Vayakhel / Pekudei - ויקהל/פקודי : "He gathered/Countings"
Torah : Exodus 35:1-40:38
Haftarah : Ezekiel 45:16-46:18
Gospel : Mark 6:14-29/John 6:1-71

Thought for the Week:

We often see pictures of Jesus in churches, but the real Yeshua never actually went to a church. He attended synagogue. Luke 4:16 says it was His custom to attend the synagogue every Sabbath. The early meeting places of the believers were synagogues. In James 2:2, the text says, "If a man comes into your assembly (sunagogay)..."

Commentary:

Moses returned from atop Mount Sinai and "assembled all the congregation of the sons of Israel." (Exodus 35:1) The assembling of the congregation helps us understand the origin of the word "church."

The first Hebrew word of Exodus 35:1 is the simple word qahal (קהל), which means "to assemble." The Hebrew Scriptures often refer to the people participating in the Temple service as "the assembly." The "assembly of Israel" is a common Bible phrase denoting all Israel. In its noun form, the word qahal typically passes into the Greek LXX version of the Bible as the Greek...