I’ll Meet You There

Today’s Passage – Exodus 28 – 29 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Luke 13 – 14; Proverbs 29; Psalms 141 – 145)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – 1 Timothy 1:17

Read the “0129 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.” (Exodus 29:42-43)

Did you notice the phrase, “where I will meet you”, in Exodus 29:42, and the phrase, “there I will meet with the children of Israel”, in v. 43. God had a specific place that He chose to meet with His people. My first thought this morning is that it is amazing that a holy God wants to meet with people like us at all. Why does God even want to commune with creatures that are laden with sin. Isn’t it amazing that God can choose to love us and want to be with us at all? I know that there are certain people that I don’t like to be around, but God desires fellowship with all of His children.

My second thought concerns the place where God meets with us. During the time of the Wilderness wandering, God carefully designed the place and set the conditions for the Nation of Israel to enter into His presence, and it was quite an elaborate process for the people to go through in order for them to commune with God. By the way, we know that God is now and has always been omnipresent, so there is never a time when we are not in His presence, but still God set up special conditions for corporate worship.

Today, God has changed some things. The veil that once separated most men (except the High Priest – once per year) from entering into God’s immediate presence has been removed through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which means that all men and women who are saved can enter directly into His presence:

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

God encourages us to come into His presence, and to also recognize that there is never a time that He is not with us:

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20)

Still, today there are also special places and times that God wants to meet with us. God wants us to meet with Him as we set aside a specific time and place to read the Bible, where He can feed our souls with nourishment and strength, and give us the wisdom that we need in order for us to serve as His ambassadors. He also invites us to come meet with Him in the prayer closet, where we can confess our sins to Him, petition Him for our needs, and praise and worship Him. Of course, He still has a special place for corporate worship, the local church. This is the place where all believers can enter together into His presence for preaching, prayer, and praise. He promises to be “in the midst” of us when two or more are gathered in His name.

God wants to meet with you and me. Don’t forsake any of God’s invitations.