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"Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them."
(Exodus 25:8)
Yesterday we introduced the biblical theme of God's desire to dwell with His people and began to trace it throughout the entire story of Scripture, starting with the garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve were driven out of Eden, God's desire to dwell with His people did not go away. One place where we see this theme pop up again is in the middle of Exodus. After God delivers His people from Egypt, Moses leads them to the foot of Mount Sinai. There God sought to dwell with them yet again, but we see how the sinfulness of the people separated them from God. The Lord God's presence was at the top of the mountain, yet the people of Israel could only stand at the foot of the mountain and were warned to not even touch it.
After Moses intervened for the people and the Lord gave him the 10 Commandments, the Lord God began to give instructions for building the tabernacle: a portable place where the presence of God would dwell that could be brought with them through their wanderings. The word tabernacle actually means "dwelling". It is God's plan to still dwell with His people in their current state (both then and now).
Isn't it amazing that even after His people sinned, God still desired to dwell with them? God is perfectly holy, and you have sinned against Him; I have sinned against Him; everyone has. One who doesn't know our God could assume that this would mean that He, being holy, wouldn't want to dwell among such people anymore. The Israelites chose something else (earthly pleasures) over Him, after all. They chose to disobey instead of having this perfectly intimate relationship with their Creator. God could have turned His back on them, as they had turned their backs on him. Yet this isn't God's response at all. He does clearly state that there are punishments for sin–grave ones. But He provides a way of forgiveness and grace. And not only this, God still desires to dwell among them. A beautiful example of this is God giving them instructions to build the tabernacle so that He could dwell among them. Read the verse from today again: "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them." (Exodus 25:8) Even in their unholiness and sin, God still desires to be close with them. However, there are parameters, and it can't look the same as Eden. We will discuss these more tomorrow as we study the temple.
Indeed, this desire to dwell with us is not only God's desire in Eden, but it is God's desire even after man sinned. This places the depth of God's love for us on display. He didn't turn His back on us when we turned our backs on Him. He continues to pursue. He continues to desire to dwell with us.
In fact, there is an abundance of evidence that the tabernacle is intended to be a sort of "mini-Eden". Let us think of Eden as the place where heaven and Earth are one. God walked with man in the garden. Heaven and Earth met there. It was paradise. The tabernacle is yet again where heaven and Earth are one. Why? Because it is the place where the presence of God dwells with His people. We have imagery in Exodus in the description of the tabernacle that mirrors Eden. Both the tabernacle and Eden have their entrances facing east. Eden was guarded by angels, and the mercy seat in the Ark of the Covenant has two angels on it. Where Eden had the Tree of Life, the tabernacle has a treelike lamp stand. This is absolutely intentional. Ever since Eden, the story of Scripture is the story of redemption to bring back what we had with God in Eden. It is all part of the redemptive plan of God to restore what was lost in Eden due to sin.
What can we take from this? Well obviously, there is so much we could speak of and even more to explore, but what stands out to me today is the reality that even despite our sin, God continues to seek after us and to make His home among us. Hallelujah, praise the Lord!
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