah - Terumah - Offering

Overall Thoughts on These Scriptures

If I had started with the New Covenant Reading and been armed with only the translation of the name of this week's Torah portion. I might have a different view of this week's prescribed readings and placed my emphasis on the importance of cheerfully giving to the persecuted church in Jerusalem and in other countries. 
Unfortunately, I started my scripture exploration with the children's activities posted by Hebrew scholars -Oops!
This shows me the importance of reading all the readings for the week before looking for resources for the Children's Ministry.
When I went through the children's ministry teaching on the Hebrew websites, the emphasis was on the building of the temples - the holiness of the temple, and how we can make our schools, homes and bodies holy and pleasing temples for Our Creator. 
Not being very conversant with what is where in the epistles, I was expecting the New Covenant teaching to be aligned with the spirit of the Hebrew Torah teachings. I was surprised and disappointed to find that the emphasis was on a different aspect of the temple building the first word in the Torah reading - Terumah - Offering. Oh dear.- Back to the dtawing board!

Thoughts on the Torah Passage - Moses Building the Mobile Desert Tabernacle 

According to the Strong's lexicon entry on the Blue Letter Bible Website, the Hebrew word Terumah is first found in Exodus 25:2. The word Terumah is used 74 times in the Bible ,usually to indicate something given as a sacred offering.
What do you give to someone who gas not only saved your life, but preserves your soull from the destruction of the second death?
There were some excellent teachings in children's ministry resources explaining how the temple relates symbolically to Our Saviour.
One topic that was brought up for discussion in several blog post comments was that the priests' garments were against the command not to wear wool and linen together. Some people conjectured that this combination of materials was to be reserved for the most holy things - the materials used in the temple and the priests' clothing. It certainly is an interesting mystery.
I found some interesting research a while ago on vibrational frequencies given off by different materials when they are separate and apart.
According to those studies it seemed to show that wearing this combination of materials could have effects on our bodies. This certainly is an interesting topic to explore.

Another topic of discussion was -"Why did the Creator ask people to bring things to make the temple and not supply them all himself?' In David Guzik's commentary on this passage, he points out that Our Father asked people to give from a, willing heart without first telling what He wanted them to do with the offerings. He also pointed out that these offerings did not belong to Moses or the Israelites. Looking at the list of things to be offered, I have often wondered if Our Father was looking down on the people with love and saw that these costly posessions were causing strife among His people. By removing these items from their posession and putting them together into a magnificent temple that could bring greater pleaseure than each item seperately, could He have also been teaching the value of pooling resources?
We need to remember that the Israelites had been slaves, so these costly items would most likely have been the result of Our Father working on the hearts of the Egyptians to give thse items into the hands of the Israelites. These items, like everything we receive, are not really the belogings of the people-just items pit into their hands for safe keeping until such a time as He was ready to put them to use. Afterall, we cannot take anything with us when we leave this world.
As a side note, I have seen many times that when people have a vested interest in something, they usually take better care of it., too.

Thoughts on  the Haftarah Passage- Solomon Builds the Temple -1 Kings 5:25-613

This must have been quite the structure overlaid with gold on the inside and out. 
When I think of Our Saviour and the temple Solomon built, I think of how Yeshua HaMashiach was walking  and talking with his disciples.in the ruins during Hanukah, "the feast of dedication", 

Thoughts on  the New Covenant Reading- Cheerfully Giving - 2 Corinthians 9:1-5

Before being led to listen to this commentary on 2Corinthians 9:1-15, by David Guzik on the Blue Letter Bible website, there were all kinds of things I missed - like the sarcasm the writer of this scripture is apparently using to guilt the Corinthians into taking up an offering for the people living in Jerusalem. 
Now when I read it, it seems almost like a veiled threat and a shakedown. It makes me wonder who on earth could think that this aligns with anything Our Saviour said. This passage reminds me of Proverbs 30:15. 

Thoughts on the New Covenant Reading - Romans 13

This video on Romans 13 caught my attention with its title - Romans 13:An Interpretation You Haven't Heard Before: 

It brings up some very important points about obedience to authority. For exa,mple when a parent tells a child to do something that is against the Torah - following Our Creator's other laws is more important than obeying their parents. The same stands true of following the instructions of a person in authority in other places - work, school, or even the laws of a country. The most important authority is that of Our Father.

More Resources Related to Terumah Teachings for This Shabbat

About This Author

Sister Su is grateful to God for keeping her alive. She is a Trent/Queen's Concurrent Education graduate with over 20 years of teaching experience. She writes on several blogs, has a YouTube channel and is most easily reached through Twitter @Sister_Su See her link tree for more details:@Sister_Su | Linktree

This post was proofread with the free version of Grammarly
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