Among Them, Among Us

Exodus 25:8 Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.

In ancient times, it was not unusual to think that your god lived with you. In fact, it was the norm. Either your ruler was god, or you carved a figure in some shape, and that was your god. You could put god in your pocket and take him with you.

Before we get to judgmental about this practice, many people even today have similar beliefs. Professional athletes have rituals that they perform, ways of preparing that they say helps them. They have their lucky socks. And if those socks are missing, they will have a bad game.

There is one thing about these “lucky charms” that I see as a common factor. There is no evidence of the presence of the god that shows up. The carved image doesn’t glow, or speak, or walk around the room, or blink its eyes when you ask it a question, one blink for yes and two for no.

The socks are just socks. They are given power by their owner, just like the carved idols. They have no power to do anything other than stink!

There are several contests in the Scriptures between the LORD and other powers, either gods or political leaders. Elijah and the prophets of Baal turns out well for Elijah. The prophets are killed by the fire of the LORD. Their god is silent.

Our text is part of the instructions for setting up the mobile tent in which the LORD chooses to show up and provide confirmation of His presence with the Israelites as they travel and as they settle in the Promised Land. His promise is that he will dwell with them. They will be able to look at the tent and see His presence with them.

So having the visible presence of the LORD in their community would be revolutionary. Imagine if a statue started to cry, or blood flowed from the hands. People would flock to see for themselves the manifestation of the presence of God. And they do.

So the LORD promises to make a vacation cabin in our neck of the woods. He is available for conferences according to a very strict protocol. In verse 25 we read that “I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites” from a particular part of this new tent. This is an interactive space, and the interaction is with the Creator of the Universe!

We read in the book of John in the New Testament that Jesus “made his dwelling among us.” Jesus, fully God and fully man, made the presence of God known to real people in real places at specific moments in time. He demonstrated the power of God by the things that He did. And then He rose from the grave to once again demonstrate that even death isn’t the end.

Do you need a miracle to believe? Do you have to see God’s visible presence in order to obey? Or can you obey based on the experiences of those who have believed before us? Can you trust that the LORD will work, even if we can’t go to a physical space and view his presence?