February 7
Ex 26:1-27 | PS 31:1-8 | Prov 8:1-11 | Matt 25:1-30
Our bodies are our earthly tents as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” When we read of the tent that would serve as the meeting place for God to dwell in, it might be surprising when we read that externally (the part of the tent or tabernacle that everyone sees) it wasn’t aesthetically anything much to look at: curtains of goat-hair cloth (Exodus 26:7), Ram skins and goatskin leather (26:14). Yes, it was portable and waterproof, but after all God was going to dwell inside. On reflection, when I consider the younger me, my tent was much better: I was a college athlete, I was not yet physically broken down, in fact, my tent was at its best in those years. But I did not know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior during those years. So, my inside was severely lacking. As my tent began to decline, in my late 20’s I gave my life to Jesus Christ. Now in my sixties my tent has much to be desired: I have a new hip, nothing works like it used to, but inside my tent I am filled with the Holy Spirit. When we read of the Tabernacle realize, like our bodies, though the outside was not much, the inside was very precious, filled with gold and all sorts of precious things, most importantly it was filled with God. Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:8, “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” Stressing the importance of one over the other. Jesus stressed what was inside over outside in Mark 7:15, “It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”
We read the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. We know that the Bridegroom is Jesus Christ, and the oil is the presence of the Holy Spirit. We don’t know the time or the hour. The five with the lamp and the oil were true believers, ready for His return. The five without the oil were false believers. They might have looked the same, went to the same church, but they figured they could wait, but they were wrong. Their tents were irrelevant, it was what was inside, the presence or the absence of the Holy Spirit which only mattered. He came when they were not expecting Him, and the results were as written in Matthew 25:10-13, “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
As we continue reading about the various furnishings of the Tabernacle, though beautiful and ornate, take note it was not jammed full with items and various articles. God kept the design relatively open and uncluttered. But each item was significant and meant something both practically and prophetically, such as the golden lamp stand which provided the light inside the tabernacle enabling the priests to see and function, while at the same time looking forward to Jesus, the Light of the World. We mistakenly try to cram so much into our earthly tents: knowledge which is often false and useless, so much vanity and idle trinkets of information, etc. God kept the inside of His tent simple, we should do the same. We need those beautiful items like the Holy Spirit, God’s Word, etc., most of the other things create clutter and confusion. No matter the current state of our earthly tent may we be the vessels He can use, uncluttered and ready and willing to move forward empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: