July 1 – Make Me A Sanctuary

July 1 – Make Me A Sanctuary

Exodus 25:1-9

Moses went up on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.  While he was there, the Lord said that he was to tell the Israelites to bring an offering.  He was to receive these offerings from all whose hearts prompted them to give.

Gold, silver and bronze. Blue, purple and scarlet yarn.  Fine linen and goat hair.  Ram skins dyed red. Hides of sea cows. Acacia wood, olive oil and spices, onyx and other gems.

After receiving these offerings, the people would make a sanctuary for the Lord and He promised to dwell among them.  He told Moses to make the tabernacle … the tent of meeting … exactly like the pattern the Lord would show Moses.

God had been separated from His people for such a long time.  He had walked with Abraham, wrestled with Jacob, cared for Joseph.  But, when the people went to Egypt because of the famine, they ended up staying. The king who knew them had died, and the Israelites became slaves.  They cried out and God heard them.  He sent Moses to bring them out of slavery.

When He told Moses to bring His people out of Egypt, He gave His name to the Israelites … I AM (Exodus 3:14).  He claimed the Israelites as His people and promised to bring them to the land of milk and honey and renewed the covenant with them.  He gave them the Ten Commandments and now it was time to be among them once again.

This Tabernacle would be His dwelling place.  There was a pattern Moses would follow.  The Tabernacle was a copy of God’s dwelling place in heaven … it was His home while He was with His people.  The Lord came down from heaven to be with those He loved.  His home on earth would be made from the offerings of His people.

The offerings of their hearts, the offerings of their goods … this is what it would take.