DWELLING WITH GOD
A STUDY ON THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS |
Written by Andy Levine, with
considerable
help & inspiration from
the Holy Ghost.
The
Hebrew word for sanctuary is mishkan, which means dwelling place. It is
used 139 times in the OT, always referring to the sanctuary, the “tent of
meeting.” Just as God was with His people in the wilderness, His desire is to
be with His people today.
1
Cor 3:16, ‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of
God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?’ and also, 2 Cor 6:16, “…for
ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them,
and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people”.
When
we hear God’s heartbeat, we hear this and Jn. 3:16. Let your senses and your
spirit experience the atmosphere of this dwelling place, His heartbeat is a
happy beat.
Zeph. 3:17,”The
LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over
thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”
Moses goes into God’s Presence:
The
description in Ex. 25 is preceded by several wonderful chapters describing
miraculous things God is doing with Moses and Israel. We see Moses frequently
communing with God and receiving the 10 Commandments. Now, just before the
“tent of meeting” is detailed, there is a key to hearing God’s heartbeat. Moses
took a risk to get closer to the presence of God. Picture the scene at the end
of Ex. 24.as the Lord calls Moses in v.12,
“And
the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there…” Moses responds in V. 15, “Moses
went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.” So far this sounds pretty cool, like
something many believers would not hesitate to do, wow, experience the
Shekinah. Look a little further, are you ready for this? V.16 “And
the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days
… (V17) And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the
top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. (V18) And Moses went
into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount…”
Moses followed the call of God to a place of
interaction with the Almighty, a place to be alone with God, a place where he
would hear God’s heartbeat.
Are
we that desperate for intimacy with God that we would climb up a mountain, get
to the top even though it looked like “like
devouring fire on the top of the mount?” Was Peter this
desperate when he got out of the boat to walk on the water in the midst of a
storm? I’m glad Jesus makes it easy for us,
Matt 11:28-30, “Come
unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29)
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and
ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.“
Look
at the purpose of this elaborate, ornate, detailed place again, Ex. 25:8. “…that I may dwell among them.” Where people live together, they relate to one another. As
we look at the details of the Tabernacle, let’s make sure to keep this
foundation in mind. Everything must come back to this cornerstone truth that
the Tabernacle is where we live with God, where we relate to Him. The Father’s
heart is not just to have weekly visits with the Saints in the church house, He
wants to live among us.
“For
the scripture is designed to direct us in our duty, not to fill our heads with
speculations, nor to please our fancies.” Matthew Henry, commentary on Ex.
25:1-9
This
relationship, however must be on His terms, “He is Lord.”
Exodus. 25:9. “According to all that I show
thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the
instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.”
Our
relationship with God is not on our own terms. Though we live under grace, not
law, we cannot live with the concept that everyone can do what is right in his
own eyes. Living for the Lord, relating to God, is under the concept that John
the Baptist, and then Jesus, preached,
Matt. 4:17, ”Repent:
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Studying
the tabernacle will give us insights into God’s terms for this relationship.
His terms are wonderful and reflect His loving character.
Look
again at the beginning of Ex. 25. V1 – “The Lord
spake unto Moses,”
The Lord is not a blabber mouth. The scripture repeats this phrase, or other’s
like it, frequently. Think about the consequence of these occurrences, think of
the infrequency of these things in historical prospective. We have daily
communication with the Father but words with such tremendous consequence are
rare. Yes we must be led by the Spirit but we are given wisdom to live. There
are those special times when you know you have heard from God and they should
always be “wows” to us.
V2
– God told Moses to speak to about 2 million people. Now that’s a WOW. The Lord
was very specific in His instructions and showed His character. He was asking,
not ordering, the people to part with a large amount of high dollar stuff. Nothing
in the list (verses 3-7) was common or inexpensive. These former slaves did not
leave Egypt empty handed, they came into some big bucks. Now the Lord is asking
them to give it to build the Tabernacle. The verse emphasizes that this must be
a willing, heart felt, offering. Remember, these are Jews, and the response was
overwhelming. Now that is a WOW.
When
God makes His plan and purpose plain, and shows His love at the same time, His
people respond. Hearts are moved to sacrificial action at the demonstration of
His love and power. This awesome display of supernatural power on Mt. Sinai
coupled with a request, not an order, is a combination the hearts of man cannot
but respond to generously.
It
is easy to get side tracked, the enemy would love to see you so busy with what
doesn’t matter that you miss the things the Lord has for you. There are many
specifics not mentioned in the description of the tabernacle. As an engineer,
my carnal mind finds this irritating, I want more detail. The Lord wonderfully
gives us all we need, lets not scientifically analyze manna, arguing as we do
so.
Verses
3-7 list some things, but no quantities are mentioned, nothing is said as to
how to gather it, how to store it. They didn’t know if they would be in 1 place
long enough to complete the project, or if they might have to be transporting
all this stuff. The scripture didn’t have to say any more for us to get the
message to give what the Lord puts on your heart to give, give willingly, give
generously, give specifically.
V10-12
describes the ark, but how were the sides joined? How was the bottom held in
place? How thick were the boards that it was made of? How thick was the
overlay? What was the diameter of the rings to hold the staves?– Who cares? The
fact that these scriptures don’t mention these details is that they don’t
matter. Those details won’t help you win the lost or become more like Jesus.
V13-15
– How long were these sticks? What was their diameter? How thick was the gold
overlay? Did they stick out past the Ark, like we see in pictures, or where
they same length as the Ark, so it was carried like a coffin? This would make
it easier to walk around inside the Holy of Holies? After all, the Lord did say
not to remove the sticks from the rings. Can you just do what the Lord asks you
to do without knowing all the details? Do you really need to know all the long
term implications of obedience? Isn’t God trustworthy? He will give us all we
need so let’s not complain or get hung up on tangents that don’t profit.
Exodus
26 contains considerable detail about the construction of the tabernacle. It is
walls are curtains, and boards, support pieces and connectors. The roof is made
of several layers of different cloth and skins. There is significance in the
typology of all the detail, however, lets look at it from above, as the eagle
looks down and sees it.
First
of all, this is no ordinary tent. It is extremely beautiful and ornate. It is
built 1st class. This shows the nature of God and also how the
Father sees the heart of His kids. We can be comfortable in such beauty and
splendor, in such extravagance, because we are children of the King of Kings.
This is a beautiful place and God sees you as so beautiful, so lovely. He loves
you enough to have given His life for your redemption. The Holy of Holies is
such an awesome place, so much gold, so much amazing craftsmanship, such a
beautiful veil to pass through to get inside. It is in this place that the
Father wants to meet with us, at the Mercy Seat, at the heart of everything
that the Tabernacle is all about.
Another
amazing thing about this tent is that it all fits together. There are lots and
lots of pieces. There are big pieces, little pieces, heavy stuff and small
lightweights, wood, gold brass, silver, cloth, animal skins. Each piece has
prophetic significance, has practical functions and some life application of
scripture. All this stuff can only be put together “according
to the pattern shown thee on the mount.” Can you see the analogy to the church, to the Body of
Christ?
Psalm
133 becomes more important in this light. What would happen if the blue loop on
the edge of the curtain told the gold tache to stay away, “leave me alone, I
don’t want to be connected to that other blue loop.”? (Ex. 26:6). There
wouldn’t “be one tabernacle.” What about that big wood board (Ex 26:16),
covered in gold? It is happy to be between 2 other boards just like itself, but
Oh No, it refused to be put into that socket, thinking it is too good to be put
into inferior silver. It would fall down! I believe the Lord sheds tears over
the disunity within churches and between churches and denominations.
God’s Presence goes with us:
The
first detail listed is the Ark of the Covenant. Just the name of this item
indicates that a relationship with God is a place of safety. Noah built the ark
that God used to save life from the flood. A covenant is more binding than a
legal contract so entering into God’s covenant is a safe thing to do.
The
intent of this special piece of furniture known as the Mercy Seat,is the place
to hang out with God.
Ex. 25:22 “And there I
will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat,
from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony…”
The
Ark of the covenant played a very significant role in the Exodus, and at other
times in ancient Jewish history. The Biblical precedent is,
Num
10:33 “And they departed from the mount of
the LORD three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went
before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for
them.”
It
is symbolic of God’s omnipresence, you take Him with you wherever you go. The
whole tabernacle was designed for mobility, for frequent set-up, tear dawn and
transport. From wherever you were when you 1st got saved, until you
get to heaven, your life is an exodus and the Lord is with you throughout the
trip. The following promise to Moses is something we can cling to today:
Exod
33:14-16 “And he said, My presence shall go
with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go
not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I
and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with
us?…
It
was work to take the ark with them. It was heavy, especially with its contents.
It takes some work to carry His presence with us wherever we go. It involves
staying prayed up and walking in the Spirit. It requires understanding and
bearing the weight of His glory, not just in church, but in the world. Jesus is
our example, look what happened when He showed up at the wedding party. He
didn’t steal the show but He sure made a difference.
In Conclusion:
We
have the choice, continually before us. Do we carry this heavy ark, leading
others to freedom, or do we take the easy way and slide into the muck of sin?
With every temptation, He makes a way of escape. Ascend the hill of the Lord,
or slide down on greasy grace? Life or death, its our choice. Make a positive
difference or be another slime ball just fitting in with a hell bound crowd?
Our love affair with God should be sufficient motivation to climb up, go up the
stairs into His chambers. Love is not something you fall into, it is a mountain
to climb. Aaron, and his sons, had to maintain and put on the beautiful
priestly clothes. Are you wearing yours?
