“One thing I have 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.” Psalm 27:4
When the Lord instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting, He did so with a very clear objective in mind. We know from the Scriptures that man was created to worship God, and that out of that worship, serve God in a manner worthy of Him. Before the fall of man, Adam and Eve possessed a marvelous capacity to know God, and that which pertained to Him. After the fall, and in particular, looking at the people Israel when they came out of Egypt, during their trek in the wilderness heading to the promised land, they were in great need of the revelation of God to their hearts. Yes, they did see the monumental works of God in their deliverance from Pharaoh and his army. And yes, they did see the miraculous provision of God’s guidance, keeping, and care. But what of the individual heart’s thirst for the knowledge of God? Was there the personal revelation, that coming to grips with the very life of God by the Spirit?
The Tabernacle that Moses built was made according to the design and dictates of God. It was not only to be a place which the Lord identified as holy, and set apart, for seeking Him, but also, a place of meeting, where the individual soul could truly meet the God who had delivered them. This Tent of Meeting, or Tabernacle, was a very mobile structure, made in this manner so as to be transported with the people of Israel to the promised land. Just the very presence of this structure was a symbol of God’s presence with them, and the knowledge of His way, for anyone to seek and find Him. But what does it mean to meet God, to go into the tabernacle, and later the temple, there to meet God? What occurs there? What is God’s intended result in the provision of the knowledge of HIs constant presence, and the knowledge of His way by which one can approach Him, or draw near to Him?
When Moses would enter the Tabernacle, the cloud of the Lord’s presence would descend upon the entrance way. The people would see this, and know that God was meeting with Moses. But something else would occur, and this, as a result of Moses’ worshipping God. When Moses would come out of Tabernacle, the skin of his face would shine. At times, the reflection of what he had seen, or beheld, of God’s glory was so bright that he had to put a veil over his face, the people being afraid to look at him. There is no question that Moses met God, face to face, and that there was a definite effect that occurred in that meeting.
In David’s great Psalm 27, he speaks of what occurs “in the house of the Lord,” that place of God’s designated dwelling. He writes that his great desire was first, “to behold the beauty of the Lord.”(v.4) What did he mean by this? The objective of God in creating the Tabernacle was to reveal Himself personally to the believer, in His holiness, according to His way. The Lord Jesus would speak, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, of coming aside into one’s “closet,” or place of aloneness with God, there to pray to the Father. The promise of His presence, and acknowledgement of His understanding of the believer’s coming, is such that the Lord Jesus said, “…And your Heavenly Father who SEES in secret, shall reward the openly.” (6:6) The God of Moses who revealed Himself in the Tabernacle, and who revealed Himself to David, is the very God and Father of the early disciples. His objective is the same for all, that out of true worship in Spirit and truth, there shall be the true, and real, revelation of God by the Spirit.
Dear Father, Give us to behold Thy glory today, and to enquire with certainty, knowing that Thou wilt answer. In Jesus’ name, Amen.