Exodus 40:16-17, 34-38

At the beginning of the second year after the Israelites left Egypt, the Tent of the Lord was ready. The stone tablets were put in the Covenant Box, the table and the lampstand were put in the Tent and the curtain that kept the people from the holy presence of God was hung across the front of the Tent.

When everything was in place, a cloud covered the Tent and the dazzling light of God’s presence filled it.

Why is there no cloud in church?

In a way, the Holy Tent was like a church building today. It was a special place where God would meet with ordinary people in a close way. It was a place where people could come to worship God, ask for forgiveness at the altar, and bring an offering of thanks to God. It reminded people that the Lord is always close to us and that He is very real!

Through Jesus, God is in every place where even a few people are gathered together in His Name (Matthew 18:20). A church is a group of people who believe in God and have come together to worship Him.

You may be wondering why we don’t see the bright light of God’s presence in church, or a cloud covering the church building. Before Jesus left the earth to go back to His Father in heaven, He told His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to help them, to comfort them and to guide them. Forty days later the Holy Spirit came down and filled every believer.

When a person becomes a follower of Jesus, the Holy Spirit fills him or her. In other words, God now lives inside every believer and we are now His Tent (or Temple).

Verse for today

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God. 1 Corinthians 6:19

Truth for Kids