Moses used to meet God in a tent!
After the people of Israel were rescued from Egypt and had come through the parting of the Red Sea, they wandered through the wilderness for forty years. During that time, they were guided by a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. God’s presence was always visible but also off in the distance.
Maybe you feel like that. You see glimpses of God at church or in other people but God’s presence in your life seems to be lacking or even missing entirely. For the people of Israel, God had another plan to make His presence known, and this can be helpful to us in understanding God’s desire to be present with us.
During their time in the wilderness, the people of Israel would make camp to rest from their travels. In Exodus 33:7 it says “Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting.” Moses would often enter the tent and the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent and the Lord would speak with Moses, face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And all the people in the camp would worship.
Moses’ tent of meeting was a foreshadow of the tabernacle. The tabernacle was originally a tent that was later made and set up while Israel was still wandering in the desert. This tabernacle, or tent, housed the arc of the covenant (the presence of God) and the holy of holies – the inner sanctum of the presence of God. The tabernacle was ultimately replaced by the temple in Jerusalem.
Consider 1 Corinthians 3:16 - “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
Another way to say this is that we are living tabernacles (tents) and that God’s spirit dwells within us. God’s Holy Spirit is in you and dwells with you.
Sometimes I walk around and declare “I’m a tent!!”. I wonder if people can “see” the pillar of cloud resting by my tent.
If you have been missing out on God’s presence, let your prayer today be a declaration “I am a living tabernacle!” and a request – “Lord, fill my tent to overflowing with your presence.”
