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It's quite hard going reading the end of Exodus with all the tabernacle instructions. But I have really appreciated how Tim Chester helps the reader to see the significance of all the instructions and how they point to Christ.

From Exodus 25:

In the tabernacle, there is always light, and that light faces east—towards us, in this symbolic universe. The lights are on because God is at home. There is a welcome waiting for you and there is a bread on the table (25: 30).

If you are far from God, then come home today. The light is on. God is at home. He has pitched his tent among us through Jesus. And there is bread on the table. God invites you to eat with him, to befriend him, to know him. And if you feel far from him, then if you have put your faith in Christ, he has died to bring you home. Don’t allow your feelings to shout louder than God’s “Welcome home”message. The whole tabernacle was designed to reassure you of this.

Are you a wanderer or a nester? When we find our home in Jesus, that will change our priorities. It will change your sense of home. If you’re a wanderer, then by all means harness your love of adventure for the glory of Christ. Go and make disciples of all nations. But wherever you go, be content there. Don’t think contentment is just over the horizon. Don’t be someone who is always going to new places or trying new things in an effort to find home. You need to enjoy Christ and serve Christ where you are now. Do you ever think, “I will serve Christ when…”? It doesn’t matter what comes next. Something is wrong. You’re restless for home, when all the time you’re home in Christ.

If you’re a nester, then by all means harness your love of home to make your physical home a place of welcome for Christ. Open your home to your church, to your neighbours, to the needy. But make sure your home helps your service rather than hindering it. Don’t make your house a sacred place, a castle with a drawbridge. Make sure Christ comes first, and that your door is open. Don’t be so concerned for cleanliness and tidiness that people feel uncomfortable. Don’t be so concerned for a cosy little family that your family is not open to others. Don’t be carting your children from activity to activity so you have no time for community and mission. Make sure the home that really matters to you is the home you have in Christ.

We need to remember the architecture of the tabernacle, because it points us to our true home and it reminds us of the great privilege of being able to come home to the presence of God. The light is on. There is bread on the table. Let’s enjoy our home, and enjoy heading home.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body …let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.”

(Hebrews 10: 19-22)