"Then the Lord said to Moses: 'Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month.'" (Exodus 40:1-2) We don't know which day of which month the Lord issued these instructions. The people may have had to wait a few days or weeks before the day came to set up the tabernacle.
We've all had to wait for things, haven't we? Sometimes we get impatient, or at least I know I do. We'll want a certain thing to happen and it will look like everything is in place for it to happen and we'll wonder why the Lord doesn't go ahead and make it happen. Worse than feeling impatient, we might even get ahead of the Lord and try to make the thing happen right away without waiting for Him. Every time I've ever done that I've regretted it. Receiving a good thing at the wrong time can be as bad as never receiving it at all. God knows when we're ready to handle big blessings. He knows when He has every circumstance lined up perfectly for us so that when He bestows the good thing we will be able to enjoy it to the fullest. We may think everything is lined up so that our hopes and dreams can fall into place right now, but God sees parts of the picture that we don't see.
Even when everything is lined up just right and there's nothing to keep us from receiving the blessing right now, God may ask us to wait a little while in order to develop our reliance on Him. Like obedient children, we should move ahead when our Father says to move ahead and we should sit still when our Father says to sit still. If we don't learn to wait for His instructions we'll put ourselves in harm's way needlessly, much like a child running out into a busy roadway. If we don't learn to obey the Lord in the small things, we won't be in the habit of heeding His voice when something big comes along.
Not only does the Lord tell the Israelites when to set up the tabernacle, but He also tells them how to set it up. "Place the ark of the covenant law in it and shield the ark with the curtain. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the covenant law and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; place the basin between the tent of the meeting and the altar and put water in it. Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard." (Exodus 40:3-8) We were told earlier in Exodus that the Israelites left Egypt in the first month of the year and now we find them setting up the tabernacle in the first month of the following year. By this we know that twelve months have passed since the Lord brought them out of the land of oppression. This may be why He chose to have them set up the tabernacle in the first month---to commemorate the month of their rescue from Egypt.
"Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them." (Exodus 40:9-11) Oil is used symbolically in the Scriptures to represent the anointing of the Holy Spirit. By anointing the tabernacle and its furnishings with oil the people are welcoming the Holy Spirit into the tent of meeting with open arms and open hearts. Their actions acknowledge that without the Holy Spirit, nothing they do at the tabernacle means anything. Without the Holy Spirit's presence and approval, nothing they do there is holy and acceptable in the Lord's eyes. As my pastor is often known to say during our church services, "If the Holy Spirit isn't here, we might as well go home." We sing a song sometimes in church that goes, "Holy Spirit, You are welcome here." That is what I believe the people are saying when they anoint the tabernacle and everything in it with oil: "Holy Spirit, You are welcome here."
Although as believers in Christ we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us at all times (1 Corinthians 6:19), we can still say to the Holy Spirit, "You are welcome here," whenever we sit down for some quiet time with the Lord. It's amazing how much more reverent and holy our attitude becomes if, when we are about to read the Bible or pray or listen to Christian music or meditate on the Lord, we begin by saying, "Holy Spirit, You are welcome here." Yesterday we talked about taking up the challenge of reading one Old Testament chapter a day and one New Testament chapter a day. (I've begun with the book of Psalms and the book of Matthew.) I think it would be a wonderful idea to follow the Israelites' example from our passage today and say, before we begin our time of Scripture reading, "Holy Spirit, You are welcome here!"
No comments:
Post a Comment