HE TABERNACLED by Bobbie Ann Cole

 “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His glory, the glory of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 TLV)

Don’t you love John Chapter One, starting with verse 1:1 and how it echoes Genesis 1:1? John’s point is that God spoke the world into life. This Word was not just there in the beginning. It was there before the beginning, as the power and impetus that created the heavens and the earth. He was the Spirit hovering over the deep.

Now that Word had become flesh and John is excited to tell us all about God’s Son, Jesus, something we all who are in faith have been thinking about over Christmas – how the Word came to us in the form of a human baby.

The word ‘tabernacled’ in John 1:14, that you may see as ‘dwelt’, in your Bible, has long fascinated me because it seems such an odd choice of noun to turn into a verb. But at the same time a super expressive one. What does it mean?

The Greek is eskenosen, from the verb skenoo, (which is Semitic in origin - i.e. like Hebrew). It means ‘to have a tent’ or ‘to pitch a tent’. Immediately, we see the temporary angle, for tents are temporary dwellings. The Word became flesh to dwell with us for a season.

That Word was also holy, like the Tabernacle tent of worship the Children of Israel carried on their desert wanderings. God told Moses, “Have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them,” (Ex. 25:8). The Hebrew b’tochem, translated here as ‘among’ can be both ‘in their midst’ or ‘within them’.

Jesus, holy in our hearts and spirits, came to dwell among us as flesh and blood for a season, but also within us, for the duration.

As a man, he became like a sukkah, a temporary shelter for the Jewish festival of Sukkot or Tabernacles. A sukkah is a vulnerable type of dwelling, with a roof, but you must be able to see the sky, and walls, but not four of them. The Feast of Tabernacles has a dual purpose:

·       to emphasize the fragility of life and our total dependence on God

·       to celebrate the harvest

An old hymn asks, “Who am I, that for my sake my Lord should take frail flesh and die?” Indeed, that is the question. And the answer would seem to lie in his Hebrew name, Yeshua, which means ‘Salvation’.

As to celebrating the harvest. Jesus’ coming was timely. “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields,” he said, “for they are already white for harvest!” (John 4:35 NKJV).

He showed us how to reap that harvest by his actions and teachings while he tabernacled with us here on earth.

A new cohort of Bobbie’s BOOK COMPASS COURSE starts on Jan 10. There is also a self-paced option. Coming soon - Book Compass Kickstart – a done for you bible of every aspect of your book: content, time management, publication plan and marketing as you write. You will know your ideal reader and how to approach them.  This course will leave you ready to write with ease. Contact bobbie@bobbieanncole.com.

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“An extremely thorough ‘road map’ to the process of preparing to write and publish a book. Bobbie encourages you to engage with every step of the process from considering who your ideal reader is to how to produce a considered outline and analysing similar titles in your genre, and how to come up with a marketing strategy. The material is excellent and thought-provoking, and her feedback highly encouraging.” Bess Twiston-Davies