Êxodo 40

Êxodo 40

Morgan - Ex. 40:34 The glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Ex. 40.34. That was God's answer to man's obedience. Apart from that obedience there could have been no filling of the House with the Divine glory. Apart from that filling, the House would have had no value. This coming of the glory of Jehovah to the Tabernacle was the foreshadowing of the hour when the Holy Spirit came to the Church at Pentecost, and of the hour when that same Spirit takes up His abode in the heart of the believer. Therefore it is also true that whatever building we erect for the worship and work of God, it lacks completion until it is consecrated by the coming of the glory of Jehovah. If ever the hour comes when the glory of Jehovah departs from Tabernacle or Temple, then the structure is useless, however ornate and beautiful it may be as to its material appointments. These things cannot ensure the glory of Jehovah. On the other hand, however plain or poor a structure may be, if the glory of Jehovah be there, it is made beautiful Indeed. It is by the presence of that glory, moreover, that the people of God are to be guided in their goings by day, and kept and comforted in the night seasons. In that glory there ever merge the things of the Divine holiness and mercy, the things of God's government and grace, the things of love and light and life. When these are present, the trivial becomes sublime, and the small becomes great. When they are absent, everything tends to weariness and death. Nothing is worth while if the glory of God be missing. Everything is fruitful where that glory is found. Exodus 40:35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Lev 16:2 1Ki 8:11 2Ch 5:14 7:2 Isa 6:4 Rev 15:8 Exodus 40 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries MOSES UNABLE TO ENTER TENT OF MEETING Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle - The same phenomenon occurred with the Temple was dedicated "so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God." (2Chr 5:14) Why could not Moses enter? Because the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. God's glory at this time was too much for a man to bear. This is interesting for what did Moses do in Ex 24:18? "Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights." And also in Ex 33:9+ "Whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the LORD would speak with Moses. When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent." Stuart answers the question - The answer is that the tabernacle was now Yahweh’s house and no one else’s. It was no more appropriate now for Moses to enter the tabernacle, even though he had been all through it as its building supervisor, than it would be for a house builder in modern times to retain a key and enter at will a house that he had built once it was sold to its occupying owner. When the new owner enters, the new house is exclusively his—not the builder’s. Later Moses and Aaron would be able to enter the tabernacle, and provision would be made for the high priest to enter it, even the holy of holies, periodically. This was possible because the glory cloud did not continue to stay inside the tabernacle but mainly hovered on top of it, as Ex 40:36–38 state overtly. But by the present act of occupying his house through his glory and temporarily keeping all others out, God showed Moses and all Israel that the house was now his and his alone and indeed his truly and entirely, the very thing they had built it to become. (Exodus: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition) Bush - 35. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, &c. The glory of the Shekinah shone so bright and dazzling, that it was absolutely insufferable to the sight. Indeed, as the phenomenon was in effect the same with that which appeared on the summit of Sinai, and of which it is said, Ex. 24:16, that the part of it covered by the cloud, when partially exposed to view, was like unto ‘devouring fire,’ the tabernacle could not now be entered for the same reason that the cloud could not then have been entered, even by Moses, without a special summons to that effect from Jehovah himself. Precisely the same thing happened at the dedication of the temple of Solomon, when, we are told, 1 Kings, 8:10, 11, ‘The cloud filled the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.’ A palpable allusion to this incident is also to be recognised in Rev. 15:7, 8, although the meaning of the prophecy is too profound to be hastily decided upon; ‘And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.’ Moses was obliged to wait till the overwhelming brightness had somewhat abated, and the Glory had retired within the veil. That these circumstances were designed to point forward to some grand accomplishment of far more illustrious character, in the state described in the closing chapters of Ezekiel and John, when the divine Glory shall again take up its abode on earth, we have no doubt. But as the precise manner of its ultimate fulfilment appears to be hidden by a veil at present inscrutable, we are thrown upon a moral improvement of the occurrence, upon which no mystery rests. It affords another intimation how awful and terrible is the majesty of Jehovah when he is pleased to reveal himself to human eyes. How impossible it was for Moses to behold it without a screen, we have already had occasion to notice. The greatest and the best of men are utterly unable to stand before it. ‘Our God is a consuming fire.’ How thankful then are we called to be, that we may contemplate the softened glories of the Godhead in Jesus Christ, who has drawn nigh and entered as our forerunner into the holy place not made with hands, that we might in due time be admitted to a participation of the same honor and joy. Exodus 40:36 Throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; whenever: Ex 13:21,22 Nu 10:11-13,33-36 19:17-22 Ne 9:19 Ps 78:14 105:39 1Co 10:1 2Co 5:19,20 Exodus 40 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries GOD'S GUIDANCE Related Passages: Numbers 9:15-22 Now on the day that the tabernacle was erected the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and in the evening it was like the appearance of fire over the tabernacle, until morning. 16 So it was continuously; the cloud would cover it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 Whenever the cloud was lifted from over the tent, afterward the sons of Israel would then set out; and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the sons of Israel would camp. 18 At the command of the LORD the sons of Israel would set out, and at the command of the LORD they would camp; as long as the cloud settled over the tabernacle, they remained camped. 19 Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the sons of Israel would keep the LORD’S charge and not set out. 20 If sometimes the cloud remained a few days over the tabernacle, according to the command of the LORD they remained camped. Then according to the command of the LORD they set out. 21 If sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning, when the cloud was lifted in the morning, they would move out; or if it remained in the daytime and at night, whenever the cloud was lifted, they would set out. 22 Whether it was two days or a month or a year that the cloud lingered over the tabernacle, staying above it, the sons of Israel remained camped and did not set out; but when it was lifted, they did set out. Steward explains that Exodus 40:36-38 is parallel with "Nu 9:15–22 in a way that links the present context with the story of the eventual travels of the Israelites and that of Yahweh’s tabernacle (and thus far more importantly, Yahweh) with them. In between the two contexts there remains a period of about forty-eight days (from the first day of the first month of the second year, when the tabernacle was erected, as stated in 40:1, to the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, when the Israelites left Sinai, as stated in Num 10:11). During those forty-eight days, the instructions and activities described in all of Leviticus and in Num 1:1–10:11 take place. Throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out - Note that the verb set out is in the imperfect tense in the Hebrew which speaks of an action that occurred repeatedly. In Numbers 10:11-13 we read Now in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony; 12 and the sons of Israel set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 So they moved out for the first time according to the commandment of the LORD through Moses. Immediately upon deliverance from Egyptian bondage Jehovah had provided guidance for them in the form of a cloud and will continue to do so for the next 40 years... Exodus 13:21; 22+ (See also Ex 14:19–20, 24+; Ex 16:10+) The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to LEAD them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. THOUGHT - You may be thinking "That's great. Israel had a visible marker to tell them when to go, where to go and when to stop. But what about me?" While we do not have a "divine cloud" guiding us in our "wilderness journey" during our stay on earth, God has provided guidance in His written Word and by His indwelling Holy Spirit. The Word of the Lord is the best way to discern the Will of the Lord. While providential circumstances may be provided, we do well to avoid the snare of giving them more credence than we give to the written Word of God. And so if we sense by some circumstance we should go to a particular place or take a specific action, we dare not follow that lead if it clearly conflicts with the word of God! We can supplement our discernment of God's will by passages such as Romans 12:2+ (making sure we first truly carry out Romans 12:1+!) which gives us two commands "And do not be conformed (present imperative with a negative see need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) to this world, but be transformed (present imperative see need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) by the renewing of your mind (HOW? BY REGULAR INTAKE OF THE WORD WHICH THE SPIRIT USES AS DESCRIBED IN 2 Cor 3:18+), so that you may prove (dokimazo = TEST OR "ASSAY" SO AS TO APPROVE) what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." And one other thing we should do of course is to pray, including praying specifically as Paul modeled in Colossians 1:9-10+ "to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; Related Resources: The Will Of God - lengthy on site article with numerous notes How can I know God’s will for my life? What does the Bible say about knowing God’s will? | GotQuestions.org How can we recognize the voice of God? Does God have a plan for me? How can I find my spiritual calling? How can I get to know God better? What is the difference between God’s sovereign will and God’s perfect will? Bush - 36, 37. And when the cloud was taken up, &c. Thus the cloud was a guide to the camp of Israel in their march through the wilderness. While the cloud remained upon or over the tabernacle, they rested abiding in their tents; when it removed, they removed and followed their aërial conductor. This is more fully detailed Num. 9:15–23, and long afterwards mentioned with grateful remembrance by the Psalmist, Ps. 78:14–105:39; and Neheiniah notices its continuance as an extraordinary mercy notwithstanding their great provocation in the matter of the golden calf; ch. 9:19, ‘Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light and the way wherein they should go.’ John Currid - Admiral Nelson of the British navy was such a fine seaman and leader of men that sailors loved to serve under him. Sir Robert Stopford, who was sailing with Nelson in the West Indies, wrote home to a loved one that ‘We are half starved and otherwise inconvenienced by so long out of port, but our reward is that we are with Nelson.’ So it was with the Israelites who were about to embark into the wilderness, where there was little comfort, little food and little water. Yet, God was with them, and how greatly he would supply all their needs! That is how we ought to look at life as well. We may be persecuted, or half starved, or put upon by various trials, but our reward is God’s presence with us, no matter what our external circumstances. (Epsc Exodus Volume 2) The Glory of the Lord Descends The cloud descended, pure and bright, A holy veil, a radiant light. The tent of meeting, God's abode, Where His glory filled, His presence showed. No mortal dared to step inside, For heaven’s King did there reside. The weight of glory, vast and grand, Rested among His chosen band. By day, a cloud would lead the way, Through deserts vast, where shadows lay. By night, a fire lit the skies, A beacon bright, before their eyes. A guide unfailing, ever near, To calm their hearts, to still their fear. Through every trial, step, and strife, His presence brought sustaining life. So let our hearts, like tents of old, Be filled with glory, pure as gold. For where His Spirit comes to stay, He lights the night and leads the day. Thomas Newberry - The Guidance Of The Cloud Exodus 40:36–38. The people of God are a journeying people, yet He will never leave them nor forsake them. The great thing is to walk with God, so as ever to enjoy the light and guidance of His presence. Moses said, “If Thy presence go not with us, carry us not up hence” (Exodus 33:15). Who that values that presence, but will often be presenting the same petition? The PRESENCE OF GOD with us—How seasonable! How suitable! Shade in sunshine! Light in darkness! Abiding with us while we tarry!… Going before us when we move. There is one thing of all-importance taught us here. God’s guidance of His people, and the manifestation of His presence with them, is connected with the Tabernacle, His dwelling-place among them. It was “when the cloud was taken up FROM OVER THE TABERNACLE, the children of Israel went onward.” Their individual movements were controlled by God’s acting in connection with the Tabernacle. So with us, if our individual actions are not influenced by the manifestation of God’s presence and actings with the assembly, no wonder if we miss His guidance, and walk in darkness. Not only were the children of Israel to pitch round about the Tabernacle, having it as their centre, the very place of their tents being regulated by the position of the Tabernacle, because it was God’s dwelling-place; but their every movement was to harmonise with God’s movements in connection with it. Oh, for grace ever to remember and to act on this! We are so prone to make self our centre, and our individual interests and comforts, temporal or spiritual, the guides of our actions, that we need every now and then to be broken off from them, and to be brought back to God, and to the things of God. May we value the presence of God with us, and the unclouded sunshine of His smile in our individual pathway. But may we also seek the manifestation of His presence in the assembly of His saints, so as ever to see His power and His glory as we have seen it in the sanctuary. May the chill and the darkness, occasioned by the loss of His smile, be to us a warning of our wandering, if we turn aside to the right hand or to the left; whether it be in our individual course, or in our Church associations. May we walk, O God, in the light of Thy countenance, the confident language of our hearts being this, “Thou shalt guide us with Thy council, and afterward receive us to glory.” Exodus 40:37 but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. Nu 9:19-22 Ps 31:15 Exodus 40 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries MARCHING ORDERS FROM JEHOVAH but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up - It is interesting that there is no record here of grumbling, but sadly there would again be grumbling even in the face of such an amazing divine manifestation. (Numbers 14:2, 14:36, Nu 16:11, 41, Nu 17:5, 10, 10) Exodus 40:38 For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel. the cloud of the LORD: Ex 13:21 Nu 9:15 there was fire in it by night: Ps 78:14 Ps 105:39 Isa 4:5,6 Exodus 40 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries SHEKINAH - FIRE BY NIGHT For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel - The presence of God was with Israel the entire 40 years. Stewart - The once relatively distant cloud (either far above them in the wilderness or on Mount Sinai or at the entrance to the little tent of meeting outside the camp) was now in the center of their encampment, right above the dwelling place of their God, who “lived” inside his tabernacle. They could see the cloud at all times, so it could at all times guide them in their travels (v. 38)....Wonderful as this was, it was but a shadow of the closeness to God available now to his corporate people known as the church and his direct indwelling available to every individual who repents of sin and trusts in God’s gift of salvation through Christ (Eph 2:22; Col 1:27)—his New Covenant’s new Moses and his for-all-time honored and accepted representative (John 1:14), rescuer,(Matt 1:21; 2 Tim 1:9) lawgiver (Gal 6:2), law ender, (Rom 10:4.) and heavenly Temple (Rev 21:22). THOUGHT - And now where is God's Temple? Paul answers "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. (1 Cor 6:19-20+) In 2 Cor 6:16 Paul says "Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE." And in 1 Cor 3:16 the reference is to the entire local church " Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" And so Exodus ends but the first words in Lev 1:1 quickly pick up the story - "Then the LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying." Bush - 38. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle, by day, &c. Chal. and Targ. Jon. ‘The cloud of the Glory of the Lord.’ Targ. Jerus. ‘The cloud of the Glory of the Shekinah of the Lord.’ That same mysterious cloud which had led them up from Egypt, and which had all along been pregnant with wonders, now settled upon the tabernacle and hovered over it, even in the hottest and clearest day; for this was not a cloud of which it could be said that the sun ‘wearieth the thick cloud; he scattereth the bright cloud.’ It was a cloud that served as a remarkable token of the Divine Presence, constantly visible day and night to all Israel, and to those who were situated ill the remotest corners of the camp, so that they could never have occasion to propose the question, ‘Is the Lord among us, or is he not?’ They could not doubt it, unless they could doubt the evidence of their own senses. And fire was on it by night in the sight of all the house of Israel, &c. The fire and the cloud were not, as we have before remarked, two different and distinct things. It was one and the same pillar which was a dark cloud by day and a shining fire by night. Indeed, as the original for ‘on it’ is בו bo, in it, it is contended by Fagius and others that the true meaning is, that the fire was in the cloud by night, i. e. that the cloud was the seat of it, that it did not emanate from any source different from the cloud; not that the fire was so inveloped in the cloud as to be invisible, for on that supposition, the fire was in it by day as well as by night. It is possible that the term ‘fire’ is to be understood merely of a phosphorescent glow which the exterior of the cloud was made to assume at night, and thus to be viewed as entirely distinct from the inner enwrapped glory, which Moses so ardently desired to see. These are particulars in respect to the cloud which it is exceedingly difficult to determine, but the general image can easily be brought before the mind, and we can see at once how express is the allusion to this incident in the words of the prophet, Is. 4:5, ‘And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory shall be a defence.’ The dwelling-places of Mount Zion here spoken of are doubtless Christian churches, and the intimation seems to be, that in the times of the gospel each individual church, or congregation of believers, should be as complete in itself in its endowments, and prerogatives; that it shall be as truly distinguished by the tokens of the Divine presence, guidance, and guardianship, as was the one congregation of Israel with its one tabernacle, surmounted by the pillar of cloud and of fire. The Jewish nation formed but one church, having its unity concentrated in one place and one system of worship. As such it was not so properly a type of the whole collective body of Christian churches, nor of any one great sectarian division of the church, as of each particular single church, duly organized and furnished. All such churches the Scriptures represent as complete and independent in themselves, and subject to no jurisdiction save that of Christ administered by his word, spirit, and officers. Throughout all their journeys. This circumstance is so prominent in the history of the wanderings of Israel, and so replete with interest in itself, that we know not how to forbear enlarging somewhat more at length upon it. Whatever may have been the impression produced by it upon the minds of those to whose senses it was present, it soars majestically before our minds as a threefold token of the divine presence, protection, and guidance. In this sublime symbol the journeying host could but feel that God was always nigh them, resting with them when they rested, and moving with them when they moved. Never could they cast their eyes upon that towering pillar, ever dark by day and bright by night, always maintaining its position, and not like other clouds, changing, breaking, and dissipating into the surrounding air; never, we say, could they look upon this august object without being reminded that ‘a God at hand, and not afar off, was the Lord in his holy habitation.’ But not only so; it was a source of protection. It shaded them, as a pleasant pavilion, from the rays of the noon-tide sun, and under its canopy they could rest as under the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Nor less did it serve as a defence from their enemies, than as a shade from the beams of the sultry sun. Its descending and interposing folds placed a wall of adaman between them and their Egyptian pursuers, beyond which they could no more penetrate than they could have broken through the granite barriers of Sinai and Horeb. But last, though not least, they had in the cloudy pillar a constant guide and director. It conducted them in all their movements, and indicated to them all their rests. They rose up and journeyed whenever it began to move; they stopped at the moment when it became stationary. When it rose they knew not whither it would go, but it led them constantly in the right way; and they had no inquiries to make, no doubts or fears to cherish, nothing top do but to yield themselves implicitly to its guidance. What a wondrous mercy to be thus conducted in all their way! Travellers, especially in desert and inhospitable climes, like that which now lay before the children of Israel, are prone to be concerned about their route and about their safety. They lie down, at night with planted guards around them, and look with fearful solicitude to the events of the coming day, lest perchance they should lose their way, or their water become exhausted, or their strength fail. But no misgivings of this nature could trouble the peace of the favored hosts of Israel. They could lay them down to rest without any care how far or whither they should go on the morrow, or whether they should move at all. No anxiety as to food or drink could afflict their minds, for without any care or thought of theirs, ‘their bread would be given and their water would be sure,’ and if they journeyed, an unerring guide would mark out their place of rest. ‘Happy, thrice happy, ye highly favored of heaven!’ we are prone to exclaim in view of this distinguished lot of the chosen tribes. Thrown often ourselves into the greatest perplexity as to the decisions we shall make, and the conduct we shall pursue id life, we naturally feel how great would be the blessing of being ever thus sensibly directed by the Lord. But let us not disparage our own privileges compared with those of the seed of Jacob. As to the presence of Jehovah with us, encompassing our ways, we are not left destitute of that. If we have not the Shekinah in shadow we have it in substance, in him who is ‘the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the express image of his person.’ His tabernacling has already, in one sense, been with men in human flesh, and he is the proper object to bring before our thoughts, whenever we would have an equivalent for the visible symbol of Jehovah. In him the promise is, ‘I will dwell in (among) them, and walk in (among) them, and they shall be my people.’ ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ By his spirit be is present with his whole church and with every individual member of it. By that Spirit he will abide with them for ever, cheering their hearts and renewing their strength by the light of his countenance. Do we desire protection as real and as effectual as that which spread its panoply over the chosen race? The consoling strain in which, if his, we are assured of it, is uttered in the language of the Psalmist, ‘The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for ever more.’ Finally, do we desire guidance, an infallible light to direct us in all the mazes and perplexities of our path—something which shall stand to us instead of the luminous pillar that, in the dark night poured its splendors upon the shifting sands and the rocky rough-nesses of the Arabian desert? Doubt less, secret intimations of Providence are sometimes given to this end, especially if sought in earnest prayer and humble watchfulness. But however this may be, we have a more sure directory of duty. The Bible is our pillar of cloud and of fire. Let us look to the pages of that inspired word which is a light to our feet, and a lamp to our path,’ and we shall cease to desiderate the guiding glory which aided only the outward eye, and directed only a local sojourn. We have all and abound. We have the oracles of truth and life; we have the proffer of the illuminating Spirit; we have the promise of a better Canaan than that which smiled beyond Jordan; and if we can sincerely say with the Psalmist, in respect to the divine leading on earth, ‘Thou shall guide me with thy counsel,’ we may confidently add the supplementary clause ‘And afterward receive me to glory.’ F B