Sat, Feb. 7

Wow! Look out--it's a heat wave out there! I'm praying for all those with lots of snow and hoping that it doesn't turn into big flooding.

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Fri, Feb. 6- What kind of wood (or tree) was the ark of the covenant made from?
Exodus 25:10, “Have them make an ark of acacia wood.”

And here's the question of the day:
Sat, Feb. 7- Who said, "I am innocent of this man’s blood?"

And here's the reflection of the day:
Today's readings from Exodus 27 and 28 continue the details (some might say minutia) surrounding worship in the tabernacle. Again we read piles and piles of description, now extending to the clothes that Aaron and his sons are to wear "whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place" (28:43).

There is a lot of significance tied in to the tabernacle, or the Tent of Meeting, which I'll mention over the next couple of days. Today is part 1.

The tabernacle is not just a building to the Israelites. It contained the presence of the Lord. Before the tabernacle, God's presence was thought to inhabit the mountain. People were afraid to go up the mountain though they longed to know God's presence was with them. Remember how Moses occasionally went up the mountain to talk to God? The occasional presence of the Lord turns into the ongoing presence with the building of the tabernacle. Now, with the tabernacle built in the middle of the camp, God's presence is always with them.

In other words, God came down from on high to live among the people. Sound familiar? God came down from on high in the person of Jesus Christ and dwelled among us. In many world religions, gods live high on the mountains, separated from their worshipers. But in the Judeo-Christian tradition, God came down to us and became Emmanuel--"God with us." Even when Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit is given to us, to be our Advocate and our Comforter.

Our God never leaves us; He is always with us. But not just in the "tabernacle" we worship in on Sunday mornings but in the every day tabernacle in our hearts. God's presence is always with us.

Praise God for his steadfast lovingkindess!!
Allison