8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
The Lord knows we as human beings are visual people. We need a place to focus our attentions. We have physical, semi-permanent dwellings. We call them “home”. The Lord makes an accommodation for our limitations. He doesn’t need a home. The whole universe is His dwelling place. But He knows that we need a way to focus our attention, so He gives the Israelites a place that He calls home. We often need a focal point for worship. We get so easily distracted in our world. This place that the Lord would dwell became the focal point of their lives. As they traveled in the desert, the tabernacle guided their movement. When the Lord moved, the whole camp moved. Even the physical layout of their camp centered on the tabernacle. This physical place was not needed by the Lord, but they needed it. They needed to see that God was present with them. Our weakness made it necessary for the Lord to provide something He certainly didn’t need. In fact, the physical presence got in the way of their understanding at times. The Lord was not limited by this tabernacle, this sanctuary. He still dwelt everywhere, but the people needed a focal point for their worship of the Lord. We must be careful that our focal points in worship don’t limit our understanding of the infinite nature of the Lord. Every time the Lord tries to represent Himself to us, it is an accommodation. We cannot know God in His fullness. Our limited minds and spirits cannot fully comprehend Him in all that He is. No matter how He tries to express who He is, He must use human words and concepts. And those human words and concepts cannot fully express His infinite qualities. He is too big to fit in our words. And yet, knowing this, He still helps out the Israelites by choosing to have a physical place that He calls “home”.
The Arnold Journey 