Numbers 7:89 When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law. In this way the LORD spoke to him.
Many people want clear and easy, or should I say, easy and clear communication with the LORD. They don’t want to have to put in any work, be disciplined in their pursuit, or have it interfere with their lives in any way. They just want to pick up their cell phone and press speed dial.
Well, the reality is that they wouldn’t even want the LORD on speed dial. They wouldn’t want to accidentally invite the LORD into their lives with a butt dial! They want to control the time and place of the communication. Otherwise, the communication might mess with their schedule.
That is the problem with many people who call themselves Christian, or even religious. They want to be in charge. They don’t want any mess. They want God on their own terms, or should I say god!
For Ancient Hebrew followers, their life was very regimented and contained constant reminders of the presence of the LORD in their lives. Every seven days they had to take a day off, no work, just time spent in relationship. Feasts and festivals spread throughout the year controlled their calendars. They were marked by the timing of events.
For one ancient Israelite, this was particularly true. Moses was the ear of the people of Israel. He was the one assigned to enter the LORD’s hotspot and hear the voice of God directly, no intermediary, no interference. And it took place at a specific spot, or at least it started to be at a specific spot.
That spot was the place where life was sprinkled in a ritual meant to symbolize the entrance to God’s presence was open to all. Blood from a substitute was brought in and placed on a seat on the top of a box that contained the commandments of the LORD, the covenantal documents. The blood created a barrier that shielded the LORD’s view of the broken promises committed by the Israelites.
The blood, the life of the animal and thus the life of the individual offering the animal, was brought into the presence of the LORD, and it was accepted. The way to the LORD’s presence was again open, despite the presence of sin in the camp. And the LORD would show up in a pillar of cloud and fire right on that spot.
And it is that exact spot where the LORD speaks to Moses when he enters that tent. Our text tells us that His voice came from that space, the space above the symbolic life sacrifice was placed. He spoke from one specific place.
That didn’t preclude Him speaking from other places, as we see in other stories in the Scriptures, but this one place was special. When the voice came, and the camp wasn’t destroyed by a plague or an earthquake, it let everyone know that the LORD was with them, and that they were in good standing, at least for the moment.
The Arnold Journey 