Building the Tabernacle, By William Haines 17/07/2011

Fine linen, goat hair, ram skins dyed red, and another type of durable leather, acacia wood, olive oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and the breast piece. Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this Tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. This was what God said to Moses about building the Tabernacle. If we think about it, where the Hebrews were at this time, they had just received the Ten Commandments and made the Covenant with God. Before that, they were living in Egypt. What kind of life were they living? Was it a happy life or a difficult life? Yeah, suffering. They were slaves. What is it like to be a slave? It's not very nice. You have to do as you're told every day. You have no freedom to decide where you're going to live, what kind of job you're going to do, or how you're going to organize your life. You just have a master, and he owns you. You belong to him, and you just do as you're told every day. It's very easy then to develop a slave mentality where you no longer think for yourself; you're just waiting to be told what to do. God wasn't too happy with this.

The Hebrews were slaves in Egypt, but they maintained their identity as Hebrews. They had been living there for about 400 years. The reason they ended up there in the first place was because of the mistake that Abraham made in the offering. They ended up in Egypt for 400 years, and during that time, they had to maintain their identity as a people of God. What kind of temptations do you think they faced? When you're living in a foreign, strange land, you can assimilate. You might think, do I really want to be this immigrant community, or do I want to get on in this life and adapt, assimilate, and get on like everybody else? Do I want to be different and treated differently, or do I want to integrate into society and become one of them? When Pharaoh started to reduce the Hebrews to slavery, many of them probably thought, do I want to become a slave, or maybe I should just change my citizenship and take out an Egyptian passport? Instead of being a slave, I could become one of the rulers, one of the slave drivers. That was a choice many of them faced. Nobody knows how many decided to become Egyptians and how many decided to remain as Hebrews, but that's obviously the kind of temptation they were facing.

If during those 400 years they had all assimilated, who would have been left to bring out of Egypt? There would have been nobody left. Who would have won? Satan would have won. God would no longer have his people; they would have all assimilated. There would be nobody to bring out of Egypt to settle and live in Canaan. They were successful in that sense; they maintained their identity. Moses came, and they left Egypt, crossing over the desert. Who was it that did these extraordinary things? It was God who was working. There were the ten plagues and calamities, extraordinary phenomena that took place. Some of them probably thought, wow, that's amazing, that's God working. Others might have thought, this is an amazing environmental catastrophe, or perhaps it was just a nice coincidence. When we read the Bible, we read it as if God did this, but if you were a Hebrew and saw these amazing things take place, you might think some of it was God, while others might have thought it was just an environmental catastrophe or a coincidence.

They left Egypt and went to Mount Sinai. God wanted to make a covenant with them. When we read the covenant, it was a voluntary agreement. God invited them to become his people; it wasn't something forced. They agreed to become his people and to do all the things he asked them to do and keep all the laws he had given them. After this, Moses went up the mountain and fasted for 40 days. What did the people do after 40 days? They made a golden calf. Why did they make that? They didn't believe in Moses. They didn't trust him; they didn't think he would come back. Where do you think they might have thought he had gone? They probably thought he had died. He was an old man, 80 years old, going up the mountain with his lunchbox, but he certainly didn't have enough food to sustain him for 40 days. They probably thought he had collapsed or starved to death. They thought, we need to put our faith in something else, so they built the golden calf and said, these are the gods that brought you out of Egypt. What does it mean to say these are the gods that brought you out of Egypt? Not everyone believed it; it must have been just a minority. When they wanted to build a golden calf, Aaron asked for lots of earrings and rings to build it with. Who had the earrings and rings? The women did. Did the women want to give up their jewelry to build a golden calf? No, they didn't. They had to go and try to get the gold from somewhere else.

Building a golden calf is like putting your trust in material things instead of recognizing that it's God who works in amazing ways. After the battle of Dunkirk, what did the British Parliament do? They all went to church and prayed, thanking God for the miracle of the sea being calm and allowing the British army to be evacuated. This is important because the Hebrews at that time had forgotten and lost sight of this. Even though God had done amazing miracles, nothing had really changed within them. If someone does something for you, does it change you? What changes you is when you do something yourself. Even though amazing things were taking place, they still conceptualized and saw themselves as they were living in Egypt. They weren't living there anymore; they were now living where the food was worse, without the luxuries they enjoyed in Egypt. The challenge for God and Moses was how to get all these people, these twelve different tribes, who still had this slave mentality, and all the other foreigners who came along with them, into a single spiritual community. This is what the whole idea of building the Tabernacle was about.

God said to Moses to tell the Israelites to bring him an offering, to receive the offering from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. It wasn't compulsory; it was voluntary. The building of the Tabernacle was something done by volunteers. I was talking to a friend a couple of days ago, and she mentioned that many years ago, when she was asked to do something, she said, I'm here as a volunteer, and today I'm not volunteering. I thought that's a nice way of looking at things. Sometimes in the past, people felt they had to do something, but her perspective was that she was there as a volunteer because she wanted to be there. Sometimes she was volunteering, and sometimes she wasn't. God wanted it to be voluntary; everyone whose heart prompted them to give was to contribute. The offerings included gold, silver, bronze, and other materials. You wonder where they got it all from, but the point is that everyone wanted to be involved. Those who wanted to be involved in building the Ark could contribute their own gifts and talents. The idea was to build a Tabernacle that required many different kinds of skills, so there was something for everyone to contribute if they wanted to.

God said to have them make a sanctuary for him. The idea was that everyone was to be involved in building the Tabernacle, not just the priests or a specialized elite group. Everyone was to be involved in building a sanctuary for God. God didn't say he'd dwell in the Tabernacle; he said he'd dwell among them. God is the God of the universe; he doesn't dwell in a Tabernacle or a temple. He dwells in the people. Through building the Tabernacle and worshipping God, they created the space for God to dwell among them. God was not living in the Tabernacle or the temple; he was dwelling in the people because their hearts had contributed to building the Tabernacle. Through this, their hearts could be opened, and they could give from their hearts. As they gave from their hearts, God would be able to come and dwell in their hearts and live with them. This is how they were able to form together as the people of God, as a worshipping community. They conceptualized and saw themselves as a people of God and as a free people. They no longer had a king; God was their king, ruling them through his law.

What's the great thing about having God as your king? The best thing is that he's invisible. What does that mean? It means you have to be responsible for yourself. You have to form your own relationship with this invisible God through your original mind and conscience. What's easier: to follow an invisible God or a visible king? It's much easier to follow a visible king. It's easier just to do as you're told, but God didn't want people just to do as they were told. He wanted to rule them and guide them through their hearts and original minds. This meant they had to make an effort, live a life of prayer and study, and develop their original minds and consciences to have a personal relationship with God. This is hard work. It's much easier to have someone telling you what to do, as it was in Egypt. God was challenging them to put aside this mentality, but it's not easy. Sometimes when we look at the story of Moses and the Hebrews, we can be critical of them. We have to think about where they were coming from. They were coming from a slave society, and God wanted them to become a free people. How many people can change their way of thinking so radically? It's not easy. Sometimes people get liberated from slavery, but for generations, they carry on with the same mentality. Within a very short space of time, God wanted them to move from a slave mentality to being a free people responsible for their own lives. It was a huge jump, but they made it. I don't know anyone else who ever made it, but they did. They made a huge transformation, which was not easy. They wanted to be a free people, guided by their original minds and consciences.

The whole life of the Israelites was oriented around worshipping God, particularly through the Tabernacle, which was a sort of portable temple. They settled in Canaan and lived there for 400 years, creating a free society without a king. God was their King, and occasionally a judge would arise, a charismatic leader who would guide them in battles against the Philistines. Generally, they preferred to cooperate as a confederation of tribes, supporting each other without the need for a monarchy. Sustaining such a free society for 400 years is no small feat; few countries have achieved this. For instance, Iceland has the oldest parliament, while modern democracy in Britain emerged only about 150 years ago, and in America, it has been around for about 200 years. Yet, the Israelites managed to maintain this freedom for four centuries before they eventually requested a king from Samuel, desiring to be like other nations.

Samuel warned them that having a king would lead to heavy taxation and forced labour. The construction of the Tabernacle was a culmination of their journey towards freedom, but when Solomon built the temple, he did so by conscripting labourers from all Israel. He raised a levy of forced labour, numbering 30,000 men, and sent them to Lebanon to gather materials. Solomon also employed 70,000 burden bearers and 80,000 stone cutters, along with 3,300 chief officers overseeing the work. This method of building the temple starkly contrasted with the voluntary contributions that had gone into the Tabernacle, indicating a regression into a state of slavery.

Solomon's reign marked a significant shift; he became like another Pharaoh, reducing the people to servitude. He had an extravagant lifestyle, with around 300 wives and 700 concubines, all of whom were supported through heavy taxation. The burden of maintaining such a royal household would have been immense, leading to widespread discontent among the people. When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam faced the consequences of this discontent. The people sought relief from the heavy taxes imposed by Solomon, hoping for a more reasonable approach from Rehoboam.

Rehoboam initially consulted Solomon's old advisers, who recommended lowering taxes to gain the people's loyalty. However, he chose to listen to his younger friends, who encouraged him to assert his strength. This decision led to a rebellion, and the kingdom was divided. Solomon's mistake was building the temple through forced labour, stripping the people of their freedom and returning them to a state of slavery. The purpose of their exodus from Egypt was to create a free people, governed by God, who could worship freely. Solomon's actions undermined this purpose, leading to the eventual downfall of the kingdom.

The lessons from these events thousands of years ago remain relevant today. We must consider the kind of spiritual community we are creating. It should be one where individuals volunteer freely, offering their hearts and lives to cooperate in building God's kingdom—a kingdom characterised by freedom. This aligns with the principles outlined in our pledge, which emphasises freedom, responsibility, and creativity. We aspire to create a community where everyone can contribute joyfully and meaningfully.

As we conclude, I encourage everyone to reflect on the message shared today. Let us strive to build a beautiful community where joy, happiness, freedom, and responsibility flourish. I hope you take away a special message from this gathering. Thank you, William, for your engaging lecture, and a big thank you to the music ministry for helping us open our hearts to receive God's message. We now have a special ceremony to welcome new members into our community, which is an important step in building our collective identity and support for one another.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my brothers and sisters who have welcomed me into this community. Since I arrived here last year in the UK, I have been discovering new aspects of Heavenly Father and the wonderful love of True Parents. I am also grateful to Simon and Cho for introducing me to this community and providing me with the opportunity to grow and share my experiences. I hope to become less shy and more open in exchanging my thoughts with all of you.

As we gather here today, let us take a moment to pray for Christine, Ftin Hen, and Roger. Heavenly Father, we offer this ceremony as a community and pray that Your hope for their lives can truly be realised. We know You are aware of every detail of their hearts and can guide them along their paths of faith. May their roles in this community be a blessing for them and for all of us, allowing us to support them in using their talents constructively for building Your kingdom.

We also want to remember our precious brother, Mr Kobayashi, who is currently in intensive care. It is vital for us to support our families spiritually and socially during such challenging times. As we think about the brothers and sisters standing before us, let us commit to being there for them in both joyful and difficult moments. Together, we can fulfil the vision and mission we have for our community, creating a tipping point of people in this nation who worship You daily and express their love for You, their families, and their neighbourhoods.

Now, I would like to invite An Hughes to present the financial report prepared by the finance committee. This report will explain how the donations and tithing from our community are being used for our development and growth. It is important to understand the income and expenses over the last three months, including reimbursements for the autobiography sold and the expenses related to our pastors and their activities. We have also allocated funds for international travel to support members attending events in Oslo and Greece.

I want to highlight the importance of supporting Tashimoto, who has accepted the responsibility of managing our finances. It has been a challenging role, and I encourage everyone to assist him by clearly labelling any donations and receipts you provide. This will help him manage the accounts more efficiently and allow for better socialisation after our Sunday services. Additionally, I would like to remind everyone that Mary Franklin will be celebrating her 60th birthday this coming Friday, and I encourage you to think of ways to show your appreciation for her contributions.

Lastly, I want to mention an outreach programme happening this afternoon at 2 p.m. We will have an introduction to our community and the Divine Principle, along with testimonies from young members and some music from our music ministry. I invite everyone to join us for this event and to engage with the community. Thank you, William Haines, for your presence today; it has been a pleasure to hear your message.

As we conclude our service, I hope you have had a wonderful experience here today. Please do not rush away, as we have refreshments prepared downstairs, including a lovely curry rice lunch. Let us take care of one another and continue to pray for each other. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.