“Moses took the tent and pitched it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and called it the tent of meeting. And anyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp. So whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise up and stand, every man at the entrance of his tent, and gaze after Moses until he entered the tent. … When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people rose up and worshipped, every man at the entrance of his tent” (Ex. 33:7-8, 10).
This particular passage of Scripture has intrigued me and troubled me for quite some time. From the peripheral worship to the personal fellowship between Moses and God, I have found myself pondering on this passage and last week, the Lord brought it back to my remembrance as He shared some insight with me. I have a word to share with you, and this word should charge you to be His tent of meeting.
It was in a time of prayer recently that I heard the Holy Spirit say, “You are a tent of meeting.” There is a tendency to treat the Old Testament as insignificant to our personal lives in this day and time, but this could not be further from the truth. If we could understand this vital element, we could shift families, regions, our nation and other nations. It would change how we view our lives and the atmosphere around us. It would be a catalyst to usher in reformation amidst the tents of meeting. You and I are tents of meeting.
A Portable Sanctuary
When the word meeting is used, it implies having an appointment with someone. The tent of meeting was a portable sanctuary and a symbol of the presence of God among His people. Did you ever notice how a few million people stood far off in the camp inside their tent doors watching Moses keep His appointment with God? The Word tells us that everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, and yet, we see that only Moses wanted to meet with God face-to-face. Everyone had the same opportunity, but no one else wanted to go the distance. I say this with much love and reverence for the Presence of God, but too many are content with someone else meeting with God on their behalf. The cost is too much to pay, or it is inconvenient: “God might ask something of me that I do not want to give if I go outside the camp to meet with Him. I might have to die in order to fellowship with Him.”
The tent of meeting was a symbol of God’s availability. It was a place of worship, a tabernacle. A tabernacle is a portable or fixed habitation. Whose habitation are you? Are you making it evident that the Presence of God is available among the people because you have surrendered to be a tent of meeting? Saints, we are to be a portable sanctuary, demonstrating God’s presence. His presence is to be evidently available through us and in us because we have yielded as His tabernacle, fixed on His promises and His truth, all the while moving with Him. We must not fall into the trap of thinking we are our own personal temple. We belong to God the moment we give our yes to Jesus Christ.
We are reminded time and again in the New Testament that we are God’s temple. The amazing thing is that when you study the Greek word for “temple” used in 1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:6 and Ephesians 2:21-22, it means the holy of holies, or the place of God’s abiding presence. As His temple, we are the most sacred place on this earth where the Holy Spirit comes to abide. You are a tent of meeting, a tabernacle of indwelling.
Pitch Your Tent Outside the Camp
The same morning that the Holy Spirit reminded me of this Scripture was the same morning that I found myself declaring in prayer about expanding our tent pegs. Many of us get so excited when we hear that because we immediately think of our own personal benefit, but the Lord quickened me to understand differently and to think about the kingdom.
When Moses pitched the tent of meeting outside the camp, he was stretching it out. That is what “pitch” means, to stretch. I was reminded of times that I along with others had pitched tents in places outside the “camp” of the four walls; we had gone into common places where monetary transactions and mundane things took place, pitched a tent and manifested His presence. We had a standing appointment with God because we recognized that we were portable sanctuaries, making His presence and glory available to the people. We ministered the Word and the Great Commission to others who were needing a drink of the living water.
As a tent of meeting, you are called to pitch your tent outside the camp. You are called to have a standing and perpetual appointment with God so you can hear His voice and know His heart. You are to stretch out your tent pegs and release His anointing and His redeeming power to those you contact. People should recognize His countenance upon you. You are not commissioned to stand in the doorway or sit in a seat of the physical structure we know as the “church” and spectate while another knows God and demonstrates His anointing in the earth.
As I thought upon this revelatory word, I heard Him say to me, “So many wait to worship in a building because they have not gotten the revelation that they are My tabernacle, My tent of meeting. You are a place of habitation, abiding and tabernacling. I invite you to move with My presence and to expand your tent pegs when you go on exploits. The expansion of the tent pegs is to broaden the reach of My glory through My tents of meeting. As you expand your borders and stretch out your tent pegs, you are to touch more people with My presence.”
Saints, you are a tent of meeting! Pitch the tent, stretch out your tent pegs and release the kingdom within for the sake of others and for His glory. {eoa}
Dawn Hill is a Christ-follower and a freelance writer. She writes a blog called “Lovesick Scribe.”
This article originally appeared at lovesickscribe.com.
