Of Tents and Tabernacles: Lodging in the Wilderness

And it came to pass, when the children of Israel journeyed forth from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, that they dwelt not in houses of stone nor in chambers hewn by craftsmen, but in tents—tabernacles of skin and cloth, spread beneath the heavens.

In the wilderness of Sinai and in the deserts of Paran, their lodging was made with cords and stakes, and each man pitched his tent by his tribe, according to the commandment of the Lord. And the Lord Himself dwelt among them in the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle of the Congregation, whose pattern was given unto Moses upon the mount (Exodus 25:9).

The tent was a dwelling of humility and of faith, for its walls were not fixed, and its roof gave no shelter from the storm save by the mercy of God. Yet it was in these tents that the people received the law, and the presence of the Lord went before them as a cloud by day and a fire by night.

And before them, even the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—were tent dwellers, sojourners in a land not yet their own. As it is written, “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles… for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:9–10).

Tents were the abode of shepherds and kings alike. David, before he was anointed, fled into the wilderness and found refuge in the hills, in caves and under canvas. And Elijah the prophet, fleeing from the wrath of Jezebel, laid himself down beneath a juniper tree, desiring to die, but the angel of the Lord fed him there and strengthened him (1 Kings 19:4–8).

So too did the tent serve the nations around—Midianites, Amalekites, and others who journeyed with their herds, moving from pasture to pasture. Their lodgings were fashioned of goat hair and linen, stretched across poles and anchored to the earth, a shelter from the sun by day and the cold by night.

And in remembrance of these days, the children of Israel were commanded to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, that they might dwell in booths for seven days, to recall how the Lord caused them to dwell in tents when He brought them out of Egypt (Leviticus 23:42–43). Even unto this day, it is a holy convocation, a time of joy and remembrance.

Thus was the tent not only a place of rest, but a sign and a testimony—that man doth not live by brick and mortar alone, but by the Word and the presence of the Most High. For though the tabernacle of this earthly dwelling be dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1).

Blessed be the Lord, who pitched His tent among men and walked in their midst, full of grace and truth. Amen.