AN ENDURING RELIGIOUS QUESTION
Every religion struggles with a basic conundrum - How to explain the involvement of a purely spiritual God in the details of a physical world? According to Jewish thought, God’s divine presence is called Shekinah. The God of Israel descended into the world by entering a sacred space called Mishkan (the Tabernacle). Later on, the Temple in Jerusalem replaced it as the dwelling-place of God.
LET'S LOOK AT THE HEBREW PRESENCE
What do the Mishkan (משכן) and the Shekinah (שכינה) have in common? Both words are derived from the same Hebrew root: SKN (שכנ), meaning “to inhabit” "to settle down". They are manifestations of a perfect spiritual God within an imperfect physical world. God desires to dwell among us: “Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them.” (Ex. 29:45-46).
DWELL IN THE TENT OF SCRIPTURE
Since the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, the God of Israel has bestowed his “divine presence” –without the need for a specific building. Do you thirst for the presence of God to dwell in your midst? Enroll today in eTeacher’s online Biblical Hebrew course and begin to fill in the gaps in your Scriptural knowledge. Before you know it, you too will feel that you are a true Tabernacle worthy of God’s indwelling.
