My Tent of Meeting

This is my “tent of meeting” 
where you meet with me. 
No pillar of cloud necessary 
because you live in me. 
This tent is a protected space 
where I pour out my heart 
and listen as you respond. 
Moses needed time with you,
then left to do your work.
Joshua was being prepared;
he stayed there, meditating
and listening in that solitude.
May I find moments like that!
May I also, like Moses,
be refueled and strengthened
for whatever lies ahead.
And tomorrow I will eagerly
return to our tent of meeting.
No breakfast is as nourishing
as the sound of your voice!

Do you have a “tent of meeting” where you spend time consulting your God, finding direction? I find this picture of a sacred space very applicable to life: a tent is moveable! You can set it up wherever you happen to be. Throughout my life it has often been in my bedroom by a window where the early morning light would incite my love for the Light of my life. But it has also taken on other shapes, like the grove of golden rain trees that was in my courtyard in Ferkessédougou, a “tent of meeting” reserved for Saturday mornings. When traveling, it is wherever I can find solitude, even quietly beside the person sitting next to me on an airplane.

The Israelites had been rescued from slavery and enemy attack and were trecking through the wilderness when God called Moses  aside to give him very detailed instructions for building the portable tabernacle that would accompany his people through the desert to their Promised Land. The Israelites had just agreed to the terms of the covenant offered them by Yahweh (Exodus 24), when Moses again climbed Mount Sinai to spend 40 days there with Yahweh, getting the key laws inscribed on tablets and in addition, the detailed instructions for the tabernacle. He came down the mountain with that information and two tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments, but then discovered that his people had given up waiting for him and had disobeyed the terms of the covenant. They had made an idol in the shape of a calf—something visible and tangible to them—and were worshiping it. In order to correct them, Yahweh had to punish them severely. He even had many killed. Moses had to plead with God to forgive them and let them start again; Yahweh graciously agreed and refreshed all the laws and instructions. But it was going to take time to get the beautiful intricately designed tabernacle made.

There was going to be a “tent of meeting” inside the big tent, the space just in front of the curtain that shielded the ark of the covenant law from view. There lamps were burning  continually all through the night before Yahweh. It was the place set aside for Yahweh to formally meet with his people. His laws were placed just beyond it, so communication with him would constantly include reminders of what he had already made clear.

But Yahweh had just severely reprimanded the people, saying that their stubbornness and self-devotedness was endangering their relationship with him. Moses needed to make sure that there could be ongoing communication with their God while waiting for the official tabernacle to be completed. He set up a temporary meeting place:

⁷ Moses took the tent and pitched it outside the camp, at a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone seeking the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp. ⁸ And when Moses went out to the tent, all the people would get up and stand at the entrance to their tents and watch Moses until he entered the tent. ⁹ And whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. ¹⁰ When all the people would see the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people, each one at the entrance of his own tent, would rise and worship. ¹¹ The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, the way a person speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his servant, Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent.  (Exod. 33:7-11 NET)

See, the people were all allowed to go “seek Yahweh” in that tent of meeting, a place of seclusion at a distance from their camp. But they all knew that when Moses himself went to the tent there would be a visible representation of Yahweh meeting with him: a pillar of cloud. They had needed such a sign, something they could see. Each time it appeared it incited each individual to worship right where they were.

Moses was under great strain and he needed that personal intimate meeting with Yahweh, who would actually converse with him. Moses could bring up his questions, God would answer, Moses could ask for clarification or plead for more grace. The Scripture emphasizes that God’s interaction with him was like how “a person speaks to a friend.” This was an invitation to please keep coming! And he did.

Then there is the detail in verse 11 that says that his servant, Joshua, accompanied Moses into the tent, listening. And when Moses finished his conversation with Yahweh, he left the tent, but Joshua stayed! This shows Joshua’s personal dedication to meeting with Yahweh, not just observing. He was being prepared for huge challenges. He desperately needed that personal interaction, and it was given to him.

Some of us are now in positions of leadership; these necessitate personal interaction with the One in charge. He listens, and he responds. We have his Word, and he may point out a passage that speaks to the point. Other times he may use the inner voice of his Spirit convincing us or reminding us of truth that points the way forward. It does not matter where the “tent of meeting” is: it can be anywhere, always available. But it is protected space for intimacy.

Some of us are being prepared for something that the Lord of the Universe has planned for us, and need time set apart with him for renewal and strengthening. For me, those places have often been early mornings by some kind of water, like a river or ocean beach, or in a garden or backyard. When it’s winter and a New Year is coming, you can park your car in a forest or by a river and spend those quiet moments there. When you take a break to prepare for a ministry event or a confrontation, you can take a trip to the nearest park or retreat center and open your heart to sanctuary. Or sit in your bedroom by a window (it reminds you that you are not alone, but part of the Lord’s creation and community), or light a candle in the dark. You can set up your tent of meeting anywhere!

¹⁶ Rejoice always! ¹⁷ Pray constantly. ¹⁸ Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Don’t stifle the Spirit. ²⁰ Don’t despise prophecies, ²¹ but test all things. Hold on to what is good. ²² Stay away from every kind of evil. ²³ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.  (1 Thess. 5:16-24 CSB)