Chariots of Fire in the
Footsteps of Messiah
“A canopy (apiron) has King Solomon made for Him, from the wood of Lebanon. Its pillars he made of silver; its covering was gold, its seat was purple wool, its inner side was decked with love by the daughters of Jerusalem.” (So 3:9-10)
Apiron is a mysterious word, used only once in Scripture:
אַפִּרְיוֹן H668
“to be carried quickly”
Translated as chariot, sedan, litter.
This verse is alluded to as a proof text that the “holy of holies” of Scripture is the Song of Songs (Mishnah Yadayim 3:5); therefore, it is thought not to be a canopy built by King Shlomo for himself, but for the Holy One.
The canopy, or apiron, is seen as an allusion to the Mishkan itself, a place to house the Holy Presence. Melekh Shlomo, the King to Whom Peace Belongs, is seen as referring to Adonai, who made peace with Israel after the estrangement caused by their worshiping the Golden Calf by commanding them to construct the Mishkan. 3§15
Yeshua might be hinting to this prophecy in the Song of Songs when he tells his disciples:
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“And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” Re 22:7
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“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves.” Re 22:12
Since this prophecy is linked to "who is this coming up from the wilderness?" and "sixty mighty men" in our previous lessons, we see the significance of this fast-moving chariot relative to the moving Mishkan (Tabernacle) in the wilderness. Since the construction is credited to King Solomon, then we add the permanency of the Temple structure, perhaps showing us that the last generation that is brought up from the wilderness will be transformed from her exilic traveling identity to her permanent one in her own Land, Israel.
There is an old parable of the king’s daughter that explains some points of the developing relationship between the King and His daughter, Israel, from the time He removes her from Egypt to the time He brings her across the Jordan into her inheritance. (Midrash to Shir HaShirim 3§15)
- When she was young and immature, he lavished love upon her openly and in public, such as the dividing of the Reed Sea. He spoke to her when they met in public places.
- When she grew, these open displays of affection were below her dignity and age, and he spoke to her and showed affection in private. Publicly, it looked as though he had abandoned her and inflicted harsh discipline, but he was still found by her in the private place (or as Yeshua said, “the closet” of prayer. This discipline was also love, maturing and testing her with a measure of suffering and grief.
- When she matured into an adult, the king wanted to discuss the weighty matters of the kingdom with her, so...
- ...he had a special pavilion built where they could hold their conversations without distraction or disturbance. The Mishkan was built in a place where Israel grew to maturity. It was a place where the Holy One could communicate with His People privately and collaborate with them free from the prying eyes of the nations around them. He could instruct them and empower them to rule the nations with His authority.
The special holiness of Jerusalem and the Temple reflect this private relationship of maturity. While the nations will bring their glory into the city at the appointed times (if they are allowed to enter the gates by the appointed tribe of Israel of that gate), permanent residency and abiding in the Presence is the reward of the King’s Daughter Israel. With King Messiah, she administers the King’s decrees and justice according to the Word she’s learned from within the “Clouds of Glory” during her wilderness journey. Exodus 26:1-37 gives the foundational structure of the Mishkan that is thought to be represented in the Song of Songs:
- “From the wood of Lebanon is like that which is stated, ‘You shall make the planks of the Tabernacle of acacia wood, standing erect.’ (Ex 26:15) – Its pillars he made of silver-these are the pillars of the Tabernacle Courtyard on which the lace curtains were hung, as it states...’its covering was gold’...this too, refers to the Tabernacle, as it states, ‘You shall make a partition of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wood, and linen, twisted (ibid, v. 31).”
The acacia is the humble desert cousin of the mighty cedars of Lebanon, both evergreen. Because Israel is taken to the wilderness to humble and test her, the acacia is the bones of the Mishkan. When she is lifted up from the wilderness to take her place in the permanent Holy City, she is seen as the cedars of Lebanon in the Temple.
The curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy was suspended from, and thus “seated on” poles placed between the four pillars mentioned in Exodus 26:32. (3§16) The hooks and bands of the pillars were silver.
From the Exodus passage, the command: “You shall make a partition of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wood, and linen, twisted” is to be compared to “its seat was purple wool," which is the purple seat of the fast-moving chariot. The purple wool only is mentioned because that was considered the choicest of the partition’s materials. (ibid)
In a Messianic application, purple represents Messiah: Fully blue of Heaven, fully red earth human, and fully purple, 100% of both. Purple IS red and blue.
A little more explanation of the seat:
The “seat” of the chariot, or apiron, is of purple wool. This is not kiseh, or seat, throne, some fixed structure, but merkav, which can mean a place to be “seated,” typically for rapid and agile movement.
מֶרְכָּב - H4817 merkav(ah); noun masculine: chariot, riding-seat (properly riding-place)
A Merkavah is a chariot, such as the chariot powered by the four Chayot (living creatures) of Adonai’s Throne. It can also be a saddle. The King is seated in the sense He is steering, driving the structure from this space. “Through the glory of God that rests between the two Cherubim atop the Holy Ark. The Torah scroll written by Moses rests in the Holy Ark, along with the Tablets. The Ark rests in the Holy of Holies.” (ibid)
“...its inner side was decked with love by the daughters of Jerusalem...” is thought to describe
- those who labor in the study and practice of the Torah in that Holiest of Holy places, those who desire that which is "more precious than gold, yes, than much fine gold..." (Ps 119:103)
- The Divine Presence, which dwells in the Mishkan in a “heavier” way than the general camp.
The Divine Presence (sometimes called the Shekhina), or Glory of Adonai, resided among the general camp as denoted by the phrases describing the dwelling of the entire camp: Clouds of Glory or Sukkot of Glory. Why was the Presence was so much more powerful in the Tent/Temple than the courtyard? The courtyard symbolizes the world.
- And it happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. (1 Ki 8:10-11)
- Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the temple was filled with the cloud, AND the courtyard* was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD. (Ezek 10:4)
- Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. For throughout their journeys, the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel. (Ex 40:34-38)
The pattern is that the heaviest concentration is felt in the place of love (“decked with love by the daughters of Jerusalem”), then it extends outward to the general camp and the world it judges.
- “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (Jn 14:15)
- “If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.” (Jn 15:10)
We learned through several lessons the prophetic implications of:
- The twelve tribes encamped in the wilderness in their specific locations
- The four divisions of those twelve tribes corresponding the directions of the four winds (angelic powers) and the four Chayot, or living creatures that speed to do the will of the Holy One
- The inner encampments of the kohanim and Levites who guarded the approaches to the Mishkan and the heavier Presence near the altar fires and Ark/cheruvim.
- The Sukkot of Glory, or Clouds of Glory in which the entire camp moved.
Linking these implications to the vision of Israel arising from the wilderness of the peoples, we can now speculate on the ingathering, perhaps part of a continuing process that
- began at Passover for individuals and families who were then
- sealed at Shavuot, then
- transformed and arise at Yom Teruah when the gathering begins, and they dine in the Presence of the King for ten days until
- Yom HaKippurim when the gathering is complete and the “gates” closed, and then there is another
- eight-day period of feasting for those ingathered, Sukkot.
Although Pharaoh’s chariots are infamous, the chariots of fire known as the “horsemen of Israel” are the mystical transporters to heavenly places:
- Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots רֶכֶב of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. (2 Ki 2:12)
When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said,
- “My father, my father, the chariots רֶכֶב of Israel and its horsemen!”(2 Ki 13:14)
The spelling of chariot (merkavah) evokes Yosef’s chariot protocol as "father to Pharaoh." There is a difference between an Egyptian two-wheeled chariot, however, and heavenly merkavah. The merkavah of the four living creatures הַֽחַיֹּות in Ezekiel had four wheels, one for each living creature, and each represented by one of the four encampment directions of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Ezekiel 1:1-21 (man, lion, ox [shor], & eagle)
The precursor, or herald, of Mashiach, will be Eliyahu, a fierce messenger and instrument of judgment. We see this in some of the speculation about the identity of John the Baptist and Yeshua in the Gospels. It is Elijah, who disappeared with the horsemen of Israel, who will herald the coming of the Mashiach. Bereishit Rabbah 71:9 says that Gad “is” Eliyahu, who will overthrow the foundations of the heathen. Eliyahu was from Gilad, the territory of the tribe of Gad.
Yaakov’s name, which never quite goes away, is from ekev, which means “heel,” that which will follow. Although the firstborn is the most like the father, each of Yaakov’s sons, and therefore, tribes, are extensions of him.
Match Gad’s role with Yehudah’s: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (Ge 49:10)
Shiloh is Mashiach. Mashiach ben Yosef will initiate an exile and die, but as Mashiach ben David, he will rule. Both are yeshuat, salvation.
Of Gad he said, “Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad; he lies down as a lion, and tears the arm, also the crown of the head. Then he provided the first part for himself, for there the ruler’s portion was reserved; and he came with the leaders of the people; he executed the justice of the LORD, and His ordinances with Israel.” Of Dan he said, “Dan is a lion’s whelp (gur), that leaps forth from Bashan.” (Dt 33:20-22)
The lion of royalty, Yehudah, is joined to the other tribes. The full picture of Mashiach is formed by assembling the various blessings on the tribes, who have ancillary blessings of royalty.
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“I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are. (Jn 17:11)
- That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. (Jn 17:21)
The Holy One is steering this chariot in the wilderness of the peoples. If we will encamp as brothers in unity, serve Him in humility, and obey His precepts, He will bring us up from the wilderness. In the meantime, the daughters of Jerusalem can beautify the holier places of this fast-moving Mishkan/chariot, covering its interior with gold.
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