Sarah Henry

March 2, 2025

Icebreaker: Where is your favorite place to meet a friend?

Numbers 9:15–23

9:15 THE CLOUD. The cloud had been God’s signal to move camp during the wilderness wanderings. Now at the completion of the tabernacle—God’s formal house—the cloud moved there (Coleman, 211).

9:18 AT THE LORD’S COMMAND. The Hebrews followed a personal God—one who interacted with them and provided daily guidance—not a superstitious, arbitrary apparition (Coleman, 211-212). How does this personal God differ with the impersonal forces that people rely on for guidance (horoscopes, stock market, etc.)?

9:23 THEY WOULD CAMP...THEY WOULD SET OUT. Whereas the journey to Canaan should have taken a mere ten days or so, actually it is going to take decades, as a result of acts of rebellion we shall shortly read about. Setting off from Sinai, Israel does not know about that, but the people reading this story know about it. They also know about their own subsequent rebellions and abandonments by God, and about the paradoxical way God stays with them even as they live with the consequences of rebellion and with abandonment. The guidance that Numbers here describes will be required only because Israel will take so long over its short journey. God is like a parent confining a child to its room as a punishment but saying, “I’ll come and sit with you, though” (Goldingay, 26). Why would God extend a 10-day journey to a 40-year trek? What did Israel have to give up? What did it have to learn? What was God waiting for?

Introduction to the Tabernacle

The word translated “tabernacle” is miškān, which means “a dwelling place” or “tabernacle” (Richards, 586).

Ancient peoples understood temples as houses of gods. Thus peoples typically thought that gods provided the temple designs. A temple did not imprison a deity; it merely provided a place for the worshiper to approach the deity with appropriate reverence (Ryken, 838). If God's presence is everywhere, why is it helpful to meet God at a holy site (a church, etc.)?

Although the tabernacle was God’s dwelling, God descended on it to meet the assembly (Ex 33:9). Thus it ultimately merely symbolized a concept represented in Moses and the Prophets: God’s presence is available to his people (Ex 33:9–11). The tabernacle communicated God’s holiness, his oneness and his presence among his people (Ryken, 838). Placing yourself in Israel's sandals, would you rather encounter God in a pillar of cloud/fire, in lightning and thunder, or at a tabernacle?

The Significance of the Tabernacle

The tabernacle was the spiritual destination of God’s people, as the promised land was their physical destination. Which is more important, the spiritual or the physical destination? God’s presence with them was their strength and salvation. The sacrifices offered at the tabernacle foreshadowed God’s ultimate sacrifice for all time—the Messiah, Jesus. The tabernacle represented the covenant between God and his people: he would lead and care for them, and they would worship and obey him (Coleman, 85). Which comes first: our obedience then God's care, or God's care then our obedience?

In the OT system of worship, the tabernacle and the temple were the places of meeting; human beings approached with sacrifice, and God responded with forgiveness, revelation, and answered prayers (e.g., Ex 25:22; 2 Ch 6).

The NT views the tabernacle and the temple as symbolic of realities we now possess in Christ. Jesus entered the true temple in heaven, of which the earthly was merely a shadow, and offered the sacrifice that forever reconciles us to God. Jesus himself thus becomes the place of meeting (Heb 9–10). Why do you think Yhwh revealed God's self to humanity in this two-stage process?

As the dwelling place of God among men, the living personality of the believer replaces the beautiful but cold stone of the temple (1 Co 3:16). Moreover, the church, the body of Christ itself, united by the bond of peace, is growing into a holy temple for the Lord (Eph 2:21). How can the church step further towards a unity bound by peace?

The tabernacle and the temple did have contemporary significance for God’s OT people. They were, each in its turn, the place of meeting, the place where God’s presence dwelt. But because of Christ, all is fresh and new now. Today God dwells within us, for Christ has offered the perfect sacrifice and provides perpetual access to the Father. By virtue of God’s presence, you and I become the place of meeting Jesus for all who stumble in darkness through our lost world (Richards, 586-587).

Sermon Points

1. When they wandered, the Israelites were not alone. God is with us on the journey (Ex 25:8; Ex 29:44–45)

2. God dwells with us (Num 9:15–23).

3. The Holy Spirit dwells within you (1 Cor 3:16-17). You are a walking 'church.'

How have you felt the presence of God lately? How do you embody God in your everyday life?

Reflection

CONSIDER (VV. 15–23): What are some ways the average Israelites may have been affected by the presence of the cloud? How would your life be different if God was visibly present in your community? In your church?

APPLY: How has God provided direction for your life? What steps can you take to seek out a greater awareness of God’s presence and direction?

WORSHIP: This story reveals God’s flexibility when it comes to his own rules and regulations. Spend time in prayer for several minutes. Ask God to reveal to your heart any areas where you are overly rigid or inflexible in your Christian life.

Works Cited

Lyman Coleman. Life Connections Study Bible. Nashville, TN: Holman Bibles, 2019. 

John Goldingay. Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone, Old Testament for Everyone. Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press; Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2010.

Lawrence O. Richards. New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999.

Leland Ryken et al.. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery.  Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000).