Staying in the Tent
It seems like there are two types of people in the world, those who like to camp in tents, and those who
do not like to stay in tents! There, how is that for breaking the world down into something so simple?
Those of us who love to camp cannot figure out why those who do not – don’t! But those who do not
cannot figure out why we would trade warmth, comfort, protection and convenience for cold, heat, bugs
and discomfort. Humm, good point! Anyway, I would be one of those “tent people”. I suppose many of us
have “bad stories” of camping we could share – collapsed tents, rain, mud and snow, bugs, snakes and
large creatures (bears, buffalos and lions – “Oh my!”). But there is a “tent” you should enter, and stay
there for as long as you can. In fact, you should enter that tent often. The tent I am speaking of
(metaphorically) is the tent that is mentioned in Exodus 33 & 34. Let me share with you some of that
passage; “Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a
friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of
Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting.” (Exodus 33:11) “But whenever he (Moses) went into
the Tent of Meeting to speak with the Lord, he would remove the veil until he came out again.” (Exodus
34:34)
Let me remind you of a few things about Moses, Joshua and the Tent of Meeting. First of all, this tent
was not the tent that would become the Tabernacle. This was a much smaller one, and a more private
one. Moses, as you probably recall, would meet with God there, and when he would come out, his face
shone with the glory of God. So much so, that he would put a veil over his face to cover the glow (it was
so that the Israelites would not see the glow fading – see II Corinthians 3:13). Evidently Joshua’s face
would not glow, but he would stay in the tent longer. Now, the question the Holy Spirit wants to ask each
of us, is this; “Are we spending any time in the tent?” Despite all of our schedules and responsibilities, do
I regularly spend time in the tent? Regardless of pursuits and passions, is my “tent time” a priority? You
may not have a canvass tent, or in Moses’ and Joshua’s case, an animal skin covered tent, but you do
have a place that is your tent to meet with God. It may be large – in the outdoors, or it may be small – a
prayer closet, or it could be any of a number of designated places, but you need to find your “tent of
meeting”.
All of us have different schedules, some of you, your schedule is so demanding. This includes
businessmen, young mothers, double-shift workers, students, farmers, and basically most living beings!
So I don’t want to act as if we all have the same time frames, or luxuries of making time for meeting God
daily. But we must find time, and more than that, it should become the priority of our life. Why is that?
Because God desires to meet with us, because we need that meeting time, and we cannot survive, or
make that, thrive, without it. Notice two or three things about Moses’ and Joshua’s time in the tent. First
of all, it changed them. For Moses, there was the outside manifestation of that happening, by his face
being aglow with God’s glory. Staying in the tent for elongated periods of time changes a person, you
won’t be the same; you’ll grow and be transformed. But notice that Moses did not know his face was
aglow. Others noticed it, but he didn’t. That is true spiritually as well, others notice change in our lives
before we do. Joshua was changed too, but his change was in his character and the leadership qualities
that came out of time with God. You will change, in various ways – we are not all the same – but others
will notice. Besides the transformation, notice the longing that develops for God when we spend time
with Him. Like Joshua, we do not want to leave the tent. Our hearts burn within us for this time alone
with God, it becomes a consuming passion. We cannot imagine missing it. The sober and saddening
thing is that God desires to spend time with us more than we desire to spend with Him. He longs for
these moments – what a thought! Dear friends, you may not be a “tent person” in camping, but let us all
be “tent people” in meeting with God.