Exodus 25:10–16 – Be holy because God’s is present within us

We have discovered in one of our discussions that the number three is God's signature. Our Triune God is in three persons yet One. Now the Tabernacle God instructed Moses to build would also consist of three parts: The Holy of holies, the Holy Place and the Outer Court. The Tabernacle, incidentally, represents our life. Like the Tabernacle, we are also a tripartite being made up of spirit, soul and body. Just as He began with the innermost part first, God also began His work in our lives with the innermost part first. He begins His work in our spirit.

The first piece of furnishings Moses was instructed to build was the Ark of the Covenant. Why? The reason seems obvious. It was the central and most important piece of furniture. It was the place where God would come and dwell among His people. This Ark of the Covenant was located in the Holy of holies. Not only was Moses told to build this first but was instructed on the specifications to build it.  

The Ark of the Covenant was to be a rectangular box almost four feet in length, two and a half feet in width and two and a half feet in depth. It was to be made of acacia wood overlaid with pure refined gold. Its edge was to be trimmed with gold molding. Four golden rings were to be cast and fastened to its four feet with two poles going through the rings, one on each side of the Ark. Like the material used for the Ark, the poles must be made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold as well. These two poles would remain permanently through the four golden rings for the purpose of transporting the Ark so that the Holy Ark would not be touched.

One lesson we can glean from here is this - like the Ark of the Covenant placed in the Holy of holies, God’s holy presence dwells within our spirit, the innermost part of our being. Our spirit becomes God’s dwelling place. We must, therefore, take the utmost care to live a holy life because of the Spirit of God who is dwelling within. This explains the exhortation of Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. He calls us to conduct our lives in a holy manner saying, “…do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” What Paul meant to tell us is this: To abuse our body is as good as desecrating the temple of God, for within us dwells the presence of God. We must make it our business to live a life of holiness so that we will not defile our body which is God’s temple.