At
Christmas we celebrate the fact that God went camping.
In the Old Testament, when God’s people were in the wilderness searching for the Promised Land, God gave instructions for an ornate tent to be constructed, called The Tabernacle.
In the Old Testament, when God’s people were in the wilderness searching for the Promised Land, God gave instructions for an ornate tent to be constructed, called The Tabernacle.
Whenever
the Israelites set up camp, they did so around the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle
was the focal point of their community. The first thing they saw every morning when
they walked out of their tents was God’s
Tent.
The
Tabernacle was the sign of God’s presence among his people.
It was
through the Tabernacle that God related to his people.
However, because
God is holy and we are sinful, there were lots of rules that had to be observed by God's people in
order for them to experience God among them.
The
people had to offer sacrifices to make atonement for their sin. They had
to go through priests who mediated on their behalf. And even
then they were barred from God’s immediate presence.
But at
Christmas God pitched his tent in a different place.
The
Apostle John starts his Gospel by describing the coming of Jesus, the Son of
God, who he describes as ‘the Word of God’.
He
says this:
‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.’ (John 1:14)
In the
original Greek language in which John wrote his gospel, the word translated in
our Bibles as ‘made his dwelling’ is the word ‘tabernacle.’
When Jesus
was born, God set up his Tent on earth in a new way.
And boy,
was this tent an upgrade!
In Jesus –
God came to live among us, by becoming one of us.
Jesus
offered himself as the full and final sacrifice for sin.
Jesus
came to be our High Priest – the only mediator we need to come to God.
Jesus
ushers us into the very presence of God.
When Jesus
died the temple curtain, which acted as a large ‘no entry’ sign, stopping
people coming into the presence of God, was torn in two.
Jesus
death had opened the way up for us to know God intimately.
The writer
of Hebrews says this:
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-25)Because of Jesus, we can draw near to God!
In Jesus, God invites us into his tent.
And so, learning from God's people in the wilderness, we too are to 'camp around Jesus'. He is to be the focal point of our lives and our church community. He is to be our first - and best - thought in the morning, and our hope for the future.
