My chronological Bible reading plan brought me to God’s instructions on building the Tabernacle. I’ll admit, this is hard reading for me. If you are an architect or an interior designer, these chapters are for you! For the rest of us, it’s thread colors, curtains, silver rings, gold dishes, ornamental furniture, and every detail about it all. Life-changing stuff…no, but what it all points to, yes!
“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. (Exodus 25:8, NLT)
God wants to be among His people! The God who showed His power in the plagues in Egypt. The God who drove back the waters and parted the Red Sea. The God who feeds them every day. The God who thundered from Mt. Siani. This unrivaled God of all power wants to be among His people! He wants His people to be around Him! Israel would wake up every morning and see that God was right there, among them, in that Tabernacle. How comforting! How blessed they would be.
This is great for Israel, but what about you and me? Well, we have a far better situation as believers!
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? …For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16–17, ESV)
…For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2 Corinthians 6:16, ESV)
God couldn’t be closer to us…He lives in us as believers. Where you and I go, there He is with us. In trouble or rejoicing, there He is with us. Who is blessed more than this? Non, but the believer! Rejoice and be comforted; God is with you today!