The Ultimate Meet-Up (Exodus 29)
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| Church at the Chip, 11/4/2012 |
Buried in the midst of a lot of detail about the consecration of Israel’s priests is a jewel we might miss if we are not careful:
“There I will meet with the people of Israel....
I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.
And they shall know that I am the Lord their God,
who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them.
(Exodus 29:43-46)
Do you realize how beautiful this is? At last, God will live among his people. What a day this would be! From the time Adam and Eve first ate the forbidden fruit, God had been seeking a way to be with his beloved children. Remember? Although made in God’s image, disobedience ruptured their relationship with the one who loved them. The image was cracked.
An epic story of love lost and found began that day. Somehow, someway, someday God would find a way to recover what had been lost, to restore what had been damaged, to fix what had been broken, to bring his wayward children home. Like Marlin’s desperate search for his lost son (Finding Nemo – watch it!), God would not stop until he had found a way to be with his beloved children again.
There were impressive moments when God showed up: to Abram in the stars, to Jacob in a wrestling match, to Moses in a bush. But these were few and far between. In general, God was a distant memory – and humanity lived like it.
Now things are beginning to change. God brought his people out of the slavery of Egypt, through the danger of the sea, and across the barrenness of the desert. They camp around the same mountain where Moses met God in a burning bush.
God is on the mountain again. It's both awesome and frightening: Lightning, thunder, earthquakes. The people are terrified, as well they should be. God’s glory is overwhelming, like trying to drink out of a fire hydrant, like staring at the sun. It’s too big, too bright, too deep, too … heavy (the actual meaning of the word, “glory”).
And what is it all for? For God to show off, to impress, to demonstrate how big and powerful he is, like the bully in third grade? Of course not. God desires one thing: God wants to be with his people. God wants to live among them.
And what is it all for? For God to show off, to impress, to demonstrate how big and powerful he is, like the bully in third grade? Of course not. God desires one thing: God wants to be with his people. God wants to live among them.
This is the purpose of the Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle) which God has taught them to construct. It is the sacred space where God’s glory will dwell. At last, God will live among his people again. The betrothal is begun. The final union is yet to come, but the first fruits of the marriage are already evident: God’s glory, God’s Torah, God’s forgiveness, and best of all, God’s presence.
Israel’s story was not without its dark side. We’ll see that soon enough. But God relentlessly pursued them, just as he does us. For we can never outrun God’s love. As King David wrote many years later:
It sounded too good to be true, but it wasn’t. In fact, it was too good not to be true. The God of the universe, the God who loved us and made us, the God whom we had abandoned, had not abandoned us. He wanted a relationship with us, and he would go to any lengths to bring us back to himself. He brought these rebellious people to a mountain so they could build a tent where he could meet with them. He would be their God; they would be his people.
This epic love story found its penultimate climax on another mountain fifteen hundred years later. Here, God’s glory was revealed in an entirely different manner: God cloaked his glory in human flesh. And then God demonstrated his love in the deepest, most profound, heaviest, most glorious way possible: God gave his life under the burden of human rebellion. He did this so that out of its ashes, he could bring new life to his dearly beloved children. It was the Ultimate Meet-Up. God did whatever it took to bring us back to him.
What can you do with a love like that? You can receive it. You can offer yourself in love to the one who has already offered himself to you. Alleluia.
Israel’s story was not without its dark side. We’ll see that soon enough. But God relentlessly pursued them, just as he does us. For we can never outrun God’s love. As King David wrote many years later:
“If I ascend to the heavens thou art there;
If I make my bed in the depths of Sheol, behold, thou art there….
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me....”
(Psalm 139)
It sounded too good to be true, but it wasn’t. In fact, it was too good not to be true. The God of the universe, the God who loved us and made us, the God whom we had abandoned, had not abandoned us. He wanted a relationship with us, and he would go to any lengths to bring us back to himself. He brought these rebellious people to a mountain so they could build a tent where he could meet with them. He would be their God; they would be his people.
This epic love story found its penultimate climax on another mountain fifteen hundred years later. Here, God’s glory was revealed in an entirely different manner: God cloaked his glory in human flesh. And then God demonstrated his love in the deepest, most profound, heaviest, most glorious way possible: God gave his life under the burden of human rebellion. He did this so that out of its ashes, he could bring new life to his dearly beloved children. It was the Ultimate Meet-Up. God did whatever it took to bring us back to him.
What can you do with a love like that? You can receive it. You can offer yourself in love to the one who has already offered himself to you. Alleluia.
