Making Space for His Presence
From my S.O.A.P. Journal
Scripture:
Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things. The tabernacle was to be set up before they arrived.
Numbers 10:21 (NIV)
Observation:
Two years into the exodus from Egypt, God signaled to the wandering Hebrews, it was time to relocate. Transporting hundreds of thousands of people of people dispersed throughout twelve tribes was some tactical feat. Their GPS was not Waze. The cloud lifted above the tabernacle and directed God’s people to their next spot. Like God had promised Abram and Sarai back in Genesis 12:1 (NIV), “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you,” God would show them when they would need to stop. God would direct the destination. The order of the tribes packing up and leaving are given in Numbers 10. The tribes of Judah, Issachar, Zebulon and then the Levite families carrying the tabernacle were to leave first. Then, the tribes of Rueben, Simeon and Gad were to pack up and go. The family of the Levite tribe, the Kohathites who shouldered the sacred items from the Holy of Holies and Holy Place, were to follow. Verse 21 gives the clear instruction that the tabernacle was to be set in place by the time the Kohathites who hand-carried the sacred items arrived. The careful ordering strategy of the relocation project is important to note. The tent was set up before the Presence of Yahweh arrived.
Application:
I love the HGTV home renovation shows. Cheryl, the mom’s and I watch them all. From Laurel, Mississippi to Benton, Arkansas, from Detroit, Michigan to Snohomish, Washington, we delight in seeing new beauty arise from the ashes of old, rundown, sometimes zombie houses. Each show is careful that after the heavy lifting of renovation has been completed to carefully stage each home. As beautiful and expensive as the renovations are, what makes the home sizzle and ultimately sell is placing items in the home for potential buyers to envision themselves living in it. A well-designed, snappy renovated home is not a home until someone actually moves in. The goal is for a family to live in the space. Similarly, the tabernacle is just a big, fancy tent if the Presence of Yahweh isn’t there. God has to move in. The Hebrews believed that Yahweh’s real presence resided in the space above the ark of the covenant. This wasn’t figurative. This was literal. The High Priest only entered the Holy of Holies once a year on Yom Kippur to offer sacrifice for the sins of all the people and at that, with a rope tied to his ankle in case he was unworthy of the assignment! Thus, setting up the sacred items of the ark of the covenant, the table of presence with the plates, dishes, bowls and jars, the lamp stand and the golden altar was a big deal. One of the prayers, we often prayed before worship at Grace Church was something like “Lord, you have to come and fill this place with your presence. We have done all we can do to set the table. We have planned. We have rehearsed. We have brought our best. Now if you do not come and fill this space and us, we will go home hungry.” We had to set up the tent for the real presence of God to fill the space. As people of the new covenant, God’s real presence has been dispersed from a tabernacle to a people, the Church. In 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NIV) Paul asks this profound question: Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? The question I hear the Spirit probing this morning is, how diligent am I to create the space for the Spirit to fill? Have I postured my life for his infilling? What renovations to staging of my heart am I responsible for so that his presence can move in? Have I set up the tabernacle for the sacred items to be brought in? This morning, I wrote out five questions of examen that each probe at the condition of my sacred space:
Who is my Rabbi?
Who am I abiding in?
What Gospel am I living in?
What story am I living in?
What am I evangelizing?
Each of these nuanced questions examen my soul condition and reveal the real condition of soul.
Prayer:
God, my journey with you continues. You have always done your part to guide me in this wilderness journey with your Son. Help me to make space well so that your real presence can fill me and use me for your glory. Amen.