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In the book of Exodus one cannot help but see the parallels between God’s wandering people and ourselves. Their miraculous deliverance easily forgotten, unbelief an ever-present option, God taken for granted, the grumbling, complaining, and accusing the Lord’s servants, etc. What is amazing is Lord’s incredible patience and love, though at one point almost exhausted but for the intercession of Moses.

Despite all this He gives them detailed instructions to build a place for Him to meet with them, and they willingly bring offerings from their plunder of Egypt. They fashioned it exactly as He directed, doing everything precisely to the specifications . But what struck me is that this was not enough! Everything had to then be consecrated with blood and oil. What does this say to us? Having the right form is insufficient for God’s glory. The blood of redemption and the oil of the Spirit consecrated the form, and only then would God come.

We spend a lot of time ‘doing church’ according to the correct form, but without the Lord’s anointing it will be just another place where people get together on Sundays to fulfill a duty. We could go through all the motions not even realizing that the Spirit of God is not there. It has happened to so many churches today. We cannot rest on our traditions, our building, our intentions, or our talent. We must consecrate ourselves, the true building, the spiritual house, with repentance, prayer and obedience. Unless we are serious about this we will be just another facade.

Consider this insert from the Voice translation on Exodus 40:

“The last half of the Book of Exodus offers a picture of the relationship between God and humanity through powerful symbols. The amazing truth of all Scripture is reflected here: God resides in the midst of His people. In every detail of God’s directives—the ethical rules, the people’s offerings, the design of the congregation tent and its furnishings, God’s redemptive acts—God is announcing the central truth: He is present with His covenant people. So the physical elements of this covenant bear witness to deep, spiritual realities. God is in the process of repairing the world from the damage caused by sin and death; but to do so, He needs a people. This is why He chooses Israel and makes them different from everyone else. He needs agents on the ground devoted to liberating a world held hostage to lesser powers and feebler gods. But where will those people be formed and trained to be God’s effective agents? They will be shaped in the crucible of worship and obedience.”

Let us rise to our privilege as the ambassadors of the coming kingdom. Let us go forward on our knees in prayer, with Gospel hospitality in our hearts – prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within us to anyone who is interested. And let our good news be dressed in good works.