Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst. It is a prophetic Word from the LORD to his church—the people he has saved and gathered as witnesses to his will and ways.

He exhorts us to build him a sanctuary. I am here to tell you that if you build it, he will come. Build what, exactly? The answer to that question begins with understanding that God is a builder. And Jesus, like his Father, was then and is now in the building business.

For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Messiah Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Ephesians 2:18-22).

Like their God and Savior, his redeemed children are to be in the building business as well. We have a mission from God. To that end, we are co-builders and co-laborers with him.

If you build a sanctuary in time, a dwelling for the Spirit, then he will come down and fill it.

Lest you think I am overstating the point, consider this. Exodus allocates thirteen chapters of detailed instruction for constructing the portable sanctuary (mikdash) in the wilderness. How many chapters are dedicated to the whole of creation in Genesis? Two. That does not minimize the wonder of creation but directs our attention to his intention. Dwelling amidst his people is God’s priority.

As an aside, I heard a professor say that he tries to look up every day with wonder and thanksgiving as a spiritual habit. I have been trying every day since then, at least once a day, to look up at the sky and say to God, “Father, I’m but a glorified mudball on a modest planet, in a mediocre solar system, on the edge of an ordinary galaxy in a cosmos filled with millions of galaxies, and yet your Spirit indwells me. Hallelujah!”

It has been a life-altering practice.

Though you are mere cosmic dust, God breathed on you, and you came alive in his image and likeness. He sent his Word-made flesh, Jesus, to restore that tarnished image to the fullness of the divine glory. Peter reminds us that as we hold fast to God’s promises, we are partaking of the divine nature. His Spirit indwells you, His Spirit indwells me, His Spirit indwells us.

You have a very high calling in Messiah Jesus.

He has built the sanctuary of his choosing. May we now be builders inviting him to come and fill us with his glory.

I wish our sight could penetrate the skies right now.

What is inconceivable and indescribable about heaven is that when we pass through the veil of death, we enter the fullness of resurrection. We will experience—in ever-increasing intensity, ever greater magnitude—a comprehension, an understanding of the glory of God. The more we perceive it, the more like him we become. Because his glory is infinite, we shall never exhaust the glory of God.

Here is good news. You do not have to wait till you pass from this life to the next to taste the glory of his presence. God has provided us with a pattern, a divine opportunity, if you will. We have his divine blessing and even encouragement to build him a sanctuary in time in which to intentionally dwell with him.

Remember my point about thirteen chapters in Exodus devoted to building the Tabernacle in the wilderness? As important as that is, there is something that takes precedence.

And the LORD said to Moses, You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. […] It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed (Exodus 31:12-17).

These are the last words of instruction the LORD God Almighty gives Moses before he heads down the mountain with the Ten Commandments. The Sabbath is a holy sign, a symbol between a Holy God and his sanctified people.

On the seventh day, the Creator rested. The Hebrew word for rested is shabbat. For this study’s specific purpose, I will use the word shabbat to emphasize the divine action of resting.

God rested and was refreshed. The Hebrew word here, nephesh, could be translated as “He expelled, he breathed a sigh of relief.” It is finished. And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God (Ex 31:18).

His final words to his people are instructions regarding shabbat as a symbol of their perpetual covenant. It was so vital that profaning it merited death. Said another way, death resulted when one excluded themselves from his life-giving presence symbolized by the gift of His shabbat.

Are you beginning to see the picture?

But there is even more. These are the final instructions before construction on the Tabernacle begins in Exodus 35:2: Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord.

The work of building the Tabernacle stopped on the Sabbath. Think about it. The LORD’s goal for bringing Israel out of bondage was to be their God in the sight of all the nations, evidenced by dwelling in their midst, represented by the Tabernacle. The Sabbath even takes precedence over the construction of that sanctuary! How remarkable.

Please be patient as I work through these texts. You may be tempted to get anxious and say to yourself, “Dwight is trying to Judaize me. He is moving toward a legalistic keeping of ‘the Law.'” Never! Nothing could be further from the truth. I am expounding on the glorious freedom the Father of Glory intends for his children.

I am not talking about putting you under the letter of “the Law.” I am exploring the spirit of the Sabbath and its underlying principles. Why? So that you will learn to delight in ever-increasing intimacy with your Father in Heaven. That journey begins with knowing that he desires the same.

To a seeking heart, this is good news!

If that is you, I want to help you build a spiritual discipline that will transform you and your family in your high calling to be a royal priesthood under the kingship of our Lord Jesus.