He is with us always. Exodus 29.44-46
Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Exodus (7)
Pray Psalm 110.1, 2.
The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
Sing Psalm 110.1, 2.
(Aurelia: The Church’s One Foundation )
“Sit by Me at My right hand,” the LORD says to my Lord,
“until I make Your foot stand on all who hate Your Word.”
The LORD sends strength from Zion: “Rule all Your enemies.”
While those who Him rely on go forth their LORD to please.
Read and meditate on Exodus 29.44-46.
Preparation
1. What did God intend to do?
2. How would His people respond to that?
Meditation
“And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us…” (Jn. 1.14, my translation). This is what the tabernacle was pointing toward, the day when God Himself would come amongst us in all His glory—“and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1.14)—and we would know Him as our God and be delivered into eternal life with Him (Jn. 17.3).
As Moses foreshadowed the miraculous birth and the delivering work of Jesus, and the Passover gave some insight into the mystery of redemption by blood, so the tabernacle and its furnishings speak powerfully to the coming glory of the Lord in the Tabernacler, even our Lord Jesus Christ.
There is no doubt that the tabernacle was the most beautiful thing any of these people had ever seen or imagined. So excited were they at the vision of its beauty as the dwelling of God among them, that they freely and lavishly gave of their possessions to construct it (cf. Ex. 34.4, 5; Ex. 36.4, 5). The prospect of God dwelling among them and of them knowing Him as their God was a source of great energy and joy. They could not have imagined just how beautiful their finished work would be, so beautiful that, when filled with the Presence of the Lord, no one could enter that beauty, but all only stood outside, amazed (Ex. 40.34-38).
So is the beauty of Jesus Christ, the Tabernacler (Mk. 9.2-8; Rev. 1.12-17). And we can see His glory now, with the eyes of our heart (Eph. 1.15-23; Col. 3.1-3; Ps. 110), so that we will be energized with joy for obedience and the work of growing in grace, building the Church of our Lord, and advancing His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus is our tabernacle. Rest in Him, in His beauty, in His glory, and in His calling for you.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
God planned to be with us, to tabernacle amongst us from the beginning. Remember what happened after Adam and Eve sinned? First, they sparsely clothed themselves in fig leaves, but then… “they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” (Gen. 3.8), and they hid. But the point is, God created us to have fellowship with one another. There He was in the garden with them. Tabernacling.
God’s next foray into tabernacling with His people was through this astonishingly beautiful and majestic building. The official Tabernacle that God Himself would sanctify by His glory (Ex. 29.43). And here is what God said that He would accomplish through this structure and its accoutrements:
I will consecrate the tabernacle of meeting.
I will consecrate the altar that goes inside.
I will consecrate Aaron.
I will consecrate Aaron’s sons.
I will consecrate them to minister to Me as priests.
I will dwell among the children of Israel.
I will be their God. And they shall know that
I AM the LORD their God Who brought them up out of the land of Egypt that
I may dwell among them.
I AM the LORD their God. (Ex. 29.44-46)
And with all the significant beauty and glory and majesty and power associated with this dwelling place, it was merely a foretaste of the beauty of Jesus the Christ ruling and reigning in both His earthly and heavenly Kingdoms.
“For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place:
‘This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread.
I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
There I will make the horn of David grow; I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon Himself His crown shall flourish’” (Ps. 132.13-18).
There He is—Jesus—the Promised and foretold Tabernacler Himself.
“‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son,
and they shall call His Name Immanuel,’
which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matt. 1.23; Is. 7.14).
“And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1.14).
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
(Latin hymn, c. 13th century, translated by John M. Neale, 1851)
Reflection
1. What does it mean to you to know that Jesus dwells in you by His Spirit?
2. How has the indwelling Christ “beautified” your life in recent years?
3. How do you expect to show the beauty of the Lord in your words and deeds today?
Using His personal name, God declared to the Israelites that He was their God. He had redeemed them and delivered them in order that they might become His people and He in turn their God. Earl Radmacher (1933-2014), NKJV Study Bible Note on Exodus 29.46
Pray Psalm 110.3-7.
Meditate on the beauty of Jesus, exalted in glory. Give Him praise and thanks. Review all that Jesus has done in your life to beautify you and make you more like Him. Give Him praise and thanks. Consider the progress of His Kingdom throughout the earth, as it advances in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Give Jesus thanks and praise. Thank and praise Him for the beauty of creation and for beautiful works of culture, for the beautiful people you know, and all the beautiful things God has put into your life. Let these be testimonies of His abiding Presence with you, and give Him all praise and thanks. Call on Him to return soon in His beauty to make all things new.
Sing Psalm 110.3-7.
(Aurelia: The Church’s One Foundation )
Your people in Your power, arrayed in holiness,
like dew of morning’s hour shall serve like youth refreshed.
The LORD has sworn and never will He His promise check:
“You are a priest forever after Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at Your right hand to execute His wrath,
and judge all kings and all lands—doomed sinners in His path.
Then, all His foes defeated, He takes His hard-won rest,
in glorious triumph seated with us, redeemed and blessed.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
