The Original
He was learning woodwork and he wanted to make a
present for his grandad. Grandma suggested he make a wooden footstool
exactly like the one she used. She said grandad would like it and he would
use it all the time.
Carefully they drew up a plan of the measurements, the type of wood he
should use and the decorations. Grandma showed him the original in the
lounge room where her footstool was a large part of her life. She and
grandad spent long evenings sitting by the fire and her footstool gave her
great comfort. She wanted grandad to have the same comfort she enjoyed.
The lad used his tools skillfully and felt inspired to make the footstool a
perfect replica of the original.
Many, many years later, family members still talked about the perfect
footstool the lad had made and how it was made according to the plan and the
pattern he had been shown.
It was a method the Lord used when he gave his people the very best they
could have in lifestyle and comfort.
He said to Moses, ‘Make it exactly according to the design I show you,
the design for the tabernacle and all its furniture,’ and he showed
Moses the original tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. Exodus 25:8-22.
The Ark housed the two tables of stone the Lord himself had written on.
Then He gave Moses precise measurements, told him the type of wood and gave
detailed instructions about the decorations. Like grandad’s footstool, it
was central to the comfort and lifestyle of the Lord’s people.
Long after the death of the Saviour, John the Revelator on the Isle of
Patmos, saw ‘God’s sanctuary in heaven was opened, and within his
sanctuary was seen the ark of his covenant.’ Revelation 11:19.
The Lord gives us the best in lifestyle and comfort and it begins with the
peace and stability of the instructions he wrote on stone.
We do not know what became of the replica Moses built but John shares the
original with all who follow Christ.
Elizabeth Price