“For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” Psalm 84:10
There is a monumental difference between the “tabernacles” of earth, where men dwell and live, and that which is of God. We begin to get a glimpse of this when we consider the declaration in the letter to the Hebrews: “…Christ’s being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say not of this building.” (9:11) Scripture tells us that it was there where “…by His own blood, He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (v.12) In considering this picture, there is great value or worth in considering the dwelling place of God, but more, the God of the dwelling place, Christ, who has proven before the whole of creation, both visible and invisible, that He is the sole Redeemer of mankind, for He alone is worthy to enter that tabernacle with the price of His own precious blood. There is no greater testimony to the grace and love of God than this, that this single person, Christ Jesus, God in the flesh, after suffering, dying, and rising from the dead, has entered into that tabernacle for us. The Apostle Paul wrote: “…the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20) The One standing in the presence of the Father in the heavenly tabernacle declares his love for all men, in particular, for the individual believer, who can know such love. It is for this reason that we draw attention to the difference between the tabernacle, and the God of the tabernacle.
In Psalm 84, the psalmist begins this song, or hymn, by declaring, “…how aimable are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts.” Indeed, the dwelling places of God on this earth, where He chooses to reveal His presence, are lovely, beautiful, friendly and welcoming, holy and clean. They are wonderful to behold. But why do they have such great worth? Is it because of their appearance or the worth of the One who resides there? Why does the Psalmist declare: “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.” (v.2) Here is the answer. The place where the Lord chooses to reveal Himself, in whatever tabernacle that may be, it is the revelation of His presence that makes an earthly tabernacle, a heavenly meeting place with God. It is a place where the individual soul seeks for God, and finds Him.
In Psalm 27, David wrote of his experience in “…the house of the Lord:” “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; 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 enquire in His temple.” (v.4) David calls the Lord’s temple, the house of the Lord. Now we know from what Jesus taught that God does not dwell in houses made with hands, and yet, He reveals himself in the places of His choosing. That which occurs in the temple for David is this, he beholds “the beauty of the Lord.” In Psalm 63, another of David’s hymns, he writes: “O God, Thou art my God: early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see Thy power and Thy glory, so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary.” (v.1-2) In another Psalm we read: “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary.” (77:13) The worth of the tabernacle, the temple, and the house of God is the revelation of the beauty, the excellence, the goodness, mercy, and love of God, completely holy, clean, and lovely. There is no vision, no wisdom, no grasp of the eternal, that is greater than the knowledge of beholding God in Christ in the sanctuary.
Dear Father, Open our eyes to behold Thee, Thy glory, and power. In Jesus’ name, Amen.