Most Bible students are familiar with the Tabernacle. As the semi-permanent/semi-temporary home for God’s worship, the Tabernacle served a vital purpose in Jewish life for nearly 400 years. Eventually, it would be replaced by the Temple; when that was torn down, the Second Temple would take its place.
But did you know there was a formal worship site that pre-dates even the Tabernacle? It’s called the Tent of Meeting, and it was the place where people would go who wanted to “seek the Lord.” It only lasted for about a year; by Exodus 40, the Tabernacle will be finished by Oholiab and Bezalel and a more formal worship will commence.
Activity at the Tent of Meeting must’ve been quite a sight. Whenever Moses went to the Tent—placed “a good distance from the camp”—everyone would stand at their own door to watch. Whenever Moses went inside the Tent of Meeting, God’s presence would descend on the Tent and the two would talk “face to face.” Joshua, Moses’ loyal second-in-command, would stand outside the Tent until Moses finished.
It’s not expressly told how often Moses went to this location to speak with God. We could probably assume it happened regularly, especially as Moses tried to work his way through organizing a new nation out of a bunch of slaves. Spiritually and culturally-speaking, the Israelites had no identity. These meetings were crucial in helping Moses learn how to lead them.
But it’s also a testament to the will of the people to turn back to God. We’re not very far removed from the golden calf incident that happened in Exodus 32. When that happened, God threatened to annihilate the entirety of Israel and start over with Moses.
Now, in Exodus 33, you see the people in such a deep state of mourning that they refuse to even put on their “ornaments.” They stand to “gaze after” Moses as he enters the Tent. And, even though Moses was the most visible user of the Tent, according to Exodus 33:7, anyone who wanted to seek the Lord went out there, too.
One of the main differences between this Tent and the Tabernacle is the location. Whereas the Tabernacle will be placed right in the center of camp (Numbers 2:1-2), the Tent of Meeting was placed “a good distance from the camp.” You had to go there, intentionally.
This brings to mind the times in the Gospels when Jesus went off by Himself to talk to God (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12). Why wouldn’t He stay close to home? Why go out to talk to God?
True prayer requires intentionality. We can’t just passively pray while our heart and our mind are distracted by the things around us. Even if we only pray for a few seconds, our focus needs to be on God.
The Tent of Meeting provided a distraction-free environment for people to leave their everyday life behind and worship God. That’s what our worship should be as well. We should strive to leave our cares and concerns at home as we intentionally draw closer and closer to Him.
