"Tabernacled"

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John 1:14

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 
 

The tabernacle was the moveable tent that the Lord had the Israelites construct during their desert wanderings, after the Passover and the parting of the sea but before the Promised Land. At the end of Exodus, the tabernacle is complete, and the glory of God comes and dwells in the tent, right in the midst of the Israelite camp:

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. [Exodus 40:34–38]

The presence of God is manifested in a cloud of glory. In Exodus, in fact, no one is able to see the “face” of God and live—God’s power is too bright (Exodus 33:20).

But with Jesus, something remarkable has happened.

John, a master artist, has chosen a specific Greek word that is here translated as “dwelt”—it’s the verb form of the word for “tabernacle.” So, here is what John literally says:

The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.

In other words, the same glory that was made manifest to Moses and the Israelites in the tent has now come in the person of Jesus!

John says that he has seen the “glory” of the Son.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

How is the glory of God shown in the Crucifixion of the Son? How does that redefine our idea of the glory of God?

P.S. This month, I am memorizing the prologue of the Gospel of John, 1:1-18. Today, we’re up through verse 14. If you are behind, take the weekend and catch up!

P.P.S. Note that Jesus is the Son of the Father. There is no Father without the Son, and vice versa—there has always been Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (though the Spirit has not yet been formally introduced to us in John’s Gospel).

 

The Lamps Are Meant To Burn All Night

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Exodus 27:1-21

27 “You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits broad. The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. 2 And you shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. 3 You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and fire pans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4 You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5 And you shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net extends halfway down the altar. 6 And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 And the poles shall be put through the rings, so that the poles are on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 You shall make it hollow, with boards. As it has been shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made.
9 “You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side. 10 Its twenty pillars and their twenty bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11 And likewise for its length on the north side there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, its pillars twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side there shall be hangings for fifty cubits, with ten pillars and ten bases. 13 The breadth of the court on the front to the east shall be fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 15 On the other side the hangings shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 16 For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. It shall have four pillars and with them four bases. 17 All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze. 18 The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the breadth fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twined linen and bases of bronze. 19 All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.
20 “You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.

 
 

I love that last detail:

20 “You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel. [Exodus 27:20-21]

The priests are meant to tend the lamplight all night, so that it never goes out.

"The Old Testament’s teachings on keeping the lamps burning regularly may provide background for Jesus’s admonition in Luke 12:35. There he says, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning.” For Jesus, keeping one’s lamp burning continually is a symbol of watchfulness, being ready and waiting of the master’s return." -Victor P. Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary

Are you prepared?

 

Great Short Description of Integrity - Psalm 15

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NOTE: We have taken a week’s break from reading through Exodus; our Exodus readings will resume TOMORROW with the account of the battle between the Lord and Pharaoh and the Ten Plagues. Can’t wait.

I have previously mentioned that I read one psalm a day, every day. I’ll continue doing that. Who’s with me? —Andrew

Psalm 15

A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
    Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
    and speaks truth in his heart;
3 who does not slander with his tongue
    and does no evil to his neighbor,
    nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
    but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 who does not put out his money at interest
    and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

 
 

After King David recovers the Ark of the Covenant from the Philistines, he eventually moves it to Jerusalem and sets it on Mount Zion, building a tent—the Tabernacle—over it. (You can read about it in 2 Samuel 6.). Later, his son King Solomon builds the Temple in the same spot.

Psalm 15 is about what it means to enter into the Tabernacle/Temple; it’s a description of integrity.

My favorite part?

A person of integrity is so honest that he is the type of person who

“swears to his own hurt and does not change.”

I also like the closing line:

“The person who does these things shall never be moved.”

 

Great Short Description of Integrity - Psalm 15

in
 

Psalm 15

A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
    Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
    and speaks truth in his heart;
3 who does not slander with his tongue
    and does no evil to his neighbor,
    nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
    but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 who does not put out his money at interest
    and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

 
 

After King David recovers the Ark of the Covenant from the Philistines, he eventually moves it to Jerusalem and sets it on Mount Zion, building a tent—the Tabernacle—over it. (You can read about it in 2 Samuel 6.). Later, his son King Solomon builds the Temple in the same spot.

Psalm 15 is about what it means to enter into the Tabernacle/Temple; it’s a description of integrity.

My favorite part?

A person of integrity is so honest that he is the type of person who

“swears to his own hurt and does not change.”

I also like the closing line:

“The person who does these things shall never be moved.”

 

Great Short Description of Integrity [Psalm 15]

in

After King David recovers the Ark of the Covenant from the Philistines, he eventually moves it to Jerusalem and sets it on Mount Zion, building a tent—the Tabernacle—over it. (You can read about it in 2 Samuel 6.)

Later, his son King Solomon builds the Temple in the same spot.

Psalm 15 is about what it means to enter into the Tabernacle/Temple; it’s a description of integrity.

My favorite part?

A person of integrity is so honest that he is the type of person who “swears to his own hurt and does not change”.

I also like the closing verse:

“The person who does these things shall never be moved.”