Fire in Your Tabernacle? When the Israelites built according to God’s pattern and set apart the structure for His glory, something extraordinary happened. The presence of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. His glory settled among them, confirming that obedience to the heavenly blueprint always draws His nearness. There’s a profound lesson in that for us today: when we choose to align our lives with God’s divine design, His presence fills our “tabernacle” too, our hearts, our

Most of us know that knot-in-the-stomach moment when the “building fund” or High Holiday appeal begins. The words are about generosity, yet something in the tone can feel more like pressure than invitation. We have all sat there wondering whether this is truly about sacred partnership, or whether we are being pushed, nudged, or even subtly manipulated. Experiences like that can leave a film over the soul, making it harder to hear the quiet, sincere call of the heart that actu

Photo by Terry Harman Photo by Terry Harman, © 2023 If you are Jewish or Christian, my intention is not to offend you with this blog post. But if you are one of the Roman soldiers at the crucifixion of Jesus, well I mean to call you out for your cruelty. Crucifixion in the 1st Century was a brutal exercise of capital punishment intended to strike fear in the inhabitants of the land. In the case of Jesus of Nazareth, the Roman soldiers added insult to injury. Puzzling Detail U

The woman with the issue of blood in Matthew 14:34-36 reveals a surprising connection to the Jewish prayer shawl or Tallit.

Part one of this article was written some time ago. Since that time I received many rebukes and requests for more supporting evidence that the High Priest did not wear a rope around his ankle, foot, or waist when entering the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur or during the discharge of his duties in the Holy Place at other times. For some readers, their concern is I questioned the validity of the New International Version of the Bible (NIV). In general, I try not to rely on the ac

The Mystery of the High Priest’s Rope Leviticus 16 By Terry Harman, D.Min, PhD www.thetabernacleman.com “Where’s my rope? Hurry, tie it to my ankle, the service is about to begin and I must wear my rope!” The High Priest never uttered these words. We do not want to create a theological crisis for you, but the High Priest never wore bells nor was a rope tied to his ankle when he entered the holy of holies on Yom Kippur. The legend mak

Exodus 12:4-5 indicates on the eve of Passover the Hebrews were permitted to roast and eat a sheep or a goat. Is this really in the Bible?

Passover 3,500 years ago was not the modern Passover observed today. The enslaved Hebrews experienced cultural wars and class struggles within the dominant culture of Egyptian society. Ten generations of fathers could only pass down misery and hardship to the next generation. The people of God had all but lost their native language, culture, ethnic foods, clothing, and their understanding of God. The Egyptian culture and religion influenced every aspect of life.

Why was the blood of a lamb and not another animal placed on the doorposts on "Passover" in Egypt?

Explore how Jewish tradition interprets the four days of the korban Pesach (קרבן פסח) as a test of emunah (אמונה – faith) and public defiance of Egyptian deities, marked by the dam (דם – blood) on the doorposts as covenantal allegiance to God.

A family’s Passover journey to Jerusalem reveals the cost of offering their own unblemished lamb, the meaning of sacrifice, and the hope of God’s promised redemption through Mashiach.

Jewish high priest at the brazen altar

Photo by Terry Harman, 2008 “Who Slays the Passover Lamb” One of the questions I often receive on my YouTube channel is about who slaughtered the Passover lamb at the Temple: the priest or the people? The answer is not as clear-cut as we would expect. In short, both lay persons and priests prepared the Passover offering. As we have seen in a former post (1) today without the Temple, most Jews do not eat Lamb during Passover. While most people would assume that it was the prie

The blood of the lamb was smeared on the doorposts of the Hebrew homes. This blood was a sign of the pledge to serve God rather than Pharoah

Who do modern Jews not eat lamb at Passover, as prescribed in the book of Exodus 12?

Exodus 28:29-30 JPS 1917 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim ; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually. The Urim and Thu

Terry pictured as the High Priest, © The Tabernacle Man, 2006. Introduction to Thee-Part Series This four-part series on the mysterious blue robe (Me’il) of the High Priest, will be my attempt at studying the plain sense of the word while being open to the symbolic without losing the historical context of the setting.   In Jewish tradition and interpretation of the Torah, symbolism often plays a crucial role in conveying deeper meanings than the plain sense of the verses stud

“Bells and Pomegranates of the Blue Robe” photo by Dr. Jason Eric Renna, 2022 January 4, 2024 Exodus 28:31-35 (JPS 1917) And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And it shall have a hole for the head in the midst thereof; it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of a coat of mail that it be not rent. And upon the skirts of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the skirts t

Exodus 28:31-35 (JPS 1917) And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And it shall have a hole for the head in the midst thereof; it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of a coat of mail that it be not rent. And upon the skirts of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the skirts thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden

A reminder of the Significance of the Garments In our previous post, we learned that each of the eight golden garments of the High Priest in Jewish tradition is intrinsically holy and imparts atonement for specific sins when worn properly during Yom Kippur rituals. The sages of the past taught that these garments, worn by the High Priest during Temple service, serve to atone for the sins of Israel. It is taught that, similar to sacrifices, the priestly garments facilitate at