How can you enjoy God daily?

How can you enjoy God daily? We’re looking at The Tabernacle in the book of Exodus. We are learning from the way God instructed The Tabernacle to be built that He wants us to enjoy Him daily. I want to invite you to join as we look at the building of The Tabernacle and this particular section.

Last week we looked at the six chapters dealing with the instructions for the building of The Tabernacle and now we are at Exodus chapters 35 to 40. The chapters will not be read entirely. We’ll look at some verses within those chapters. However, I encourage you to read it entirely later.

We’ll begin in Exodus 35:1-5 which says this, “Moses assembled the whole Israelite

community and said to them, “These are the things the LORD has commanded you to do: For

six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest

to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death. Do not light a fire in any of

your dwellings on the Sabbath day. Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is

what the LORD has commanded: From what you have, take an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze.” Exodus 35:10 says, “All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the LORD has

commanded.” Exodus 35:21 says, “And everyone who was willing and whose heart moved

him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its

service, and for the sacred garments.” Exodus 35:30-31 says, “Then Moses said to the

Israelites, “See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of

Judah, and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all

kinds of crafts.”

Exodus 36:4 it says, “All the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work

on the sanctuary left their work” Exodus 36:5, “And said to Moses, “The people are bringing

more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.” Exodus 36:8 says,

“All the skilled men among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely

twisted linen and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled

craftsman.” Exodus 37:1, “Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long,

a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.” Exodus 37:4, “Then he made poles of

acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.” Exodus 37:10 it says, “They made the table of

acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.” Exodus 37:17 it

says, “They made the lampstand of pure gold and hammered it out, base and shaft; its

flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms were of one piece with it. they made the lamp stand of

pure gold and hammered it out base and shaft it’s flower-like cups buds and blossoms were

of one piece with it.” Exodus 37:25 “They made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It

was square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits.” Exodus 38:1 says, “They built

the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits high; it was square, five cubits long

and five cubits wide.” Exodus 38: 8-9 says, “They made the bronze basin and its bronze

stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Next

they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely

twisted linen.” Exodus 38:21, “These are the amounts of the materials used for the

tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, which were recorded at Moses’ command by the

Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.” Exodus 39:2 says,

“They made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted

linen.” Exodus 39:8 says, “They fashioned the breastpiece—the work of a skilled craftsman.

They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely

twisted linen.” Exodus 39:22, “They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth—the

work of a weaver.” Exodus 39:32, “So all the work on the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting,

was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD commanded Moses.” Exodus

39:42-43 says, “The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them. Exodus 40:1-2: “Then the LORD said to Moses: “Set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first month.” Exodus 40:34-38, Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted

from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set

out—until the day it lifted. So, the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.”

Over these last two weeks we’ve been looking at the whole concept of the tabernacle and

those pictures help you to visualize how it was made. The temple was built in the same way

as The Tabernacle. The tent, the tabernacle and the temple were the heart of Israelite religious

experience in those days. The Tabernacle was not just an endless list of sacrifices and tedious

rituals. The Tabernacle pointed to what Jesus would do for us in becoming the final and complete sacrifice on our behalf. Jesus became our tabernacle who ‘tabernacled’ among us

and became the very temple of God. He died and was raised on the third day and lives at the

right hand of the Father. We saw all of that as we looked at the tabernacle the previous time. We saw that all of these institutions were symbols of a higher reality, and they were the way that God and the people connected. It was at the tabernacle that God met with His people through

Moses, as He spoke to Moses between the cherubim on the ark of the covenant. That was where the institution of this tabernacle had begun. That tabernacle would be used all the way

through the journey through the desert into the promised land. It was also used at the time of

the judges and into the time of the monarchy. Later Solomon would come along and build a more permanent structure of cedar wood and stone that would be twice the size of the tabernacle.

What was the purpose of the tabernacle? The tabernacle was an earthly representation of a

heavenly reality. God instructed them to build that tabernacle to mirror what was going on in

heaven. The tabernacle was a microcosm of the created order, just as God orders the stars,

planets, earth and everything to work perfectly. God had ordered that the tabernacle would be

a little bit of what we lost in the Garden of Eden because of our disobedience. God talked

with us from the tabernacle and that is why we can meet with God every day. We can now

talk to Him as Jesus told us to do: which is to go into our private room and meet with Him

daily. Jesus also encourages us to gather together with God’s people as He did in the temple

and later on in the synagogues. Make your life a place of worship with the Holy Spirit in you

and that’s what we need to look at today.

The first thing we’ll look at is the symbolism of the tabernacle. In the symbolism, we see the

idea of creation which helps us to understand the tabernacle because the tabernacle represents God’s presence on earth. In the same way, the coming of Jesus Christ was God come to earth who dwelt among us as Immanuel (God with us). The tabernacle represents a new creation when all of the old creation was defiled by our rebellion and sin. All of creation groans because of our disobedience as human beings. Yet, God instructed Moses to build a place here on earth where He could meet with His people. After the tabernacle, Jesus would come. The point of this new creation was that now Jesus is the new Adam that has come. Jesus is the one who is there in the beginning with the Father who created all things. He now comes to tabernacle among His people. Jesus is a piece of heaven on earth and this broken planet is being restored and transformed by the power of God in us. That creative force that made everything perfect and good is now remaking everything good again. God is making all

things new. Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father and poured out His Holy Spirit

on all who opened their lives to Him. Jesus comes to us and says we must spread the gospel.

God’s glory can now be seen in new temples. God’s glory can be seen wherever people turn

back from their sin, turn to God, gather in worship and are saved. God is in their midst, even

when they were just two or three people gathering together. God is with us. God’s sacred space is no longer restricted to a building in some distant part of the world, in a city called Jerusalem, thousands of kilometres from us. Now God’s sacred space is wherever God’s people meet. It is embodied only in His son Jesus, who came to this world two thousand years ago and has returned to the right hand of the Father. God’s sacred space is where we meet and by the work of the Holy Spirit in us. God’s sacred space is spreading to all the earth just like in the Garden of Eden. God walked with us and talked with us. God is walking with every Christian. The symbolism of the tabernacle is seen in that beautiful picture of not only pointing to Jesus but pointing to us God. God has come into this world and dwelt among us by His Spirit.

The second thing we need to take note of is that now you are that tabernacle. Christ fulfils the

symbolism of the tabernacle and temple. We as Christians have become that dwelling place

of God. You are a mobile temple wherever you go. God goes with you. He is in you. He will

never leave you nor forsake you. However, there are some dangers when we read about the

tabernacle. We can get so wrapped up in all the details of the tabernacle and miss the big

picture, which points to Jesus. We are to realize that His presence is in us. That candle that

He instructed to be made to light the inside of the tent doesn’t mean that we must now go and

shine wherever we are. We are to shine but it’s not a direct correlation. Some people

asked about the Urim and Thummim, the two objects that God instructed to be included in the

breastplate of the high priest. What is the Urim and the Thummim ? We know from the scripture it was where the priests were to ask God. The words ‘Urim’ and ‘Thummim’ literally mean ‘lights’ and ‘perfection’. When people wanted to know what God’s will was they were to inquire of the lights and the perfection that the high priest had. We can see that we don’t necessarily need a Urim and Thummim anymore. We don’t have to cast the lot anymore to know the will of God. As you read through God’s Word He reveals Himself to us. We now have the word of God in our hands which we can read, use and apply in our lives. As we do that, we still need to go back and see the minute details in the tabernacle. The big picture is that it all points to Jesus. Ultimately, Christ now lives in us by His Holy Spirit. It points to the fact that you and I are the tabernacle of God. The tabernacle tells us why we ought to worship God, not how. We worship God in spirit and in truth. We go into our prayer closet and talk with Him gathering together with His people weekly, worshiping both individually and corporately in order to glorify God. The correct understanding of the tabernacle is that it motivates us to live a life that pleases God. The tabernacle reminds you of who God is and the temple reminds us of who we are; we are sinners that need forgiveness. We don’t need a sacrifice of bulls and sheep any longer. We need the ultimate and final sacrifice of the Son of God Himself, the Lamb of God who was slain for the sins of the whole world. Now because Jesus has died and risen from the dead, we have power to live new lives. An understanding of the tabernacle helps us and shapes our minds to reflect more of God wherever we are. We need to reflect on the way God wants us to think. We need to take a step back from the ups and downs of life and we need to meditate on the glory of God. We need to meditate on who God is and all that He has done for us. The Bible changes how you think about God, yourself and the world we live in. We can believe in ways that reflect that thinking. That’s why what the tabernacle looked like, how it functioned and what it represented is a reminder of who God is. The tabernacle points us to the order of God and the order of His creation. It reminds us that we now can approach Him through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on our behalf.

What is the picture of God that we see in the tabernacle? One of the things we see repeatedly, is that the tabernacle is a microcosm of creation. In the tabernacle, we see the God of creation dwelling on earth in a structure intended to reflect the perfect created order of His creation. The tabernacle is a piece of heaven on earth. It is at the climax of history. God Himself came into this world. He dwelt among us and we beheld His glory; the glory of the only begotten Son of God full of grace and mercy. Jesus Christ is the temple of God who “tabernacled” among us. The God of creation has built us up into His house. We are now the tabernacle of God and God takes residence in you. Christ dwells in your life and all your experiences are to bring glory to God. The great news is that we are now worthy of the Spirit’s indwelling. Christ has made us worthy. He has declared us righteous as if we had never sinned through His death on the cross on our behalf. We are now being recreated by the power of God into heavenly beings. We are the tabernacle of God through doing what Christ has called you to do, so live for Him. As Jordan Peterson says, “One of the first things you can do is make your bed every day and get up and make a difference in this world.” If you want to change the world start with making your own bed. Mature and be part of God’s plan and purposes in this world. You are the tabernacle of God.

Since you are the tabernacle of God that has implications on how you worship. How you worship means just as the tabernacle was a place of worship, a place of giving God praise and acknowledgement that He alone is worthy of. We are to do that as well. The tabernacle is a place of connecting us to God. When you worship God together with God’s people, you are

making a place where heaven and earth meet. That is why we go to church, we don’t just stay

at home forever but as far as possible we try and go to church on a Sunday. We go there because there is a sacred space where God meets with us corporately. It’s a place that is dedicated to the worship of God. There is something different about being set apart and holy.

Christians gathering together and meeting at an appointed time and place each week is special. What happens when you don’t feel like going to church? I need to confess that there

are times even when I don’t feel like going to church. I sometimes think church is boring. When I’m on holiday, its a great temptation not to go and worship with God’s people. Sometimes I just want a break. However, the reality is that’s the time I need to preach to myself and remind myself to be encouraged as well as encourage others. I need to remind myself of the profound mystery of God dwelling among His people, in the gathering together of His saints. Church is not simply a place where programs take place, where we go to meet people, make connections or listen to a sermon. Church is a place where heaven meets earth, whilst each Christian is a tabernacle individually. God has chosen to meet with us corporately as well. God calls you to gather together with His people. We shouldn’t forsake the gathering of God’s people. Some people think going to church is simply about listening to a sermon. It’s more than that. Why do we go to church? We go not because we have our guilt, or to remove it. We go to church because it is the ordained manner by which we enter into God’s time and into God’s space. That’s why Sunday is a foretaste of eternity. Sunday, is a time out of all the week that’s set apart for God. It’s a space where we’re completely under God’s rule. We are to go to church regularly. That rhythm shapes us into the people of God that Jesus died to make us into. Going to church is also a testimony to this chaotic world around us. Worshiping God collectively one day in seven is a sign to the world that there is something higher than our private world, that the world seems to make. We go to worship as God has called us to worship. We bear visible witness, that God’s order is not the order of this world.

We follow different rules. We follow God’s rules and in doing that, God is glorified in your

life. Such a knowledge should not make you worry about trying to be perfect or struggling

with neurotic thoughts. Remember that perfection is impossible. Even though we sin many

times unconsciously in a day, we need to keep coming back to the Lord asking for

forgiveness. We remember that the story of the Bible is a story of God wanting an intimate

relationship with you and me. God has come so that you might know Him as He walked with

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He walked with the Israelites in the tabernacle, that

mobile worship centre. Later on, He worshipped with His people in the temple. Jesus who is

God has walked among us, we worshiped and saw Him. We fell at His feet when He had

risen from the dead and like Thomas said, “You are my God and my Saviour.” Jesus and the

Father, have poured out their Holy Spirit upon us. We now have an intimate daily relationship

with Him. Jesus invites us to start our day with Him. He wants us to set aside the first and

best part of our day for Him. He also encourages us to end our day with Him, to talk to Him

throughout the day, to tabernacle with Him because He is in us and with us. We are to take

every thought and make it captive to Christ. To turn every worry into a prayer. To make

living in the presence of God a daily reality. As brother Lawrence put it, “To practice then

the presence of God with us always.” That’s what Jesus invites you to. That’s what the

tabernacle pointed forward through Christ to you. He invites you to join with Him. He is

living in you for an intimate relationship. Intimacy is what He has called you to with the Father as you close your door and meet with Jesus and the Father alone. The Father sees that and He has every word, every thought and He meets with you, as well as guides you throughout life. Your life becomes full and glorious. Every day is better with Christ. I want to invite you to make your life a place of worship by the Holy Spirit. You are to do so because the tabernacle is a symbol of God with us, His created order coming down and now Jesus has come. Jesus has poured out His Spirit. God invites you to know that you are His tabernacle. You can make your life a place of worship by the Holy Spirit. Every waking breath can be a breath of praise to our God and Saviour. If you know this Lord Jesus, won’t you thank Him and glorify Him with me in prayer. If you don’t know Jesus invite Him to come into your life, to forgive you of all your sins and to dwell within you and make you His tabernacle: make you a temple of God that God Himself might dwell in you by His Holy Spirit leading you from this day forward. Join me in prayer right now.

Let us pray: “Oh father in heaven thank You that You met with Your people Israel in the desert

in the tabernacle. Now You have sent Your son Jesus and He is tabernacled among us. Lord

Jesus, You and the Father have sent the Holy Spirit that we might know You and have You in us and with us. Please lead us. Thank You for this immense privilege of being the tabernacle of God, the temple of God here on earth. Help us not just to be a temple individually but corporately. Help us to make every effort to worship corporately weekly, as a glorifying process to You and as a witness to a chaotic world. Lord Jesus, for some of us we need to start at the very beginning. We need to cry out to you and say, “O Lord Jesus save me forgive me from my sin and come into my life now by your Holy Spirit. Tabernacle in my heart, and life. Lead me to live a life that glorifies You from this day forward as You, Holy Spirit in me, lead and direct me every day. Make my life a life that adores you every moment and daily. All for Your glory. Amen.”

I pray that this time has been very special for You that God might be close to You. If I can help you, do comment in the comments below. If you need to get in touch with me you can do that. I would gladly encourage you as you need. May God bless you, may you live your life to His glory now and forevermore, amen.