Exodus 38:21: “This is the sum of the tabernacle, [even] of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, [for] the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.”

 

Numbers 1:50: “But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony,

 

Two times in the Old Testament is the tabernacle referred to as the mishkan ha’edeth or tabernacle of testimony.  It is also referred to as the tabernacle of the congregation or meetings (Exodus 29:42), the tabernacle of witness (Numbers 17:8), the house of the Lord (Deuteronomy 23:18), the temple of the Lord  (Joshua 6:24) and a sanctuary (Exodus 25:8). Actually, the tabernacle of testimony  did not designate the whole structure of the tabernacle but only that enclosed area which contained the ha’aron eth ha’edeth, the ark of the testimony, which is commonly called the Ark of the Covenant.  Curious that in Exodus 25:16, 22 and Numbers 9:15 that  God referred to the ark as the ark of the testimony  at this juncture and not the Ark of the Covenant. The word for testimony is ha’edth and comes from the root word ‘edoth which means to bear witness but also has it Semitic origins in the root adad which means to restore.

 

As we all know from Sunday School, the ark of the covenant is where the presence of God resided or what was called the shekinah glory.  The word shekinah and the word mishkan (tabernacle) both are derived from the same root word shakan which means to dwelling.  Thus the tabernacle was the dwelling place of the presence of God.  In the Aramaic it is the word shekinot and is found in the Talmud (Talmud Baba Kamma 92b) as a nest. Thus this dwelling place was like a nest where a bird would nurture its young.  The word shekinah is not even found in Scripture but the Jews applied this word because of the feminine ending.  The Shekinah glory represents the feminine or nurturing, loving and caring nature of God.

 

What I have always found curious is that if God is omnipresent then how could he be located in just one spot.  Did David have to go to the holy of holies just to experience the presence of God? Did he not experience the presence of God all the time like we do today?  We kind of just slide over this issue and I never really heard anyone address it.  It is clear that people, like David experienced the presence of God outside the tabernacle, so why did God instruct the building of a tabernacle and the ark of the covenant where His glory or presence would dwell?

 

I believe the Midrash Exodus Rabba 51 gives an explanation.  The tabernacle was called the tabernacle of testimony after the incident of the golden calf. God then commanded Moses to build the tabernacle with the ark of the covenant so that his presence could have a specific place for the people to be nurtured, like a nest where the mother bird could nurture her young until they were old enough to fly off.  The people were young in their worship of Jehovah and all they really knew in Egypt were idols that they could see.  So in their youth, so to speak, God put them in a nest to feed and nurture then with His presence and when they were mature enough they could worship God without having a physical representation of God, i.e., the ark of the covenant.

 

In my new book I deal with Exodus 32 where God expresses alleged anger over the discovery of the golden calf.  I argue in my book that God was not angry but grieved and then relieved when Moses intervened.  God did not say he would destroy the nation.  He spoke this in a Hiphal form saying He had to allow the nation to destroy itself because of the worship of an idol. His holiness prevented Him from protecting and providing for them in the desert.  Without God providing water and food the people would quickly die in those harsh conditions, yet because of giving man a free will, God could not intervene until Moses stood in the gap for his people.

 

God understood the needs of the people, they built this golden calf because they needed something physical, that they could see.  So God gave them something physical to represent His presence but the ark is now lost because the people have matured to the point where they do not need a physical representation.

 

Do does that mean that God’s presence was only in this one location?  Not at all. The Midrash explains that it was the ark of testimony. It was to testify to the restoration of Israel, God’s forgiveness for their sin of idolatry.  When people entered the tabernacle and felt the presence of God, that presence gave them something tangible a testimony to the fact that they were forgiven and restored to a relationship with God.  If God had not forgiven them, they could not feel His presence.

 

You know many people are still just immature Christians like Israel and they feel they can only experience the presence of God in a church. That is ok, they are young in the Lord, but they need to grow and learn to worship God without anything tangible like an altar, a church sanctuary etc.

 

There is, however, something much more important that few Christians realize.  Why do you seek the presence of God?  Is it just because it feels good?  Do you need to feel a rush like some junky every Sunday?  Is God just a filling station to fill you up with feel goods.  I have heard many people say, “Oh, I go to this church because I can really feel the presence of God.”   I ask, “Why is that so important to you?”  They usually respond by saying something like that it is a church where God is really honored.  Ok, I will buy that. But it is more.

 

Like the tabernacle of testimony, its primary purpose was to give a tangible sign that the people have been forgiven and restored.  When you feel the presence of God you know that you would not feel that presence if your sins were not forgiven and you were not restored to a proper relationship with Him.

 

So if you do not feel the presence of God, don’t blame the church, don’t blame the pastor, don’t blame the music, don’t blame the people in the church, blame only yourself. When that communion bread and cup is given examine yourself and if there be any thing unclean confess it and let the blood of Jesus Christ cover it. When you feel the presence of God you have entered the mishkan ha’edeth the tabernacle of testimony and God is bearing witness with His presence and saying. “It’s ok now, you are forgiven, you are restored, just rest in my arms as I give you a hug and assure you that your sins are gone.”

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