God asks Moses to build him a tent - the "tabernacle", so he can be present with his people. Now God gives instructions on the construction of the courtyard.
In rural places, the front porch is synonymous with hospitality. It is where people sit and socialize with their neighbours, where people chat and share life.
God also wants a front yard. Besides being the area where people prepare to worship God by making offerings and washing, it is also the place where offering meats are eaten, and where non-Hebrews can observe worship from a distance.
God's court yard is huge. It is almost one quarter of a football field. God wants enough room for everyone.
Write
Think about your faith story: how have you experienced God's hospitality? Whose welcoming "courtyard" positively contributed to your experience of God?
In your life presently, what part of your life is a welcoming courtyard for people God places in your life? Who are the people who have been lingering in your courtyard? Who can you invite in to it?
Whose courtyard have you been lingering in?
Pray
What
is God saying to you today? What's Good News to you?
Talk to God about your experience of godly hospitality. Thank God for his ready welcome for you, and for the people enacts his hospitality to you.
Pray about the welcome in your courtyard. Pray for the people who have been lingering in your courtyard. Ask God whom else he is wanting you to invite into your courtyard, and for the wisdom and opportunity to show them God's welcome for them..
Pray for the people whose courtyard has been a safe place for you. Thank God for them.
Pray for an experience of God's love, grace and mercy in the way he welcomes you, and the way he uses your hsopitality to bless the people in your world.