God’s purpose in giving instructions for building the tabernacle in the wilderness is stated plainly in Exodus 25:8, “Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” From the earliest time, God has sought to have communion with man, as evidenced in His walk in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8), in His walk with Enoch (Gen. 5:21-24), in His talk with Abraham (Gen. 12:1-4), in His conversation with Moses (Ex. 33:11; 34:29-35). He chose the twelve that they should be with Him (Mk. 3:14).
God made man in His image that He might have fellowship with man. His great heart of love is not satisfied apart from intimate fellowship. The tabernacle in the wilderness was God’s appointed means of communion with man.
But the tabernacle disappeared long ago. Today we might well ask, “Has God’s fellowship with man been cut off? Does God have a meeting place with man today? If so, where? Or must we wait until we stand in the gloryland before we can enjoy perfect fellowship?”
The New Testament has our answer: “What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (2 Cor. 6:16).
Again Paul writes, “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? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Obviously, the body of the believer is God’s dwelling place on the earth today.
You doubtless will agree with me that the glory cloud is seldom seen today. “In journeyings oft,” the author has seen the glory cloud only occasionally as he has ministered across the country.
One such occasion was when in Chicago. Following my message, a dear elderly woman came and gripped my hand fervently, and looking into my eyes with a radiant glow, she said, “Oh, I’m so glad to see you, Mr. Street.” I looked at her with my face screwed into a question mark, and she immediately said, “Oh, we have not met in the flesh before, but we have often met at the Throne. When the newspapers and radio newscast carried the story of your being taken captive during the Italian conquest of Ethiopia some years ago, God laid on my heart a burden to pray, and I have hardly missed a day, I believe, in praying for you since that time. So I feel as though I have known you. I am glad to meet you, and thank God that you are here.”
“Thank you, sister,” I replied. “Your faithful prayers, together with the prayers of others of God’s children, is the only explanation of our deliverance from those trying experiences in Ethiopia.”
“I wish we could have a visit, Mr. Street,” she said. “You have a place of high regard in my thinking after praying for you these years. I want to hear about your experiences.”
We started out and finally found ourselves in a dingy little basement room with only one tiny window. As the lights were turned on I immediately noticed the meager furnishings. Over in one corner stood an old bed (one of the swayback models). At the foot of the bed was a commode and behind the door was an old rocking chair. Spread in front of the bed was a well-worn rug. The many pictures on the walls especially attracted my attention. Some of them were put up with tacks or pins, some stuck into the frame of the mirror and window–literally scores of them. As this friend took her seat on the edge of the bed and I in the chair, I said, “You must have a host of friends, judging by all these pictures.” To this she replied, “Oh, yes, God has been very gracious to me. He is indeed faithful!”
“Tell me about it,” I said.
“Oh, Mr. Street, it’s a long story. When I was a little girl, I came to have a real love for China. I read everything concerning China on which I could get my hands. When an occasional missionary from China came to our town, I dogged her footsteps and made her miserable with many questions. When I finally set foot on China’s soil, as a young woman, God thrilled my soul. I doubt if there has ever been a person who has walked this earth who was as supremely happy as was I on that occasion.
However, I had been there only six months when I was stricken with one of those dread Oriental maladies. I went from doctor to doctor, only to be told that there was no help.
“Finally, after being on the field for less than a year, I had to come home. Again, I went from doctor to doctor in this country, only to learn that they could not help me. Bitterness developed in my soul, and I found it increasingly difficult to pray. Yet I realized I was wrong, and I did try to pray.
“On one occasion when I was on my knees, the heavens seemed to open and say, ‘Ella, if you can’t be a missionary to China, why don’t you be a missionary to the entire world?’ I pondered the suggestion for a moment. Then the impact of it laid hold on me. I stood and said, ‘By Thy grace, Lord Jesus, I will be a missionary to the world.’ That was more than forty years ago, and through the years, God has given me a great host of friends who have gone on to the mission fields. You see their pictures on the walls. My ministry through the years has been to pray for them.”
As this story was told, my eyes filled with tears. I realized that I was in the very vestibule of heaven. The glory cloud rested on His child. The dingy room, the meager furnishing, the old-fashioned garments were lost to sight as the effulgence of God’s glory filled the place. All sense of earthiness was lost and I became keenly aware of the presence of God.
I wonder, dear Christian, has your life been so ordered through the years that those who come in contact with you know unmistakably that your body is the dwelling place of a holy God?