Dwelling Among Us: Embracing God's Constant Presence
Exodus: From Bondage to Freedom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 7 viewsBig Idea of the Message: God brought the Israelites out of Egypt to have a present relationship among them through the tabernacle. Application Point: We won’t treat God as a saving superhero (here today and gone tomorrow) but as a God who is present with us.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
As we read the exodus story it becomes clear that God’s goals for Israel did not end in just liberating them from Egyptian oppression.
The redemption of Israel was the starting point of a relationship initiated by God
He separated them from the Egyptians and from other nations so that He could dwell among them. He gave them His laws so that they would reflect Him.
God enters their lives with the intent of staying there and taking up residence.
For many God is like a superhero. He must come when called in the midst of a crisis but as soon as the crisis is averted He fades into the background
Know that God wants to take residence. He wants to dwell among His people, not just deliver them.
By the time we get to Exodus 26, Israel has received the Law, witnessed God’s power, and experienced his discipline.
Then he gives instructions that look tedious and extremely technical which is the construction of the tabernacle a portrait of divine intimacy.
Imagine you have a family member that would like to come to your house a spend sometime with you. By the look at the suitcases they are not leaving soon.
This is what’s happening here. It is as if God took all His things from heaven and brought them down. To be more exact. Moses was actually,
Making a physical representation of the realities of heaven that would make it possible for the Most Holy God to dwell among flawed sinful people.
“See that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” (Hebrews 8:5)
This is the heart of this passage and of the gospel. God does not just want to save you, He doesn’t just want to stay with you He wants to live with you
And one day you are going to go live with Him. His presence is not seasonal it is constant and His glory is not distant it is right here
When we grasp this, we will stop treating God like a visitor in our lives rather than it being His permanent dwelling place.
So I have 3 premises for you this morning
I. God Desires to Dwell Among His People (Exodus 25:8, 26:1-30)
This is the message of the Exodus. God could not have been any clearer:
8 “And let them make a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.
God’s love is relational. He did not deliver Israel merely to improve their circumstances but to share His presence look at
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Here the word dwelt can be translated as take up residence, lived, pitched a tent, encamped, tabernacle, etc. Take a look at
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
Let us go back to OT
11 ‘Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not loathe you.
This word loathe means hatred. But the context analogous to a mother who reacts badly when her son returns home covered in mud from football practice.
The reason for the hatred would be sin ie. mud. So He says in spite of your mud I will dwell with you look at the other 2 verses
12 ‘I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.
13 ‘I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
This is the purpose of your salvation, that you will be intimately related to the LORD your GOD. He never means not be distant.
His desire it to dwell in and among His people. This has been His purpose from the beginning. Today He does it through the Holy Spirit look at:
16 Do you not know that you are a sanctuary of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
He is even closer to to you today than He was with Israel centuries ago. Because there is a huge difference between being among you and being in you.
Look at the progression because from Genesis to Revelation living with you and having you close has always been His intention:
• In Eden, God walked with Adam and Eve.
• In the wilderness, He would dwell in the Tabernacle.
• In the Incarnation, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
• And in eternity, “The dwelling place of God is with man” (Rev. 21:3).
So He has Israel build Him a Tabernacle so that He may be close to them by living among them, that is why we read all of chp 26.
Every board, curtain, and clasp preached a sermon, that the transcendent God condescends to dwell with His people.
God’s desire is not that we visit Him on Sundays but that He dwells in our midst daily.
If you feel abandoned, forgotten, or distant from God, remember: His presence isn’t seasonal, He has already chosen to dwell among you.
The Tabernacle whispers what Jesus shouted from the cross — “It is finished.” Access has been granted.
But God dictates the terms of such a relationship because He is the one that is Holy. You are the one with all the mud. My second premise is:
II. God Defines the Way We approach His Presence (Exodus 26:31-27:21)
He establishes the boundaries, the order, and the standard of holiness of that approach.
31 “You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful designer.
32 “You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks also being of gold, on four bases of silver.
33 “You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and you shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall separate for you the holy place and the Holy of Holies.
They were to construct a veil, blue purple and scarlet. It was beautiful. A skillful designer was to do this. No one who passed design school with a C.
This was done with excellence. That is why we try with every gifting we have to do all things in here with excellence regardless of the size of our church.
The beautiful veil was to separate the Most Holy Place reminding us that God’s presence is Holy.
“By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be glorified.” (Leviticus 10:3)
That veil preached a sermon without words: Sin separates humanity from the presence of a holy God.
If you read chapters 26-30 you will see the meticulous instructions concerning every piece of furniture altar, lamp, table shows something important.
It shows that Worship is on God’s terms. He is Holy.
From Eden onward, this has been the pattern. When Adam and Eve sinned, cherubim guarded the way back to God’s presence (Gen. 3:24)
Now, centuries later, cherubim are embroidered into the veil — the same message remains: “You cannot come in.”
The structure declares that access requires mediation and holiness. Someone had to mediate and that someone had to be holy.
The writer of Hebrews explains:
1 Now even the first covenant had requirements of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary.
2 For there was a tabernacle prepared: the first part, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread, which is called the holy place.
3 And behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies,
4 having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
5 And above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the first part of the tabernacle performing the divine worship,
7 but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.
8 The Holy Spirit is indicating this, that the way into the holy places has not yet been manifested while that first part of the tabernacle is still standing,
9 which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience,
10 since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, requirements for the body imposed until a time of reformation.
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation,
12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy places once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
That arrangement in the wilderness was not sustainable because of the sins of man and the Holiness of God but it would do for the time being.
But then at the fulness of time, God sent His Son born of a woman under the law to redeem those who were under the Law and He says,
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.
When Jesus died, the veil that separated the Most Holy Place was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51).
That detail is crucial — from top to bottom, not bottom to top — meaning that God Himself opened the way.
Christ’s blood satisfied the holiness of God so that sinful man could approach freely. What the altar prefigured, the cross fulfilled.
What the lamp symbolized, the Light of the World embodied. As the writer of Hebrews declares:
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
God defined the way to approach his presence then, and he defines the way we approach his presence now.
We do not get to make up our own way. We do not get to approach God casually or on our own merit. Christ has opened the way once and for all.
This means a few things:
1.We do not come to God on our own terms
worship is not a matter of taste but of truth. God has revealed how He is to be approached through Christ, by faith, with reverence.
2.We come with confidence not fear
The same God who once said “Stay back” now says “come near”. Through Christ there is no veil between you and the Father
3.We keep the fire burning
God’s presence dwells permanently and our response should be constant keeping our hearts warm in worship and obedience.
The God who defines the way we approach Him now fills that very space with His presence proving that His holiness does not push us away but invites us closer through grace.
This brings me to my final premise:
III. God Dwells in Glory Among His Redeemed (Exodus 40:34-38)
After all the meticulous work of building the Tabernacle with all of it furnishings finished and anointed, the moment of divine arrival comes.
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.
35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had dwelt on it, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.
This was the climax of Israel’s redemption story, not the plagues, not the crossing of the Red Sea not even the spectacular event at Sinai
The ultimate product of all that came before is here, when God Himself took residence among His people.
The cloud of glory signals God’s approval and abiding presence. This was their Emanuel God with us.
The cloud by day and the fire by night that was seen above them guiding them now descended and filled the tabernacle.
And just as Moses could not stand in the weight of the glory then, we too could not stand before Christ’s glory apart from His grace.
But now, through His sacrifice and resurrection, we are not merely near His glory, His glory dwells within us.
The same glory that guided and guarded Israel throughout their journey, abides in believers through Christ the true tabernacle:
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this sanctuary, and will You raise it up in three days?”
21 But He was speaking about the sanctuary of His body.
6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
This scene is not only about holiness but also about mercy. Remember who these people are — the same Israelites who danced around a golden calf not long before.
This is grace, but lets continue:
36 Now throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out;
37 but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up.
38 For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of Yahweh was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.
Notice, that Israel followed the cloud and not the way around. Instead of “Jesus walk with me” our prayer should be let me “walk with thee”
The people didn’t plan their route; God did. Their progress was determined by His presence. His glory became both their GPS and their guard.
Conclusion:
God’s presence is not a momentary rescue but a permanent relationship.
The Tabernacle foreshadows Jesus—God with us (Immanuel).
When life feels barren or distant, remember: God’s glory still fills His people.Call to Action: Walk through your week aware of His dwelling presence—He is not far off, He is among us.
