Exodus 27:9-21: a reflection

9“You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side. 10Its pillars shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11Likewise for the length of the north side, there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, and its pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of bronze; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver. 12For the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. 13The width of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. 14The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15For the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. 16For the gate of the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; their pillars four, and their sockets four. 17All the pillars of the court around shall be filleted with silver; their hooks of silver, and their sockets of bronze. 18The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, and the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets of bronze. 19All the instruments of the tabernacle in all its service, and all its pins, and all the pins of the court, shall be of bronze. 20“You shall command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually. 21In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the covenant, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute forever throughout their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

In the instructions for the tabernacle, God specifies the courtyard: a defined space, enclosed with hangings of fine linen on posts, marking off the area around the tabernacle. It was a boundary, distinguishing the sacred space of God's dwelling from the common ground around it, an ordered court set apart for the worship and service of God. The care given to defining and enclosing this space reflects its purpose: this was holy ground, set apart, not to be treated as common.

Notice the value of set-apart space in Israel's worship. God did not leave the place of his dwelling undefined, blending into the surrounding camp; he marked it off, enclosed it, set it apart. There was a boundary between the holy and the common, a space consecrated to God. This reflects something true: that devotion to God is served by setting apart, by marking off space and time as consecrated to him rather than letting everything blur into the ordinary and the common.

That principle has value for our own lives with God. In a busy, crowded life where everything can blur together, there is wisdom in setting apart space and time for God, marking off consecrated ground, a place, a time, a rhythm devoted to him and guarded from the common press of everything else. Just as the tabernacle had its set-apart court, we do well to set apart space and time for God, boundaries that protect our devotion from being crowded out. Consecrate space for God in your life, a guarded time and place for worship and prayer, set apart from the common, so that your devotion has room to breathe.

Lord, you marked off a courtyard for the tabernacle, a defined and enclosed space set apart from the common ground around it, consecrated to your worship and service. Teach me the value of set-apart space in my own life with you. In a busy, crowded life where everything blurs together, help me set apart space and time for you, marking off consecrated ground, a place, a time, a rhythm devoted to you and guarded from the common press of everything else. Keep my devotion from being crowded out by the ordinary. Help me consecrate space for you, a guarded time and place for worship and prayer, so that my life with you has room to breathe. Let me honor the boundary between the holy and the common.