God Needs A Box
Ex. 25:8-22
8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
9 According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. 10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood:
22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
In the holy of holies was the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat which is where God’s manifested presence in the earth was. Men could have fellowship with God but in a limited way. But thank God when Jesus came the veil was ripped in half and through His blood we have unlimited access to His presence, both His manifested presence and His abiding presence.
But look at the ark of the covenant closer; it was made of shittim wood or acacia wood, which is a hard heavy dense wood. It was used for various things such as chests or coffins. In this case it was a box that was overlaid with Gold inside and out. Quite simply it was a box. That’s it. It wasn’t special in itself but the pure Gold gave it significance.
The ark is a picture of us. We are perishable containers in and of are selves but, Jesus and His blood make us holy and acceptable to God and His presence give us significance. He desires close fellowship with His people to fill us with His Glory and power to be His people in the earth.
2 Cor. 4:5-7
Vs 7 But we have this treasure (the divine Light of the Gospel) in earthen vessels,
(in a perishable container,) that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not
of us.
Notice what God said about the ark. There would fellowship and communion there but also He would reveal His commandments (truth) to Moses. And God promised that His commandments would be put in the ark. (later the golden pot with manna and Aaron’s rod that bubbed would be put in there as well – Hebrews 9:4)
But ultimately the ark was overlaid with pure Gold on the inside and outside. When you are born again and receive the Holy Ghost you receive all of God inside and out. God works in our lives for close fellowship and purity inside and out. The ark by itself didn’t mean anything without the Gold and the word, so it is with us. God’s not looking for famous or fabulous people, just a box. A person who walks with the Lord with a willing and obedient lifestyle. A person who says in and of myself have nothing but with your presence and word I can be pleasing to you.
All God needs is a box.
(taken from 04.10.09 sermon)
Leave a Reply