The cloud of glory

34 Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 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. 36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Exodus is about knowing the Lord - I am that I am. He will keep his covenant because he does not and cannot change.

He redeems his people - and through a very convoluted history, involving sin, grumbling, rebellion, forgiveness, intercession - God fulfills his covenant to be a God to Israel, and Israel will be his people.

The priests, the sacrifice, the tabernacle.

When the priests are consecrated, when the sacrifice is offered, then the glory cloud descends, and God dwells with his people.

When one entered the tabernacle, there was the sense of entering again into Eden.

The jewels and the gold and the fruit and the garden themes - and the cleansing water.

And the door facing east -

All of it pointing to God redeeming a people for himself - to dwell with them and be their god.

Psalm 121 NKJV

A Song of Ascents. 1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.

It means something to be the people of God, but we are not home yet. Our sinful nature impatiently seeks security and peace from that which only God can provide. We do not want to wait.

Israel, however, proved that they wanted to be just like all the other nations. They continually hardened their hearts, until finally the glory cloud of God’s presence was taken away

Ezekiel 10:18–19 NKJV

18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. 19 And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.

And the faithful in Israel mourned. God had issued his divorce decree. I will no longer be your God. I will no longer have mercy.

But even in this darkness, a light was shining dimly.

Haggai 2:6–8 NKJV

6 “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 3:1 NKJV

1 “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.

The promise, then - God has not forsaken his people, but the mediator of the covenant is coming. The LORD, who will again fill his temple with glory.

That glory-cloud descended upon the church when Jesus finished his work and sat at God’s right hand.

He sanctified himself

John 17:19 NKJV

19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Offered himself as the sacrifice:

Hebrews 7:27 NKJV

27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

As the fulfillment of

Psalm 40:6–8 NKJV

6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8 I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”

He is the priest AND the sacrifice.

In his life, up to the end, he was walking the steps of Aaron in Leviticus 39-40.

And in Acts 2, the glory cloud filled the temple of God.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NKJV

19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Now our access to God, and his love and care for us, are not mediated by sinful, earthly priests, but by our Great High Priest, who governs us by his word and spirit.

The spirit of truth given to each one of us, as long as we abide in Christ.

By faith, we hold to him, even in this wilderness, knowing that he will direct our steps, protect us from harm, vindicate our reputations, and finally lead us into glory across the river Jordan, where every tear will be dried.

And so what does that mean now when we are outcast, dejected, despised, wounded?

The high priest wore the names of the tribes of Israel on his Ephod. He so identified with the tribes that when he entered into the presence of God, it was as if they entered with him.

Likewise, Jesus, the priest of God, became flesh - so identifying with us that he is truly flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone.

Ephesians 5:25–33 NKJV

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Jesus is the head, and we are the body. He carries us in his heart, for we are his body. Our union with him is so close that everything he suffered, it was as if we suffered.

This is the heart of the faith - that it is as if we had suffered and done all in our own person.

But there is a flip side as well.

Since he is our head, everything that WE suffer, he suffers with us. He feels our rejection and our suffering deeply, which is why we can call out to him no matter what we are suffering.

Hebrews 4:14–16 NKJV

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Matthew 25:45 NKJV

45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

He is so closely united to his people, that those who harm and neglect his people harm and neglect Christ himself.

He suffers WITH us because he is our head.

As we make our way through this wilderness, he walks with us in the closest, most intimate way possible.

Nothing, then, can hinder us from reaching the end of the journey safely, where every tear will be wiped away.

He is actually walking with us - sympathizing with our infirmities and our sufferings in the most intimate way - and he carries his people in his breast into the presence of the Father.

And at the same time, he fills us with his spirit.

By his spirit, the father and the son are always present with us, but we don’t have because we don’t ask. And we don’t ask because of pride. We naturally think we have it covered.

And in suffering and grief we deeply feel our need - and this is when he is most present with us, if we will only ask.

Revelation 3:17–20 NKJV

17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

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