Let’s recap what has taken place in this wonderful book. It all began with God’s people in horrible slavery in Egypt. But the birth of a baby named Moses was the beginning of hope. God changed Moses, then used him to confront Pharoah. God also performed incredible miracles to prove His power over Pharoah and Egypt. The ten plagues led to the release of the Hebrews, but the Egyptian army followed them to the Red Sea, where God parted the sea, delivered His people, and defeated the Egyptians with a swift, final blow.
God’s people then traveled to the Mountain of God, where He would give Moses the Ten Commandments and the Law of God. God also laid out a plan for an incredible place of worship, the Tabernacle. This tent would be in the center of the camp when the people stopped anywhere, and would go before the people as they traveled. They Hebrews are nearing the end of their year-long stay at Mount Sinai, and are completing the building of this tent. They are completing the Tabernacle just like God has commanded them, with every single detail being fulfilled. When completed, this Tabernacle would be a reminder for the Hebrews to keep God in the center of everything they did.
God knew that people’s memory is short. In the coming days, God would be telling His people to leave Sinai and head toward the Promised Land, Israel. He would lead them to their final destination, but there would be problems and road blocks on the way. God realized that the people would come to these problems, and they would forget the wonderful miracles that God had done in Egypt and at the Red Sea. The Tabernacle was an ever present reminder of all that God had done. It was a sign that God had delivered them before and would come through again. It pointed to the fact that God would forgive their sin and would take care of them through thick and thin, as long as they trusted Him. The Tabernacle was designed to be a challenge to the Hebrew people to keep God in the center of their lives and their community.
If you were to continue reading the story of the Hebrews after Exodus, you would find some very sad events. The Hebrews will fail the big test of faith when they get to the door of God’s Promised Land. When confronted with a crises, the Hebrews will look to their failures instead of God’s power and will choose not to obey God. The forgot to keep God in the center of their lives and ended up failing to trust and obey Him.
How do you keep God in the center of your life? How do you remember to trust and obey Him when you are confronted with difficult times and obstacles?
