A Broken Heart and a Shining Face
3. Glory: God’s presence dwells with the people (Ex. 34:29–35; 39:32–40:38)
The Book of Exodus opens with Moses seeing God’s glory in the burning bush (3:1–5), and it closes with the glory of God descending into the camp and filling the tabernacle. The presence of the glory of God in the camp of Israel was not a luxury; it was a necessity. It identified Israel as the people of God and set them apart from the other nations, for the tabernacle was consecrated by the glory of God (29:43–44). Other nations had sacred buildings, but they were empty. The tabernacle of Israel was blessed with the presence of the glory of God.
God’s glory reflected (Ex. 34:29–35; 2 Cor. 3). Moses had been fasting and praying in the presence of God for eighty days, and he had seen a glimpse of God’s glory. Is it any wonder that he had a shining face? He didn’t realize that he had “absorbed” some of the glory and was reflecting it from his countenance.7 Because of this glory, the people were afraid to come near him, but he summoned them to come and they talked as before. However, after he was finished speaking to the people, Moses put on a veil to cover the glory.
Why did Moses wear a veil? Not because he was frightening the people, but because the glory was fading away (2 Cor. 3:13). The Jews saw this glory as something wonderful and exciting, but what would they say if they knew it was fading away? Who wants to follow a leader who is losing his glory? So Moses would go into the tent of meeting to talk with God, and the glory would return, but then he would wear the veil so the people wouldn’t see the glory disappear.
In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul made several applications of this remarkable event. First, he pointed out that the glory of the Mosaic legal system was fading away, but that the glory of the Gospel of God’s grace was getting more glorious (vv. 7–11). This was his answer to the legalists who taught that obedience to the Law plus faith in Christ was God’s way of salvation (Acts 15:1). Why believe in something when its glory is vanishing?
He also applied the event to the lost Jews of his day whose hearts were covered by a veil of unbelief so they couldn’t see the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 3:14–16). The only way to remove that veil was to believe the Word and trust in Jesus Christ.
Finally, he applied Moses’ experience to Christians who by faith see the glory of Jesus Christ in the Word and experience a spiritual transformation (vv. 17–18). This is why Christians read the Bible and meditate on it, because when the child of God looks into the Word of God and sees the Son of God, he or she is transformed by the Spirit of God into the image of God for the glory of God.8
God’s glory resident (39:32–40:38). The people of Israel had no idea what Moses had experienced on the mountain and how close they had come to being rejected by God and destroyed. Never underestimate the spiritual power of a dedicated man or woman who knows how to intercede with God. One of our greatest needs today is for intercessors who can lay hold of God’s promises and trust God to work in mighty power (Isa. 59:16; 62:1; 64:1–7).
The work on the tabernacle and its furnishings was now completed, so the workers brought it all to Moses for his inspection. It would have been foolish to erect the tabernacle and put the furnishings and utensils in place only to discover that the workers had made serious mistakes. The word “commanded” is used eighteen times in Exodus 39 and 40 to remind us that the workers did what God had told them to do. Moses was a faithful servant who did all that God told him to do (Heb. 3:1–6).
The work was approved and the building was constructed (Ex. 40:1–8, 17–19, 33). This chapter summarizes the dedication of the priests, which was already described in Exodus 28–29, as well as the dedication of the building and its contents. Moses personally saw to it that every piece of furniture and every utensil was anointed and placed where it ought to be. God could not and would not dwell in the tabernacle unless everything was done according to the pattern He showed Moses on the mount (25:8–9, 40; Heb. 8:5; 9:9).9
Too many sincere people have tried to do God’s work their own way and then have asked God to bless it. But ministry doesn’t work that way. First we find out what God wants us to do, and we do it to glorify Him. If we obey His will and seek to honor His name, then He will come and bless the work with His powerful presence.
After everything and everybody associated with the tabernacle was dedicated to the Lord, then the glory of God filled the tabernacle and abode there. The Hebrew word translated “abode” in Exodus 40:35 (“settled,” niv) is transliterated shekinah in English, “the abiding presence of God.” (See 24:16 and 25:8.) So powerful was the presence of God’s glory that Moses wasn’t able to enter the tabernacle!
When you read Jewish history, you discover that the glory that once dwelt in the tabernacle departed from it when the priests and the people sinned against the Lord (1 Sam. 4:21–22). Ichabod means “the glory is gone.” When Solomon dedicated the temple, God’s glory once again came to dwell with His people (1 Kings 8:10–11), but once again their sins drove God’s glory away (Ezek. 8:4; 9:3; 10:4, 18; 11:23).
The next time the glory of God came to earth was in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14). In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint), the word “abode” in Exodus 40:35 is the Greek word used in Luke 1:35 and translated “overshadowed.” Mary’s virgin womb was a holy of holies where the glory of God dwelt in the person of God’s Son. What did the world do with this glory? Nailed it to a cross!
Where is God’s glory today? The body of every true believer is the temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19–20), but so is the local church (3:10–23) and the church universal (Eph. 2:20–22). When Solomon finished the temple, the glory of God moved in, but when God finishes building His church, He will move the church out! Then we will share God’s glory in heaven for all eternity! “And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light” (Rev. 21:22, nkjv).
God today doesn’t live in buildings (Acts 7:48–50; 1 Kings 8:7). Buildings are dedicated to God to be used as tools for His work and His workers. But God does dwell in His people, and it’s our responsibility to glorify God individually (1 Cor. 6:20) and collectively (14:23–25). What a tragedy it would be if the glory departed and we had to write “Ichabod” on our buildings. How much better it would be if, like Moses, we did everything according to the heavenly pattern so that God’s glory would feel at home in our midst.
AFTERWORD
As we’ve studied Exodus, we’ve traveled with Moses from the glory of God in the burning bush to the glory of God in the tabernacle. What are the basic truths we’ve learned?
1. God’s purpose for His people is freedom. He doesn’t want us to be in bondage to self, sin, or the world.
2. God’s purpose in freedom is that His people manifest responsible conduct and service. Freedom isn’t the privilege of doing whatever we want to do. It’s the opportunity to do whatever God wants us to do.
3. Responsible freedom (maturity) comes as we experience trials and testings and trust God to see us through. Complaining when life becomes difficult is a mark of spiritual immaturity.
4. God wants to dwell with us in a deeper way (John 14:21–24.) Our sins grieve Him and He withdraws His fellowship and blessing when we rebel. We have a heavenly Intercessor and Advocate in Jesus Christ, and we can confess our sins to Him and be forgiven (1 John 1:5–2:2).
5. Believers today are a kingdom of priests whose first responsibility is to worship and please God. Everything we are and everything we do depends on that. As priests, we must minister to one another and to a lost world.
6. The most important goal in the Christian life is to be able to stand before God one day and say sincerely, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given me to do” (John 17:4, nkjv).
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