Exodus 40
McGeeCHAPTER 40THEME: The tabernacle erected and filled with the Shekinah gloryIn this chapter the tabernacle is set up. I want to deal with only one thing because we have already dealt with every article of furniture and the garments of the priest. When Moses had the tabernacle set up in the camp of Israel, an amazing thing happened.
Exodus 40:34
When the apostle Paul attempts to identify the Israelites in the Book of Romans, he enumerates several things that set them apart from other peoples. One was the shekinah glory (Rom_9:4). The Israelites were the only people to ever have the glory of God, the visible presence of God. That is what led them through the great and terrible wilderness. The cloud would lift in the morning if they were to journey that day. If it did not lift, the children of Israel stayed in the camp. They did not attempt to move that day. They never moved by their own wisdom or judgment. They did not vote on whether or not they should move, and Moses did not make the decisionthe cloud did! We sometimes say in our churches that Christ is the Head of the church. How about your church? Is He the Head of your church? Are we following the cloud today or do we put a man on the church board because he is a successful businessman? You hear people say today, “I want to talk to my preacher about this problem. I want him to tell me what to do.” We who are pastors are not experts at telling people what they should do.
We cannot solve everyone’s marital problems. But there is a pillar of cloud today although most people do not see it. It is the Holy Spirit of God. He ought to be the One to lead us and guide us. Oh, how He is neglected! We are always appealing to someone human or something outside of God for help.
But we need preachers, teachers, and laymen who are filled with the Spirit of God. Our churches need leaders who pay attention to the Word of God, and who want to do the will of God. There is no visible cloud over the church today, but the Holy Spirit of God wants to lead and guide us. This concludes our studies in the Book of Exodus. It opened in the gloom of the brickyards of Egypt, and it closed in the glorious presence of the Lord in the tabernacle. It was His presence that led them through the wilderness. God wants to deliver you from the gloom of the slavery of sin and to bring you into the glory of His presence and into the very center of His will where He can lead and guide you. What a wonderful book is Exodus!