The Weight of His Presence: God Moves In Text: Exodus 40:34-38
Introduction: The Goal of Redemption
The book of Exodus does not end with the giving of the law. It does not end with the Israelites marching toward the promised land. It ends here, with the tabernacle completed, and God Himself coming down to fill it with His glory. This is a point of monumental significance that our modern, sentimental Christianity often misses entirely. We tend to think of salvation as a "get out of Hell free" card. We think of the goal as escaping this world for a disembodied existence in the sweet by-and-by. But the Bible presents a far more robust and earthy goal. The goal of redemption is not our escape from earth, but God's holy invasion of it. The goal is God dwelling with man.
This is the central theme of the entire biblical narrative. From the Garden, where God walked with Adam in the cool of the day, to the final vision in Revelation, where the cry goes out, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them," the story is about God reclaiming His creation and establishing His personal, glorious, and weighty presence in the midst of His people. Everything else, the law, the sacrifices, the covenants, is scaffolding for this great construction project: the house of God on earth.
The final scene of Exodus is therefore the climax of the first great stage of this project. After the rebellion of the golden calf, after all the meticulous, sometimes tedious, details of the tabernacle's construction, after all the obedience of the people in bringing their gifts and the craftsmen in building it just as God commanded, the question still hangs in the air: Will He come? Will God, after Israel's idolatry, truly consent to dwell in the middle of a stiff-necked people? The end of Exodus is the thunderous answer. Yes. The cloud covers the tent, and the glory of Yahweh fills the tabernacle.
But this presence is not tame. It is not a gentle, ethereal feeling. It is a glory so potent, so holy, so terrifyingly pure, that even Moses, the man who spoke with God face to face, cannot enter. This is the central paradox we must grasp. God's desire is to be with us, but His holiness is such that we cannot bear it. This sets the stage for the entire book of Leviticus, which is the divine instruction manual for how a sinful people can live in the presence of a holy God without being consumed. And ultimately, it sets the stage for the coming of Jesus Christ, the one who is both the true tabernacle and the perfect high priest, who makes it possible for us to enter the presence of God and not die, but live.
The Text
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle. 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. Now throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. 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.
(Exodus 40:34-38 LSB)
The Divine Occupation (v. 34)
We begin with the dramatic climax of the book:
"Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle." (Exodus 40:34)
All the work is finished. Moses has inspected every detail and confirmed that it was all done "just as Yahweh had commanded." This obedience is the necessary prerequisite. God does not bless our best efforts or our well-intentioned improvisations. He inhabits obedience. Once the vessel is prepared according to the divine blueprint, God takes possession of it.
The cloud is the same pillar of cloud that had led them out of Egypt. It is the visible sign of God's presence and guidance. Now, that public, external guidance settles and "covers" the tent of meeting. The Hebrew word is the same one used for dwelling or tabernacling. God is literally pitching His tent upon their tent. But what happens on the inside is even more significant. "The glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle."
The word for glory here is kabod. It means weight, substance, honor, and splendor. This is not a metaphor. This is the tangible, substantial presence of the living God, so real and so dense that it has physical properties. It fills the space completely. This is the divine seal of approval on the work. This is God saying, "This is my house. I am moving in." This event is so foundational that it is mirrored later when Solomon dedicates the temple, and the same glory-cloud fills that structure so that the priests could not stand to minister (1 Kings 8:10-11). God is establishing His central headquarters on earth, in the midst of His people.
The Unapproachable Presence (v. 35)
But this glorious presence has a terrifying aspect, which we see in the next verse.
"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." (Exodus 40:35 LSB)
This should shock us. If anyone could enter, it should be Moses. This is the man who went up the mountain into that same cloud. This is the man God spoke with "as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11). But here, at the threshold of the newly consecrated dwelling, he is barred from entry. Why?
Because the problem of sin has not yet been dealt with. The tabernacle is built, but the sacrificial system outlined in Leviticus has not yet been inaugurated. God is present in His raw, unmediated holiness. And in the face of that holiness, even the godliest of men is exposed as a creature of dust and a son of Adam. There is an infinite gap between the Creator's purity and the creature's impurity. God is teaching His people a crucial lesson from the very beginning: "You cannot approach Me on your own terms. You cannot waltz into my presence based on your own merits, not even the merits of a Moses."
This verse is the cliffhanger that the book of Leviticus answers. Leviticus begins with God calling to Moses from the tent of meeting. God Himself will provide the way for man to approach Him. He will prescribe the sacrifices, the priesthood, and the Day of Atonement. He will provide the covering for sin that makes fellowship possible. This verse powerfully demonstrates that the problem between God and man is not a lack of sincerity or effort on our part. The problem is the sheer, objective reality of His holiness and our sin. And only God can bridge that chasm.
The Divine GPS (v. 36-38)
The final verses of the book establish the pattern for Israel's life going forward. God's presence will not be static; it will be their guide.
"Now throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. 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." (Exodus 40:36-38 LSB)
God's presence is now centralized in the tabernacle, and this presence dictates the entire life of the nation. Their marching orders come directly from God. When the cloud lifts, they move. When the cloud settles, they stay. It might be for a night, or a week, or a year. Their lives are not their own. They are a people under command, following their King wherever He leads.
This is a radical picture of the life of faith. We are not to be guided by our own wisdom, our own plans, or our own ambitions. We are to be guided by the manifest presence of God. The Christian life is a life of obediently following the cloud. Of course, we no longer have a physical pillar of cloud and fire. But we have something better. We have the completed Word of God and the indwelling Spirit of God. Our task is to learn to read the map of Scripture and to be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit, and to pack up and move when He says move, and to stay put when He says stay.
Notice the two forms of the cloud: a cloud by day and a fire by night. This provided both guidance and protection. By day, the cloud would have been a merciful shade from the brutal desert sun. By night, the fire would have provided light and warmth, and would have been a terrifying warning to any predators or enemies. God's presence is both a comfort to His people and a terror to His foes. It is a pillar of cloud to the Israelites and a pillar of darkness to the Egyptians (Exodus 14:20). The same presence of God that saves His people is the presence that judges the world. It all depends on which side of the pillar you are on.
The Tabernacle Fulfilled
The entire story of the tabernacle is a shadow, a type, a glorious object lesson pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle John uses this exact imagery when he says, "And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
Jesus is the true tabernacle. He is God dwelling with man. In Him, the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9). The glory that filled that tent in the wilderness was the glory of the pre-incarnate Christ. When He came in the flesh, He was the walking, talking embodiment of the presence of God on earth.
And think of the parallels. The glory in the tabernacle was so overwhelming that Moses could not enter. But in Christ, we see that glory veiled in humble flesh, full of "grace and truth." We can approach Him. More than that, He is the solution to the problem of Exodus 40:35. He is not only the house of God, but He is also the perfect High Priest who offers the perfect sacrifice, Himself, to cleanse us from sin and tear the veil in two, granting us bold access into the very holy of holies (Hebrews 10:19-22).
Because of Christ's finished work, the glory of God is no longer confined to one tent in the desert. God has moved in once more. On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit descended with fire, and He did not fill a building made with hands. He filled the people. You, believer, are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The church, corporately, is the house of God, a spiritual temple being built together (1 Peter 2:5).
The pattern of guidance continues as well. We are to follow the cloud. We are to walk by the Spirit. The Christian life is a journey, a pilgrimage, and we are led not by sight, but by faith in the one who has tabernacled among us and now dwells within us. The book of Exodus ends with God moving into the neighborhood. The story of the New Covenant is that through Christ, God has moved into the house. He has moved into us. And He has done so in order to lead us on our journey, until that final day when the whole new creation is filled with His glory as the waters cover the sea.