“Yes, I will consecrate the Tabernacle and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will live among the people of Israel and be their God.”

Exodus 29:44-45

The consecration of the Tabernacle, its sacred implements, and its priests made it abundantly clear that this tent was like no other. It was to be the Lord’s house among his people. Thus, after the rites of consecration, God said, “Then I will live among the people of Israel and be their God” (29:45).

As I’ve noted previously in these reflections, the primary purpose of the Tabernacle was not to be a place of sacrifices, though they were essential to its functioning. Rather, the Tabernacle was the place where God made his presence known. In a symbolic way, the Lord said through the Tabernacle, “I am the Lord your God. I am with you” (29:46).

As Christians, we rightly see in the Tabernacle a foreshadowing of Jesus, the Word made flesh who lived among us. Jesus as Emmanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:23). Jesus himself was the ultimate Tabernacle/Temple, the dwelling of God on earth.

Yet in a startling New Testament passage, the Apostle Paul speaks of God’s presence with us in another way: “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor. 3:16-17). The Christian community now constitutes the “temple of God.” God is present among us through the Holy Spirit who lives in each of us and among us together. What an astounding truth! What the Tabernacle once was in Israel, we are in the world: God’s own presence. It’s hard to imagine a greater privilege or higher calling than this.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Do you ever think of your Christian community as the temple of God? What difference would it make if you began to see yourself as part of God’s holy temple on earth?

PRAYER: O Lord, how good you are to make your presence known to us. Thank you for giving to Israel the physical sign of the Tabernacle, reassuring your people that you were with them even in the wilderness.

Moreover, thank you, Lord, for coming to dwell among us as the Word made flesh. Jesus was, indeed, Emmanuel, God with us. Hallelujah!

And thank you, dear Lord, for the amazing honor of being part of your “temple” today. Thank you for dwelling in each of us through your Spirit. Thank you for being present and powerful among us when we gather as your people.

So, I want to pray for your church today, Lord, that we might live in this world as an accurate representation of you. Help me, Lord, to speak and act today in such a way that people experience your presence in me. And may this be true for all of your people, no matter where we are or what we are doing.

To you be all the glory! Amen.