Knowing God 17—God's Presence—Exodus 35-40

42 According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them. (Exodus 39:42–43, ESV)

32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. 33 And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work. 34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. (Exodus 40:32–38, ESV)

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This day was a long time coming. Though it had been less than a year since Moses heard Yahweh speak to him from the burning bush, it felt like a hundred. God had packed so much into such a short time. Pharaoh and the Egyptian gods had lost. The blood of the Passover lamb had protected. The Red Sea's waters had parted. The water had flown. The manna fell. And Israel had come back to the mountain where Moses had heard the great I AM.

Moses had gone up that mountain over and over again on behalf of Isreal. Each time he did, Yahweh revealed himself to his man and his nation. He invited them into a covenant, gave them commandments, and complimented it with the book of the law. Because they accepted his words, Yahweh told them to build him a tabernacle—a dwelling place for God in Israel's midst! Moses was beside himself learning of this home God was making among the people. A miniature Eden, a portable Sinai, all so they could experience the living God.

But Moses' dreams were dashed when he came down the mountain with the tablets and the tabernacle plans. In the valley below, the people had made a replacement god and a replacement religion. As they raged in their debauchery, Moses ran to God in intercession. "Please go with us, Lord. Do not leave us." "I will go," God said. Again, Moses asked, "Please guarantee me that you will go with us." "I will go," said the Lord. Finally, bursting with desire, Moses said, "Show me your glory" (Ex. 33:18). God would not reveal the full blast of his glory to his man but instead covered him in the cleft of the rock while he passed by and declared his name.

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6–7)

Then, God reiterated his covenant to his people. These golden calf-worshipping Hebrews were God's people. He would move forward with them and extend his grace and love to them. It was time to build that tabernacle and keep that covenant.

So Moses led the charge in building the tabernacle just as God had detailed. In a nearly word-for-word copy of what God had said on the mountain, Exodus details the construction process (Ex. 35-40). The ark of the covenant, the altar of incense, the table of showbread, the lampstand, the laver, the altar of sacrifice, the courts, the priests—every last bit was built according to God's specifications.

And, as they built, Moses' anticipation grew. The God who had revealed his beautiful nature to Moses on the mountain was about to dwell in that tent. And when the structure came together, Moses saw that it was done just as Yahweh had said, so Moses blessed them, set up the tabernacle, and approached its altar with his brother Aaron and Aaron's sons (Ex. 40: 32). With everything set up just as God had said, Moses' work was finished (40:33).

When it was, the glory cloud of Yahweh covered the tent of meeting (40:34). Though Israel had broken their promise when they worshipped the golden calf, God had extended his grace and restored his people—and now he would dwell among them. Yahweh inhabited his house.

This chaotic mass of Egyptian slaves was now God's treasured possession, and he was theirs. With Yahweh's glory cloud upon his house, Israel and Moses had realized their dreams. If you could combine the most beautiful sunrise over the Grand Canyon with the most moving orchestra crescendo and the most powerful rocket launch, you would only get a glimpse of the glory of this moment. Pharaoh had said he was god in their midst, but now God truly was in their midst. Everything they needed to become God's kingdom of priests and holy nation who would show the world his nature was now theirs. They had done it. God had done it. And now they would move with God wherever he went on their journey to the Promised Land.

Then Moses tried to enter. He wanted to be where God was. He had gone up to God's presence on Mt. Sinai seven times at this point. When God's glory descended, Moses was there for it. On one of those journeys, Moses was in God's presence for nearly six weeks. When Israel sinned with the golden calf, God shared his broken heart and anger with his friend. Before they constructed the tabernacle, Moses had built a temporary tent for meeting on the outskirts of camp, where he had communed with God. His face shined with the afterglow of God's glory every time he left God's presence. And when Moses asked to see God's glory, God revealed his glorious name while Moses was hidden in the cleft of the rock. Now, after all these encounters, it was time for Moses to have the ultimate experience of Yahweh. But Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple (40:35).

Some say Moses could not enter because God's presence was too thick and overwhelming. But Moses had often gone into God's thick and overwhelming glory cloud on top of the mountain, so what changed? Some say that the golden calf is what changed things, and now Moses could not freely enter God's presence on behalf of the nation. But Moses had heard God's name and seen his afterglow after the golden calf debacle, and God had stated words of restoration and grace over Israel—he was moving forward with this plan.

The problem is intense. If Moses could not go in, who could? What Israelite—or any of us, for that matter—has any chance of knowing God if Moses was kept from his presence? Moses, the man whose face afterglowed God's glory and who talked with God face to face like a friend, could not go in. And with God in his holy tabernacle as fire and smoke, how could golden calf worshippers expect to go in there? Wouldn't their sin be like gasoline in the presence of God's fire? If Moses couldn't do it, how could they? If a holy man like him was denied, wouldn't we be as well?

It necessitates the question of the psalmist, "O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?" (Ps. 15:1). Who can go into God's house on his holy hill? Who can go into his presence?

That Exodus ends on a cliffhanger note should not discourage us but instead drive us forward in the biblical story. The first five books of the Bible—the Pentateuch or Torah—are a set, and the very next line in this set helps us learn what is required to go into God's presence.

Then the Lord summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the Lord from the livestock, you may bring your offering from the herd or the flock..." (Leviticus 1:1–2, HCSB)

So Moses could not go in, which makes us wonder who can go in, and Leviticus gives us the answer. It goes on to detail the requirements for the sacrifices and priesthood so Israel could meet with God in that sacred space. I haven't wanted to tell you this up to this point, but it appears Exodus is the forward to Leviticus. All the rescue and redemption, all the commandments and laws, all the instructions for a tabernacle and priesthood, were preparing Israel for Leviticus.[^1] How can golden calf worshippers know God? Leviticus told them—they would find the sacrifices that addressed their sin, the priests who would help them interact with Yahweh, and the laws regarding cleanness in God's meeting space.

So, who can go into the presence of the Lord? Who can ascend his holy hill? Can golden calf worshippers come into God's presence? Or, to put it another way, who can get back to what was lost in Eden? Leviticus gives us the answer. Those with (1) the right sacrifice (2) and priesthood (3) at the required meeting space can enjoy God's presence. Let's bring our study of Exodus to a conclusion by considering all three.

1. Requires a Sacrifice

Coming into God's presence requires a sacrifice. This is made plain in the opening chapters of Leviticus but is made most certain at the center point of Leviticus with the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16). The myriad of animal, grain, and oil offerings made a way for them to fellowship with God and have their sin and guilt covered. Then, the blood of the grand sacrifice on the Day of Atonement was to be applied everywhere, all the way to the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant where God dwelled, and the assembly would be atoned for (Lev. 14:33-34). Each year, God gave Israel this method for finding atonement for their sins.

As Christians, we know Jesus came to provide the perfect, ultimate, and final sacrifice. He did not go into the holy place with the blood of bulls and goats, but his own sinless blood (Heb. 9:11-12). This means we are ransomed from our sin, not with perishable things like silver or gold, "but with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Pet. 1:18-19). It appears that when Jesus died on the cross, sin was so transferred to him that he became sin on our behalf, judged on the cross for all its (sin's) atrocities. As Paul said, "For our sake he (God) made him to be sin who knew no sin (Jesus), so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21). As Isaiah foresaw in him, "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray (the way of the golden calf worshippers); we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Is. 53:4-6).

So, who can ascend the Lord's mountain? Who can come into God's presence? Those who are covered by the required sacrifice—and Jesus is that sacrifice. He laid down his life for us. So many of the greatest stories seem like shadows of the story of Jesus laying down his life in our place, taking on death for our sin so that we might rise in his righteousness. Jean Valjean's quiet sacrifices for Cosette, William Wallace's sacrifice for Scotland's freedom, Captain Miller's sacrifice to save Private Ryan, Jack's sacrifice to save Rose, or even Bing Bong's sacrifice to save Riley—they are all stories of sacrifice that cannot hold a candle to the great sacrifice Christ performed for his people. He paid the debt. He made the way. He laid down his life. By his stripes, we are healed.

2. Requires a Priesthood

Coming into God's presence also requires a priesthood. After telling Moses all about the types of sacrifices they needed to offer, God had Moses ordain Aaron and his sons as the priests of Israel (Lev. 8). With the congregation gathered at the tent of meeting, Aaron and his sons donned the priestly garb the artisans had just constructed for them. Then Moses took the holy anointed oil and put it on all the elements of the tabernacle, including Aaron and his sons. Then Moses took the bull of the sin offering and had Aaron and his sons place their hands on it while he killed it. Then Moses offered the ram of the burnt offering and the ram of ordination, all while Aaron and his sons placed their hands on both. He then took the blood of the ram and put it on their ears, hands, and feet as a way to consecrate their every move to God. Then, after placing a bit more anointing oil on a blood bought Aaron and his sons, Moses charged them to offer sacrifices and remain at the tabernacle for seven days. On the eighth day, Moses called them and told them to offer sacrifices for themselves and then for the people. After they did, Leviticus says:

Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. (Leviticus 9:22–24)

At the end of Exodus, Moses could not go in, but now he can! Aaron and the priesthood have been installed. The sacrifices have been offered. Access has been granted. With that, Aaron and his sons became the priests of Yahweh who would help Israel come into God's presence.

But we know they only pointed forward to a greater priest who would come. "We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God" (Heb. 4:14). He is our great mediator—"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). Because of him and the way he relates to us, we can "with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16). We can go in because of Jesus!

Our access to God's presence has been secured by Jesus. Exclusively secured, in that no one else can grant that access. Permanently secured, in that it is based on his position and purity, not ours. Totally secured, in that because he can go all the way in we can too. Finally secured, in that there is no other sacrifice or path coming to make God available to man. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father except by him (John 14:6).

3. Requires a Meeting Space

Finally, coming into God's presence requires a meeting space. We sometimes forget this one, but the sacrifices and priesthood would have meant nothing without God's intention to dwell in that tabernacle. It was the meeting space that God had sanctioned. Just as he had made Eden to meet with man and descended upon Sinai when Moses ascended it, God created the tabernacle as the holy space heaven would touch earth. In fact, the tabernacle was patterned after God's eternal throneroom, which adds force to the idea that it was the singular space on earth where the divine and human could fully interact. That tabernacle—which was later developed into Jerusalem's temple—was the singular place where heaven touched earth.

I want to impress this idea upon you. The tabernacle precincts were a move from heaven towards earth. When a person wants to swim underwater for a long time, one way to do it is by learning to scuba dive. For humans to survive underwater for any real length of time, they need a way to breathe in that very different environment. The tabernacle precinct, with all its prescribed sacrifices, consecrated furniture, and holy priesthood, was God's scuba gear for heaven to come to earth—or for earth to survive a bit of heaven.

But the kicker is that Jesus is our new tabernacle, our new meeting space with God. When Jesus came along, he often said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2, 4:17, 10:7). He could say this because he became the new meeting space. When John wrote that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, he meant that the creator God became one of us—he took up residence or tabernacled among us (John 1:14). His hypostatic union—the full convergence of deity and humanity—makes Jesus the new meeting space. How can we come into God's presence? Through the meeting ground that is Jesus!

When Jesus died on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom. That veil separated the most holy place from everything and everyone else. But, by ripping it from top to bottom, God signified that he had just initiated the replacement path to his presence. We no longer go behind a veil; we come to God through the blood of the Son. As the Son of God and God the Son, Jesus is our meeting ground with God.

Conclusion

So, the book of Exodus concludes with God's increased presence among his people. His glory cloud rested upon his tabernacle in the midst of the camp—this is powerful when you consider how Exodus began. God was present but in a shadow and whisper. Behind the scenes, God preserved and defended the people of Israel as they struggled under the mighty hand of Pharaoh. Yahweh was there but in subtle and indirect ways. He blessed the midwives. He steered baby Moses' basket in the Nile. He heard the cry of his suffering people. But now, as the book closes, his presence becomes undeniably direct and evident as he descends upon his house. Israel no longer has to follow Pharaoh's dictates; from now on, they can follow God. He is right there, in the glory cloud and pillar of fire. When he moves, they move.

At the beginning of Exodus, the Hebrews might've asked, "Where is the Lord?" And Pharaoh did ask, "Who is the Lord?" But now, at Exodus' end, everyone knows. Yahweh God is right there, among his people, his treasured possession. Just as Aslan was at first indirect and invisible, felt more than seen, only to come to his people's aid before finally breaking the White Witch's grip, Yahweh had worked behind the scenes before taking center stage. And now, with the Lord at their center, Israel could start their great journey into the Promised Land.

But the book also concludes with a cliffhanger designed to push us forward in the biblical story. Moses could not enter! So we move forward into Leviticus and find that sacrifices, a priesthood, and a meeting space were required for fellowship with God. These push us past Leviticus to Jesus, the one who is better than Moses. Like Moses, he was born under threat from a murderous king. Like Moses, he came out of the wilderness and worked miracles. Like Moses, he showed the way to true deliverance from captivity. Like Moses, he went up the mountain and was transfigured before his people. Like Moses, he delivers a new Torah in his sermon on the mount. Like Moses, he brought a covenant.[^2]

Like Moses...or maybe Moses was like him, a mere shadow of the great deliver who came, the only one who could enter the glory because he is God in the flesh. Maybe Moses pointed to Jesus. Amen.

Study Questions

Head (Knowledge, Facts, Understanding):

1. What are the key elements and purpose of the tabernacle as described in Exodus 35-40?
2. How does the construction of the tabernacle in Exodus reflect the Israelites' relationship with God?
3. What does Moses' inability to enter the tent of meeting signify in the context of the narrative?

Heart (Feelings, Impressions, Desires):

4. How do you feel about the Israelites' journey from worshipping the golden calf to experiencing God's presence in the tabernacle? 5 What emotions might Moses have experienced when he saw God's glory fill the tabernacle?
5. How does the concept of sacrifice in the sermon relate to your personal understanding of redemption?

Hands (Actions, Commitments, Decisions, Beliefs):

7. What practical steps can you take to create a personal 'tabernacle' experience in your daily life?
8. How can the lessons from Exodus 35-40 guide your decisions and actions in your community?
9. In what ways can you more fully utilize the access to God that Jesus won for you?

[^1]: For a detailed explanation of this understanding of Exodus and Leviticus, see Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? by Michael Morales.

[^2]: For a great treatment of this concept, see chapter 5 of Matthew, Disciple and Scribe by Patrick Schreiner.