Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Meeting With God
By Susan Klein

“There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you…”

Reading through the Book of Exodus, one could really get bogged down with all of the details and specifications that are recorded for the building of God’s Tabernacle. Some might even question, “Why must we know all of this minutiae?” I often tend to skim over sections such as this, but if God chose to include them in His written word, there must be some important nuggets to glean.

As I pondered chapters 25-30, I came to understand some things about God’s reason for such detailed plans regarding His meeting place with His people. First of all, God’s people were on the move. Places and circumstances were always changing. The Tabernacle was to be a consistent place to meet God, one which never changed. Secondly, it was to be holy and reverent. They had just fled Egypt, where it was easy to get caught up in wrong customs of the culture, which could (and did) distract from authentic worship of the one true God.

I may not be nomadic, but I’ve moved more than once in my life. With each move, I’ve searched for a new church that was consistent in its beliefs and practices with the one I had left. But, what about the issue of cultural distractions? Our culture deems it appropriate to don our preferred team’s jersey on game Sunday, or to sip our favorite coffee drink during the sermon. Or, how often do we run into the building at the last minute because we let simple distractions at home make us late? Perhaps we’re just  more focused on after-church activities than we are on the message being preached. While these may not necessarily be wrong in and of themselves, they can become wrong if they distract our focus from worshipping God.

I am hugely thankful that we live in the age of grace. Unlike the Israelites, we have not been given pages upon pages of specific instructions on how we are to worship or how we are to build our Tabernacles. That said, “holy and reverent” should never be left out of our worship equation. We are all still responsible to enter God’s house of worship with a right and respectful heart. We are there to meet with Him! If we allow the distractions of the world to take the forefront of our thoughts, we will not be able to reverentially worship our God in the way in which He deserves.

How are you meeting with God? 


GOING DEEPER:
1. How do you prepare yourself to worship on Sunday mornings?
2. Identify the distactions that might be keeping you from “reverential” worship.

FURTHER READING:


Susan is married to Mark, and has two adult children. She enjoys teaching Bible studies, writing, and tutoring with the Literacy Council. She is a member of the Peace Team at Oakwood and also co-leads an on-site small group.