I love the book of Exodus. It is a great read which records the greatest salvific act of the Old Testament. The story contained in its pages is consistently referred to throughout that Old and New Testaments.  It is easy to get caught up in all the action and adventure of this book.

Just think about what we find as we dive into this great narrative. A tyrannical king in Egypt whose fear leads him to order the deaths of all male Hebrew infants. The drama surrounding the birth of Moses, wondering if he will survive the edict of the king. The relief experienced and irony enjoyed as Pharaoh’s own daughter is the one who rescues this Hebrew child and hires the child’s natural mother to nurse him. We watch as Moses goes out and protects one of his own people from the brutality of an Egyptian slave master, only to have to flee for his own life. In his flight, Moses becomes a part of the family of the priest of Midian, marries, has children, and settles into the life of a shepherd, only to encounter God at Horeb to be sent back to Egypt to lead the Israelites to freedom. Then there is the family reunion, the showdowns with the Pharaoh, a series of plagues, and the liberation from Egypt. Then, just when we think everything is fine and the people of Israel are on the way to the land of promise, the Egyptians pursue them, and the people of God find themselves trapped between and enormously powerful army and the Red Sea. We watch as God parts the sea, rescues Israel, and drowns the Egyptians. After this, the Israelites begin to make their way to the Mount Sinai, and God provides food and water. They encounter the hostile Amalekites and emerge victorious. Then they meet God at the mountain. Exodus is a page-turning adventure.

Then, we turn to the last half of the book and encounter eighteen chapters of incredibly detailed chapters including the requirements of the new covenant agreement and instructions on the building of the tabernacle. After reading the first half of the book and all the action contained in it, we may feel somewhat disappointed by the second half. However, we shouldn’t because the tabernacle and the instructions involving its construction are the point of the entire book. We see it in several places. One is found in Exodus 25: The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. (Exodus 25:1-8)

The point of the book of the Exodus is that God wants to live among his people, and the tabernacle is the place where that will happen. In fact, God wanting to live among his people is the narrative of Scripture from beginning to end.

In Genesis 2 and 3, we see God plants a garden where he places Adam and Eve and where he comes and walks with his creation. Once Adam and Eve rebel, God continues to work so that the design in the beginning can once again be realized. We see it here in the book of Exodus. We continue to watch as God plants Israel in the land of Canaan and establishes them as a nation. We read of Solomon building the temple and the presence of God coming to reside there. Then we turn to the Gospels and encounter the incarnation and watch in awe as God comes to dwell among his people in person. We see him come and dwell in and among his people as the Spirit descends and that same Spirit continues to inhabit those who belong to Jesus today. Then, in Revelation 21 we see his plan will come to completion when Jesus returns as John writes, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” (Revelation 21:1-3)

The Bible that we have is a wonderful book, full of great narratives of the people of God throughout the ages. It reveals to us the One who created it all and his desire for us. It informs us of God’s desire to dwell among his people and all that he has done to make that possible. It instructs us and moves us to respond to him so that we can be in his presence forever. Let’s not miss the point.