Setting up tents

I never know from one day to the next where God will take me on this adventure of finding fabric in the scriptures...today we are in Jeremiah 10: 20.

“My tent is destroyed and all my ropes are broken. My sons have gone from me and are no more, and there is no one to stretch out my tent again or to set up my curtains.”

Well, that is depressing! Let's see what he is talking about. Jeremiah had no family, so these aren't his sons. These are the last of the Judeans being finally foisted from their home once and for all. The armies have overtaken them and they are fleeing for their lives. Their families are separated from them or have died. Their homes, even in the city, were reverted back to tents...they were not living in the buildings that had been destroyed during the first run-through of the enemy. And now even the tents were torn down and the ropes broken or cut so as to be worthless to the cause of holding up their shelters. These tents are not like our one-piece things for camping...they were a series of curtains strung together so they could be rolled up and moved...a series of poles, ropes, and panels of cloth to shade, to keep out the driving winds and dirt (like a sand-blaster, soil blown by the wind stings!), and to keep a fire going inside. These were not small things like tepees, but more like the large tents used at fairs for sheltering people eating or watching entertainment. They were big for tents, and the curtains would separate the large structure into rooms. They were quite ornately embroidered or appliqued if you had any money.

Now picture this thing being destroyed by marauders. They come and slice holes in the tent, then cut the ropes. The poles are broken and used as weapons against you. You flee, the family heads for the hills and doesn't come back. What is a person to do? How can they weave new cloth, make new rope, make new curtains, and try to make a new home all by oneself? Trying to set up any tent is usually at least a two-man job, at least. One of these things, even a small one, would take more than one person to set up.

We Christians are like this. We can not build our lives and homes alone. We need others who know how this whole building process works, knows how to weave or spin rope or hook it all together. God is the master builder, but He puts us to work with each other to protect each one of us. When we are faithful to trust Him, He surrounds us with fellow believers who help to build us up, to help us build, and to shelter us from the attacks of the enemies around us. Those who think they do not need fellowship of other believers, strong and true to God's Word, will never get their tent up, let alone restore it when the enemy of our souls gets in and wreaks havoc. The ropes and panels must be stretched out. There must be tension to keep the tent standing and to hold things in place. Those who avoid the pulling process and the tension that must be applied to get everything in place will not have a tent that stands. It will hang limp if we can even get it off the ground. If the ropes get tight, cutting them will not help. Once a rope breaks, it is worthless. New rope must be employed. We do have a tendency to cut our ropes, or let others saw on them as we run the other direction, unable to fight off the destroyers in our lives.

We need each other. We need to shelter one another with the tents, give them privacy with the curtains, and pull the ropes to keep them aligned and properly in place. We are building the Kingdom one tent at a time. If we are able, let no man mourn that he is alone with no one to help him build.