Psalm 15:1  
The earthly tent
    Let’s go back to the two opening questions; firstly, note that David does not say, “Who may enter or who may visit Your sacred tent?”  He asks who may dwell in that sacred tent, in other words, who may consider it to be their home? Who can dwell with God? This, as we have seen, would be considered nonsensical by his contemporaries who had no ambition to live in the sacred tent nor did they consider this a legal possibility. It was a place for religion, not a place for comfortable habitation. I guess many think of churches as buildings where religious ceremonies are transacted, unfortunately these buildings rarely suggest that they might be a suitable place where one may meet with God. But then our God declares candidly that He does not dwell in buildings made with hands! Acts 7:48. A tabernacle or tent is a moveable object, it is a picture of the people of God in this world. Today the tent is represented by every individual member of the church of Jesus Christ.  Christ Jesus has chosen to take up residence with us so, in a sense, David’s dilemma has been answered.  We do not have to go to some special site or building to dwell with God, He by His Holy Spirit has come to dwell with us!  Because of its migratory purpose no one can lodge in a tabernacle permanently and thus we groan with the inadequacy of this relationship while we are on earth. The Apostle Paul puts it like this in 2 Corinthians 5:1-5: -
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

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