Tent Camping
Have you ever thought about going tent camping with Jesus?
When our kids were little, Alisha and I would often ask other parents… parents that we looked up to whose kids were teenagers or college age, this question: “What did you do right?”
Time and again, this was the advice we got: Take your kids camping!
They would say things like… The family that camps together stays together.
My wife isn’t a big camper. Camping for her is staying at a Holiday Inn. But she was up for the challenge and I’ll never forget our first camping trip.
We bought the tent. We got the sleeping bags. I got a propane stove. We had the camping chairs, the hammock, the whole nine yards.
We were living in Atlanta at the time and we found this beautiful place to go camping in the north Georgia mountains.
We get everything loaded up in my truck and I’ll never forget arriving at our campsite. Will is about 7 years old, Gracie is 5, Emma is 2. The wind is blowing about 20 mph. Will is too young to really help me. Alisha is staying in the car with the girls. Right off the bat, this is not going so well.
I finally get everything set up and we get everyone into the tent for the night.
Then, the temperature dropped. We weren’t prepared for it to be so cold. Alisha is worried Emma is going to die from hypothermia. I’m getting a head cold and I can barely breathe.
All night long, neither me or Alisha sleep and I’m just praying we don’t die from the cold or a bear attack and if we survive the night, that Alisha won’t kill me for dragging our family out into the middle of nowhere to go camping.
We survived the night in the tent and… that week we made some wonderful memories.
Why? Because…
The family that camps together stays together.
We’ve never gone camping and NOT come home with stories to tell.
There’s something about being together, being with each other, going through some kind of adversity and coming out the other side, creating those shared memories and remembering those funny stories that creates an unbreakable bond in a family.
There’s something about camping that makes a family a family.
Some People Will Never Go Tent Camping
But a lot of people never go camping precisely because they know there’s difficulty involved.
It’s not easy to set up a tent or sleep in a tent. It’s not easy having to hike a trail in the middle of the night to find a bathroom. It’s not easy having to cook all your meals over a camp fire or a tiny stove.
The difficulty keeps a lot of people away from experiencing the blessing of camping.
Now… you don’t HAVE to go tent camping to become a great family (although I do recommend it!). But every family benefits from going through an experience together that gives them the opportunity to face adversity, come out the other side, create shared memories and stories that give you an unbreakable bond.
But what happens when we avoid the difficulty is we miss the opportunity to become a family.
When God Took Israel Tent Camping
So when God decided to make Israel His chosen people, he took them tent camping.
Here’s how it happened.
The Pharaoh of Egypt said…
9 …“Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. 10 We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.”
11 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor.
12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. 13 So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy.
This is a pivotal moment in Israel’s history.
The God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, seems distant. They are living as slaves in a foreign land. There’s a new Pharaoh in charge and he is oppressing them with hard labor and unfair task masters. He’s having his soldiers come into their homes and take their baby boys away to be murdered. They are crying out to God for mercy, for help, for salvation.
They are asking: Does God hear us when we pray?
Does God hear us when we pray?
Exodus 2.23-25
23 Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.
If you have ever wondered if the God of the Bible sees what you’re going through and hears you when you pray for help… this story is for you.
God heard the cries of his people and he knew it was time to act.
So God chooses a man by the name of Moses to be the one to lead his people out of Egypt. He meets him at a burning bush and he says…
Exodus 3.7-10
7 “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering.
God sees.
God hears.
God knows what you’re going through.
8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey… 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
Moses is hesitant, even resistant.
He asks God, If I go to the people of Israel and tell them that the God of their ancestors has sent me to them to lead them out of Egypt, and they ask me… What is his name? What do I say.
Then God reveals his name to Moses. He says, “I AM who I AM. The Great I AM!”
Moses eventually he goes to Pharaoh, but first he goes to the leaders of Israel to tell them what’s about to happen.
Let My People Go
This is one of the most EPIC stories of all time. It is the defining story of the people of Israel. And, it is our story too.
4.29 Then Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and called all the elders of Israel together.
31 …When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
When Israel becomes aware that God has seen their suffering, that he knows what they’re going through, that he has heard their prayers and their cries for help, they respond in worship.
Moses goes to Pharaoh and delivers the message from God, “Let my people go.”
But Pharaoh is unwilling to let the Israelites go. Why would he? His entire empire is built on the backs of their slave labor!
Moses goes to Pharaoh over and over again with this message from God: “Let my people go.” And each time Pharaoh denies the request, a plague is sent over all of Egypt.
God in his mercy gives Pharaoh every opportunity to release His people before the plague comes, but Pharaoh’s heart is hardened.
Nine plagues come and go, each one a sign that YHWH is the one true God. He has no rival, He has no equal. Each plague a direct assault the gods of the Egyptians proving over and over again that their gods are not gods at all. There is only one God. And He is the God of Israel.
The First Passover
Then comes the announcement of the tenth plague. Moses tells Pharaoh…
Exodus 11.4-8
4 …“This is what the Lord says: At midnight tonight I will pass through the heart of Egypt. 5 All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest servant girl who grinds the flour. Even the firstborn of all the livestock will die. 6 Then a loud wail will rise throughout the land of Egypt, a wail like no one has heard before or will ever hear again. 7 But among the Israelites it will be so peaceful that not even a dog will bark. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites. 8 All the officials of Egypt will run to me and fall to the ground before me. ‘Please leave!’ they will beg. ‘Hurry! And take all your followers with you.’ Only then will I go!”
After telling Pharaoh what would happen if he did not release the people of God, Moses has instructions from God for the people of Israel.
Exodus 12.3-13
3 Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household.
7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal.
11b Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover. 12 On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord! 13 But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.
That night, there was weeping all across the land of Egypt. But not where the Israelites lived. They were spared because of the sacrifice and the blood of a passover lamb.
Later, John the Baptist would point crowds of people to Jesus and announce: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” – John 1.29
If you’re looking for Jesus in Exodus, if you’re watching for the Red Thread… there it is. But this is not the only place.
That night in Egypt, Pharaoh himself suffered the death of his first born son. And when he did he summoned Moses and Aaron to come. And when they arrived Pharaoh told them to take the people of Israel and leave.
Israel left in a hurry that night. God led them out of Egypt guiding them with a cloud by day and with a fire by night. The presence of God was WITH them every step of the way.
The Red Sea: Watch Yahweh Yeshua You
As they approached the Red Sea they realized Pharaoh had changed his mind. Now their stuck! The Red Sea is uncrossable before them and Pharaoh is coming with his army behind them.
Moses tells the people…
Exodus 14.13-14
13 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD RESCUE you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
I’ve pointed this out before but in case you missed it, highlight, underline, screenshot that word RESCUE. It’s the word DELIVER. In the original Hebrew language it’s the word, “yeshua.”
If you don’t know the word yeshua, it’s the Hebrew name for Jesus! Mary would have called her son, Yeshua! His friends and followers all knew Jesus as Yeshua from Nazareth!
And Moses tells the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch YHWH YEHSUA you today.”
If you’re looking for Jesus, if you’re searching for the Red Thread… there it is again! But that’s not the only place!
If you have ever wondered if the God of the Bible sees what you’re going through and hears you when you pray for help… God sees. God hears. God knows what you’re going through.
God in His faithfulness makes a way where there seems to be no way. And in one of the most memorable moments in Israel’s history God divides the waters of the Red Sea and Israel passes through on dry ground.
The Egyptians follow them into the river bed, but when the last Israelite steps out of the water the river is released and the entire Egyptian army along with Pharaoh are washed away!
When this happens… Israel worships God for his deliverance, for his YESHUA!
Sinai
And then, God leads them to Mount Sinai! And at Mount Sinai something happened that changed everything forever.
Exodus 24.15-16
15 Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it. 16 And the glory of the LORD SETTLED down on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from inside the cloud.
The GLORY of the LORD SETTLED down on Mount Sinai.
All the people of Israel are at the bottom of the mountain watching this moment in awe and wonder.
That word “settled” is the little Hebrew word “shakan.” It literally means to settle, reside, or… to pitch a tent!
It won’t be long before God gives Israel instructions to build a tent, a tabernacle, to take with them wherever they go. And wherever they go, God will go and his presence will settle over, shakan over, this traveling tent.
But at this point in the story, Mount Sinai IS THE TENT.
Here on it’s peak where Moses meets with YHWH is the Holy of Holies. The slopes of Mount Sinai are like the Holy Place where only a few can go. The area around the mountain at the base is like the area around the tabernacle where all of Israel is welcome to come and worship.
When Israel constructs the Tabernacle, it will be a portable Mount Sinai. God’s glory will fill it. The same cloud that surrounds Mount Sinai will fill the Tabernacle. God would be WITH his people.
The Tent
Exodus 40.1-2, 34
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Set up the Tabernacle on the first day of the new year.
34 Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle. 35 Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled (shakan) down over it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.
Wherever Israel went, the presence of God was WITH THEM, abiding with them, dwelling among them.
If you have ever wondered if the God of the Bible sees what you’re going through and hears you when you pray for help… God sees. God hears. God knows what you’re going through.
And if you’re looking for Jesus, if you’re searching for the Red Thread, there it is again!
One of Jesus’ closest friends and followers, the Apostle John, would later write…
John 1.14 (NIV+NASB)
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus came and He tabernacled among us. He shakan-ed among us. He pitched his tent among us.
And if you want some really Good news… Jesus didn’t just come to pitch his tent AMONG us, to dwell AMONG us… that little Greek word translated AMONG can also be translated as IN.
Jesus came to pitch his tent IN us. To dwell IN US. The Apostle Paul would later write, “Christ lives IN YOU!” – Colossians 1.27
Tent Camping with Jesus
So are you ready to go tent camping with Jesus?
Because he’s ready to go tent camping with you.
Or perhaps better said, He’s ready to set up his tent IN YOU. To dwell in you. Abide in you. Deliver you. Settle in you. And welcome you into full relationship with Himself.
If you have ever wondered if the God of the Bible sees what you’re going through and hears you when you pray for help… God sees. God hears. God knows what you’re going through.
Spring Break is coming! Our family has to make a decision about whether we’re going to go tent camping again or not. The family that camps together stays together!
That’s a decision we have to make. But there’s a decision that you have to make as well.
Easter is also coming. Have you been baptized? If not, can I suggest you make the decision to get baptized on Easter Sunday? What better day to be resurrected with Christ?
If you do, when you do, this is what happens… The Spirit of the Living God will live in you. Jesus will pitch his tent in you, settle into your heart and into your life.
By the way, the God of the Bible does see what you’re going through and He hears you when you pray for help.
God’s answer to your every prayer is His presence!
His answer to your prayer is His presence! His answer to your cries for help is HIMSELF.
Maybe you need to buy a tent for Spring Break. Or maybe you need to allow Jesus to pitch His tent in your heart.
Today, if you wondering where God is in the middle of a difficult time in your life and you need someone to pray with… Elders
Breath Prayer
So here’s the Breath Prayer I want to encourage you to pray this week:
Yahweh, Yeshua, the Great I AM, deliver me and remind me daily of your presence with me.
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