All the skilled men among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman. – Exodus 36:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 24, 2012): Exodus 36

The image of the shepherd is deeply engrained in the Biblical story. It is the background story to the greatest king the nation of Israel knew – David. The image of the shepherd is central in the one of the best known poems of the Bible – the Twenty-Third or Shepherds Psalm. It was shepherds that the angels came to announcing the birth of the Messiah. And even Jesus taught, and was compared to, a good shepherd. The shepherd motif is strong from the beginning of the book of God until the end. This is in contrast to other similar stories where the gods of the nations lived in palaces and ruled in power. The God of the Bible is described as a shepherd, a common, even lowly, labourer that understands the plight of the working man.

And his first dwelling place reflected that understanding. The temple of God did not start off in an ornate building with a lofty design. There were no spires pointing toward the heaven of God. There was just a tent that consisted of ten curtains. Oh, there is no doubt that the fabric of the tent was of the finest quality. Blue, purple and scarlet materials have been used for royalty throughout antiquity because it was the hardest, and therefore costliest, to produce. It was to be finely twisted, again indicating the best quality. But it was still just a tent.

But it was also the perfect dwelling place for the shepherd God. It is somehow amazing that the Creator of everything found his dwelling place in a tent. But in this God relates with all of us who struggle to make ends meet. He becomes the God of people who know what it is like to work with their hands, and at night the ones that come home not exactly smelling quite right.  And sometimes all of that makes me wonder what ever made us believe that God is honored by our Sunday best.

The tent of God would last through several generations. It was the only place of God that Israel would know through the desert wanderings, the only worship place throughout the time of Joshua and then Samuel and the Judges and finally through the first two Kings of Israel – Saul and David. Through all of this time, God dwelt in a finely crafted tent. And maybe that is something as hard working people that we need to take comfort in.

          

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 37