Scripture to Read: Exodus 40:34–35
We read in Exodus 40:34–35 that after everything had been set up, as God commanded, then the glory of our Lord filled the Tabernacle. Aaron, his sons, Moses, and all of the rest of the Israelites knew God showed up because His cloud covered the tent of meeting, revealing to everyone that He was with them. It’s interesting that God’s glory so filled the Tabernacle that Moses was not able to go inside. We also find the same thing recorded in 1 Kings 8:10–11,”It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.” When we have deep, abiding intimacy with our Lord, as we fellowship with Him and allow His Word to fill our minds and hearts, we also can feel overwhelmed by His presence. It is not that God is doing any more or less than He always does in us and through us. The reason we feel His overwhelming presence is that we have chosen to passionately pursue Him and His Word and not be distracted by anything in or of this world. We must also remember that without God’s presence in the tent of meeting, the tent was nothing more than a tent. But with God’s presence in the tent of meeting, it became a Holy Place. The same is true for us; our bodies are nothing but bodies without the Lord’s presence in us, for He makes us holy.
Challenge & Application
· Why couldn’t Moses enter the tent of meeting when God’s presence filled it?
· How does God fill us today, and because He fills us, what does He make us to be? (Read 1 Peter 2:9–10 for help.)
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!