Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for the Daily Challenges. Yesterday we read the story of the Israelites working together to build something called the Tabernacle, a tent that would move with them as they travelled, and the focal point of their worship.

We saw how the Israelites communicated God’s worth in how they built this.  I asked you yesterday to think about the five love languages, and how they’re expressed by Israel here.

They sacrificed materials – previous metals, textiles, oils and more.  You can imagine the poignancy of that moment, when the Israelites had just recently sacrificed all kinds of gold earrings to make a golden calf to worship like they had seen in Egypt.  Now they were sacrificing even more, all their finest things, for the God who would actually meet them and know them through this tabernacle.

Now how did slaves get so much gold?  When the Israelites were escaping from Egypt, it was only because God had done susch terrible things, called plagues, to the Egyptians.  As the Israelites were finally allowed to leave, the Egyptians were so thrilled and afraid of their return that they gave them all kinds of gold and valuables.

We saw the acts of service – with the finest craftsmen working together to build this.

When built, this would a place where people would sing and pray to God, the words of affection.  It would be where they would spend time in God’s presence, pausing their economic activity to be with God.  They couldn’t touch God, but there would be lots of tactile expressions of worship – with animals being slaughtered to atone for the people’s sins, grain being brought in for the same, and people’s physical movements expressing their worship and love for God.  That about covers the five love languages.

The tabernacle, and later a permanent temple, was the place where people would encounter God, and their attitude would be one of worship and love, showing God’s worth in their lives.

But why? Why was God worthy of worship?  We’ll look at that tomorrow, but first, think about that yourself.

Question: Why was God worthy of the people’s worship?  What had he done for Israel that they would bother showing such love?