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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp.
And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses.
Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent.
The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Exodus 33:7-11
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
During his time with God at the top of Mount Sinai, Moses had received specific instructions for the construction of the tabernacle but until it was built, he needed a place to continue building his relationship with God as Israel’s leader.
And so we see in our scripture passage today where Moses would "take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away." He called it the "tent of meeting" and it would be the place for “anyone” who was “inquiring of the Lord" to go.
In other words, it was a place outside of the hustle and bustle of the camp activities where one could seek quiet time with the Lord.
In these verses from Exodus, chapter 33, we read where there was a common progression of events each time when Moses would go to the tent.
First, when the people saw him going to the tent, they would rise and stand “at the entrances to their tents”, watching their leader “until he entered the tent”.
Then, as Moses went into the tent, we read where a “pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses". If this sounds familiar, it’s the same thing that happened at the top of Mount Sinai when Moses met with the Lord there.
Finally, when the people saw the “pillar of cloud” descend on the tent of meeting, they all stood and responded in a spirit of worship, “each at the entrance” to their tent. This was because their God was not only with Moses but in their presence.
There’s one other important point here for we are reminded of the special relationship that Moses had with the Lord God Almighty, a relationship validated by these words found in verses 11 of this passage where we’re told that “the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend."
My brothers and sisters, the good news for us today is that God wants to have the same relationship with us. He longs for us to commune with Him each and every day, enjoying our dedicated attention and devotion to Him.
Moses willingly and willfully showed the importance of entering into the presence of God to seek His guidance and to get to know Him more. He set aside a special place to do this, a place away from any distractions, and in doing so, provided us an example for what we should do as well.
For we need to establish our own “tent of meeting”, a quiet, isolated place where we can just be present with the Lord and Him alone for it’s in that setting that we can best develop our own special relationship with Him, child to Father.
Friends, over the past several messages, we have seen two very distinct sides of our God.
On one hand, we have seen Him seethe against disobedience, disrespect and sin, punishing and even destroying those who choose to reject Him.
And yet on the other hand, we see a God who is willing to befriend those who serve Him in obedience and turn their very lives over to Him, those willing to set aside time to share fellowship with Him while fully submitting to His will. It’s this side of our Lord that wants to have a relationship with us that is intimate and open, one that is life sustaining and not life ending.
It’s the side of Him that we should always work to be on.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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