A Place for God’s Presence

Because we are the people in whom God dwells as His temple, we manifest His glorious presence and bear the fruit that comes from the Holy Spirit so that through faith, God’s glory might shine to others as well, and draw them to the sacrifice of Christ that was made for them.

Think about the last time you went on a vacation.

Did you purchase any souvenirs or small mementos from your trip?

What memories do you have with those souvenirs?

These little tokens, such as t-shirts, magnets, or postcards, usually aren’t made well and are generally over-priced, but their quality and value are not found in their value but in the memories or feelings about what made the trip special.

(Optional: Bring in a souvenir of your own and describe the memories or feelings attached to it firsthand.)

DDG (p. 112).

As we read through the Book of Exodus, we may wonder how the Lord could dwell with His people when they were so quick to doubt Him, grumble against Him, and worship idols. How could a holy God be with such sinful people, and why would He want to? Israel did not deserve God’s presence, but despite their sin, with mercy and compassion, God promised that He would continue to be present with His people, just in a yet-to-be-constructed tent. As God moved in their hearts, the people of Israel took up God’s blueprints for this tabernacle and got to work. The tabernacle would be a long-term, life-size souvenir, a constant reminder of God’s presence among them.

Point 1: God provides through the hearts of His people (Ex. 36:2-7).

In Exodus 35, Moses kicked off the building campaign for the tabernacle by asking for an offering. Everyone whose heart was willing brought their precious metals, fabrics, stones, and other resources for use in the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings, and they kept giving.

Read: Exodus 36:2-7 (DDG p. 113).

2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, 4 so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, 5 and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” 6 So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.

Giving is a response to grace received.

Only grace can move us from being people who always want more to becoming people who always want to give more. Can you imagine being told to stop giving, we have enough?

The Israelites had the wealth of Egypt in their possession. It was given to them. They left Egypt with gold and jewelry, but this was given to them by the Egyptians at God’s prompting (see Ex. 12:35-36).

When Moses asked the people to give their possessions to the Lord for His tabernacle, they didn’t give because they had so much they’d never miss anything; they gave because God had begun to work in their hearts. God was changing them.

After worshiping an idol and coming face-to-face with God’s wrath over sin, they experienced God’s mercy and grace.

Not only did the people not receive the punishment they deserved (i.e., mercy), they received what they didn’t deserve—a restored relationship with God (i.e., grace).

When the people gave toward the building of the tabernacle, it was because they knew the freedom and gratitude that come from a heart changed by God’s grace.

Their giving was a response to God’s goodness and favor, not an attempt to earn it.

That was why they gave until they had given beyond all that was needed—because that was how God had given to them.

What are some ways God’s grace changes people’s hearts?

Giving is a response to God’s grace recieved and is in direct proportion to one’s awareness of God’s grace directed to them.

· Because the people gave in response to the grace they had been given, each piece of gold, each gem, and each yard of fabric was surely given willingly and cheerfully.

Nothing was given out of compulsion. In fact, verse 3 says they gave “freewill offerings.” The people saw the opportunity to be part of what God was doing, to supply the items needed to complete the tabernacle so they could experience God’s dwelling with them in a new way.

Did God need the people to give so His tabernacle would be established?

Certainly not. The God who created and sustains the world doesn’t need a single thing from any of His creatures. Yet He was kind to invite His people to be part of His work, to give freely and with joy. And He does the same for us.

Illustration: Imagine a parent inviting a young child to help change a tire.

Would the parent need the child’s help? Could the child provide strength or experience to aid in the work?

Of course not. The parent does not invite the child to help because the child is needed; the parent invites the child to help for the sake of relationship. Similarly, ...

God invites us to be a part of His work by giving our time, our abilities, and our finances to Him.

DDG (p. 113).

The Lord calls His people to give because our possessions don’t rule our lives—He does.

The Giver of all good things has willfully and cheerfully given us all we need, and we respond by giving our possessions, our hearts, and our lives to Him as a grateful sacrifice for His glory and the good of Christ’s body, the church.

When we give in response to God’s work in our hearts, we grow in our likeness to Christ, who gave His life for us.

God builds through the hearts of His people.

Point 2: God builds through the obedience of His people (Ex. 39:42-43).

Exodus 25–30 describes in great detail how God designed the tabernacle to be constructed, and Exodus 36–39 records how God’s people obeyed His commands. God’s internal work within the hearts of His people was evident in their external work on the tabernacle He had prescribed.

Read Exodus 39:42-43 (DDG p. 114).

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.

DDG (p. 114) The Lord not only provided the plans for the tabernacle, He also provided workers who were skilled to complete the job, and they obeyed for the glory of God. This is yet another example of that divine/human cooperative that we talk about in the lives of believers and in the giving of the written Word of God.

God told Moses in Exodus 31 that He had given Bezalel, Oholiab, and other artisans the unique skills needed to plan and accomplish the work of the tabernacle according to God’s standards. In Exodus 36:2, Moses summoned all of these people to come and do the work, and they did so willingly. The tabernacle’s construction, from start to finish, was a work of God, a work for God, a work accomplished through the willing participation of God’s people.

These artisans all responded to God’s prompting in their hearts, and they obeyed Him.

They handcrafted the ark of the covenant, the altar, the lampstand, the curtains, the priests’ special clothing, and more. Yet even with the wisdom and skill needed to construct the tabernacle, the builders didn’t receive glory or special recognition.

The tabernacle wasn’t about them or the excellence of their work for their own sake. It was not intended to show off the handiwork of these artisans but to show the significance of what it meant for God to come and dwell with His people.

What God did for the construction of the tabernacle is also true of the church. The church is the work of Christ and it is for Him. He formed, builds, and leads it.

But God also gifts His people for serving the church. This is what Christ has called us to be a part of, and it is freeing, for all churches and this church as well, rises based on Christ’s wisdom and power, not ours. The reality of that should both motivate and empower us to serve in the church.

How has God gifted you to serve His church and kingdom and how have you used that giftedness?

(be prepared to give an answer of your own to jump-start the conversation)

DDG (p. 114)

The purpose of the people’s obedience was not to earn God’s presence but to demonstrate their changed hearts and their desire to be in God’s presence.

Do you/how do you demonstrate your changed heart and what evidence is there that you desire to be in God’s presence?

The Israelites’ obedience in constructing the tabernacle didn’t earn God’s favor or merit His presence. This was not a test on God’s part. God had promised Abraham, Isaac, Israel, and Moses that He would be present with His people, and God always keeps His word. Yet the people’s obedience mattered because it showed their reverence for Him and their desire to be with Him.

The thing they wanted most was a guarantee of God’s presence, so where the golden calf revealed their disbelief in God’s promises, the tabernacle completed according to God’s command demonstrated their changed hearts and growing faith.

Voices from the Church: “Our obedience does not make God bigger or better than He already is. His essence is unchanged by our obedience or lack of it. Anything God commands of us is so that our joy may be full—the joy of seeing His glory revealed to us and in us! Two major reasons for obedience are that we may become targets of blessing and that He may have the pleasure of bestowing it.” –Beth Moore 1

While Christians don’t build tabernacles, the church is a constant building project. It’s one body with many members, each of whom has been gifted by God for a specific purpose in His kingdom (1 Cor. 12:4-30). Because God has forgiven us in Christ and His Spirit dwells within us (1 Cor. 12:11), God picked us—His church—for the job of sharing the good news of His forgiveness with those who need it and to call them to repent and trust Jesus alone for salvation.

Fill in the blanks: DDG (p. 114).

Temple of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit indwells the church, both individually and corporately. This indwelling work of the Spirit equips individual members of the church with gifts for the work of the ministry.

The gifts are two-fold:

++1. The “gifting” of believers by the Holy Spirit is an enabling

++2. The “gifting” of believers by the Holy Spirit is opportunity

Romans 12:6–8 NASB

And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

1 Corinthians 12:4–11 NASB

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

1 Corinthians 12:28 NASB

And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.

Ephesians 4:11 NASB

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

Note: Rom. 12 emphasizes the opportunities, but the idea of exercising is using what has been enabled in us; 1 Cor. 12 seems to emphasize both (gifts, ministries); 1 Cor. 12:28 seems to suggest that people themselves are the gifts He gives the church which requires the enabling and opportunities as does Eph 4:11. They all boil down to these two natures of Spiritual Gifts: the empowering and the opportunity.

God provides the empowering and the opportunity, that is the divine part. The human part of the cooperative then requires us to use His empowerment to fulfill those ministry opportunities, just like the Israelites did in the building of the tabernacle. They used the gifts (riches of Egypt, His empowering, and provided opportunity) to build exactly what God asked them to build.

How have/do you use the Holy Spirit-given gifts in you? We all have them, but we must choose to use them.

Essential Doctrine “Temple of the Holy Spirit”: The Holy Spirit indwells the church, both individually and corporately (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 12:13). As the temple of the Holy Spirit, we live our lives differently than before, bearing the virtuous fruit that comes only by the indwelling work of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). This indwelling work of the Spirit also equips individual members of the church with gifts for the work of the ministry (1 Cor. 12:11).

God builds through the obedience of His people.

Point 3: God shines in the presence of His people (Ex. 40:34-38).

By the time we get to Exodus 40, Moses has shown how the Israelites took God’s instructions about building the tabernacle and followed them to the letter.

Every single thing was done exactly as God had said. Now, with the tabernacle completed and successfully inspected by Moses, the people who desired God’s presence more than anything watched as His glory descended on the tabernacle.

Read Exodus 40:34-38 (DDG p. 115).

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.

God’s glory filling the tabernacle demonstrated:

Three important truths to the Israelites:

++(1) God is far too glorious to be contained by a tent.

++(2) He is still near to His people.

++(3) God leads His people where He wants them to go.

DDG (p. 115) The people experienced God’s greatness, nearness, and leading as He clearly presented His glory to them.

The grandeur of God’s creation and His commands reminds us of just how amazing He is and the grace He has shown us. This was the message of the tabernacle. God’s glory filled it, and for a time, no one, not even Moses, could enter it. But the glory the people were able to see was just a fraction designed to stir their hearts, to move them to understand that their God is bigger and greater than they could ever conceive.

Just as the Lord had led the people out of Egypt with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (see Ex. 13:21-22), He began to lead His people through the tabernacle. The Lord came to His people to dwell among them and to be their God.

In Exodus 33:18–34:8, Moses asked to see the Lord’s glory, and the Lord agreed. But Moses learned that while God reveals Himself to His people in glory, He doesn’t reveal Himself completely. The Lord said no one can see His face—see Him as He truly is, experience the fullness of His presence—and live. Put simply, we are too small, too limited, and too sinful to understand all that God is. Not even Moses, the man who talked with God as a friend, as if face to face (33:11), could experience God completely.

Fill in the blanks: DDG (p. 115).

God Is Omnipresent: God’s omnipresence refers to His presence in all time and all places simultaneously. Because God exists apart from and outside of time and space, He is not limited by the constraints of either. (edited)

Essential Doctrine “God Is Omnipresent”: God’s omnipresence refers to His presence in all time and all places simultaneously. Because God exists apart from and outside of time and space, He is not limited by their constraints (1 Kings 8:27; Acts 17:24). He is present with us wherever we are, and sees all that occurs; nothing escapes His attention (Ps. 33:14; 139:7-10; Isa. 57:15; Jer. 23:23-24; Matt. 18:20). God’s omnipresence is a deterrent for sin and a source of great comfort and hope for believers.

DDG (p. 115) The tabernacle helped God’s people experience His nearness to them while simultaneously being separated from Him.

God is too great to be contained by the world, let alone a tent in the desert, but He is still near to His people. This was also the point of the tabernacle. God was in the midst of His people, and the location of the tabernacle further illustrated this, being placed at the center of the camp (Num. 2:2). At the same time, God was near without compromising His holiness. He dwelled in the most holy place, the innermost room, which had a veil that barred sinful humanity’s access to holy God.

God was near, but His people could not approach Him on their own terms. They could only have access to God through a mediator, through the high priest, entering God’s presence one day of the year to make atonement for the sins of all the people, himself included.

DDG (p. 115) Jesus is the fulfillment of the tabernacle through the New Covenant which was ratified (paid for or put into place) through Him.

The tabernacle, however, was temporary, a sign to be fulfilled in Jesus, the Son of God who took on flesh and “tabernacled” among us in glory (John 1:14). Those who believe in Him for salvation from sin receive the Spirit of Christ to dwell within them to teach them to love the Lord, trust Him, and obey Him (Rom. 8:9). As we grow in depending on God’s Spirit, we learn that being near Him changes us from the inside out.

How should the truth that God dwells in the midst of Christians impact their everyday lives?

(we should live with humility in the presence of the great God of glory; we should live with gratitude that God has graciously come near to us; we should strive to live in holiness, reflecting the holiness of the God who has saved us from sin in Jesus)

My Mission

Explain: The tabernacle provided an anchor for the Israelites in the wilderness. God’s people needed to see that God was with them. They were not following a distant God but the Creator who drew near to them, not because of who they were but because of who He is. But they saw only part of the picture. In John’s vision in Revelation 21, we read that God’s dwelling will one day be with humanity forever. The God who has made us for Himself will live with us in the fullness of His glory because we will no longer wrestle against sin, no longer will we struggle to obey. God will be with us, and we will have been changed completely from the inside out.

DDG (p. 116), and encourage group members to choose at least one of the options below as a way to respond to the truth of God’s Word.

1. God provides through the hearts of His people (Ex. 36:2-7).

++2. God builds through the obedience of His people (Ex. 39:42-43).

++3. God shines in the presence of His people (Ex. 40:34-38).

Because we are the people in whom God dwells, we manifest His glorious presence and bear the fruit that comes from the Holy Spirit so that through faith, Jesus may dwell with others as well.

· How will the future hope of God living with believers for eternity frame how you live today?

· In what ways can we live in deeper community with one another and experience God’s presence more fully?

· How can you demonstrate God’s presence in your life to those around you to point them to God’s glory in Christ?

Session in a Sentence

God shines His glory in the presence of His people according to His will through the hearts and obedience of His people and the work of Jesus Christ.

Close in prayer:

References

1. Beth Moore, A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place (Nashville: LifeWay Press, 2007), 79.

2. Kenneth Laing Harris, “Exodus,” in ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 203, n. 36:2-7.

3. Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2 in The New American Commentary(Nashville: B&H, 2006) [WORDsearch].

4. P. G. George and Paul Swarup, “Exodus,” in South Asia Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Brian Wintle (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015), 132.

5. Abel Ndjerareou, “Exodus,” in Africa Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Tokunboh Adeyemo (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 128.

6. “Exodus,” in Africa Study Bible (Oasis International, 2016), 141.

7. Kenneth Laing Harris, “Exodus,” in ESV Study Bible, 209, n. 40:34-38.

8. R. J. McKelvey, “Temple,” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, eds. T. Desmond Alexander, Brian S. Rosner, D. A. Carson, and Graeme Goldsworthy (Downers Grove: IVP, 2000), 806-807.

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