28 January | Youth
«And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them» Exodus 25:8
From Genesis to Revelation, we find beautiful statements that God desires to dwell with us. He is a loving Father who longs to be close to His creatures. The biblical doctrine of the sanctuary, with all its wealth of details, reveals this great dream of the Eternal One.
The garden of Eden was the first sanctuary created by God on Earth. It faced east, as did Moses’s tabernacle and Solomon’s temple. The tree of life was “in the middle” (betokh) of the garden, the same expression used in Hebrew with reference to the presence of God in the sanctuary. In Genesis 3:8, we find the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day. This same idea appears in Deuteronomy 23:1 – God walking in the midst of Israel’s camp.
After the Egyptian captivity, the Lord ordered Moses to build the tabernacle in the desert, in order to dwell among the people. All measures, utensils and rituals were instituted by God with the purpose of teaching the people the great plan of redemption. Every part and every service of the sanctuary should touch the senses: sight, taste, smell, hearing, and touch. It was an educational way for God to say: “I want to be close to you!”
Centuries later, the Lord commanded Solomon to build a temple. The work took seven years and involved thousands of tons of gold and silver. The objective was the same, “And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel” (1 Kings 6:13).
Both the sanctuary of Moses and the temple of Solomon pointed to the coming of the Messiah, Immanuel, God with us. John 1:14 says, “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The term “dwelt” in the Greek language is, literally, “tabernacle.” It means that Jesus pitched His tent and physically dwelt among us.
The Bible further states that, after the millennium in Heaven, the New Jerusalem will descend to Earth, with all those saved: “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Rev. 21:3, WEB). God’s greatest dream will finally be fulfilled: to dwell with us eternally. Is this your biggest dream too?