A Tent Where God Lives

A cloud settles over a tent in the desert. Light pours out from inside, so bright and so heavy with glory that even Moses cannot go in. God has moved into the neighbourhood.

Israel is camped at the foot of Mount Sinai. They have heard God's voice. They have broken his covenant with a golden calf, and been forgiven. And now God has given Moses plans for something new. Not a palace, not a stone temple, but a tent. A sacred tent that can be taken down and carried, so that God can live among his people wherever they go. God had told Moses, “Let them make me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them.” Now it is time to build it.

Moses gathers the whole community and makes an announcement. “Whoever has a willing heart, bring an offering to the Lord.” Nobody is forced. And the people come. They bring gold and silver and bronze. Blue and purple and scarlet yarn, fine linen, goats' hair, ram skins dyed red. Acacia wood, olive oil, spices, precious stones. Men and women come with bracelets, earrings, rings. Women who are skilled with their hands spin yarn and goats' hair. Morning after morning, the gifts keep coming. Finally the craftsmen go to Moses. “The people are bringing much more than enough.” So Moses sends a message through the camp. Stop. No more gifts. They have to be told to stop giving.

God has chosen a man named Bezalel, from the tribe of Judah, to lead the work. Exodus says God filled him with his Spirit, with wisdom, understanding and skill in every kind of craft. Metalwork, stone cutting, woodcarving. Alongside him is Oholiab, from the tribe of Dan, a gifted designer and weaver. And God has given both of them the ability to teach others. So the workshops of Israel come alive. The hammering of gold. The click of looms. Former slaves, who once built cities for Pharaoh under the whip, are now building a home for God, with their own hands, willingly.

Piece by piece, it takes shape. The ark, a chest of acacia wood covered in gold, with two golden cherubim facing each other on its lid, their wings stretched over it. A table for bread. A golden lampstand with seven lamps, decorated with almond blossoms. An altar of incense. Curtains of fine linen, woven with cherubim in blue and purple and scarlet. A bronze basin for washing, made from the bronze mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent. And when everything is finished, the people bring it all to Moses. He inspects it. They have made it exactly as the Lord commanded. And Moses blesses them.

On the first day of the first month of the second year since leaving Egypt, Moses sets up the tabernacle. The frames, the curtains, the ark behind its veil, the table, the lampstand, the altar, the courtyard. And Moses finishes the work. Then the cloud covers the tent, and the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle. Moses cannot enter, because the glory is too great. From then on, whenever the cloud lifts from the tabernacle, the people pack up and follow. When it stays, they stay. A cloud by day. Fire by night. In the sight of all Israel, through all their journeys.

Our word tabernacle comes from the Latin for a tent. But the Hebrew word in Exodus, mishkan, means a dwelling place, from a verb meaning to dwell or to settle. And many Christian readers hear an echo of it in the Gospel of John, which says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Greek word John uses there literally means he pitched his tent among us.

A Tent Where God Lives. You'll find it in Exodus, chapters 35 to 40. Every person brought what they had, gold or yarn or skill, and God filled what they built with his presence. So here's the question to carry with you. What do you have in your hands that you could offer to God, with a willing heart?