Immanuel - God With Us: A 6-Day Advent Devotional From the Team at Gather25Sample

Throughout Genesis, mankind multiplied in a world that continued to be marked by the effects of sin and death. In Genesis 12, God identified one family - the family of Abraham - to be the way that he would enter the world and rescue them. He promised that, through one of Abraham’s descendants, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). This is another promise of Jesus, who would be born thousands of years later!

In Genesis and Exodus, Abraham’s family became the nation of Israel. The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years, then God set them free through his servant Moses. As the Israelites slowly made their way from Egypt to their new home, God led them with pillars of cloud and fire. But He had an even better plan - He wanted to be with them.

In Exodus 25:8, God said to Moses, “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” The same God who had walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden was once again drawing near to his people.

This sanctuary called the Tabernacle (from the Hebrew word “to dwell”), took months and months to build. It was a large, movable tent with a large courtyard, and there was a bronze altar where sacrifices could be made to atone for sins. But the heart of the tabernacle was a small room called the “Most Holy Place. This would be the place, accessible only to the High Priest once a year, where God would come down and dwell with his people.

When the tabernacle was completed, “the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34). What an overwhelming, awe-filled experience this must have been for the Israelites as their holy and perfect God drew near to them!

God did not want to be with his people because they were perfect or blameless. They had done nothing to earn his presence aside from being his children; they were sinners who deserved death and separation from him. He wanted to dwell with them because he loved them, and the same is true for us today. The Tabernacle gives us one more example of his rescue plan to be with us - a way to cover our sins and a place to draw near to us, right where we are.

God, How holy and glorious you are! Thank you that you don’t accept me based on my perfection or performance, but instead because of your great love.

Reflect: Do you truly believe that God wants to be with you, no matter what you’ve done? Ask God to reveal his immeasurable love and mercy to you today!