For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance… (Hebrews 9:13-15a)
Fear as a motivator is a cheap gimmick aimed to play on a latent insecurity most people possess at the core of their being. But fear can only carry someone so far, it cannot elicit behavior that is rooted in virtues like hope, trust, love and patience.
After confirming His covenant with His newly-rescued remnant, God invites Moses, alone, to the top Mount Sinai for what must have been a glorious encounter with the Creator of the universe.
The LORD, on Moses’ seventh day at Sinai’s summit, commands, “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me…and let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” (Ex. 25:1-2, 8).
God desired Moses to construct a sanctuary, a place where God might tangibly dwell among His chosen people. This would have been a sacred space, a visible picture of the reality of sovereignty’s manifestation among mortal man. I image that every time a dusty little Israelite girl glanced with wild eyes in the direction of the sanctuary, a deep sense of hope (despite the fact that Sinai was the last place she wanted to be, but the only place she knew) arose within her.
The sanctuary of the LORD: an oasis in the desert, a light amid dust and darkness, a reminder to the languishing Israelite that, not only is God transcendent and wholly other than him, but He is also imminent, One who hears the cries of the oppressed and moves to rescue.
The sanctuary would have been a structure erected in the midst of a rag-tag, motley crew of nomads pointing to the fact that in the eyes of God the juxtaposition between strength and weakness is powerfully reconciled.
Needless to say, this sanctuary would have been both functionally and symbolically important. So, why does God request that Moses only collect contributions for the sanctuary’s construction, “from every man whose heart moves him”? Why not collect from everyone? Why not make the contribution to the sanctuary a sort of national tax?
Because that would have defeated the purpose of the sanctuary’s function. God didn’t go to such great lengths in rescuing Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh’s empire to draw His people into some sort obligatory religious system. He meant for them to stand as captivated hearts in a barren wasteland, the light of the world, a kingdom of priests created to serve as a witness to the surrounding polytheistic and child-sacrificing pagans.
And this doesn’t happen through bored and lukewarm people who are threatened into being people they simply aren’t. Fear as a motivator is a cheap gimmick. When God calls us, draws us to Himself, He fundamentally changes our DNA, causes our hearts to burn, compels our consciences to desire to be a people who nail our time, gifts, dreams, and contributions to the splintered and bloodied cross. And when we live lives as the people we are called to be, we are the sanctuary. Through Christ we, amid the wilderness of a over-entertained and lonely culture, are God’s sanctuary, His temple.
Captivated hearts in a barren wasteland. Burning hearts in the black of night.
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16).
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