Exo 40:34 | KingComments | STEP | A mighty moment occurs, the goal of all previous work: God comes to dwell with His people. The cloud, the symbol of God’s presence, takes possession of the tabernacle. What He later says to Ezekiel regarding the temple applies from now on to the tabernacle: “[This is] the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever” ( ). For the new temple this applies “forever”. For the tabernacle this applies until the moment the ark is captured by the Philistines. Then it is “Ichabod”, which means “the glory has departed” ( ). The glory returns when Solomon finishes building the temple ( ). However, the glory disappears again from the temple because of the sin of the people ( ). But when the Lord Jesus is born, in Him the glory of God appears again on earth to dwell among His people: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” ( ). However, this glory was rejected in the rejection of the Lord Jesus. After His resurrection and ascension, the glory of God came to dwell again on earth in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. He dwells in this time in the church as a whole ( ; ) and in the body of the individual believer ( ).

‏ Exodus 40:34

The Cloud Fills the Tabernacle

A mighty moment occurs, the goal of all previous work: God comes to dwell with His people. The cloud, the symbol of God’s presence, takes possession of the tabernacle. What He later says to Ezekiel regarding the temple applies from now on to the tabernacle: “[This is] the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever” (Eze 43:7a). For the new temple this applies “forever”. For the tabernacle this applies until the moment the ark is captured by the Philistines. Then it is “Ichabod”, which means “the glory has departed” (1Sam 4:21-22). The glory returns when Solomon finishes building the temple (1Kgs 8:10-11). However, the glory disappears again from the temple because of the sin of the people (Eze 8:4 ; Eze 9:3 ; Eze 10:4 ; 18 ; Eze 11:23).

But when the Lord Jesus is born, in Him the glory of God appears again on earth to dwell among His people: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). However, this glory was rejected in the rejection of the Lord Jesus.

After His resurrection and ascension, the glory of God came to dwell again on earth in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. He dwells in this time in the church as a whole (Eph 2:21-22; Acts 2:1-4) and in the body of the individual believer (1Cor 6:19).