A Light in the Darkness Amy Carroll April 24, 2013

In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the LORD from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come. Exodus 27:21 (NIV)

The memories that burn brightest from my childhood are of our familys camping trips to the beach. All the hard work of packing the tent, suitcases, sleeping bags and food into the car was worth it when camp was set up and family time began.

My favorite time of the day came as darkness settled, the shouts of children quieted and grills were lit. Often, as we cleaned up from dinner, my mother would take our lantern into the tent to repack our supplies, and I would bask in the glow from the tent and the warm safety of my parents presence.

Those memories flooded back as I read Exodus 27 from my daily reading plan. In a meticulous design revealed in the preceding chapters, God laid out the blueprint for the Tent of Meeting, also called the Tabernacle, where He would be worshipped by the Israelites as they traveled from Egypt to Canaan. Sentence after sentence details the fabric, the measurements, and the structure.

When the plan for Gods Tent of Meeting was complete, He began to describe the furnishings. They included a beautiful set of lamps on a lampstand that was to burn continuously inside. This intricate lampstand described in detail in Exodus 25:31-40 was a pure-gold work of art made by the artisans God appointed, and it burned clear olive oil.

Pieces of a greater puzzle began to click into place as I pondered other scriptures and truths explaining the rich symbolism of the Tent of Meetings lampstand. I began to see God revealing His plans for us thousands of years ago:

We are the tent. (2 Cor. 5:4)

Jesus is the light. (John 1:4)

The Holy Spirit is the oil. (Zech. 4:1-6)

Fueled by the Holy Spirit, we are called to let Jesus light shine through us into the darkness. (Matt. 5:14-16)

Just as the Israelites moved the Tabernacle through the desert sands Just as my parents pitched a tent in beach sands Just as I move through this darkened world

God provides a Light that shines in the darkness, and He creates a tent (us) to shine through.

For Jesus light to pierce the darkness, shining brighter and brighter, we need to become more and more transparent.

For His light to shine continuously, we need to constantly be refueled by the Holy Spirit through prayer, studying and memorizing Scripture, and abiding in Him.

For His light to shatter the inky blackness of this world, we need to fearlessly move our tents into places of darkness where no other light shines.

There is a world of people who long for the safety and presence of Jesusbut they need a beacon to guide them. May we humble tents, who carry the Light, glow brightly everywhere as we travel through this world!