The Tabernacle has now been prepared and assembled. It seems as well that Moses’ make shift “Tent of Meeting” has been replaced by the new shrine. The Tabernacle has been consecrated and so that specific work was finished for Moses.
God’s manifest presence
God’s presence with his people has been represented by a pillar of cloud moving before them. Now, that cloud moves so that it rests over the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34). The presence is so impenetrable that Moses cannot go into the tent. We often think of “glory” in terms of light but it is Scripturally often associated with thick darkness that sets God apart and beyond us. In fact, the word “chabod” has the sense of heaviness or weightiness (v35).
The cloud would lift up from the Tabernacle whenever it was time for the people to move on and when they struck camp, it would again settle on the Tabernacle for the duration of their stay in one place (v36-37). As with before, the cloud became fire at night, lighting up the sky and so this phenomenon was constantly visible to all the people (v34-28).
Bookends
Here we come to the end of the book of Exodus but not the end of The Exodus. The story of the journey to Canaan will continue in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. However, this is a good place to pause. We leave God’s people continuing a journey. There is a sense of now and not yet. They are out of Egypt, they have been set free from slavery. However, they are still to arrive at their promised destination. Yet, even though they are not fully at home in God’s place, he is still tangibly, undeniably present with them.
We may identify with such a context. We are in our own “now and not yet”. There’s the big picture “now and not yet” as we live between Christ’s finished work at Calvary -he has saved/delivered us from slavery to sin and death – and his return as King at the consummation of the ages when all will be made new and we will be with him forever. In the meantime we have his presence with us. Just as the people of Israel had God’s Covenant Word on the Tablets, so we have God’s Word in Scripture. Just as they had covenant signs and symbols, so too we have the means of grace in baptism and communion. Just as they had God’s presence, we too have the holy Spirit and as they were called to assemble so too we are called to gather as the Church.
Faithroots 