“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 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.”
– Exodus 40:34–35
What a scene. Just picture. What does it look like for the glory of God to fill the tabernacle? This is the culmination of all that Exodus has been building toward. From the very beginning of this book, when God’s people were slaves in Egypt. God said, “Moses, I’m gonna send you to Pharaoh. You’re gonna deliver my people. I’m gonna bring them out of Egypt. I’m gonna bring them into a land where they might worship me.”
And here they are, in Exodus 40:34–35, beholding the glory of God in their midst, in freedom. This picture is incomplete. It’s glorious, but it’s Old testament, before Christ. Because when Christ comes, the book of John says that we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, the Word made flesh and dwelling among us. That word for dwelling literally means tabernacle. Jesus is the tabernacle.
Because Jesus dwelt among us and paid the price for our sin at the cross, we are free in Him. We no longer have to stand back but can enter into the presence of the glory of God.
Exodus 40:34–35 Gives Us a Picture of Jesus’ Atonement
He’s the picture of the glory of God, come to the Earth. Jesus lives a sinless life, he dies a substitutionary death for us on the cross. He rises from the grave and he ascends into heaven, and sends his spirit. And he opens the door for you and I to be in the presence of the glory of God. Oh, we don’t have to stand back. We can enter in. Because Jesus has made a way for us to behold, to glimpse, to know the glory of God. To spend time in prayer with freedom, not just from slavery, like we picture in the book of Exodus, but freedom from sit itself.
Oh, glory be to your name oh God! We praise you for the freedom you bought for us in Christ Jesus. We praise you for what you did when you went to the cross on our behalf, and you paid the price for our sin. You set us free from the penalty, payment and power of sin. All glory be to your name! We are free! We’re free! We’re free from sin! And we don’t live in bondage to sin any longer. We don’t have to worry about the ultimate penalty of sin, death. We are free to experience eternal life. And we’re free to worship you. We’re free to commune with you.
This Verse Leads Us to Know God
Oh God right now! We’re free to know you. And we’re free to walk with you today. We’re free to enjoy you. And we’re free to hear your word, to cry out to you, to find help from you. We’re free to proclaim you. And we are free to experience your goodness for all of eternity. Oh, glory be to your name oh God. We praise you for freeing us for the purpose of worship. So may it be so in our lives. Be worshiped. Be glorified. And be honored.
Cause your glory to spread through us, that others might know the freedom that’s found in Christ. That others might enjoy you. That others might see, behold and know your glory. Oh God, may it be so in our lives, through our lives. People around us, peoples around the world. Use us to make freedom in Christ known to the nations.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
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David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
