A Study of the Tabernacle—Part 4

Go West, Young Man & Young Lady

So, you are standing at the altar of God just inside the gate of the Tabernacle. You are here because this is the place to bring your sacrifices in order to make atonement and show appreciation for the things God has done. It is always difficult to take the best of your flock and hand it over to the priests after laying your hands upon it to pass on your sins, just so they can slaughter it and present it as an offering to God. But now that you have rededicated yourself to the Lord, what will you do? What direction will your life go now?

Life is full of decisions! It always has been, and it always will be. How many times has a decision made in a fleeting moment produced consequences that last a lifetime? Should the fruit be eaten, or not even touched? Sarai, should we take Lot with us, or leave him to fend for himself in Ur? After viewing the Promised Land and seeing the people who inhabit the land along with their fortified cities, should we go up and attack, or persuade the people to turn back to Egypt? Should the king go to battle with the troops, or stay home at the palace and sit this one out? Decisions, decisions, decisions; how do we know what to do? Which direction should we take? Will this decision move me closer to God, or further away?

God has not left us without some GPS help! He wants to give us some direction for our lives—the Tabernacle demonstrates this! You see, the Tabernacle was always set up in the same direction. The entryway to the courtyard was pointed to the east every time it was set up. That means that once you finished bringing your sacrifice before God, there were only two primary directions one could go—east, away from the presence of God, or west, deeper into the presence of God. Is it a foreboding sign God provided that most of the people, once they performed their act of worship, would turn and go AWAY FROM the presence of God? How many of us fall into this trap, even today?

East is not a good direction to go in the Scriptures! When God kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden, it was to the east that He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword to protect the way back into the garden (Genesis 3:24). After Cain murdered his brother and was made a vagrant, it was to the east of Eden that he finally wound up settling and beginning a civilization that was so corrupt (Genesis 4:16). In the time of the Tower of Babel, the people continued to move east, away from the presence or will of God (Genesis 11:2). When Lot separated from Abraham, he traveled to the east, toward the land of Sodom, which we all know was a giant step in the wrong direction (Genesis 13:11). There are several other examples of this motif in the book of Genesis, but perhaps the best example of moving the other direction comes in the birth narrative of Jesus when Magi (or astrologers) from the Far East travel to the WEST in order to find the “King of the Jews” who would also become the Savior of the world (Matthew 2:1-2). They saw a sign from God calling them back into His presence “to worship Him”!

God is calling us deeper into His presence as well! This morning, after you present your offering before God through your praise and worship, don’t exit through the same door you normally do if it only takes you to the EAST. Choose a different direction! Jesus has reestablished the priesthood so all people can move deeper into the presence of God. Will you take advantage of this? Or, will you continue to maintain the same habits, watching others enjoy a closeness with God that could be yours, as well, if only you chose a different direction? GO WEST, YOUNG MAN & YOUNG LADY—and experience a deeper intimacy with God!

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-Scott