DEVOTION – DAY 540

Exodus 40:34-35 “The Lord Tabernacles With His People”

Exodus 40:34-35 “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle, Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.”

God gave Moses detailed instructions to construct the Tabernacle in the wilderness. God also gave Moses specific instructions on what to put inside the Tabernacle once it was constructed. Moses followed God’s precise instructions carefully. When Moses had completed all that he was called to do, the glory of the Lord entered the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting, in the form of a cloud. The cloud settled in and filled the whole Tabernacle. Before the High Priest could even enter the Tabernacle, appropriate animal sacrifices had to be made. God was teaching His people in a visual manner that He wanted to live amongst them and be their God. But God is holy, and His people are not holy because of sin. Thus, the people had to stay outside the Tabernacle. In order to meet God, the Priest had to sacrifice animals to atone for their sins. This was one of the ways that God was preparing His people to look forward to the day that God would provide a lasting solution when His people may approach Him directly at any time. It pointed to Jesus being God’s sacrificial Lamb, who atoned for the sins of believers so that they are acceptable to go before God. 

We know someone who said she knew some Christians who behaved badly, and she called them hypocrites. As a result, she thought that if Christians were so insincere, she would rather not be a Christian. We told her we were sorry she had some bad experiences with Christians before. It is the same as driving on our roads. Our roads are full of bad drivers who breaks all kinds of traffic rules – like making illegal U Turns, changing lanes without signaling, double parking, jumping red lights and so on. But that never prevented anyone, including her, from wanting to drive on the roads in their cars. In the same way, we told her to keep an open mind about Christianity, because everyone is a sinner. Christians and non-Christians alike. Since God loves us and wants us to be with Him, God has opened the way for us, sinners, to approach Him in the only way possible – through trust and belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We challenged her to seriously think about this. We also shared the good news about Jesus Christ with her. We are praying for her salvation.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for love, and free gift of salvation through your Son, The Lord Jesus Christ. We pray for the salvation of our family members and friends who are yet to become Christians. Please work in their hearts to call upon the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We pray this in the precious name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Questions

  1. What does it mean to you to know that God wants to be part of your life and wants to “tabernacle” with you? Discuss.
  2. Why is it a great privilege for Christians to be able to approach God through prayer at any time? 
  3. How often do you turn to the Lord in prayer each week? Share.
  4. Have you chosen to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, so that you can approach God anytime? Share.