Tent Where God Dey Live

One cloud settle on top one tent for desert. Light dey pour comot from inside, e bright and e heavy with glory so tey even Moses no fit enter. God don come live for di neighbourhood.

Israel camp for di foot of Mount Sinai. Dem don hear God voice. Dem don break im covenant with gold calf, and God forgive dem. And now God don give Moses plan for something new. No be palace, no be temple of stone, but tent. Holy tent wey dem fit pull down and carry, so that God fit live among im people anywhere wey dem go. God don tell Moses, Make dem build holy place for me, so that I go live among dem. Now time don reach to build am.

Moses gather di whole community and make announcement. Anybody wey get willing heart, bring offering to di Lord. Nobody force anybody. And di people come. Dem bring gold and silver and bronze. Blue and purple and red thread, fine linen, goat hair, ram skin wey dem dye red. Acacia wood, olive oil, spices, precious stones. Men and women come with bracelets, earrings, rings. Women wey sabi work with their hands spin thread and goat hair. Morning after morning, di gifts no stop to come. At last di craftsmen go meet Moses. Di people dey bring much more pass wetin we need. So Moses send message round di camp. Stop. No more gifts. Dem must tell di people make dem stop to give.

God don choose one man wey im name na Bezalel, from di tribe of Judah, to lead di work. Exodus talk say God full am with im Spirit, with wisdom, understanding and skill for every kind of work. Metal work, stone cutting, wood carving. Together with am na Oholiab, from di tribe of Dan, one gifted designer and weaver. And God don give both of dem di ability to teach other people. So di workshops of Israel come alive. Di sound of hammer on gold. Di click click of di weaving looms. People wey be slaves before, wey once build cities for Pharaoh under whip, now dey build house for God, with their own hands, with willing heart.

Piece by piece, e begin take shape. Di ark, one box of acacia wood wey dem cover with gold, with two gold cherubim wey face each other on top im cover, their wings spread over am. One table for bread. One gold lampstand with seven lamps, wey dem decorate with almond flowers. One altar for incense. Curtains of fine linen, wey dem weave cherubim inside with blue and purple and red. One bronze basin for washing, wey dem make from di bronze mirrors of di women wey dey serve for di entrance of di tent. And when everything finish, di people bring all of am come meet Moses. E check am. Dem don make am exactly as di Lord command. And Moses bless dem.

For di first day of di first month of di second year since dem comot from Egypt, Moses set up di tabernacle. Di frames, di curtains, di ark behind im veil, di table, di lampstand, di altar, di courtyard. And Moses finish di work. Then di cloud cover di tent, and di glory of di Lord full di tabernacle. Moses no fit enter, because di glory too great. From dat time, anytime wey di cloud lift from di tabernacle, di people go pack their things and follow. When e stay, dem stay. Cloud for day. Fire for night. For di eyes of all Israel, through all their journeys.

Our English word tabernacle come from di Latin word for tent. But di Hebrew word for Exodus, mishkan, mean place to live, from one verb wey mean to live or to settle. And many Christian readers dey hear echo of am for di Gospel of John, wey talk say di Word become flesh and live among us. Di Greek word wey John use there mean, word for word, e pitch im tent among us.

Tent Where God Dey Live. You go find am for Exodus chapter thirty-five to forty. Every person bring wetin dem get, gold or thread or skill, and God full wetin dem build with im presence. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Wetin dey your hand wey you fit offer to God, with willing heart?