Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Exodus 25 before reading the devotional below.
Moses is having a face-to-face meeting with God at the top of Mount Sinai, and the next few days we will be eavesdropping to find out the focus of their conversation. God begins by giving instructions for building him a place to dwell with them. He calls it the Tabernacle, which is essentially a divine tent. God wants to camp out with his people and have a place for them to interact with him. Of course, the priests will continue to act as intermediaries because God’s direct presence is a danger to his people at this point in history. Before Jesus broke the curse, sin caused a spiritual divide between God and humanity so great that few could interact with God and live. Death was the inevitable result of trying to enter God’s presence without a covering.
God details some of the key pieces that will be featured in his Tabernacle: the Arc of the Covenant (a box for the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments inscribed), the Table (used by the priests to present offerings to God), and the Lampstand (basically a giant menorah). What do these objects tell us about God and what is important to him? First, the Arc of the Covenant becomes the most sacred object — God’s standards for his people are central and must not be forgotten. These laws will set them apart from all other nations and they set the stage for Jesus’ arrival. Second, God chooses to put a table in his dwelling place because much like our kitchen tables, the best relational interactions are able to occur there. Finally, God’s choice of a lamp shows his continual light to his people and is full of symbolism that is too vast to cover here.
Here’s your freedom for today: God is deliberate. He knows what he is doing, and he has a reason for everything. He uses symbolism quite a lot to teach his people and reveal more about his character. Sometimes the true meaning of God’s intentions remain a mystery for quite a while, and some mysteries we have yet to understand. However, sometimes we make the mistake of making ourselves the focal point of the universe. We interpret life circumstances as if God is deliberately controlling everything — from stoplights to great discounts to politics. This overspiritualizing removes the impact of our free choices (and the choices of all those around us). In this Bible passage, we see that God is deliberate about revealing himself as the central figure in the grand plot of the universe. What can you do to re-center God as your focal point today instead of focusing on yourself?