Discussion Questions: How would God\u2019s presence filling the tabernacle have affected your understanding of God\u2019s character; of His greatness? What does God\u2019s presence among the Israelites teach you about His desire to dwell among you and your fellow Christians? Consider yourself as a mini-tabernacle. In what ways do you see God\u2019s glory in your life? Is there any visible or sensory evidence of God\u2019s presence in and through you? Why or why not?<\/p>\n
Food for Thought:<\/p>\n
God filled the tabernacle with His presence. He had manifested His presence earlier to the Israelites through a pillar of cloud. A cloud was visible over the temporary tent of meeting outside the Israelite camp, where Moses and the Lord talked (Exodus 13:21; 33:7-11). But now something new and fantastic happened. God visibly showed up in the heart of the camp above the tabernacle, the newly constructed tent of meeting, as Exodus 40:34-35 indicates: \u201cThe cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Twice in these verses \u201cthe glory of the LORD\u201d is emphasized. The term translated \u201cglory\u201d carried ideas of both \u201cweightiness\u201d and \u201cbrightness.\u201d With reference to the God of Israel, glory referred to the overwhelming manifestation of His presence.<\/p>\n
Thus, Moses had a continuing desire to see God\u2019s glory (Exodus 33:18), even after conversing with God \u201cface to face\u201d in the tent outside the camp, \u201cjust as a man speaks with his friend\u201d (Exodus 33:11). In response to this request, God gave Moses a partial display of His glory — \u201cyou will see My back, but My face will not be seen\u201d (Exodus 33:23; see Exodus 33:19-34:8). Yet in Exodus 40, with God\u2019s glory filling the tabernacle, even Moses was unable to enter.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the brilliance subsided so that the priests could fulfill their responsibilities inside the tent of meeting. The cloud, however, remained above the tabernacle as permanent evidence of God\u2019s presence in the Israelite camp. The entire Book of Exodus concludes with this summary: \u201cThe Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey. If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the day it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey\u201d (Exodus 40:36-38).<\/p>\n
The entire tabernacle section of Exodus, but particularly these concluding verses, proves conclusively that God wanted to be with His people, and He wanted them to know that He was with them. The same is true today. The greatest evidence of this truth is the incarnation; God Himself took on human form.<\/p>\n
In Israel\u2019s history, the portable tabernacle was eventually followed by the permanent temple, both understood as the earthly dwelling place of the Lord. In fact, throughout the ancient world, a \u201ctemple\u201d was a god\u2019s house. Israel\u2019s temple never had a physical image of God as pagan temples did, but nevertheless functioned as the place, the sanctuary, where the Lord\u2019s holy presence was manifested.<\/p>\n
The apostle Paul took up this language to remind early Christians, and us, that we are indwelt by God\u2019s Spirit. Therefore, we are God\u2019s temple and so we manifest His presence to others in the world: \u201cDon\u2019t you yourselves know that you are God\u2019s sanctuary and that the Spirit of God lives in you?\u201d (1 Corinthians 3:16).<\/p>\n
In conclusion, consider the following ways in which Scripture helps us think about the concept of tabernacle as the dwelling place of God among His people:<\/p>\n
\u2022 The garden of Eden was a tabernacle where God manifested Himself to Adam and Eve;<\/p>\n
\u2022 The tent in the wilderness was a tabernacle where God demonstrated Himself to Israel;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Jesus was (and is) the preeminent tabernacle, where God displayed Himself in fullness to humanity;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Believers today are a tabernacle that manifests God\u2019s presence in the present age;<\/p>\n
\u2022 The New Jerusalem will be the tabernacle where God is forever present to His people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Discussion Questions: How would God\u2019s presence filling the tabernacle have affected your understanding of God\u2019s character; of His greatness? What does God\u2019s presence among the Israelites teach you about His desire to dwell among you and your fellow Christians? Consider yourself as a mini-tabernacle. In what ways do you see God\u2019s glory in your life? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1535,2481,2023,2480],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6847"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6847\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}