So Close and Yet So Far

Read Exodus 25:1–31:18

30. “Set up this Tabernacle according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain.
31. For the inside of the Tabernacle, make a special curtain of finely woven linen. Decorate it with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim.
32. Hang this curtain on gold hooks attached to four posts of acacia wood. Overlay the posts with gold, and set them in four silver bases.
33. Hang the inner curtain from clasps, and put the Ark of the Covenant in the room behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
34. Then put the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—on top of the Ark of the Covenant inside the Most Holy Place.” Exodus 26:30-34

Does someone you know seem distant? It’s amazing how two people can be in the same room physically and yet be miles apart relationally. It’s one thing to be together in the same room; it’s quite another to be together in mind and spirit.

Do you feel close to God? It’s possible to be together in the same room and yet not together with him in mind and spirit. We come close to him through worship.

Some of the laws that God gave Israel regulated their worship. This passage records God’s directions for building the Tabernacle—the tent and surrounding structures that would house God’s place of worship during Israel’s time in the wilderness. These detailed instructions leave little doubt about the importance that God places on our worship.

Other lessons in this section include the importance of respecting God’s appointed teachers; God’s holiness; and our need for holy rest. Take this passage in small bites, and chew slowly.

One of the Tabernacle curtains separated two sacred rooms—the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place (Exodus 26:31-33). A priest would enter the Holy Place each day to commune with God and tend to the altar of incense, the lampstand, and the table with the Bread of the Presence. The Most Holy Place was where God himself resided, his presence resting on the atonement cover covering the ark of the covenant. Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place. Even he could do so only on the Day of Atonement, once a year, to make atonement for the sins of the whole nation. Without these vivid reminders, it is easy for us to forget the vast gulf between us and God’s perfect holiness. Because of Christ, this barrier has been torn down forever. Now we can approach God’s throne with confidence that he sympathizes with our weaknesses (see Hebrews 4:16). What a privilege!

Make worship a holy celebration of your relationship with your loving Lord. God, the Holy One of Israel, invites you to come close.