Exodus 36:8 ¶ And every
wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten
curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with
cherubims of cunning work made he them. 9
The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the
breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size.
10 And he coupled the five curtains one
unto another: and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another.
11 And he made loops of blue on the edge
of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the
uttermost side of another curtain, in the coupling of the second.
12 Fifty loops made he in one curtain,
and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which was in the
coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another. 13 And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled
the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle.
Notice the orders given in chapter 26 contrasted with the carrying
out of them here. This tabernacle; its instructions for building and the
carrying out of those instructions play a very important part in this phase of
God’s ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself.
Here, God would meet with His people. Here was to be a point of
reference, a place of focus for God’s presence and His worship. Christians have
tried to reproduce that feeling by setting apart special buildings typically
used for not much more than worship and Christian fellowship. While this is
fine it often leads to a sense of there being the only place where God’s
presence is acknowledged.
This is a precursor to the temple that Solomon will build. But, in
the time after Christ’s resurrection God meets with His people in the human
heart and mind where the Holy Ghost of God dwells although it is also clear
that we are to meet together with people of like faith often and God also meets
with us there, in that fellowship.
John 14:23 Jesus answered
and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will
love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Luke 17:20 ¶ And when he
was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered
them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo
there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Romans 8:9 But ye are not
in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
1Corinthians 3:9 For we are
labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
1Corinthians 3:16 ¶ Know ye
not that ye are the temple of God, and that
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Corinthians 6:19 What?
know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of
God, and ye are not your own?
It can be said that there are no sacred spaces in Biblical
Christianity outside of the human heart of the believer. However, it is also
clear we are called to meet with people of like faith often. Here in the
following verses are a command from Paul that most fundamentalist pastors love
to quote even while they deny that Hebrews is written for the Christian. It’s
very confusing how they insist upon Dispensations and yet make this verse
preeminent for Christians today as opposed to the Tribulation to come, which
they often say the book of Hebrews relates to.
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold
fast the profession of our
faith without wavering; (for he is
faithful that promised;) 24 And let us
consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as the manner of some is;
but exhorting one another: and
so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Still, there are many instances in Paul’s letters referring to
churches that meet in individual’s homes as there were no separate buildings
set apart for worship until later in the second century AD. Meeting as the
church was and is very important. But there is no need to lie about God’s word
to underscore this command’s importance. The necessity of meeting for worship,
for encouragement, to render assistance, to join forces to do God’s work, and
not just the necessity but God’s will for it to be are clear from many, many
verses in the New Testament.
However, the danger is of unscrupulous preachers and evangelists
taking verses out of context to mean something they were not given to mean in
the context.
For instance, some will take a verse in Luke in the context of our
behavior toward each other linked with so many other verses about our
willingness to forgive, not to judge unrighteously, and our charitableness
toward each other and make it simply about showing up at church whenever the
doors are opened saying that if you don’t you are denying the Lord.
Luke 6:46 And why call ye
me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
They will take a verse that has to do with not having your own
mind conform to the world’s values and then after the verse giving the
expression of what that looks like in the believer’s behavior toward others and
make it about church attendance with your reasonable
service about being, “in your place,” in the pew on Sunday morning,
evening, and Wednesday night along with any other time a meeting is called.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service.
This isn’t just error. It is blasphemy, misrepresenting what God
has said and what He wants from us as stated by Himself. It is the sin of not
only Job’s friends but Satan himself.
Job 42:7 And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken
these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is
kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me
the thing that is right, as my
servant Job hath.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent
was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he
said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the
garden?
It is an all too common error in Protestant Fundamentalism in
America. Twisting the text like taffy to justify a belief, desire, or
conviction of the speaker is unacceptable. If you’re going to take a verse and
apply it to something not in the context, say a point you want to make, at
least acknowledge that is what you are doing.
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