Show Me Your Glory!

Today’s key verse: Exodus 40:34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

Context:

“Then” follows a long section, going back to Exodus 34 describing the building of the tabernacle, a big tent for the glory, the presence of God in the midst of His people. One part I love in this section is 36:1-7…

Exodus 36:1 So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the LORD has commanded." 2 Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work 5 and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done." 6 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: "No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." And so the people were restrained from bringing more, 7 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

Can you imagine a church sending out a letter saying, “PLEASE don’t send us anything, we have more than enough and in fact, it’s way too much”…? Right…

We learn in these chapters that God provided a PLAN for the tabernacle, and then He provided the SKILLS and the MATERIALS for building that tabernacle. All that was left was for the people to obey, and once they did, we see this here in verse 34 of the final chapter of Exodus:

“Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.”
The glory of the LORD… what must that have been like? KIVOD means “weightiness” or “value”… but practically speaking, what does that mean? We know from the next couple of verses that Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because of this glory… This “glory” must be something tangible, or at least perceivable, with human senses. It had an appearance…
Exodus 24:16-17 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain
A little time after the glory appeared on Mount Sinai, Moses actually asked to see God’s glory…
Exodus 33:18-19 Then Moses said, “Now show me Your glory”

Why would Moses ask God to show him His glory? Here was a man who knew God better than anyone, and was still not satisfied… he wanted more, he wanted to know God even more, to see even more of Him. He was a God junkie! Oh that we would be like that! This is the kind of heart God is seeking… and He responds to Moses’ request… what does He do? First, He tells Moses that He’s going to show him His goodness, His compassion, and His sovereignty over that goodness and compassion…

Exodus 33:19 And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

So He promises Moses that He will do it, then, after Moses has followed the Lord’s commands, the Lord does what He promised:

Exodus 34:5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

Here’s the point I’m getting to here: Moses cried out to know God more, and God responded with greater revelation of Himself. Moses sought God, God responded. Simple. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Do you believe? Do you believe that He exists? Do you believe that he rewards you if you earnestly seek Him? If you believe that, then are you earnestly seeking Him? Not just casually throwing your requests His way, maybe He’ll answer, maybe not… but earnestly seeking Him, in Spirit and in Truth?

You see, the faith of Moses, and of Abraham, of David, of all the “friends of God” that we know about in the Bible… this faith goes beyond asking Him for this or that, or trusting Him for healing for ourselves or others… I believe we can and ought to ask Him for these things, but I also believe that we have an opportunity to walk even more closely with Him, in His very glory, when we really grasp that He’s given us everything we need to do His will, and then, embracing that provision, we start walking in confident obedience to His calling.

We have everything we need to do His will. We really do.

Last night, writing this sermon, I kept feeling like I didn’t have enough time, and I was bemoaning the fact that I hadn’t spent the time earlier in the week, then recalling that I was booked solid all week long, and felt like I just didn’t have the time I needed to do this… but that’s really not true. The time I had last night was plenty (I’m writing this by faith!) and the other need I was worrying about, the need for rest, was also taken care of… I got plenty of rest, too, and I awakened refreshed and at peace, everything in order, no gaps… full of confidence, not in myself or in this little sermon, but in God… I know He’s given me everything I need to do His will, and I must… WE must… not give in to the lie that says we don’t have enough.

He’s given us everything we need. There’s a freedom and a peace and a rest that comes when we walk in that truth, when we’re not constantly looking at our needs and wondering how God is going to meet them, going from drama to drama like we talked about last week… No, I believe we can walk in the peace and freedom that David expressed in the 23rd Psalm: Adonai roi lo eksar … say that a few times, let it become a part of your heart, and your mind. It means this: The LORD is my shepherd, I do not lack.
You might say, “Oh but I have real needs, real lack!” Sure, I know that. But do you have what you need to live a Godly life? If you think about it, you’ll realize you do. I KNOW that you do because I know His Word is true, and His Word says this:
2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (NEW MEMORY VERSE!)
Do you see that? HIS power is available to us, we have EVERYTHING we need, and what we need comes through our KNOWLEDGE… of whom? Of God Himself, and He has CALLED each of us, and just as He showed Moses, it’s by His GLORY which is connected with His GOODNESS.
We have everything we need.
Here’s another:
Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Let’s not forget Matt 6:25-31 (have someone read)
And one more:
Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
And on and on… We have enough. We have everything we need. The question is, will we now obey?

Let’s go back to Exodus 39 and 40…

Remember, He provided more than enough skill and material for the tabernacle, and those who had the skill did everything, “just as the LORD commanded.” You’ll find that statement over and over throughout chapters 39 and 40…
Ex 39-40: “Just as the LORD had commanded”… 39:1,5,7,21,26,29,31,43, 40:19,21,23,25,27,29,32
Then in 39:43, Moses gives the kind of blessing that I think is the only GOOD sort of human approval that we can hope for:
Exodus 39:43 Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
Moses blessed them for obedience! Oh that we would all be so obedient, and so blessed! That we also might hear those words: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
He’s given us everything we need to accomplish this, to do His will… All that is left for us to do, if we want to live in light of His glory, is to obey, as good and faithful servants, to walk in obedience to God’s plan with God’s provision (whether skills or material goods or both).

So my question for you to consider, right now and during this coming week, is this: what has He commanded you? What plans is He stirring in your heart? If His plan for you isn’t very clear, maybe you can consider this: what gifts has He given you? What talents, what material gifts has He given you? He stirred the hearts of the people to give abundantly to the work of the Tabernacle… I believe He can stir your heart as well.

Let’s spend some time in listening prayer, and I encourage you to listen for that stirring. What gift do you have? What skill? What idea? What plan? Listen, and if you hear something or remember something or see something, WRITE IT DOWN, however weird or even boring it may sound.

Listening Prayer

Did you hear anything? If not, don’t lose heart; keep asking Him, keep listening. If you did hear something, be sure you write it down, and remind yourself. Share it with your family here, too… maybe today after service, maybe during testimony time next week… If we share these visions, we can help each other walk in them, and we can experience His glory together, and indeed glorify Him together.

Let us pray…