His Dwelling Place

We only have two letters left after this post. Today we look at the second letter, the Bet ב, with the value of two. We will see how the Bet ב invites us into the tabernacle, the precious dwelling place of God.

Hide-And Seek

When you were young, did you love to play Hide-And-Seek? This was a very popular game amongst the kids that lived on the cul-de-sac where I grew up. As much as I loved the game, I was terrible. My friends could climb trees, jump fences, and could camouflage themselves in the bushes. I never found a great place to hide (I did not like bugs and they were in those trees and bushes). If I found a good hiding place, I would get the nervous giggles and give myself away. Then, if I tried to run to base, I was not the fastest and often got caught. Not sure why I liked this game so much, but I did.

I think as kids; we have an innate desire to search. Whether we searched for each other around the cul-de-sac, or searched for hidden treasure in someone’s backyard, or searched for answers in school, as humans, we have something within us that wants to know more. This starts young for most of us. Anyone with a kid in the “Why 3s” right now? You know exactly what I am talking about.

Hidden Treasure

This is one reason I love studying the Hebrew alphabet. It has taken me on a search to learn more. To go deeper into understanding the Word that little bit more. It feels like the treasure hunts of my youth, except this time I have found hidden treasure.

One of the first treasures I learned and could not wait to share with you was that the first letter in the original scriptures is the Bet ב. My first thought when reading this was that seems strange. Why did it not start out with the Alef א, the letter that represents God?

We find the Alef א throughout scripture, but did you know the Alef א is the last letter in the original Hebrew scriptures? Scholars say, and this is where it gets good, that the entire word of God, starting with the Bet ב, is searching to find the heart of God and we find Him in the last letter of the final word. Yes, we see God throughout the scriptures, but it is a picture of us seeking to know Him, that we would read the entirety of His Word to find Him.

A Place To Connect

The Bet ב looks like a tent, or a dwelling place with an opening on the left side. A place to connect with God. Scholars say this is a representation of the old testament tabernacle. The tabernacle was a place for God to dwell. It was a portable place to worship before God had His temple built.

“How lovely is your dwelling, Lord Almighty” (Psalm 84:1 NIV). God invites us to come into His dwelling place. In this place, we learn more about Him, we draw closer to Him, and we worship Him. Click To Tweet

“How lovely is your dwelling, Lord Almighty.”

Psalm 84:1 NIV

Through the Bet ב, God invites us to come into His dwelling place. To come and be with Him and to rest in Him. He created us to have companionship with Him. In this place, we learn more about who He is, we draw closer to Him, and we worship Him.

A Glimpse Of Jesus

To make all of this even more awe-inspiring, nearly every aspect of the tabernacle gives us a glimpse of Jesus.

Did you know:

• The tabernacle was the place they made all sacrifices for forgiveness of sin. Hebrews 10 tells us that Christ came to be the ultimate sacrifice. He fulfilled what no other sacrifice could offer. Complete cleansing of all sin.

• The laver was a place at the tabernacle for the priest to cleanse themselves before entering. Mosques today still have this. You must be clean before entering. 1 Corinthians 6:11 tells us we are clean because of Jesus.

“You were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

1 Corinthians 6:11 NLT

• At the tabernacle, there were lamp stands. In Psalm 119:105, we read, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” And then John 1:1 clarifies that Jesus is the Word.

The Tabernacle

These three examples are just a small taste of what the tabernacle represents. Every part of this dwelling place points us to Jesus. If you want to learn more about this, I highly recommend Beth Moore’s study on the tabernacle, “A Woman’s Heart.” It will blow your mind. You will never look at the tabernacle as the boring parts of the Bible again.

“So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.”

Hebrews 9:11-12 NLT

A Sacred Place

As with many of the letters, they point us to Jesus and invite us to enter a sacred place with Him. How has God invited you to go deeper? Has He laid a desire on your heart to spend more time in prayer or in the Word? Does He draw you by the beauty of nature? Do you have dreams you know are from Him?

For me, I feel a longing to be in the Word more. I want to read more and dig deeper into the original text to see what it reveals. Have you noticed the more you give into these desires, the more they grow? It is like when I drink more water; I get thirstier. Let’s get thirstier together.

Ask the Lord where He wants to invite you? Move in His leading and let Him draw you closer and closer into His dwelling place.

As I wrote I could not stop thinking about this song. Enjoy.

Thank you for sharing…