Readings for today: Exodus 25-28
Imagine you receive a phone call one day from the White House letting you know the President of the United States would like to visit. How would you respond? You would immediately set to work making sure your home was in the most immaculate condition. You would set out the finest china. You would make sure the meal served was prepared by the best chefs. You would spare no expense in making sure everything was ready and worthy of the guest you were about to receive. You would inquire as to the President’s tastes. You would want to know what they liked or disliked. You would want to know how to best set up your home in terms of furniture and layout. You would do all you could to make sure your guest was as comfortable as possible.
Now imagine you are Israel and the guest you are asked to prepare a home for is God Himself. There is no dwelling here on earth that will do. Certainly not the tents you are living in as you wander through the wilderness! So you set out to make a dwelling that is worthy of the God of the universe. You find the most precious of metals and stones. You use only the finest linens and threads. You hire craftsmen to make all new utensils as you prepare for your honored guest. Not only that but you seek His will regarding how to prepare His home. You want to know His taste in furnishings. You want to know how He likes His room. You want to set things up according to His taste. You want the place to be as comfortable as possible for Him. Furthermore, you would spare no expense. You would sacrifice anything in order to make this miracle happen.
Listen to how the Book of Exodus describes it, “God spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites that they are to set aside offerings for me. Receive the offerings from everyone who is willing to give. These are the offerings I want you to receive from them: gold, silver, bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen; goats’ hair; tanned rams’ skins; dolphin skins; acacia wood; lamp oil; spices for anointing oils and for fragrant incense; onyx stones and other stones for setting in the Ephod and the Breastpiece. Let them construct a Sanctuary for me so that I can live among them. You are to construct it following the plans I’ve given you, the design for The Dwelling and the design for all its furnishings.” (Exodus 25:1-9 MSG)
Can you imagine? God wants to live among His people. God wants to be with them and near them and among them. He wants to journey with them as they make their way to the Promised Land. He wants to go before them to give them victory over their enemies. He wants to be their rearguard to protect them from those who might pursue them. He wants to provide for them along the way. Feed them with manna and quail. Lead them beside still waters in the desert. Make sure their clothing doesn’t wear out along the way. These are the promises God makes even as He calls them to build Him a home. A sanctuary. A sacred tent where they will meet with Him morning and evening. It’s a beautiful picture of the relationship God desires to have with us.
Here’s the thing. We don’t have to imagine it. As the Apostle John once wrote, “From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!” (1 John 1:1-4 MSG) Friends, Jesus Christ is God with us! He is the Word of God who took on flesh and blood and made His dwelling place among us! He is the Word of Life who appeared right before our eyes. We saw it. We heard it. We touched it with our own two hands. Jesus Christ manifested in the flesh and raised from the dead in glory! This is the good news we continue to proclaim! This is the source of all joy in our lives! We have communion with the Father and with the Son through the Holy Spirit. Pray and thank God today that He has made His dwelling place with you.
Readings for tomorrow: None
