The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States “The LORD’s glorious presence filled the dwelling” for Saturday, 10 September 2016Exodus 40:33 Finally, he erected the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar and set up the screen for the entrance to the courtyard.
(Maftir) 34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Adonai filled the tabernacle. 35 Moshe was unable to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud remained on it, and the glory of Adonai filled the tabernacle.
36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Isra’el continued with all their travels. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not travel onward until the day when it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of Adonai was above the tabernacle during the day, and fire was in [the cloud] at night, so that all the house of Isra’el could see it throughout all their travels.
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So back to the beginning of this week’s study: “Build me a sanctuary,” God said, “so I can be present among them.” For people newly come into freedom (unlike us), and with short memories (very much like us!), it mattered that the LORD was not just a remote concept, or a theory that Moses kept telling them was real. And God honored the sanctuary the Israelites built. During years of desert journeying, Exodus said, visible signs of God’s presence went everywhere with Israel.
• Have you ever envied the Israelites who could see “the LORD’s glorious presence” at their sanctuary? Sadly, their history, told in their own Scriptures, showed that God’s physically visible presence did not keep them from doubting God’s love and care, nor from being drawn to other “gods.” And one reason they may have needed a visible sign of God’s presence was that unlike us, they did not have the historical record of God becoming human, dying for their sins, and then rising from the dead (a reality attested by multiple eyewitnesses, and whose spiritual impact Roman and Jewish historians who denied its truth also recorded). What anchors your
faith, and makes it real for you day by day?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes I wish you’d billow into my room. But Jesus said that, through the Holy Spirit, you do something even better—you blow into my heart and my mind like the wind. Keep me sensitive and attuned to your presence with me. Amen.
Family Activity: Worshipping and praising God is an important focus in the story of Moses and the Israelites as they built the Tabernacle. Create an “Adoration Book” using the alphabet as your guide. Fasten twenty-six pieces of paper together to create a book. In alphabetical order, write one letter of the alphabet at the top of each page. Encourage your family to name all of the qualities of
God that begin with each letter. (For example, on the “A” page, you might write “active in my life” and “awesome power.”) Include pictures your family members have drawn or cut from magazines as well. Use your book to learn more about God and grow in your faith. Thank God in prayer for who he is in your life!
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Insights from Noah Young
Noah Young is a junior in high school and a leader in the Ministry as a Career Track program at The Church of the Resurrection.In this Exodus passage two main points stand out to me. One is the tabernacle, the holy place for God, and the other is God giving the Israelites guidance.
When I was young I went through a time like no other—my grandma was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. The turmoil of her illness brought me into a dark place, as dark a place as I could be in for a ten-year-old. I questioned God, and his intentions. I asked questions like, “Why is this happening? Does God truly love me?” and the like. The only way I got through this was guidance from God.
The Israelites give us a prime example of following God. In a literal sense, they would not move from where they stopped on their journey unless God moved first. When I read this passage I think of how God has led me to where I am today—an aspiring pastor. Only with the hand of God leading me could I have ended up at The Church of the Resurrection, and in an amazing ministry program, surrounded by an environment meant to cultivate gifts. I also joined the Disciple 2 Bible study, another way God has guided me. That class truly made me read the Bible in a deeper, more thoughtful way. Just as the Israelites put full trust in God, guidance and direction from God is something I have cherished as well.
When reading about the tabernacle, I also think of my Wesley Revival trip to England. I saw many places that could only be described as beautiful to both the eyes and the heart. Two places come to mind. First is the church John Wesley attended. To see where the founder of Methodism himself first encountered God is in my mind a way to really feel what it might have felt like to enter the tabernacle. The other is Saint Paul’s Cathedral, a massive structure made for our Lord and Savior. When I first entered the cathedral my jaw dropped, and all I could do was smile. The place was captivating—in fact, “captivating” seems like an understatement. These places are not the tabernacle itself, but in my experience are the best ways I might understand what a holy structure might be like.
In this passage I find a holy place and guidance as significant themes being talked about. What I conclude is, once you find your holy place, God will be there to guide you.
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