In the previous chapters we have mainly covered the central thought of God’s building in Genesis and Exodus. In this chapter we will attempt to cover a large area, from the end of Exodus to the beginning of 1 Samuel. Such a vast scope requires a bird’s-eye view.
In Exodus 40, verse 2, the Lord commanded Moses, “On the first day of the first month shalt thou rear up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.” This word of the Lord to Moses signifies a new start, a new beginning. Because the building of the tabernacle was completed, there was a new beginning. Verse 17 tells us that according to the Lord’s word, on the first day of the first month in the second year, the tabernacle was reared up. It was indeed a new start. In the first year, the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt-that was the new beginning in their history with the Lord (Exo. 12:2). Now that the tabernacle was reared up, they had another new beginning. It was the start of their history with God and His dwelling-place. Whenever there is a church built up in a certain place to fulfill God’s purpose, that is always a new beginning, a new start in the history of the Lord’s people. It is the sign that we are in the way of the Lord’s leading, that we are taking sides with the Lord, that we are under the Lord’s revelation and in His presence, and that we are ready to fight the battle for the Lord on this earth. May all the Lord’s people have such a new beginning in their history with God.
From the rearing up of the tabernacle in Exodus to its capture in the beginning of 1 Samuel, there are six major things related to the tabernacle. They are vital to the history of the Lord’s people and worthy of our attention.
The first of these six major things is that the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Exo. 40:34-38). God’s glory on this earth can only be manifested in and through His building. When the tabernacle was completely set up, God’s glory immediately filled His building. The glory of God was in heaven, but at that time it appeared on the earth in the tabernacle. This was only possible because of the building.
The Lord is longing for local churches to be built up on this earth today, for wherever a local church is built, there the glory of God will be manifested. The manifestation of God’s glory on earth today wholly depends on the building. The manifestation of God’s glory is the very expression of God. The building of God is this expression, the very image of God.
The tabernacle, and later the temple as an enlargement of the tabernacle, were built for the purpose of expressing God. They were both the image of God. The city, which came later, was the representation of God’s authority. We have seen that God’s intention in creating man was that man might express Him on this earth by having His image and represent Him on this earth by having His authority. Later in history, the temple in the image of God was for the expression of God, and the city with the authority of God was for the representation of God. In other words, the temple is the house of God, and the city is the kingdom of God. The glory of God filled the tabernacle and later the temple. This means that they became the very expression of God, the glorious image of God. God is expressed in and through His dwelling-place. Whenever and wherever a local church is built, God’s glory will be manifested on this earth.
God told Moses to “rear up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting” (Exo. 40:2). Notice that there are two things mentioned here: the tabernacle and the tent of meeting. The tabernacle belongs to the tent of meeting. The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of God filled the tabernacle (Exo. 40:34). The tabernacle and the tent of meeting are one, but there is an inward aspect and an outward aspect. Inwardly speaking, this building is the tabernacle for God’s dwelling. But outwardly speaking, it is the tent of meeting for the assembling of God’s people. Inwardly it is God’s dwelling-place; outwardly, it is the meeting-place of God’s people. A real secret is revealed here which has vital meaning for us today.
On many occasions in the church life there is the tent of meeting without the tabernacle. God’s presence and glory fill the tabernacle; thus to be without the tabernacle is to be without God’s presence. If we have the tabernacle with the tent of meeting, then God’s presence is with our meeting. We must have both aspects. We must have the reality of God’s dwelling. It was in the tabernacle that God instructed Moses to put the ark; He did not say that it should be put into the tent of meeting. Whenever the church comes together, there must be the outward aspect of the meeting with the inward aspect of God’s dwelling in the meeting. Such a tent of meeting with the tabernacle is the very expression of God on this earth. What is your sense when you meet with other Christians? Do you just have the tent of meeting without the inward dwelling of the Lord? Oh, we must check ourselves in this first major point!
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