How CAN the ‘GLORY of GOD’ fill our LIVES?
January
30 Bible Reading: Exodus Chapters 37-40
How CAN the ‘GLORY of GOD’ fill our LIVES?
"So Moses finished the work. Then the
cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the
tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because
the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the
tabernacle." (Exodus 40:33-35)
The Tabernacle of Meeting was the location
that God chose to meet with the children of Israel as they traveled through the
wilderness to the Promised Land. It was always God’s desire to dwell with His
children in their midst. However, God had very
specific instructions regarding how Moses and the children of Israel had to
build the Tabernacle, the Artisans
who would build the Tabernacle (Exodus 31:1-11; 35:30-35), the Offerings for the tabernacle (Exodus
35:4-9) and all the articles in the
Tabernacle (Exodus 35:10-19; 38:21-31) including the Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1-10; 37:25-28; 38:1-7), the Bronze Laver (vv. 17-21; 38:8), the Holy Anointing Oil (vv. 22-33), the Incense (vv. 34-38), the Ark of the Testimony (Exodus 37:1-9),
the Table for the Showbread (vv.
10-16), the Gold Lampstand (vv.
17-24) and the Court of the Tabernacle
(Exodus 38:9-20).
We see that
the children of Israel (Exodus 39:32, 42-43) under the leadership of Moses
(Exodus 40:16) did everything exactly as
God had commanded them. They did not add anything on their own or failed in
any area concerning God’s specification for building the Tabernacle. After
Moses finished his work, we see God put
His stamp of approval upon the Tabernacle by allowing His glory to fill the
tabernacle and cover it completely with His presence (Exodus 40:34-35).
Everything
that God did concerning the children of Israel is a shadow of what He does in
our lives today. God dwelt among the children of Israel first through the Tabernacle of Meeting during the desert
wanderings, then through Solomon’s Temple built when the children of Israel
settled in Canaan, thereafter through Zerubbabel’s Temple built on the ruins of
Solomon’s Temple that was finally rebuilt by King Herod in 46 years (John 2:20)
that existed during Jesus’ lifetime. When Jesus died on the cross of Calvary,
he ended the means of how God would dwell among His children by tearing apart
the veil of separation in the Temple (Luke 23:45b). This Temple would be
totally destroyed in 70 A.D. just as Jesus had prophesied (Luke 19:41-44).
While Jesus
lived on the earth, He was the Temple of God (John 2:19, 21). Today, our bodies
are the Temples of God as the Spirit of God dwells in us (1 Cor. 3:16). We have
the solemn responsibility of keeping our bodies pure and holy knowing that God
dwells in us just as He dwelt in the Tabernacle
of Meeting during the time of Moses. We
should be careful to obey ALL the commandments of God revealed to us through
His Holy Word. Then only we can
expect the glory of God to fill our lives every day!
