מדרש אויף איוב 14:15

And thou shalt command the children of Israel (Exod. 27:20). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Thou wouldst call, and I would answer Thee; Thou wouldst have a desire to the work of Thy hand (Job 14:15). The congregation of Israel said to the Holy One, blessed be He, Master of the Universe: You will call, and I will respond. Whatever You decree, I will fulfill, but with reference to Thou wouldst have a desire to the work of Thy hand, is there a man who actually desires to perform the work of His hand? The word desire can only be understood as in the verse, Now that thou have surely gone, for thou sore longest after thy father’s house (Gen. 31:30). Hence, Thou wouldst have a desire to the work of Thy hand means that You longed for the assistance of man in the work of Your hand. For though You bear the entire world, as is written: I have made and I will bear; yea I will carry and will deliver (Isa. 46:4), yet You did command the sons of Kohath to bear Your glory (the ark), as is said: But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none, because the service of the holy things belongs unto them (Num. 7:9). Hence, Thou wouldst have a desire to work of Thy hand. You feed the entire world, yet You did command me to offer sacrifices: My food which is presented unto Me (ibid. 28:2). You are a light to the whole world, yet Thou didst enjoin us to burn a lamp continually. By Your light, we see light, yet You tell us to light a lamp.

“Command the children of Israel” – that is what is written: “Call and I will answer You” (Job 14:15), just as it says: “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer” (Isaiah 58:9). “So that You will long [tikhsof]”⁴This is a variation of the end of Job 14:15. – so that Your soul will long for Your handiwork, just as it says: “Because you longed [nikhsof nikhsafta]” (Genesis 31:30).⁵The midrash cites this verse in order to clarify the meaning of the word tikhsof in the verse in Job. Job said before the Holy One blessed be He: Master of the universe, the supernal and the earthly are under Your authority, and You long for Your handiwork? Rather, You tend to Your handiwork.⁶Job is saying that God commands the people of Israel to light lamps in the Temple not because He needs their light, but in order to grant them reward for fulfilling His command. That is, “command the children of Israel.”

“And you shall command,” that is what is written: “You would call and I would answer You, You would yearn [tikhsof] for Your handiwork” (Job 14:15). Regarding four matters the Holy One blessed be He longed for his handiwork. “Tikhsof” is nothing other than longing, as it is stated: “Because you longed [nikhsof nikhsafta]” (Genesis 31:30); “My soul longs [nikhsefa], indeed it pines” (Psalms 84:3). These are the four matters: The Holy One blessed be He bears [sovel] His world, as it is stated: “I have done and I will carry, I will bear [esbol] and I will rescue” (Isaiah 46:4), yet He commanded the sons of Kehat to bear Him, as it is stated: “But he did not give to the sons of Kehat, because the sacred service is upon them; they shall bear on the shoulder” (Numbers 7:9). Know, that, as it were, He bore them when they came to the Jordan, as it is stated: “The Jordan was overflowing all its banks” (Joshua 3:15), and the sons of Kehat were unable to cross. What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He bore them, as it is stated: “It shall be as the soles of the feet of the priests will rest” (Joshua 3:13). Rabbi Berekhya said: The Ark bears its bearers. The priests did not bear it, but rather, it bore them, as it is stated: “The soles of the feet of the priests were drawn up [onto dry ground]” (Joshua 4:18).
The Holy One blessed be He guards [meshamer] His world, as it is stated: “Behold, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. The Lord is your Guardian” (Psalms 121:4–5). And He said to Israel that they should guard Him, as it is stated: “And those encamped in front of the Tabernacle, to the east, in front of the Tent of Meeting: [Moses, and Aaron, and his sons, keeping [shomrim] the commission of the Sanctuary]” (Numbers 3:38). He illuminates the world, as it is written: “The earth shone with His glory” (Ezekiel 43:2). And He said of Israel: “They shall bring you pure olive oil.” That is, “yearn for Your handiwork.”