Not Impressed

And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Exodus 40:33



This short verse describes the last step in the completion of the Tabernacle in the wilderness by Moses and the children of Israel. The Tabernacle would be the place where the people would offer sacrifices to God for their sins and for thanksgiving for blessings. It was to be the heart of worship for all Israel.



The interesting thing about this place of worship was that it was so small. In American terms, the length of the place was only about the width of a football field, and the width only half as long. Considering that this was to be the home for the Almighty, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, it seems rather unremarkable. This point is especially magnified when you consider the place where Israel had grown into such a great nation, Egypt.



In Egypt there were huge pyramids and monuments and many gods embodied in stone structures. The places of worship were magnificent and awesome to behold, so I don’t think it is a great stretch to imagine that some of the Israelites may have been disappointed by the place that they were commanded to build. It seemed like a temple on the cheap.



“Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:34-35)



Imagine the shock and surprise that came upon the people as the saw this small structure transformed by the presence of God. This was something that in Egypt they never saw. They saw impressive temples yes, but even those great structures could not compare with the Glory of God.



What is the lesson here you may ask? It is this, God can and does use the most unlikely people and things to show Himself to the world. You may think you are not much to behold, that you have no special talent or gift to offer. This is where we err as believers.



“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22)



The Church of Christ and each individual believer is the temple of God (1Cor. 3:16; 6:19). We are the ones with all of our shortcomings and failures who God decided to put His home in. We may not be much to look at. People may even call us fools. Indeed we are, fools for Christ.



Don’t worry that you may not be the most likely character to show God’s glory to the world. You are a testimony to His grace and mercy to one who dared to believe in a Man whose greatest accomplishment was dying on a cross.