Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Tent of Meeting

Exodus 33:7-11

The Tent of Meeting
 7 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. 8 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. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10 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 their tent. 11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.


Moses had such an awesome relationship with God.

Vs. 7 - Location, Location, Location:
Moses had a specific place set aside to meet with the Lord.  He intentionally located this place away from the rest of the camp.  Moses' time with God was in a specific location, for a specific purpose and during that time, he specifically left the camp.  The area that was comfortable, where he was protected, but this was also a place where he could be distracted.  Moses isolated himself and put himself in a vulnerable position so that he could not only pray to the Lord, he could have an encounter with him

Vs. 8 - All The Respect:
The people that Moses was leading had a respect for Moses and his relationship with God, that the people would stop what they were doing and watch Moses enter "The Tent of Meeting".  They would stand at the entrance of their own tent watching Moses as he went to meet with the Lord.  I get the feeling Moses was seen a little like how we would see a celebrity today.  We'll strain our necks to get that one last glimpse before they walk out of sight.

Vs. 9 - The Pillar:
God came and was represented in a tangible way.  The Pillar of Cloud.  A cloud.  Something that can be seen, but the closer you get to a cloud, it almost changes.  Can you touch a cloud, what does a cloud "feel like".   The closer you get to a cloud, our understanding of it changes.  When a cloud comes down from the sky to be around us, we call it fog, simply because it's close to the surface of the earth.  Do we change our view of God as we get closer to him?

Vs. 10 - The Worship:
The people worshiped whenever the cloud was there, because they knew Moses was having a conversation with God.  Are we worshiping when God is moving?  When He is close by?  Do we worship God when He is working in the life of someone else, or someone else connects with him, or is our worship only prompted by our own experience with Him?

Vs. 11 - Face to Face:
Moses spoke to God face to face.  A conversation with God Almighty just as you would have with a friend standing right in front of you.  Moses - just a man that was called by God - had a "face to face" encounter with God.  Is God that real in our lives that we speak with Him just as if He were standing right in front of us?

Does God not reveal Himself to us this way any more, or is He standing right in front of us and we are oblivious to His presence because we have turned a cloud into fog?

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