Walking With Christ

I went down the rabbit hole on this one, and I’m not sure if I can properly explain what I was shown.

Exodus 40:35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.(ESV)

I’ve read Exodus many times. For some reason, this verse never popped out at me before. Moses had spent forty days and nights on the mountain, in the veiled presence of God, but could not enter the tabernacle. He is known to have spoken to God face-to-face as one friend talks to another, but he could not enter the tabernacle in this instance.

Keep in mind that this was not always the case and only really applied to this one instance. We don’t know how long this took. It may have been mere minutes, or it could have lasted the same seven days it took to ordain Aaron and his sons as priests. The bible doesn’t explicitly say. What we see here is an interesting shift in the way that the children of Israel communicated with the Lord.

The spirit of God first speaks to Moses as a whisper in the burning bush in Exodus 3. Then it becomes an audible voice the he could hear. Eventually, the voice of God becomes audible to others around Moses. This scared a lot of them so bad that they really thought they would die. It scared them because it reminded them of the absolute truth of their lives, and they preferred to keep living as they had rather than change to get closer to God like Moses was. After the sin of the golden calf, Moses decided to make a special place that was set apart from the main camp and was specifically designated as a place to meet with God. He called it the “tent of meeting” because it was the designated place for the people to meet with God face-to-face. That was eventually upgraded to the tabernacle. Keep in mind that the tabernacle was often called the tent of meeting after it was built since it replaced the tent of meeting that came before. The tabernacle would be the pattern that would eventually become the permanent temple built by Solomon. When that temple was ultimately destroyed, we were returned to the beginning without the binding restrictions of the law of Moses.

This is not to say that we should no longer follow the laws of Moses. We know that we live under grace and not the law. This pattern that I just described shows the spiritual progression that many Christians, and in many ways even Christ followed in life. The relationship with God begins when He comes to us where we are. It blossoms and grows as we get closer to Him. Eventually, this relationship scares those around us and we make the relationship a bit more private and intimate. That structure grows, becomes more advanced and rigid with maturity until the temple, our bodies, are torn down. When the temple, again, our bodies, are torn down, then the veil between us and the God of our hearts is removed and we are then freed to worship Him openly.

The problem with this pattern is that it really isn’t required. The structure is great and can help us as well as those around us to grow closer to God. It’s like the trellis that supports a climbing vine. The trellis is a useful tool, but it should not be a limitation to growth as the temple of Solomon became to the Jews who forgot that the purpose was a relationship with God rather than simply seeing who could follow the letter of the law more precisely. It was only when the temple was torn down that many saw the truth.

The relationship that Moses had was unique and we are not guaranteed to have anything like it. Moses was set apart and called for a specific purpose. Of course, if you’re reading this email, then so are you. You just have to find out what that purpose is, find your burning bush, and hang on for the ride of your life.