Tent of Meeting and the Tabernacle of Moses
The Tent of Meeting Moses set up outside the camp was a precursor to the Tabernacle of Testimony that would follow it. Rebellion of God's people brought about the Tabernacle of Meeting, or the temporary tent Moses erected to stay near God himself, until the rebellion was dealt with.
When Moses first went up on Mt. Sinai, God showed him to build the Tabernacle of Testimony. The instructions God gave Moses were for a public meeting place.
When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai he found Israel, the people God had offered the Tabernacle to, worshiping the Golden Calf Aaron had made.
God told Moses He would no longer go with Israel. God withdrew His offer to be in the camp of Israel, but God did not withdraw the promise to take Israel to the promised land and drive out her enemies! Here the Lord was testing Israel. Did she want God, or simply the promises of God?:
Exodus 33:1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2“And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3“Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” 4And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’ ” 6So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
Moses then did the most amazing thing...rather than wait for the Tabernacle that had been shown him for Israel...rather than wait for God to deal with the rebellion of the people the Tabernacle was for...Moses made his OWN tent the place of meeting!
No, it wasn't the fullness God had shown him...it was as far as Moses could reach for God himself. He and Joshua reached for God in the small and temporary tent Moses already had. Moses gave up his comfort and place of sleeping in an effort to simply reach for what he knew God would eventually give.
Then, Moses had an incredible conversation with God. He boldly told God he wasn't going anywhere without God. He told God the promise Land was not worth it if God wasn't going to dwell in the camp. Moses passed the test! He wanted God and the promise, not just the promise.
Moses saw the POINT of the promise: God with man. This pleased God greatly:
Exodus 33:7-23 NKJV — 7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. 12 Then Moses said to the LORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 “For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” 17 So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” 18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” 19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 “So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 “Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.
Who may see God? Who may dwell in the presence of the most high? Those who choose Him and His righteousness. He tests the desire of the righteous :
Psalm 11:4The LORD is in His holy temple,
The LORD’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
5The LORD tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
Shall be the portion of their cup.
7For the LORD is righteous,
He loves righteousness;
His countenance beholds the upright.
Simply wanting the promises of God is not the same as wanting God.
When Moses first went up on Mt. Sinai, God showed him to build the Tabernacle of Testimony. The instructions God gave Moses were for a public meeting place.
When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai he found Israel, the people God had offered the Tabernacle to, worshiping the Golden Calf Aaron had made.
God told Moses He would no longer go with Israel. God withdrew His offer to be in the camp of Israel, but God did not withdraw the promise to take Israel to the promised land and drive out her enemies! Here the Lord was testing Israel. Did she want God, or simply the promises of God?:
Exodus 33:1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2“And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3“Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” 4And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’ ” 6So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
Moses then did the most amazing thing...rather than wait for the Tabernacle that had been shown him for Israel...rather than wait for God to deal with the rebellion of the people the Tabernacle was for...Moses made his OWN tent the place of meeting!
No, it wasn't the fullness God had shown him...it was as far as Moses could reach for God himself. He and Joshua reached for God in the small and temporary tent Moses already had. Moses gave up his comfort and place of sleeping in an effort to simply reach for what he knew God would eventually give.
Then, Moses had an incredible conversation with God. He boldly told God he wasn't going anywhere without God. He told God the promise Land was not worth it if God wasn't going to dwell in the camp. Moses passed the test! He wanted God and the promise, not just the promise.
Moses saw the POINT of the promise: God with man. This pleased God greatly:
Exodus 33:7-23 NKJV — 7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. 12 Then Moses said to the LORD, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 “For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” 17 So the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.” 18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” 19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the LORD said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 “So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 “Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.
Who may see God? Who may dwell in the presence of the most high? Those who choose Him and His righteousness. He tests the desire of the righteous :
Psalm 11:4The LORD is in His holy temple,
The LORD’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
5The LORD tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
Shall be the portion of their cup.
7For the LORD is righteous,
He loves righteousness;
His countenance beholds the upright.
Simply wanting the promises of God is not the same as wanting God.
Wanting God is the heart of David's Tabernacle, just as it was the heart of Moses' Tent of Meeting.
David's tent wasn't sanctioned in scripture. It wasn't the national promise of Israel. There was no Old Testament promise of it, or New Testament promise of rebuilding it, that David was taking comfort in at the time he threw up his tent and started worshiping night and day.
No, David wouldn't find a Bible passage to obey. There was simply David's observation of God's desire. God gave it all to be with man, David simply answered that fact with his own weak reach. David simply mimicked what he knew of God's heart and throne. David believed that God would approve the hungry reach to be where God is because God already demonstrated He would go to any length to be with those He was calling.
No, David wouldn't find a Bible passage to obey. There was simply David's observation of God's desire. God gave it all to be with man, David simply answered that fact with his own weak reach. David simply mimicked what he knew of God's heart and throne. David believed that God would approve the hungry reach to be where God is because God already demonstrated He would go to any length to be with those He was calling.
David's Tabernacle wasn't what David SHOULD do, it was all David COULD do, to reach back to God. Organizing a place of prophetic worship was a reach as far as he could reach on behalf of himself and the people God was calling.
David knew it wasnt the permanent house. He knew it was part of a story. By definition a tent is temporary. David knew the temple would follow, but he couldn't build the temple. If the Lord doesn't build the house, the work of the builders is in vain.
The point of David's Tabernacle is that it is the step forward man CAN take, if we want to. It's weak, it's temporary, it's love, it's zeal, and it always gets answered. It's the answer to the question from heaven: "do you want Me...do you want My presence? Or do you simply want what everyone else wants? Will you reach in a personal way?"
The offer of God's presence isn't a burden...it isn't a job...it's a huge gift only discerned by the truly lovesick. It always gets answered.
Psalm 27:4One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
The offer of God's presence isn't a burden...it isn't a job...it's a huge gift only discerned by the truly lovesick. It always gets answered.
Psalm 27:4One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
5For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
6And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
7Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
9Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the LORD will take care of me.
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
5For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
6And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
7Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
9Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the LORD will take care of me.
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