The problem was huge! How do you transform a group of slaves with primarily an identity based on forefathers and family heritage into a religious nation? How do you transform a group of slaves who have been dehumanized by slavery into a people who through a relationship with the living God sustain a theocracy? How do you transform slaves into Gods people without making them arrogant by developing a sense of self importance (the God delivered usso we are important syndrome)? How do you help people who were slaves? (Today, does not helping some in need continue to be a challenge because they lack values and insights?) How do you help a people who knew so much about idolatry learn to depend on God? How do you transform slaves who equated religion with idolatry into a nation that realizes the difference between spirituality and performing religious acts?
Slavery is a dehumanizing establishment! A good (productive) slave thinks of himself/herself as property, not as a person. He or she is not to be a person of values and principles, but be a person who does as his or her owner says. The only time period that matters is the time period selected by the owner. A good slave is not supposed to function on original thoughts, but to function on the owners instructions. Slaves are expected to be dependent. The slaves experiences do not usually prepare them for an independent life. Slavery tends to make slaves quite selfish and self-centered.
There is a slave mentality. A slave thinks like a slave, acts like a slave, has the priorities and values of a slave, and sees situations as a slave looks at them. While there are various kinds of slavery, all the kinds share at least one thing in common: slaves must have the mental outlook of a slave. The slave mentality is not reversed quickly merely by providing the man or woman freedom from the control of an owner. In the case of Israel, dependence would not be transferred from Egyptian owners to God promptly, easily, and without difficulty.
Read Exodus 6:1-9, and remember this followed an incident when even Moses (read Exodus 5:22, 23) concluded resisting Pharaoh was futile. Realize God had as much to prove about His identity to Israel as to the Egyptian Pharaoh. The ten miraculous acts of God in Egypt that
resulted in Israels deliverance were as much to establish credibility with Israel as to prove to Pharaoh that He was superior.
Following is the writers view. There are other views. After Israel crossed the Red Sea, at some point a tent was erected outside the camp for Moses to judge problems that arose among the people and to confer with God. Read Exodus 33:7-11. One of the central objectives of this small tent was to visibly establish the unique bond between Moses and God. The cloud represented Gods presence. Israel was reminded repeatedly that Moses was doing far more than advancing his own personal agenda.
From Exodus 35 through 40:33 the tabernacle, the furnishings, and the priestly garments were built according to Gods designs and instructions. When completed, again the cloud declared Gods acceptance and presence. During the 40 years of stay in the wilderness, the cloud provided guidance for Israel, and a visible reminder that the God who delivered them from Egypt was among them (also read Numbers 14:32-35).
The tabernacle was situated in the middle of the camp with 3 tribes encamped on each side (read Numbers chapters 2, 3). It did not serve as a place of assembly, but as a place of sacrificial worship performed by those designated by God. It was by design a portable place of sacrificial worship. It was unique because (1) its existence was commanded by God, (2) it functioned on the basis of delegated responsibilities, and (3) it was a visible reminder of Gods active role in the affairs of Israel.
During the wilderness experience of Israel, the tabernacle served a crucial, practical role in the nation. Day and night it visibly reminded Israel that (1) they were a nation by the acts of God, (2) God was present, and (3) the nation knew when and where to go as well as when to stay. Among other things, the tabernacle functioned to transfer dependence on the Egyptians and Pharaoh to dependence on God.
What happened to the construction known as the tabernacle when Israel settled in Canaan is not known. Presumably, much of the tabernacles original construction materials wore out with the passage of time. When Canaan was divided into territories which were to serve as the homelands of each tribe, the tabernacle would no longer be in the daily sight of Israel as a nation. The known sites of the tabernacle in Canaan that seemed to be semi-permanent sites were perhaps Gilgal (Joshua 4:19), perhaps Shechem (Joshua 8:30-35), Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:3), Nob (1 Samuel 22:11), and Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39). When David transferred the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, he built a tent to house it. Where the tabernacle was in Canaan is sometimes a mystery and sometimes speculation. The Ark of the Covenant seemed to represent the Lords presence, and where it was became the site of sacrificial worship. Read Deuteronomy 12:1-14 and especially note verses 5, 11, 13, 14 and 16:16.
For Thought and Discussion
1. Discuss the huge problem.
2. Slavery is what kind of establishment? Why?
3. Explain the slave mentality.
4. In Exodus 6:1-9, what was Moses to tell Israel?
5. What were the two purposes of Gods ten plagues or miraculous acts in Egypt?
6. What was the purpose of the small tent in Exodus 33:7-11?
7. What did the cloud represent both in the small tent and tabernacle?
8. Where was the tabernacle situated?
9. The tabernacle did not serve as what, but served as what?
10. Give three reasons the tabernacle was unique.
11. The tabernacle reminded Israel of what three things day and night?
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 1