Take God Everywhere
(He’s Already There Anyway)
Exodus 25: 8-15 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
10 “Have them make a chest of acacia wood — two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. 11 Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 13 Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed.
Among the physical manifestations of God, there is none so intriguing to me than the Ark of the Covenant. Even before Spielberg and Indiana Jones, I had a fascination with this most mysterious piece of divine furniture. The gold, the cherubim wings in the midst of which was the “shekinah”, the presence, the sheer wonder of it all, the place where God was said to be seated. One would do well to move cautiously around such power, majesty and splendor.
In a recent revisiting of these things I took special note of what is said about the poles which were used to lift and move the ark from place to place. We all, of course remember the unfortunate Uzzah incident, when the ark was being transported on board a cart.
Uzzah becomes the poster boy for
“you toucha the ark, I breaka you face”.
This is all part of the mystery and lore surrounding the ark of God. Chalk this one up to a lesson learned the hard way. God clearly prescribed the protocol for moving the ark and it had nothing to do with a cart.
Now…..let’s revisit the part about the poles which were used to lift and transport the ark. Aside from the obvious fact that these poles were the God-approved transport mechanisms, the thing that jumps out at me is the phrase, “they are not to be removed”.
In other words, even in times when the ark is within the confines of the tabernacle or temple, the poles remain “transport ready.”
Our God is the God of movement, action and readiness. This should scream to us that God never intended to be archived, warehoused or statically displayed. He is not some museum piece or art form. No doubt, the ark was artistically crafted. Anyone viewing the ark would be amazed and awed at the glistening, bright splendor of this piece of craftsmanship.
The command to leave the poles in place at all times tells me that God does not stand still. God was not so much into pretty as he was into portable. “Never let there be a place where you go, where I am not going”. In a day and age when attempts are made to segment lives and marginalize God, we best remember He will have not part in such an arrangement.
Such an understanding brings clarity to the indwelling of God and the Holy Spirit. Where we go, He goes. I think you can pick up on what God is up to.
He invites…..but more…..He demands presence in our lives….always….all the time….everywhere.
In your troubles in your triumphs in your tears and in your torn apart lives. God be with you.
