When did the term, “man cave” come into vogue? Men, by nature, it seems, have the need for a “cave” where they can escape to spend time alone. There must be an equivalent “woman cave,” for I believe that women have more need to escape the hassles of life than men do. When new houses are designed, do they factor in a special room where people can retreat for “alone” time?
It is interesting that God wanted his own special tent—a getaway tent—that was set up outside the rest of the camp. Was this some kind of a “God cave” where God retreated to get some peace of mind after dealing with the band of unruly, complaining Israelites?
Let’s read about God’s special tent (Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5-9,28).
“The tent, which was called the meeting tent, Moses used to pitch at some distance away outside the camp. Anyone who wished to consult the Lord would go to this meeting tent outside the camp.”
God’s getaway place, the tent of meeting, was not so much a place for him to go to calm his nerves, but a place for the people to go when they needed a getaway place—a place not for them to be alone, but to be alone with God—to have a meeting with him. This was a reminder that they were never alone.
I notice the word, “anyone.” It wasn’t set aside just for Moses, Joshua, and the sons of Levi. Each person had the right to consult God directly, even though they received most of their communication from him through Moses. I wonder if other “gods” of nomadic tribes had special tents for meeting people. Every Israelite had the privilege of going into the tent of meeting to unburden themselves before God. How unique!
When Moses went into the tent to be alone with God, unusual things happened.
“Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at the entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and worship at the entrance of their own tents.”
Moses was not just another member of the “anyone” group. He was an anointed leader who led the whole community in worship. God honored Moses’ authority by moving down from the sky and standing at the entrance of the tent. The people honored Moses’ authority by standing in reverence when Moses entered the tent, and they honored God by worshipping him when he came down and stood in front of the tent. Worship was not something that just the leader did. Each person was expected to join in and worship at their own tents, while Moses consulted with God.
“The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another.”
Wow! The mighty God of Israel sat down, almost as Moses’ equal, and chatted with him. It was more like a meeting of friends than one between a “god” and one of his subjects. Does this give us insight into how much God longs to be close to his children?
God still wants to pitch his tent among us, so that we can visit him and have face-to-face talks with him, as Moses did. Where is our “tent of meeting?” Many churches have small chapels where people can go to be alone with God. Many have special places in their homes where people can be alone with God. We all need a “tent of meeting.”
I’m going to suggest that you add a special “tent of meeting” to your house. I will call it the “arms of Mary.” Little children know well that their mother is a portable “meeting tent” for them whom they can visit anytime they want—whether at home or away. We big children forget how much each of us needs a mother to consult whenever we want to. Mary’s arms are always open to “anyone who flees to her protection, implores her help, or seeks her intercession.”
We don’t need a special room for this meeting tent. In any circumstance we can close our eyes and see ourselves visiting her. Some carry rosary beads in their pockets as their entrance place to Mary’s tent.
August is another “Marian” month. We have at least three feast days to honor Mary this month—Our Lady of the Snows, the Assumption of Mary, and the Queenship of Mary. I wonder what would happen if we made a resolution to visit Mary’s “tent” every day during August? If you’ve read about the terms of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s (his feast day, by the way, is August 14) consecration to Mary, you’ll remember that one of them is that he promised to have “recourse” to her in each and every issue of his life. Wouldn’t this be a great habit for us to develop?
“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (Ps 103:13).
