He took the tablets of the covenant law and placed them in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. – Exodus 40:20

Today's Scripture Reading (December 10, 2024): Exodus 40

In the contemporary church, the reason for the placement of various pieces of furniture carries a meaning that we sometimes miss. The presence of an altar or prayer rail at the front of the church indicates the importance of personal sacrifice in the church. Our faith is supposed to cost us something, but that is only the beginning. One of the churches I have occasionally taught at has a unique setup, at least unique for a Baptist Church. Many years ago, the church divided the worship leader and teaching positions on the platform area. One of the lay leaders was frustrated with the worship team taking over the whole platform area, so they divided the stage area down the middle, allowing half of the stage area to be dedicated to worship and half of the stage area for teaching. Maybe it made sense to the lay leader, but I believe the movement of the furniture carried an unintended meaning. In reshaping the platform the way they had, they had declared that the singing and teaching times were co-equal; however, they had placed the communion table at the center of the platform. As a result, the placement of the furniture declared that the prime purpose of the worship time was sharing the Lord's Supper. It is an emphasis that would be considered normal in a Roman Catholic Church. However, in practice, they only celebrated the Lord's Supper or Mass once a month, so there was confusion between the furniture's placement and the church's practice. 

Part of the problem with placing the podium or the pulpit at the three-quarters point of the stage instead of the center is that the pulpit symbolizes the Word of God. In a Baptist Church, the Bible is central; therefore, the pulpit should be placed at the center of the platform area. The Bible is not secondary to the Lord's supper. Admittedly, in some churches, including mine, we have done away with the pulpit altogether. But symbolically, we place the Bible central in our ministries by ensuring that the speaker stands at the platform's center whenever we read from Scripture. 

Moses didn't have the Scripture that we have today. The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh that we have today is still centuries away. Even the Torah does not exist, not yet. But what Moses has are the tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them by God. These tablets are placed in the Ark of the Covenant, which would occupy the center of the Holy of Holies, the most sacred part of the Tabernacle. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 91