Here’s another round of Sunday morning ukulele (complete with Eden’s cameo as she picks up her own tent…)
A few months ago our senior pastor was preaching through the passages in Exodus where God gives Moses instructions for building a tabernacle, so that a holy God can dwell among his people.
Someone in church suggested we have a go at this song by Ben Pakula, and the morning we did it, Peter exclaimed something like: “And that’s my entire series summed up!”
Seriously though, as you read the lyrics you’ll be amazed by the thorough biblical theology, taking the tabernacle theme from one end of the bible to the other:
1. There once was a tent, a very special tent,
a tent God came to live in.
His people would have died if they went too far inside
because a holy God can’t stand sinning! (uh oh!)
But God made a way that he could stay with them.
An animal died to pay for sin,
so once a year God would let a high priest in
to show his people he loved them.Chorus: Oh the love of the mighty mighty God,
the mighty mighty God who deals with sin
Oh the love of the mighty mighty God,
let’s turn and follow him!2. There once was a man, a very special man,
the fullness of God lived in him.
He gave his perfect life as a perfect sacrifice
like the animal that died for sinning!
You see, Jesus died to pay for all our sin,
and God’s holy anger went down on him.
He paid the price by death and suffering
but he did it because he loves us!3. There once was a tomb, a dark and gloomy tomb
the body of Jesus lay in.
But he gave his friends a scare when they came to find him there
And they discovered something so amazing?
You see Jesus rose! He conquered death and sin!
He’s the true high priest that God let in
to the tent in heaven where God has always been
and that’s how we know God loves him!4. Now we are a tent, a very special tent,
the Spirit of God lives with us
Because the Lord has died, we’ve all been justified
and given new life in Christ Jesus!
So let’s all live with Jesus as the king,
‘Cos he’s the mighty, mighty God who deals with sin
and when we die we’ll be in the tent with him
‘Cos we know that he loves us!© 2007 Ben Pakula
The original recording of “A Very Special Tent” is much better (complete with driving electric guitars), and is the title track for a kids album that covers a lot of helpful topics including justification by faith alone, salvation, the return of Jesus, mortification of sin, thanksgiving, assurance, and more.
Worth checking out!
(Note: Coming from a credobaptist perspective, I’d probably drop the last verse when singing it with younger children, or explain it carefully. In practice it’s also probably the song leader singing the verses, with the kids joining in for the chorus)
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