Exodus 29:43-46 – Let us reflect His glory

Exodus 29 points us to Christ and shows us the heart of God. He loves us so very much that He makes all the provision for us to experience His presence with us. The Tabernacle, the priesthood, the sacrifices are all there to show us how much He wants to speak with us and be with us. Exodus 29:43-46 give us the reason why He wanted the Tabernacle built. The phrase that is key in this passage is: “I am the Lord their God.” The Tabernacle was all about God wanting to dwell among His people. He wanted the Tabernacle built so that He could have a place to meet and speak to His people, and give them His direction. It was the place where His presence could always be felt. Know it or not, the Tabernacle, the priests and their apparels as well as the sacrifices, all point to how God desires to make his people holy. He wanted them holy so that they could be set apart to serve Him. It was about God making known that He was their God and they were His people. Here God was completing the salvation process which He started when he sent Moses to deliver them out of the hand of Pharaoh of Egypt. The Tabernacle was the place where God would reveal His glory.

We get to see how pivotal the Tabernacle, the priesthood and the sacrifices were. All these serve to point to God’s salvation plan for His people. The Tabernacle was the place that He would come down in all His glory. Studying the construction of it helps us to understand why God would take so much time to elaborate and to prepare the place for His dwelling among His people. Everything was to be made holy, the tent and all its furnishings. Every piece of furniture was to be crafted to reveal Him and His divine nature. He also ensured that the priests would be washed, cleansed anointed and consecrated and be made holy to serve Him. God even had a label that said “HOLY TO THE LORD” attached to the turban of His priest. Aaron and his sons were consecrated as priests to serve the holy God.

When we come over to the New Testament, we can see that in Christ God is building a new place for His dwelling. He calls us out of the world so that with us, He can build a place for His dwelling, a place where His presence can be experienced. We are each a lively stone, being fitted to become God’s temple. In the midst of all our daily activities, we must never lose sight that we are a piece of God’s building for His holy dwelling in the world today. So that corporately we, the people of God, become the reflection of His glory in this lost world. What a privilege and a responsibility!