Before Solomon built the temple with the materials his father David had collected, man met with God in a tent. The presence of God was mobile, going where God’s people went.
How does this fit into the new covenant concept? Well, let’s dive right in. Please read with me as Luke tells it:
Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: ‘After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does all these things.’ Known to God from eternity are all His works. (Acts 15:12-18)
This is a quote from the Old Testament prophecy in Amos 9:11-12 being fulfilled in the salvation of the Gentiles/Nations. We know that the Jewish Christians were not that thrilled about the Gentiles coming to Christ. As the Holy Spirit began to show them that this had been a mystery hidden in the old covenant, some began to embrace the idea. It is the word “tabernacle,” or a tent that we want to look at more closely.
We know that up to the time of David, the Ark of Covenant, along with God’s presence, dwelt in a mobile tent that had come to rest semi-permanently in several places, then permanently in Jerusalem. David’s heart was to build a beautiful permanent structure for the Lord to dwell in, but because David had shed much blood God withheld that honor for his son, Solomon. Here is the Prophet Samuel’s account: So they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. (2 Samuel 6:17)
So we can see here that David had the tabernacle/tent, not a stone temple. Remember back in Acts we are talking about the tent being restored. Let’s see how the Prophet Jeremiah described the situation:My tent is plundered, And all my cords are broken; My children have gone from me, And they are no more. There is no one to pitch my tent anymore, Or set up my curtains. For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, And have not sought the Lord; Therefore they shall not prosper, And all their flocks shall be scattered. (Jeremiah 10:20-21) From this Scripture, it is clear that the Lord desires His tent, His children and His shepherds back. The Apostle Paul makes this clear yet in the context of a Temple:
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)
We who were not of the household of God are now members. Our lives are laid as stones upon the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus. We understand that this is in the context of a stationary temple, so how do we reconcile the tent concept that is mobile? It is very simple—remember Jesus likes to make things simple. Jesus told His disciples: Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.} and then He said in Acts 1:8, {But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Luke 24:49)
See how the Lord moved His church into her place: At that time a great persecution arose against the church, which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (Acts 8:1)
It took persecution to bring obedience but the Church did expand. The blood of the martyrs provided the seedbed for the furtherance of the gospel as it still does. We can conclude that the Church is both stationary as in Jerusalem, yet it is mobile pushing out its walls as one would a tent, to the ends of the earth. If this is true (and it is), then we must also conclude that the church is one yet can have many places of meeting because it is mobile. It stretches. This is not a new concept, for the Prophet Isaiah foretold: Sing, O barren, You who have not borne. Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, You who have not labored with child For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman, says the Lord. Enlarge the place of your tent, And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, And your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited. (Isaiah 1:1-3)
This is a clear word for today. We need to be balanced. We need to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to our neighbor, our city and our local areas. But let us be warned not to have a small vision. The Lord wants the nations as an inheritance for His Son: Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. (Psalm 2:8)
We need to see the hunger in the nations, but more than that we need to realize we have the answer. It’s Jesus. The gospel needs to go to the ends of the earth. We all understand that we need God’s help to finish. But we need to understand, like Paul, the role of the fellowship of the gospel: Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:1-6, RSV)
If you think that God is still in the business of doing the one-man show you are sadly mistaken. It is a body thing and we all need each other. We must start laying down our pet peeves and pet doctrines and speak clearly the gospel of grace with one voice, one thunderous voice. The world might just stop to listen and drop by our local spiritual library for a quiet time of reading that will reveal Jesus in the pages.
Let’s join together and expand our walls and our tent ropes. Let’s trust God to do something bigger than we could have ever dreamed by ourselves. Nothing would please the Lord more. We don’t have to throw away our old wineskins if they are still pliable. Just ask the Lord to soften them so they once again can expand to hold the new wine that awaits us.
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