Often, when a person travels, they take a small piece of home with them. This may be a picture of a person, a family photo or a personal item. Whatever it may be, it is a symbol of home which makes one feel settled and grounded while away. In a much larger way, the tabernacle was like that for the Hebrews (Israelites); it was a portable dwelling place for God to reside, showing that He was always with them in their wanderings before they reached their ultimate destination and future home, the promised land. As we read the opening verses of Exodus 25, we learn two aspects of God’s beautiful plan for the Tabernacle: 1) that God invites His people to participate in it’s construction (Exodus 25:2-7) and 2) that God places his presence among them rather than to a fixed geographical location (Exodus 25:8-9).
By reading Exodus 25:2-7, we learn that God requested that the Israelites provide the needed items to construct the Tabernacle from the spoils He previously gave them when He triumphantly delivered them from Egyptian exile (Exodus 12:36). Now, it is important to recognize that God has infinite resources at his disposal and did not need these material items from the Hebrews. However, what God truly desired from the Hebrews was their heart. And, just as God wanted the heart of the Old Testament Hebrews, He also wants your heart today. Christian, sometimes our theology and our understanding of life is too small. Often, we view our possessions, our plans or our strengths as our hope and we forget that God is sovereign and that He alone is king. Brothers and sisters, it is important to remember that God gave you gifts, your perspective and your place in life by his good and sovereign hand to serve Him and to serve others. To squander those gifts robs others of God’s blessing and you from experiencing his goodness.
As stated above, the Lord reveals that He is constructing the Tabernacle for the purpose of dwelling among His chosen people, the Hebrews (Exodus 25: 8-9). This truth has massive ramifications for the Hebrews and ultimately for us today. This Tabernacle is a restoration and a partial fulfillment of the main thread of scripture. To see this in totality, we must go back to the beginning. The last time that we saw God dwelling with His people was in the Garden of Eden and before sin entered the world (Genesis 1-2). Since that time and until God takes up residence in the completed Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-38), that intimate fellowship was broken. And from this point forward, until the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, God is going to dwell amongst His people in the temple and, after it’s destruction, through his prophets. Finally, we find this ultimate and final fulfillment in Christ Himself. The best news is that this promise still continues and finds its ultimate fulfillment in Revelation when, in the new heaven and the new earth, we will dwell with God face to face for all of eternity. Brothers and sisters in the faith, this reality must fill our souls with immense joy!
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