A Study of the Tabernacle—Part 7

The Tent of Meeting

Imagine living in a time where the prescription for everything that ails you is to have leeches draw blood from you. Whatever your symptoms, leeches! From fever to a rash to a sore throat to headaches, leeches! Even broken bones would need to be properly cared for with—leeches! For centuries these blood-sucking creatures were a mainstay of medical care. What brought about such a primitive and barbaric practice, and how could it be a bastion of medical science for 2500 years when its results were questionable and sporadic, at best? In today’s medical world, doctors realize there is not a basic cure for everything. Different symptoms demand different medical care. And, while leeches still have some value in the medical world, it is only for specialized treatments that they are prescribed (like when a finger is reattached in order to stimulate circulation).

Unfortunately, some people fall into the same trap when it comes to worshiping God and experiencing intimacy with Him. They prescribe a common method of experiencing Him, even if some of their forms have become outdated. They would have you believe that what worked for them is the solution for everyone else. “God is the same yesterday, today, yes, and forever.” If it worked in the past, then it should continue working today, and even tomorrow. But, could it be that an age more “enlightened” than our own will look back at some of our practices in religion and shake their head, wondering what we were thinking?

Consider the use of a church building and especially the auditorium, or “sanctuary”, as some people refer to it. Whether by actual teaching, or merely by practice, it appears this has become our modern-day “Tent of Meeting”. Many hold the view that this is THE PLACE to meet with God. As a result, everyday encounters with Him are missed or misunderstood. Some see this as the place to bring people in order to help them see the truth and be converted to God. However, how was any of this the case with the original Tent of Meeting? For one thing, Gentiles were not even allowed into the courtyard. Second, only those who were already set apart for God as priests could enter the Tent of Meeting. It was certainly not the place where teaching was done. That happened in the homes (or at least it was supposed to—See Deuteronomy 6:6-9). Thirdly, how many instances of conversion actually take place at the Tabernacle or Temple? John the Baptist led people away from the Temple, out into the wilderness, to call them into a right relationship with God. When Jesus sent His apostles out to preach about the Kingdom of God, they did not call people to gather at the Temple. They showed them the activity and love of God in their very midst, as they went about everyday living.

The Tent of Meeting was a portable facility that enabled the presence of God to dwell in the midst of the camp of the Israelites. It represented God being at the core of their community. Everything else revolved around Him! However, it was not where God encountered the people. He met them in their everyday lives! Today, we have no Tent of Meeting because He has taken up residence within us. He still meets us in our everyday lives! Let us be careful not to turn His Tent of Meeting into more than what it is. We must consistently reevaluate our religious practices instead of unquestioningly accepting what has been done for generation after generation, or we might find ourselves prescribing leeches in an era of modern medicine.
(Next week we will continue with some more thoughts on the Tent of Meeting)

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-Scott