I Will Dwell Among Them...

As we continue to think about the theme of temples in the Bible, it takes a little while before we get to Exodus 25:8, where God instructs Moses, "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them" (NIV). This is just before the Lord gives Moses all the instructions for how to build the tabernacle, which amounts to a kind of portable temple (it was portable, even if it basically took a whole tribe of people to carry its different components from place to place). This verse is short, but the promise within it is quite massive and worth a look.

The meaning of this statement becomes pretty packed when we start to ask what it means for God to dwell among His people. We've got to do a little digging, but it doesn't take long before it starts to come clear. Once more in Exodus does God say that He will dwell among His people in ch. 29:45. Here the idea of God living in the midst of the people is expanded: "I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God" (NIV). It's not that the Lord is saying that He will do two separate things - live with the people and be their God. He's essentially saying the same thing twice - living with the people is being their God.

But what does that mean, to be their God? Now here's where the concept starts to explode. In the Old Testament, there are 18 places where God makes this kind of statement, that He will be somebody's God. He first says it twice to Abraham in Genesis 17:7-8 as God promises to make a nation of him. He says it to the oppressed Israelites before He brings the plagues against Egypt - a promise of the Hebrews' deliverance (Exo. 6:7). Of course, we saw it in Exodus 29:45. Two times it shows up in Leviticus concerning God's faithfulness to the agreement He makes with Israel (Lev. 26:12, 45). We don't see the phrase again until Jeremiah, where it is several times spoken as a comforting word of God promising future blessings to the downtrodden and exiled Israelites (Jer. 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; 31:33; 32:38). And in Ezekiel, the Lord uses it in much the same way - a promise of God's faithfulness (Ezk. 11:20; 14:11; 36:28; 37:23, 27).

In other words, "I will be your God" is language that the Lord uses to mark His covenant with His people. It is always a promise that God will be faithful to those who obey and serve Him. He offers protection and provision, peace and prosperity, so to speak. This is the effect of God dwelling in the midst of His people. Essentially, the offer of the temple is all of God's abundant blessing.

Perhaps you've already guessed what this means for us as we seek to lead the congregation into worship each week. When we look to facilitate a meeting between the Lord and His people, we are seeking to create an environment in which God can dwell. So while we worship, as God comes down to us and we reach out to Him, we're allowing for a connection to be made that has the potential to bring about all of the promised blessings of God. In our worship comes protection from the enemy, food for the journey, and anything else we may need for the mission to which He's called us. Referring back to last week's post, our periods of worship have the potential to establish a truly Eden-like place where all that we need for abundant life is present.

The Temple Eden

Before creation, God certainly had His dwelling in the heavens, yet Eden may be considered His first earthly home. After all, He did walk about the garden with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:8). We may, therefore, consider Eden a sort of predecessor to the tabernacle and the Temple, the two definitive earthly homes of God in the Old Testament.

The Bible doesn't say a whole lot about what Eden looked like (I'm sure the writer of Genesis had other concerns), but there are a few characteristics we can pull out of the text.

Some aspects of Eden may seem rather insignificant, like the fact that it had four sides (Gen. 2:10-14) or that its entrance was on the east side (Gen. 3:24). These details become more important when we encounter the plans for the tabernacle at the end of Exodus (chs. 26-40).

There are, however, a couple of pieces that might appear more important. For example, Eden seems to have held everything that was necessary for life. Water was abundant (Gen. 2:10-14). Food was also plentiful (Gen. 2:9). Here, in God's home, in His presence, was everything that Adam and Eve needed for a full and satisfying life (we might assume, also, that the Tree of Life supplied life in abundance since by eating of it Adam and Eve procure everlasting life - Gen. 3:22).

It may also be worth noting that life in God's presence still required work. Adam was commanded to work the garden and care for it (Gen. 2:15). Although Eden may have been perfect in its relation with God, it still required maintenance and expansion.

This theme of God's dwelling places we will explore further down the road, but for now, let's see what we might learn from Eden, God's proto-temple. In God's home, we have all we need. In fact, there is life - the eternal kind of life - in His presence. And yet, there is still some kind of commission in God's presence. So as we enter worship of the Lord and seek to welcome His presence, we ought to expect to encounter a life-giving atmosphere. But that doesn't mean that we simply sit basking in that provision. Rather, we ought to expect directions to act on as well. When we gather for worship this week, let's look to absorb what we can of God's life-giving Spirit and also listen for His guiding for accomplishing His will.