Tabernacle

 Tabernacle 

 

A beautiful tent for God to live in

 

Have you ever gone camping before? Who were you with? Maybe you got to play in the woods and make up stories around the campfire. At night you could use your torch in the dark and snuggle up in your sleeping bag. Best of all, you didn’t even have to say goodbye to the people camping with you! It was an ‘outdoor sleepover’, so you got to stay together. 

Well, God did something like that with the Israelites. He made it so they’d never have to say goodbye to Him, even when they were living in tents in the wilderness and travelling a lot. God said, “Build a special tent just for Me, and I’ll stay with you – wherever you go.” This new tent would be called the tabernacle. 

The Israelites couldn’t run to the store to pick up supplies to build the tabernacle. So instead, they looked through their own belongings to see what they could give. They even gave up their fanciest – shiny gold objects, pretty cloths, and sparkly jewels! They wanted to help make the tabernacle really beautiful. 

Once the tabernacle was built, only the priests, or the worship helpers, could go inside and meet with God. But when all the people saw the tabernacle, they’d think, God is right here with us!

Today we don’t need a tabernacle or any other place for God to live in. Why? Because God sent the Holy Spirit to live inside our hearts! That means God is with us all the time. 

 

 

Exodus 35.31-35, 36.1, 39.32

 

Bazalel and Oholiab were great at making things and could handle any tricky task. When it was time to build the tabernacle, they said, “We’re ready to work!” Other people said, “We want to help, but we don’t know how to carve wood, sew, or cut designs in stone.” Bazalel and Oholiab said, “No problem! We’ll show you how.” Everyone worked hard for months. When the tabernacle was finally done, they were so proud of what they had built together. 

 

 

Set up your own tent or den using a camping tent or blankets and furniture. Put things that are special to you inside it. Then make it a meeting place where you can talk with someone you love – maybe your parent or best friend – about important things. This is a bit like how the tabernacle was. It was a special place to meet with someone you love. 

 

 

God, thank You for wanting to be close to Your people and close to me.