The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 38:9-11,
"Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely twisted linen, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts."
The tabernacle with its furnishings and courtyard must have been stunning. All of it designed by God himself who told Moses what needed to be done. The Lord gave the people a heart to provide the needed materials and gave certain ones special abilities to create it all at a divine standard.
The materials list was specific and the design itself was specific as ordered by the Lord. The size of the tabernacle and courtyard, the furnishings to be kept and used within it were all specified by him.
This morning I am reminded that we, as the church, have no such thing as the tabernacle mentioned by the Lord. No building, no specifications, no materials, no nothing. We build church buildings. Some very ornate and beautiful - I think I am partial to the little; country church buildings found in small towns built years ago. We use them for convenience, we worship the Lord within them, we call the main room the "sanctuary". But there really is no mandate at all from the Lord to have them. I don't intend to speak against the practice of churches to build facilities to meet and worship in, but we need to be reminded at times that where the Lord manifested his presence in the tabernacle in Moses' day, he makes his presence elsewhere today.
"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?" 1 Corinthians 3:16. In his letter to the Church in Ephesus Paul wrote, "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22.
"Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely twisted linen, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts."
The tabernacle with its furnishings and courtyard must have been stunning. All of it designed by God himself who told Moses what needed to be done. The Lord gave the people a heart to provide the needed materials and gave certain ones special abilities to create it all at a divine standard.
The materials list was specific and the design itself was specific as ordered by the Lord. The size of the tabernacle and courtyard, the furnishings to be kept and used within it were all specified by him.
This morning I am reminded that we, as the church, have no such thing as the tabernacle mentioned by the Lord. No building, no specifications, no materials, no nothing. We build church buildings. Some very ornate and beautiful - I think I am partial to the little; country church buildings found in small towns built years ago. We use them for convenience, we worship the Lord within them, we call the main room the "sanctuary". But there really is no mandate at all from the Lord to have them. I don't intend to speak against the practice of churches to build facilities to meet and worship in, but we need to be reminded at times that where the Lord manifested his presence in the tabernacle in Moses' day, he makes his presence elsewhere today.
"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?" 1 Corinthians 3:16. In his letter to the Church in Ephesus Paul wrote, "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22.
I find this just amazing!!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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