“Then have them [the Israelites] make a sanctuary for me [God], and I will dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8
Over the past ten weeks, a small group of GHCS women worked through a Beth Moore Bible Study titled, A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place, and we all learned a great deal of insight into the significance of the Tabernacle as it relates to God’s children now. With the conclusion of the study, I decided there was too much gold to not share it with you all. While it is a study geared towards women, it is applicable to all Christ-followers. My goal with this devotional series is to condense 5 days of homework (times 10 weeks) into a few paragraphs filled with some meat and potatoes, if you will (reference to Pastor Fred’s sermon on 3/26). Much like our personal experience of salvation, Beth Moore began the study by pointing out the depravity of mankind. She referenced Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-13), the flood & Noah’s Ark (Gen 6:1-9:17), and the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9); stories revealing man’s sinful nature from the very beginning of creation. It isn’t until we are faced with our own sinfulness that we recognize our need for a Savior. What purpose would a Savior serve if we had no need of saving?
In Gen 3:10, Adam says to God while playing a little game of hide-and-seek, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” I always envisioned this conversation happening between two people hiding behind a tree and a booming voice from heaven. In actuality, it is happening on the dirt of the Garden of Eden between two people hiding in shame after disobeying their Father and a God who desires fellowship with His creation, His children.
This is the theme we will see throughout this study and devotional series: God’s desire to be with and among us despite our human nature to separate ourselves from Him (the essence of sin) and hide in shame. God instructed Moses and the Israelites to build the Tabernacle because He wanted to dwell among them; He wanted a place to meet with them. We will spend this series unpacking the significance of each part of the Tabernacle and how it relates to us today, in light of Christ’s death on the cross.
“God is determined to make a connection to His people; let’s connect!” Beth Moore
Delighted to dig deeper into His word,
Suzanne Teuben
During this series most of the ideas were derived from Beth Moore’s words, not my own. I have infused some of my own thoughts but it was hard to delineate the two.
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