Pondering Point

The tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting, was commissioned at Mt. Sinai under Moses. It housed the Ark of the Covenant and traveled with the people of God through the desert and into the promised land. The city of Shiloh served as its home until the Ark was lost in a battle against the Philistines (see 1 Samuel 4). The Ark never returned to Shiloh, and we don’t hear about the Tabernacle again except as a warning about what happens when people treat God with contempt (Jeremiah 7:12).

Jesus Himself spent time in the desert and traveled with God’s people, particularly His disciples. He also went through Samaria (John 4), leading to a comment about how and where people will soon worship – in Spirit and in Truth. I capitalize both words because Jesus was full of Spirit (Luke 4:1) and Truth (John 1:14, 14:6). This Samaritan woman knew that people were divided over worshipping at the temple in Jerusalem (only) or elsewhere (Mt Gerizim). Jesus’ comment reflects a transition taking place through Him. Physical temples were giving way to bodily temples, not unlike His own. Tomorrow, we learn about the temple made up of God’s people collectively – the body of Christ. This too is a temple of God to be filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s Word.