“TABERNACLE”

This week, we will journey through the entire story of scripture. We want to be able to read the Bible with confidence.

Along the way, we will discover that God has always wanted to dwell with His people.

Yesterday, we examined the story of God creating a perfect world. He placed two humans in a garden so that he could dwell with them. Together, they would oversee creation. 

God has always wanted to dwell with His people.

Although humanity was designed to walk with God, the original sin separates us from Him. Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden and, more importantly, the presence of God.

THE END OF THE BEGINNING (GENESIS 4-50)

After their exile, Adam and Eve built a life east of Eden. Their kids had kids, and humanity slowly expanded across the globe. As the population grew, so did human wickedness. Violence, greed, and lust fill the pages of Genesis. Idolatry led to child sacrifices and perverse sexuality. 

The fallout of sin was worse than anyone could have imagined.

Violence, greed, and lust fill the pages of Genesis.

Then, God interceded. He initiated a plan to save humanity from their sins: He would choose a family to be his own. He would dwell with them and they would serve Him. Through this divine partnership, the whole world would see the beauty, grace, and mercy of the one true God. 

That family would be a missionary people – through them, the entire world would receive the blessing of the presence of God.

God chose one couple, Abraham and Sarah, to be the parents of His new nation. Slowly and miraculously he expanded their family, called the Israelites (see Genesis 12-50 for this story).

SLAVERY (EXODUS 1-15)

Due to a famine, Abraham’s 70 descendants moved to Egypt, where God blessed them. Over the next four centuries, their population skyrocketed to two million.

Their expansion caused concern for the Egyptian king (Pharaoh). The new nation had the potential to overthrow the Egyptian empire. He feared losing power, so he enslaved Abraham’s family. 

How would they feed their children, defend themselves from the attacks of other tribes, or even walk in the correct direction? 

The Israelites cried out to God, and he heard their prayers. He raised Moses to deliver them from slavery (see Exodus 3-15 or “The Prince of Egypt”). The people of Israel escaped through the wilderness of the Middle East toward the land God had promised to give them. 

But they faced a huge problem – in front of them spanned hundreds of miles of unforgiving desert and dozens of hostile civilizations. How would they feed their children, defend themselves from the attacks of other tribes, or even walk in the correct direction? 

GOD AS THEIR DELIVERER (EXODUS 15-DEUTERONOMY)

Amid this uncertainty, we encounter a powerful scripture. And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. (Exodus 13:21 ESV)

The only thing standing between the nation and a mass grave in the desert was God. His presence, appearing in the form of cloud and fire was their constant on the journey. He continually provided food, water, shade, protection, and guidance. 

The only thing standing between the nation and a mass grave in the desert was God.

Without him, they would have starved in the wilderness, covered by sand and forgotten in the record of history. Without him, they would still be building the pyramids.

The Israelites weren’t just on a road trip. They were on a journey with God. 

A PLACE TO LIVE

During their journey in the wilderness, God gave instructions to his people: “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me… And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” (Exodus 25:2,8 ESV)

I want you to notice two things from this passage:

They were His. He was theirs. God had moved in.

First, God had delivered the Israelites because He wanted to live with His people. They were to build this sanctuary (called the Tabernacle) so that He could dwell with them. 

Every tent in the Israelite camp was centered around the Tabernacle (see Numbers 2:1-2). Each morning as they walked outside, they would see God’s presence dwelling with them. Each night they would see the pillar of fire hovering over their camp through the opening of their tents. 

They were His. He was theirs. God had moved in.

MAKE SPACE

Secondly, notice that God asked for contributions to build the tabernacle. He could have dropped a tent for himself out of the sky or had the people steal one from a neighboring civilization. Instead, he asked the people to search their hearts and contribute from their resources so that he could dwell in their midst. 

Why did God do this? 

On June 14, 2015, I married Katie, the girl of my dreams. After our honeymoon, we moved into an apartment together. But imagine if I didn’t change my life at all? What if our home was filled with my stuff and I forced her to donate her things to the thrift store? What if I spent all my money and time on myself?

God shows up where he is wanted.

Of course, this didn’t happen. Because I valued her presence, I made space for Katie in my life.

The same thing can be said for God. Although he wants to dwell with us, he values our free will. He doesn’t force himself upon anyone.

FROM TABERNACLE TO TEMPLE (JOSHUA-MALACHI)

Some forty years after the tabernacle was built, the Israelites arrived in the land God had promised to give them. A few hundred years after that, King Solomon upgraded God’s house from a tabernacle to an extravagant temple. 

The temple would be the hotspot for God’s presence in the land of Israel. He continued to dwell with his people. 

HUNGRY FOR MORE

So what does it mean for God to dwell with us? God’s presence can mean three things:

1. God is ever-present, everywhere. There is no place we can go to hide from God (see Psalm 139:7-12). 
2. God dwells in every follower of Jesus through the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 1:13-14). This is what we mean when we say that we have a personal relationship with God. We will talk about this more later in the journey.
3. But there is more. We are invited to hunger for more of God’s presence in our lives. When God blesses us with His presence, we don’t say, “That’s Good Enough.” We say, “More, please.” 

God chases those he loves. But he loves those who chase him.

The North Star journey is all about hungering for more of God. Jesus famously said Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6 ESV)

Pastor Jon Tyson says that “God shows up where He is wanted.” When we ask for more of Him, He says “Yes.” My friend Dre says it like this: “God chases those he loves. But he loves those who chase him.” 

Let’s continue the journey. Let’s keep chasing God. 

NEXT STEPS

1: Read 1 Kings 8:27-53. 
2: Spend Spend 10 minutes practicing Solitude, meditating on the passage above. Write down 1 thing that God showed you from this passage. (To learn how to practice Solitude, see Week 1, Day 5 – “Coffee Mugs”)
3: Text one friend one thing that you learned

Tomorrow: Week 2, Day 3 – “Incarnation”