Worship and Wait

“Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month. Place the ark of the covenant law in it and shield the ark with the curtain.

Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it.

Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.”

Exodus 40:2-4

Do you know that God wants to meet with you?

He really does!

Do you know what He told Moses the Tent was called when He gave him instructions on the Tabernacle in the Wilderness?

It was called the Tent of Meeting as we read in the verses above.

So God had a meeting place with His people. His desire is to meet, to fellowship with you. You are important to Him and He loves you.

Usually, the “tent of meeting” was used as another name for the Tabernacle of Moses. However, before the tabernacle was constructed, God met with Moses in a temporary tent of meeting. We read about it in Exodus 33:7, 9:

“Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting.’ Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. . . . As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses”. 

Now, we can be sure of one thing:

We cannot meet with God and come away unchanged!

Exodus 34:29-35

29 It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him.

30 So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.

31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers in the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them.

32 Afterward all the sons of Israel came near, and he commanded them to do everything that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take off the veil until he came out; and whenever he came out and spoke to the sons of Israel what he had been commanded,

35 the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone. So Moses would replace the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Him.

As I said a moment ago, and as the scriptures bear out - When you meet with God you cannot come away unchanged.

Face shining – just a taste of what a meeting with God will do.

Our purpose or motivation in meeting with God is to worship and to wait!

Moses was instructed to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground.

When we meet with God, it is a holy time – we may not be able to speak, perhaps it is worship from our spirit because words are just inadequate.

We also come to wait. To wait on God. To hear what He will say. So often we chatter away not ever listening for His voice. It more often comes to us as a whisper in our spirit and not as thunder.

When we meet with God our purpose and motivation is that:

We worship and we wait. 

Psalm 130:5

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”

Well aren’t there other reasons to meet with God?

Perhaps; but none more important than worshipping and waiting.