05/11/2020
THE GLORY INSIDE THE TENT
IN THE DISTANCE before us was an encampment of desert dwellers. Their tents
were dark, mostly black, and a few of a very dark shade of brown.
“What do you think the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle, looked like?” asked
the teacher.
“I would imagine very impressive,” I replied.
“Not really,” he replied. “More likely it looked like one of these . . . much
larger, but of a similar appearance. Its outer covering was of badger’s skin. So its
appearance would have been dull, plain, and unattractive. But if you were able to
step inside, then everything changed. The first of its chambers was called the
holy place. Inside the holy place was the table of the presence, the altar of
incense, and the seven-branched menorah, each of gold, each a treasure of
inestimable value. And if you ventured even deeper, you would find yourself in
the holy of holies with the ark of the covenant, within which were the Ten
Commandments and on top of which rested the glory of God. All these things
were hidden from the outside and could only be seen from within. So what
looked plain, dull, unattractive, and of little worth on the outside turned out to
contain the greatest of treasures on the inside. What does this reveal?”
“You can’t judge a tent by its coverings?”
“Yes, and much more than that. In the world, most things appear more
impressive and attractive on the outside and on the surface than on the inside.
The reality is less than the appearance. But with God and the ways of
righteousness, it’s the opposite. On the outside and on the surface it tends to look
hard and unattractive. So the way of the cross and of sacrifice, on the outside,
looks hard. But the deeper you go, the more beautiful it becomes. The deeper
you go, the more treasures you find. So too the deeper you go into prayer and
worship, the more awesome it becomes. The deeper you go into His presence,
the more glorious it becomes. And the deeper you go into the love of God, the
