The Tent

There is a commercial running on television from a major health care company that has declared “a rebellion against all things motionless.” I love it! Why settle for the status quo. This is the pursuit of par excellence. Apart from a health care perspective or strategy, this is also an eloquent description of the busyness of our culture when it comes to our relationship with God. We are so set against being idle or motionless, that we are driven to busyness. Christianity has an impetus of its own, growing in grace towards Christ-likeness (2 Pet 3:18; Rom 12:2), but it does not take on the momentum of the busyness of the world. Energized by the Holy Spirit, genuine Christianity is grace in motion moving us to God, whereas busyness is self-will in motion propelling us away from God (cf. 1 Jn 2:16).


There is something in our makeup that makes being motionless seem so, so unnatural; it starts at a very young age. When I was a kid, I wasn’t hyper, though my big sister would argue that point, but I struggled with being still. And how can a kid entertain himself if he isn’t moving in some way shape or form? Kids are wiggle masters. Just tell him not to move and something automatically engages in the brain where moving becomes a compulsive disorder in spite the threat of any discipline; today we drug 'em to get them to settle down to prevent injuring their self-esteem.... Now that we are adults, we see that there is a rebellion against all things motionless! We begin to have flashbacks of childhood and scratch our heads! Where was this revolt when we were kids!

For a Christian there is a time for motion and a time to be still or motionless. With either action, the sovereignty of God has our highest good in mind (Rom 8:28). This lofty rebellion against all things motionless may be just another way of describing busyness. From a Christian perspective, busyness is defined here as anything that pulls us away from God: no time to be alone with Him, no time to read His Word and meditate and pray, no time to simply enjoy Him for who He is, or to attend a Bible class or church service regularly, no time to be Christ-like. We have become too busy to offer up our thoughts, time, and resources to God.


Busyness is a rebellion against all things holy. It has become a god of our own making. We cannot follow the injunction to be holy for God is holy (1 Pet 1:15-16) because we are too busy pursuing worldly things. In our busyness we can't pick up faith on the fly; we can't grow in grace on the go; we can't be holy in a hurry.

Have you figured out that God never speaks to us in our hurriedness? He has remarkable and effective ways of getting our attention. If we fail to listen to His Word, God always will use the circumstances of life to make us more receptive. It is akin to when our parents used to warn us to stop doing something, and we continued; out comes the belt. Let’s go camping in the book of Exodus and talk about a rebellion against all things busy - pitching a tent!


In Exodus 24:18 we learn that Moses was on top of Mt. Sinai receiving instruction from God for forty days and forty nights in the midst of the cloud. From out of that mountain top experience came forth the tablets of stone etched with the Ten Commandments (cf. Deut 4:13) but also a troubling cloud was stirring among the people at the base of the mountain busily forming a god of gold (Ex 32:31) which was expressly forbidden (Ex 20:4, 23). Their whole thought processes and behavior were irrational.


They attempted to worship the LORD through the golden calf (Ex 32:4-5). They blamed it on the unknown whereabouts of Moses (Ex 32:1). Since Moses was missing, the people rationalized that they were in desperate need of a visible object to follow; Moses their leader had disappeared. The camp was defiled by the deadly sin of idolatry.

They quickly went from All that the LORD has said we will do (Ex 19:8; 24:3, 7) to make us gods that shall go before us (Ex 32:1). Had if not been for the intercessory prayer of Moses the nation would have been destroyed right then and there (Ex 32:10). The verb consume in verse 10 suggests total annihilation.

Before the tabernacle was constructed, because of the rebellion of the people, Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp (Ex 33:7).

The imperfect tense of the verbs took and pitched indicates on more than one occasion Moses took and pitched his tent outside the camp, a repeated action at least until the tabernacle in the wilderness was constructed and operational. Why did Moses pitch a tent away from the camp?


Because the camp was defiled by the sin of idolatry. For Moses or the people to meet with God on holy ground it would have to be outside the camp. It came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tent (Ex 33:7). This was a profound provision of grace by God for a nation that was on the brink of annihilation. God took the initiative to provide access for anyone who so desired to meet with Him! This desire, however, was not one of superficiality or curiosity. Sought is an emphatic verb underlining the strong desire of those who sought God at the tent; unfortunately, many didn’t pay a visit to the tent of meeting outside the camp but chose to watch and worship from afar -


So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle... All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door (Ex 33:8, 10).

It was as if the people wanted God’s provisions but did not enjoy being in His presence (cf. in sequence Ex 19:9, 11, 16, 17; 20:18, 19, 20, 21)! Many were content to go no further than their tent door to watch and worship, but there were some who possessed a stronger desire to be closer to God’s presence and went out to the tabernacle of meeting (Ex 33:7). There is, by the way, no indication of how many sought the LORD there or the dimensions of the tent of meeting.


Isn't this wawa (watch and worship afar) syndrome characteristic of the vast number of people who claim to be of God; they obtain their "eternal life insurance" and then have virtually nothing further to do with Him, except on special occasions. Wawa's are content to remain at the door of their own abode to watch and worship God from afar (religious), too busy or reluctant to go outside the camp of their world and enter the tent of meeting where God presence abides.

This spiritual tent of meeting is about, in today's parlance, hanging out with God for no other reason other than enjoying being in His presence as with a true friend. Can you ever recall a time when you just wanted to figuratively camp out with God for no other reason than because of who He is and not for what He can do for you? This is what Moses did on a regular basis, as busy as He was leading a nation comprised of 2-3 million not so happy campers!


Here is what happened when Moses went into the tent of meeting.


The LORD talked with Moses (Ex 33:9)…face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (Ex 33:11).


They enjoyed each other’s company! Fellowship and worship became entwined when Moses entered the tabernacle. J. Oswald Sanders said, “Every one of us is as close to God as he has chosen to be.” Some went out, and others only watched….


The different pictures of a tent in this devotional are simply symbolic of a need for a spiritual tent of meeting with God. It speaks of going outside the camp, away from the crowd, away from the hustle and bustle; avoiding the-everybody-is-doing-it way, and rebelling against the busyness of life that keeps us from getting close to God. Pitching a tent is a picture of rebelling against all things in motion that pulls us away from Him. Though burdened with the demands of command, this is what Moses did.

Naturally, I am not talking about literally pitching a tent (not a bad idea though!) but spiritually pitching a tent and camping out with God, enjoying and experiencing the warmth and glow of the Holy Spirit as you and the Lord sit around the fire and fellowship. Only good could come from a long awaited campfire meeting with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!


Can you believe God Almighty desires "to sit around a campfire" and converse with us as Friend with friend!? Yes, we see this truth in God's universal invitation to meet with Him (Ex 33:7, everyone who sought the LORD) and what happens when someone accepts the invitation (Ex 33:11).


Face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (Ex 33:11). We know when God speaks everybody shuts up and listens (Hab 2:20). But here it suggests communion, a dialogue, not a monologue. James, the Lord’s half-brother, described Abraham as the friend of God (Jas 2:23). Why, because he simply believed God. Jesus described a friend as one who obeys His will (Jn 15:13-15).


Face to face (cf. Num 12:8; Deut 34:10) suggests openness, friendship, and proximity, evidenced by the pillar of cloud. Tragically, all those of that generation that were twenty years or older eventually died in the wilderness because of unbelief, save for Joshua and Caleb (Num 14:29-30). Here is a classic case of being forgiven but paying for the consequences of wrong choices – and their carcasses were strewn all over the wilderness for forty years (Num 14:32-33) due to unbelief.

I am not a big camping buff though I enjoyed it when I went. Maybe the reason we as believers do not take the time to pitch a tent for the Lord is because of the inconvenience, uncomfortableness, and incompatibility with our busy lifestyle. Unlike Moses who went out to the tent for a face to face encounter, many avoided the opportunity to meet with God face to face, choosing rather to watch and worship at a distance.


The pillar of cloud was God's way of showing the people where He was and where He was not - I am at the tent of meeting and not within your camp! The wawa syndrome was nothing more than vain religion that seeks to praise and worship God where He is not relationally!


The invitation was given in Ex 33:7 but few took God up on it and paid Him a visit at the tent of meeting. We honor God with our lips, but our hearts are far from Him (keep our distance).


Sadly, the only time we concern ourselves with God’s presence is in times of need, trouble, or impending death. It makes one really wonder about the condition of the heart of one who only seeks God for those reasons. The heart's desire is set more upon provisions (what can God do for me) rather than a longing for His presence (I just want to enjoy Your presence). Pitching a tent has to do with seeking God in the here and now for no other reason than that He is God who is worthy of all praise, honor, glory, and worship!


It is of great irony that there are people who want to spend eternity in the hereafter with God of whom they never cared to know or spend time in the temporality of the here and now! I was overly kind to describe it as an irony, but truthfully such wishful thinking is really irrational. We need to heed the warning of the writer of Hebrews – without it [holiness] no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14, HCSB; Mt 5:8).

We all so desperately need to consistently pitch a tent outside the camp of the world and commit acts of rebellion, against all things busy, again, again and again. We need to be a holy people, as an example of grace in motion that seeks only the highest good, Christ-likeness, from all we come into contact with. If we do not seek Him outside the camp, we will never be a happy camper this side of eternity! And that won't help us or anybody else.


Then He said, " [Elijah] Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice (1 Kgs 19:11-12). We cannot hear or obey His voice in the fast and furious, only in the face to face meeting.


Be still [pitch a tent, rest in Him, meet with Him, stop the busyness, stop the resistance, stop the reluctance, stop the running, stop the fighting, STOP!, added], and know [emotionally, intellectually, and willfully, added] that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth (Psa 46:10)!


And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart (Jer 29:13) - Everyone who sought the LORD (Ex 33:7).

How strong is your desire to go beyond the fray and pitch a tent and meet with God and enjoy His friendship? We will never be a happy camper unless we do!

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me (Rev 3:20).

Rebel against all things busy and pitch a tent to meet with God. "Every one of us is as close to God as he has chosen to be" (J. Oswald Sanders). Some went out, others only watched (wawa).... the invitation remains to visit God at the tent. Selah. <><