Wow. Let me begin
simply by saying that I can’t believe Exodus has come and is now gone. It seemed amazing to me that Genesis went by
as quickly as it did. Here we are now
being able to say that we have read through Exodus as well. So pat yourself on the back. You can now claim to say that you have read
two of the longer books of the Bible – and what’s more, you’ve done it to a
committed regimen of being daily in God’s Word.
Presence of the Lord
Today we get to see the completion of the tabernacle and
then the Lord filling the tabernacle with its presence. Did you ever wonder what the tabernacle would
be without the presence of the Lord?
Well, just another movable tent, really.
That thought made me think about our churches. With all the churches across the face of our
country, this next thought might sting a little. Did you ever wonder what all of these
churches would be without the presence of the Lord? Well, just another brick, mortar, and steel
structure, that’s all. Without the
presence of the Lord all these fancy buildings simply become religious social
clubs. It is the glory of the Lord that
makes the tabernacle special. It is only
the glory of the Lord that makes our churches anything at all. Without the presence of the Lord, our
churches are just things of man’s creation.
God Dwells Among Them
Continuing in that theme, notice that this is a clear sign
to the people that God will come and dwell among them. But it is also a sign to us. God will come and dwell among us, if we
prepare ourselves to receive Him. The
Hebrew people have now spent about a year away from Egypt, preparing themselves
to receive God’s presence as living and dwelling among them. It has been hard work – and filled with many
mistakes, trials, and temptations. But
they are here. They prepared themselves
and God has come and dwelled within them.
They forfeited their claim on God’s presence in the calf, here now God
demonstrates forgiveness and comes to dwell in them as well.
So it can be with us.
Certainly we are no freer of sin than the Hebrew people of Exodus. Yet God can and will come and dwell with us
if we prepare ourselves. We have no
right to think that God will come and dwell with us and do all the work of
preparation, too!
No, God calls to us, inviting us to prepare ourselves to
receive Him. If we hear the call, we are
forced to choose whether or not to accept the invitation to prepare. If we accept the invitation, then we must
take time and actually prepare ourselves.
We must listen to Him as to how we should prepare ourselves as the Hebrews
listened to His instructions regarding the tabernacle. We must work daily to bring forth this
preparation as the Hebrew people worked daily in preparing this
tabernacle. Then we must wait for God’s
direction in saying that we are prepared and we are ready to establish the
tabernacle within us. But if we prepare
– like the Hebrew people – God will dwell within us.
What would have happened if Moses and the people wouldn’t
have been willing to hear the call? Or
what if they hadn’t accepted the invitation back in Egypt? What if they wouldn’t have been willing to
follow God all this time? What if they
wouldn’t have been willing to put in any effort? Well, we know that answer. Remember when God wanted to start over with
Moses? Well, if the people would have
been serious about not wanting to do their part, God certainly could have
started over with the people who were interested in doing their part. Now there is both a blessing and a curse.
What I find neat about this conclusion is that at the end of
Exodus we have a tremendous display of grace.
The Hebrew people could have died when God desired to destroy them. But they found their way into grace. They still have the option of being in
relationship with God. In spite of their
past transgressions they still have a chance.
That’s grace.
Prepare your hearts this day and every day. For then you will be ready to receive the
Lord when He comes and tabernacles with you.
God’s peace.
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