The Glory of the Lord

Exodus 40:34-38

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first usage of the phrase happily ever after can be found in a 1702 English translation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decamerone (shoutout to Laurel on StackExchange for the research) which is a series of novellas from the 14th century Italian writer.

In this particular story, a beautiful young woman named Bartolomea is kidnapped from her husband, an old judge named Riccardio, by the much-younger pirate Paganino. After Riccardio confronts them, Paganino offers to give her up, if she recognizes and wishes to be with him. She does neither. Riccardio leaves, and dies shortly soon after.

Paganino, hearing the News, married the Widow, and as they were very well acquainted, so they lived very lovingly, and happily, ever after.

I. We Seek God’s Glory vv. 34-35

In our passage this morning, we are moving forward quite a bit.

The entire end of the book of Exodus is devoted to the building of a tabernacle for Israel

What is a tabernacle? It was a mobile place of worship, designed as a place for God’s glory to dwell with His people

It is a forerunner for the Temple that Solomon will eventually build

God gave very specific instructions to Moses and the people with His expectations:

He described the dimensions of the tabernacle

He described the design of the tabernacle

He described the functions of the tabernacle

Everything was done, just as He instructed!

I think we need to pay careful attention to this

There were a lot of things that the children of Israel got wrong throughout this book, but now we see them get it right

They pay careful attention to do the will of the Lord

When the tabernacle is completed, God arrives and His presence is so overwhelming that Moses cannot enter the tabernacle

In important ways, this is the fulfillment of Moses’s request from two weeks ago: it is a greater taste of God’s glory, but it cannot be achieved apart from obedience to His Word

I think we need to be sure that we understand this: The greatest joy in our lives will come when we experience more of God’s presence

The key to God’s glorious presence is found in a life that seeks it through obedience

Unfortunately, many of us live in a very different way:

We have grown numb to the absence of God and never pursue it.

Or, we want God’s glory on our own terms and we live in consistent disobedience

It does not work this way!

In his book Why Prayers are Unanswered, John Lavender retells a story about Norman Vincent Peale.

When Peale was a boy, he found a big, black cigar, slipped into an alley, and lit up. It didn't taste good, but it made him feel very grown up. . . until he saw his father coming. Quickly he put the cigar behind his back and tried to be casual. Desperate to divert his father's attention, Norman pointed to a billboard advertising the circus.

"Can I go, Dad? Please, let's go when it comes to town."

His father's reply taught Norman a lesson he never forgot. "Son, he answered quietly but firmly, "never make a petition while at the same time trying to hide a smoldering disobedience." 

II. We Follow God’s Glory vv. 36-37

In our next verses, we see an important distinction:

The glorious presence of the Lord would at times rise from the tabernacle and depart

This wasn’t a statement of displeasure; instead it was an instruction to the Israelites that the time had come to move to the next place

Where God went, the people needed to go

I believe that there are a couple of important takeaways here:

First, as important as the tabernacle was, it was the presence of God that was ultimately transformative

The glory of the tabernacle was not as great as the glory of the Lord; apart from God’s presence, it was just a tent

Likewise, the nation was made great by God’s presence; it had little glory on its own

In the same vein, it is incumbent that we follow God

Sometimes, we find ourselves asking God to follow us and this is dramatically out of order

I can’t help but imagine that there were times that the people did not want to follow, but it was critical that they go where the presence of God was

The fulfillment of this in our day comes through Christ’s invitation to follow Him

This may not look like a pillar of cloud or fire, so what does it look like?

It is obedience to the precepts of the Word of God

It is submission to the Spirit of God

It is fellowship with the Church of God

It is participation in the Mission of God

I once read the story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application that asked, “Are you a leader?” Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, “No,” and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: “Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower.”

III. We Trust God’s Glory v. 38

Finally, we see a closing note to the Exodus, and it is hopeful

The people can carefully follow the Lord, because He makes His presence known

They can see His presence, so that it is never in doubt

They are able to trust God throughout this journey, because He wants them to know Him, be aware of His presence, and walk in His ways

I think that this is one of the things that we easily forget: God wants us to know Him

He has a plan for us and He has made obedience possible

We can trust Him, because in Christ He has done something that we could not do for ourselves:

He justified us, forgiving our sins and declaring us righteous in Christ forever

He sanctifies us, working to recreate us into the image of His Son

He will glorify us, and we will share in His glory forever!

This has been His mission from the outset:

It is for our good, no doubt

Yet, it turns out, God is glorified when He rescues us from slavery to sin and frees us to live as His people forever

You can trust Him to fulfill this work in you!

The tabernacle provides a picture of something better! This week, I took a picture of the sunset from the mission house in Guatemala. It was a great picture, but nothing could capture the real thing.

Revelation 21:1–4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.””

Revelation 21:22–27

[22] And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. [23] And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. [24] By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, [25] and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. [26] They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. [27] But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (ESV)

-Are you ready to experience freedom in Christ?

-Are you living as a child of God?

-Are you sharing in life with His people?