Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. – Exodus 33:7

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 12, 2018): Exodus 33

There is so much to respect about the life of Supreme Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. From her early rejection by the establishment, her concerted effort throughout her career to be a voice for “the least of these,” her hardworking nature, and her love affair with her husband Marty, this little woman has been a force to be reckoned with throughout the length of her life. But part of that power originates from the fact that she has been a voice from within the struggle. Within the life of this often stern looking little lady, beats the heart of a champion looking out for the beaten down and abused because that is who she is. She understood the struggle long before she became an advocate for those, admittedly mostly women, who were being beaten down by our culture and society. And for that, she has found immense respect even from among those who disagree with her view about the law (enter Justice Anthony Scalia). And in all of this, there is something special that needs to be celebrated.

God had given Moses a vision of the Tabernacle. But the Tabernacle was going to take time to build and get ready, and Moses was not willing to wait for the construction to be completed. So he decides to set up a tent where he would worship, and invite the community to come and worship with him, inquiring of God about the struggle and the questions that arise out of that struggle.

And according to the custom of the day, Moses set up his “Tent of Meeting” away from the community. Sanctuaries were often built a distance away from the communities that they served in the ancient world. People would have to walk out away from the Community to get to God. And they came faithfully, just to be near the Tent. But the placement of his “Tent of Meeting” might also be considered his failure. His decision to conform to the world around him removed the uniqueness that existed in his God when compared to the gods of the other nations. After all, this was the God who would become known as Immanuel, “God with us.” God’s desire was not that he would be segregated away from the people, but rather that he would dwell in their midst.

When the Tabernacle God had commanded Moses to build was completed, it would not be placed some distance away from the people that it served. God’s tabernacle would be placed at the center of the community, with the tribes gathering around it. God desired to exist in the midst of the struggle, and in the form of Jesus, to experientially understand our rejection and our pain. He is the rejected and the “least of these,” his message is spoken from within our midst, and so he understands when that is the way that we feel. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 34