In Pursuit Of God. The Desire of God.. the Quest of the Believer.
[This is part one of a three part teaching ]
“Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.
“According to all that I am going to show you, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct “They shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. Exodus 25v8-10.
The Desire Of God Revealed in the Tabernacle.
When God drew Moses into Himself on Mt Sinai and gave him the instruction to construct the tabernacle of meeting, God in releasing the design, unveiled to the race of mankind, the longing and deep desire of His heart, that of intimate communion.
What is important for the believer to understand is that the bible is an eastern book, but we tend to try and decipher its content through our western minds, and in doing so we miss the depth of its expression.
“Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.
In requesting a sanctuary to be prepared for Him, Almighty God was emphasizing to Moses that He desired to be right in the very core or centre of the life of the people, not to dictate or dominate them but to be their exclusive and total provider and sustenance.
“It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the doorway of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. “I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory. “I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; I will also consecrate Aaron and his sons to minister as priests to Me.
“I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. “They shall know that I am the LORD their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God. Exodus 29v42-46.
Right from the onset of God’s dealing with the race of man, He has desired to enjoy the presence of man, this is a thought that our finite minds cannot grasp, we fail to comprehend what God sees in us, but although we may not understand, God simply says to us enjoy Me, enter in to Me.
The Heart of God is revealed.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. John 4v23.
Here from the very heart expression of Jesus Himself, the will or desire of God is made manifest, when Jesus states that God His Father seeks after those who will worship Him, the terminology expressed is one who has a burning desire, an earnest longing, a contending after to gain as a prize to cherish.
And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; Luke 15v22.
Here we see in Jesus commitment to share His paschal supper with His disciple, the same heart beat of His Father, one of intimacy.
God is the Seeker of man.
There are numerous examples in the Word that reveal the heart of God towards man, many times in Christian testimonies we often hear and even no doubt have used the expression I really went out to find God, but in truth, He was not the one who was sought after, He is the seeker, we are the object of His desire.
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. 2 Chronicles 16v9.
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Ezekiel 22v30.
I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: Psalms 89v20.
Many years ago, I had this thought given to me by the Holy Spirit;
what sets Christianity apart from the religious systems of the world? Religion is man’s attempt at finding God, whereas Christianity is man being found by God in Christ.
The Gospel in the Tabernacle.
To further emphasize the seeking heart of God towards man, we need to have a new perception of the structure and design of the tabernacle.
It is common for us to think and be taught of the three compartments of the Tabernacle in the reverse order, that is the outer court, the Holy Place and finally into the Holy Of Holies, for this is the accepted way of approach that man had to enter towards God.
However, on examining the giving of the command to Moses to build the camp of meeting, we realize that God started with the Ark of the Covenant then worked progressively out to the entrance gate of the outer court.
God did not first begin with the sinner but with the place of His abode where forgiveness and mercy could be obtained, God emphasized through the tabernacle the provision of grace over the sin of man.
The Gospel in the Garden.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? Genesis 3v6-9.
When you examine the bible account of the fall of Adam, when they fell from the glory, their first instinct was to hide from God, but the grace and mercy of Almighty God is manifested, into the garden, right in the midst of where man had fallen, there came the sound of God, walking to have communion with man, God knew they had transgressed, He is never taken unawares, and what must be understood is that the first thing of importance to God was not what they had done, but of where were they.
His first priority was their well being and not their destruction, we would have said- look at what you’ ve done, but God was concerned of what had happened to them, as a result of their action.
The Salvation of man originates in God.
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6v44.
Throughout the entire Word of God the clear message of man being able to be in right standing with God, is never on the merit of man’s own initiative, or his self works but that man was sought out and brought into righteousness before God as a direct result of what God has wrought for man in His Son Christ Jesus.
In the Greek, the word for draw is – Helko, and Hairio.
Helko, is the action of leading by an inward power.
Hairio, to take to oneself by reason of choice, to desire as one’s own possession.
“You have today declared the LORD to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. The LORD has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; Deuteronomy 26V17-18.
What must be clearly understood from this scripture is that, it is not that God is responding or reacting to the people, but the people are giving their will over to the leading of God, they are the recipients of the initiative undertaken by God.
The most clear example of the seeking of God.
There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through Him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1v6-13.
Here as well as the great gospel message of John 3v16, is the most defined example of the seeking heart of Almighty God
Despite the fall of Adam.
Despite of the failings of the nation of Israel.
Despite of the open rebellion of man throughout the annals of time. Despite man’s rejection of God’s law, and His prophets
God’s heart is still openly made manifest, He is a God of love, who desires to pour out not His wrath, but His tender mercies and grace in Christ.
[ To be continued ……………………
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