"The Glory Fell" January 27 Readings: Exodus 36-40

  

Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024

This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened." Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New. 

Bible Readings:  Exodus 36-40

Background:  

This is another potentially tedious passage, repeating the detailed instructions of chapters 25-30. There are two key truths in this passage. First, you can see the statement repeated constantly that Moses did exactly as God had instructed him. He was obedient - completely, carefully, obsessively. He did not vary at all from what God told him to do. It was when Moses completed his task obediently that the glory of God fell. Enthusiasm and passion cannot replace obedience if we want to see the blessing of God in our lives!

Daily Devotional: The Glory Fell

Glory!

It was a startling and wonderful moment, as the glory of God came down and so filled the tabernacle that Moses had completed that he could not even enter the tent. Imagine that, will you? The presence of God was so strong, the power of God so real, so palpable, that God's servant could not even go into the designated place of worship.

Wouldn't that be something?

We hear a lot today about revival. At its root, revival is simply the restoration of the glory of God among the people of God. When the Scriptures speak of glory, they mean the manifest presence of God. God is always here, always everywhere. Sometimes he makes himself known in such a way that his presence is unmistakable. It may be a fiery sense of conviction, an overwhelming sense of joy, a burden for ministry, a deeply personal or corporate prayer time, or a moment when the Word of God just comes alive in an unusual way, or perhaps one of those blessed and all too rare moments in a worship service at church when there is an unusual sense of God's presence. Glory. The manifest presence of God.

There have been few times in history when the presence of God came down, when the glory of God was displayed in the same way as it was in Exodus 40:34-35.

The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

This did not happen in a vacuum. Revival, a mighty moving of God's Spirit that restores a people and changes a culture is a sovereign work of God that has happened all too rarely in history. But there are things that God's people can do to cultivate the nearness of God, the presence of God in their lives. The key is found in the verses that precede the one we just read, six words that appear repeatedly in the two chapters we read today. Look at Exodus 39:1, 5, 7, 21 26, 29, 31, 43, 40:16, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, and verse 32. One more key is added in verse 33.

What are the six words that are repeated time and again in these verses? You've already figured it out, haven't you?

"...just as the Lord had commanded Moses." 

Obedience. Moses did what God said. God gave him specific, detailed, and complete instructions on how to build the tabernacle, and Moses did things exactly, precisely, and fully as God commanded. He didn't get creative or innovative. He didn't "do what he thought was best." He simply did what God told him to do. He obeyed God and the glory of God filled what he built.

That is the second key, the one mentioned in verse 33. "So Moses finished the work." He did what God told him to do and he left nothing undone. Obedience and perseverance in the work God gave are the keys to the blessing of God.

We may never experience the kind of dramatic glory that Moses and the Israelites did - perhaps we ought not even to seek that. But we can seek the blessing of God on our lives daily and his active, powerful presence and we walk in obedience and as we persevere through hard times.

Father, help me to walk in obedience to you and to persevere in your ways even when things are tough. What I need, what we need in our churches, in our lives, what we all need, is your presence and power to rise up among us. Exalt yourself, O God! 

Consider God's Word:

Are you careful in your obedience to Christ? 

Moses did things "just as God commanded." Do you?