“The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting.” (Leviticus 1:1, NIV)
“The LORD spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting…” (Numbers 1:1, NIV)
What a difference a word makes!
In the beginning of the book of Leviticus—before God had given his instruction through Moses to the people of Israel regarding their state of cleanliness in his presence—Yahweh (the LORD) spoke to Moses from the tent of meeting.
Why, from?
Because Moses could not enter; this was before the instruction had been given.
Then we continue reading and God (through Moses) gives to the Israelites everything they need to do to be clean before God. The rituals are extensive and somewhat boring and out-of-touch to us, but they meant everything for the Israelites. You see, there was a problem between them and God.
God was holy and they were not.
And because God’s people were not holy, they could not stand before him and be safe. Nothing impure could come before God. God created them upright, and they chose to walk away from him and so, they had to live with their choice. God, however, did not abandon them. He was making away for them to come before him—to restore the relationship that had been ruined—and he was doing this through the Levitical instruction or law.
So, before moving on, remember that Leviticus begins with God speaking to Moses from the tent of meeting because Moses could not be in the tent of meeting with God.
How does the Book of Numbers begin?
God is still speaking to Moses, but this time a word has changed…a word that changes everything. Instead, of God speaking to Moses from the tent of meeting, Numbers tells us that Yahweh spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting!
Do you see what this means?
This means that what God set up in Leviticus did what it was supposed to do. It made a way for God’s people in the Old Testament to come before him through Moses (and the Levitical priesthood). The extensive rituals given by God had made a way for an unclean person to walk into the presence of God without being destroyed by the holiness that is God.
What, you may ask, does this mean for us now?
What God did for the Nation of Israel in the Old Testament was perfect for them. However, it doesn’t work for us, because it didn’t apply to us then and it doesn’t apply to us now.
Before you start to feel like God has left you out, remember that he has done something even better for you. That better something God has done is actually a someone and that someone is Jesus.
The Book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the better someone that God has given. God gave of himself and, in the person of Jesus, he has made a way for those who would believe to come before God on their own. No longer do we need someone like Moses (or the Levitical priests) to speak to God on our behalf; now, through our relationship with Jesus (made possible by his sacrifice), we may speak to God because of what Jesus has done to us and for us.
Because my words would quickly fail me in trying to explain the work Jesus did on our behalf, I thought it best to let Hebrews do it for me. So, let me leave you here with this.
“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews 10:11-14, NIV)