“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.”
Exodus 40:34-35 (NIV)
There are many wonderful aspects of an assembly of God’s people. We share our lives together, we encourage one another, we pray for one another, we serve one another, we listen to one another, we eat with one another and we laugh with one another. As parents, we know how important it is for our teenage children to make friends at church, to make those ties with like-minded friends, that are so important to them continuing in their faith. All of these things were true in the Israelites lives - even more so than in our fragmented culture - and yet the purpose of this structure was for each of them to meet with God. It was called the Tent of Meeting, and it is very clear that a meeting with God was intended, for God filled this tent with His glory. We would do well to remember this and to fix this in our minds as the primary purpose of any service held in our church. It is good to meet with each other, but eternal good is achieved by us meeting with God. Part of me wants to have been there when God’s glory filled the tent, but a sober evaluation of myself makes me realize that I would have been one of those who rebelled and died in the desert, for I am neither Caleb nor Joshua. But I can meet with Jesus, who is the radiance of God’s glory and I can leave a changed person- but do I want to? Do I come to church to meet with God, to listen to Him and to speak with Him?
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