As I was studying the construction and function of the tabernacle in Exodus 25, I began to think about the way we fuss when the music or invitation at the church is too long and we have to stand on our feet longer than we want to. When God designed the tabernacle and then the Temple, there were no seats!! You stood while you were in God’s presence and there was no sitting down at all! Even in the synagogue, which came much later, there were only a few seats for the chief priest and elders. The rest of the congregation stood while the service was going on and especially while the word of God was being read. In Nehemiah 8, when the Jews, returning from exile, met at the old Jerusalem Temple, they found a copy of the scroll of Isaiah. The Bible says the congregations stood from morning till evening as the word was read. God’s word is powerful-they are his “very words” to us! We should be glad to stand in his presence as a way of showing our love and respect for him and his word. To add a punctuation mark to this thought, look at the Luke 4 synagogue story and also Luke 5:1 and you will see that Jesus, himself, always stood when the very words of God were being read. He only set down when he began to teach! When you read and learn this, it kind of makes you feel ashamed that you were mumbling to yourself about having to stand too long in the service! Bless God and his very words to us!
About the author:
Bob is the creator of this site and a disciple of Ray Vander Laan. Along with his wife of 50 years, he teaches a Bible study at Christ’s Church in Roswell, NM. He is also an avid hunter and fisher.