Building the Tabernacle (Exodus 35-40)
This week's Bible passage highlights the wonder that a holy God would desire to dwell among His people. In the previous chapter, God instructed the Israelites to obediently abide within His covenantal love. Now, it was time to build the place where God would dwell with His people as they journeyed toward the Promised Land.
What was the significance of the people’s tabernacle offerings? Why don’t Christians meet with the Lord in a tabernacle today?
God’s instructions were for each of the tabernacle’s components to be freely given by all who were willing. He called for artisans to use their skills to construct, create, and design the tabernacle and all its furnishings. Scripture details that everyone whose heart was moved and whose spirit was prompted brought an offering to the Lord for the tent of meeting and its services, as well as for the priest’s holy garments. The people offered up their finest jewelry, textiles, spices, and oils—all of which were initially provided by God Himself when the people fled Egypt. Skilled designers were even gifted the ability to teach others their craft. Together, these craftsmen lent their time and skills to the work of the tabernacle. Eventually, people brought much more than was needed, so Moses ordered them to stop! They had more than enough materials to construct a tent according to God’s commands and worthy of His presence.
Today, though we gather at local churches to worship God and commune with fellow believers, it is not in physical structures where God dwells among His people. Instead, those who are in Christ receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Jesus tells us in John 16:7 that the gift of the Holy Spirit is greater than His physical presence was as He walked among His disciples! Pray for the Lord to prompt the kids in your family to heed His call of salvation, that He would dwell within them as their Lord. May we read of the tabernacle’s splendor and respond, not out of obligation, but in awe of the closeness and kindness of our Lord.
Christ Connection: God told Moses and the people to build the tabernacle so that He could dwell among them. We no longer need a tabernacle because those who trust in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection have been given the Holy Spirit so that God lives in us, not merely near us.