Year 1, Day 74: Exodus 25

Tabernacle = Tent

Here in Exodus 25, we see that the Lord asks for a tabernacle.  I think we really miss out on how significant this is.  We think of God in the Old Testament and we primarily think of the Temple in Jerusalem as His dwelling.  But no!  That is the building that David asks to build and Solomon actually gets to build it.  When God asks for a building for Himself, He wants a tabernacle.  And what is a tabernacle?  Well, the word in Hebrew actually means a “large portable tent.”

Get ready for a rant.  I’m in a foul mood today, and when I am in a foul mood I tend to be blunt.  Who am I kidding?  I’m blunt to begin with.  When I am in a foul mood I get honest.  So I inform you of my honest evaluation beforehand, but make no apologies because I think the words that follow are true.

Why a tent?  Well, tents can be moved around. 

Why would the tent need to be moved?  The physical answer is because the Hebrew people were now at Mount Sinai and would be heading into Canaan.  But if we are satisfied with that answer then I think we really miss out on the spiritual answer.  God dwells in a movable large tent because God believes the His work is always on the move!  God is never static, so why on earth would we want a static place to worship Him?

Ouch.  That really hurts today.  If God doesn’t want a static place to be worshipped, then the only reason to have a static place to worship is because we want it.  We want it, not God!  That’s a pretty stark realization, to be honest.

Why do we want something static?  Well, again, because we would prefer to be comfortable in our faith life and we would rather not realize that our faith should really be on the move.  When we have a rigid building we can say “This is the space where faith happens in my life.”  We want a static place of worship.  We want routine.  We want … {gasp} … control.

God’s Agenda or My Agenda

What if we’ve screwed up God’s will for 3,000 years?  What if Moses got it right and David helped corrupt it back into the ways of the world?  Let’s face it, we know that while David had a great heart for God, he isn’t known for his wonderful discernment for making good decisions. 

What if by building our rigid structures for worshipping God we’ve actually been building places to limit God and instead to worship our need for control?  Again, ouch.  There are some really beautiful churches out there.  But are they monuments of faith?  Or are they monuments of human ingenuity displaying our ability to build something we want and perhaps God doesn’t really want?  Does our faith always happen within those grand places of worship or does faith happen in the personal expressions we have with one another?

So let’s go a little New Testament here.  Jesus went to synagogues, yes.  Paul, Peter, James, and John also went to synagogues.  But the word synagogue is composed of two parts.  The prefix “syn” means “with” or “together.”  {As in the word synergy – a bringing together of two distinct elements}  The other part of synagogue is the Greek word “agein” which means “to bring” or “to lead.”  So the word synagogue literally means “a place of coming together” or “a place of leading with others.”  Synagogue wasn’t originally a word used to describe a building – although it certainly became that.  In the same way the word “church” wasn’t meant to describe a building (or even the contents of that building).  It was a word used to describe who was gathered and the purpose for which they were gathered.

So when Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, John, etc go to synagogue it is really saying they went to do faith with one another rather than to say that they went to a specific place.  I think that is a very important understanding we should not miss.  We can do synagogue or church in the car, at a neighbor’s house, in our basements, at a restaurant, etc! 

But no, we too often get to thinking that the building is what is important.  Our building limits our scope.  Our building limits our perspective.  We get roped into thinking “Wow, we need more people on Sunday morning to help pay to keep this building running” when we should be thinking “I need to go talk to more people about their relationship with Jesus Christ.”  I think we have seriously screwed up our concept of faith, church, synagogue, etc.  God asks for a tabernacle that can go with us throughout our life and we give him a rigid temple – or church – in order to confine Him to a certain area in our life.

Okay, I think I’ve made my point – probably a little too sternly.  I guess I just look around and see far too many people concerned about the sustaining of their buildings and their traditions and not really caring whether the people around them are in a relationship with God or not.  So, I rant from time to time about it.

The Ark

As I read the next passage for the Ark of the Covenant, the same thought hit me.  What is special about the ark?  It can be moved!  It can be brought to wherever a physical demonstration of God’s presence was needed!  Again I can’t help but think about how portable this initial faith was designed by God.  I can’t help but think how we have worked so hard to establish ways of confining that blessed portability in our lives.

Giving Unto God

Before I end, let’s say something about the tabernacle and its contents that is different than portability.  Do you also see how it is made of the best of the best?  God had let the Hebrews plunder the Egyptians.  They had the best Egypt had to offer.  Now He asks for a bit of that back.  It is an expectation of trust and gratitude.  I think it is fair for God to ask for a portion of what He gives to us.  That doesn’t mean our churches have to be fancy, but it does mean that we shouldn’t be sloppy about it either.  God’s asks for a genuine presence, not an afterthought.

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