GOD ‘DESIRES’ to ‘DWELL’ among HIS PEOPLE!
January
27 Bible Reading: Exodus Chapters 28-30
GOD ‘DESIRES’ to ‘DWELL’ among HIS PEOPLE!
"I will dwell among the children of
Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God,
who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am
the Lord their God." (Exodus 29:45-46)
When God
commenced His creation of the earth and all the plants, animals, fishes and
birds, He saw that it was good (Gen.
1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25) but not good enough.
So, God made man in His own image and likeness, and remarked that it was very good (Gen. 1:31). God then
situated the man He had created in a garden eastward in Eden (Gen. 2:8, 15) and
gave Him everything he needed for his
daily sustenance including a companion/helper for fellowship (Gen. 2:18-25).
Through it all, God wanted to have a close fellowship with the man (Adam) and
the woman (Eve). However, due to disobedience and sin, Adam and Eve were driven
out of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:24) and God’s desire for fellowship was
temporarily put on hold.
The descendants
of Adam and Eve became wicked to that extend that God had to destroy everyone
through the flood except for Noah and his family (Gen. 6-9). The descendants of
Noah became proud and sinful again, so God had to scatter them all over the
earth after confusing their language (Gen. 10-11). From among them, God chose
Abraham who obeyed His call (unlike Adam), and separated His descendants from
Egypt in order to have the close fellowship that He had always longed for. This
is the backdrop of the key passage for today (Exodus 29:45-46) where God
expressed His desire to dwell among His people and be their God – Ruler,
Sustainer and Guide.
What we
learn subsequently that due to sin, pride, unbelief and rebellion, God could
never truly fulfill His desire to dwell among His people. In the fullness of
time, God sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, who came to earth and lived
among us. "And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) However, soon
after His own people crucified Him on the cross, but before ascending to heaven
Jesus promised us that He will be with us “always,
even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20b). Jesus also promised to send us
the Holy Spirit who will dwell with us forever: "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper,
that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He
dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come
to you." (John 14:16-18)
True to His
promise, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost to the one hundred
and twenty people waiting in the upper room for the Promise of the Father (Acts
1:4-5; 2:1-4). Today, the gift of the Holy Spirit is available to all who are
willing to repent from their sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Are you willing to allow God to dwell in
your heart and have an intimate fellowship with you every moment of your life?
