Exodus 40:34  Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
35  And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
36  And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:
37  But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
38  For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

God wants man to know Him. He works in different ways to draw people to Himself. He uses circumstances in a person’s life to break the lost person down. A person can be very stubborn and refuse to yield to the drawing of God on their life. That is the sad reality for most people. God wants all people to be saved.
Salvation is more than just talking about God. It is more than having a feeling about God. God’s salvation is a gift that He gives to all those who turn to Him in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. When God saves a person, they are given a new nature. They are changed and their desire is for truth. The saved person is not interested in false teaching. The saved person wants to know the truth.
In our text God has been drawing the children of Israel to Him. He wanted them to see the magnificence of Himself. He had revealed His power to them in delivering them from Egyptian bondage. He also showed His power in parting the waters of the Red Sea and causing the entire nation of Israel to cross over on dry ground, and yet drowning the entire army of Pharaoh in the Red Sea. Then He led them in the wilderness, and provided water and food for them.
As we noted yesterday, after they had been in the wilderness for about a year and a half, God called Moses up into the mount to give him detailed instructions for the building of the tabernacle. The tabernacle would be a picture of the salvation that He was providing for them. It was designed to reveal the glory of God. The pattern for the tabernacle and the vessels in the tabernacle were unique. It was not something they were to use in their private homes. It was designed to show the greatness of God and the precious nature of His salvation.
During the time of the Old Testament, God commanded the children of Israel to bring animal sacrifices to the tabernacle/temple. After a time, He would send the nation into exile for seventy years because they had rebelled against Him for a number of years.
When He brought the children of Israel back into their land, they rebuilt the walls and the temple. The walls were not nearly as high, nor as strong as the walls that David built. The temple was not as magnificent as the one that Solomon had built. The glory of the Lord was missing from Israel for many, many years. This was because they never turned back to Him.
At the time of Christ, Herod, an ungodly Roman king, was in charge of rebuilding that second temple. The disciples were quite impressed with that building, but Jesus was not. He wanted the disciples to see His glory and greatness. The temple could not save anyone. The temple had become a house of merchandise but not the holy place where people could come and meet with God. There was too much interference in the way of enjoying the blessings of the Lord. It is important that we not clutter up our lives with worldliness. That interferes with knowing the Lord. We are finding that many people have abandoned the local church because it has nothing of substance to offer them. Too often people are being taught to look for that which feeds the flesh. The desires of the soul are being pushed aside and the soul is being lulled to sleep.
In our text we read of the glory of the LORD. When His glory rested on the tabernacle, even Moses could not enter into that tent. God’s glory is too great for man to come near. Man needs a mediator to stand in the gap between himself and God. Moses could only go so far in that capacity. God directed different prophets to speak of a man who would come and who would stand in the gap and who would provide the means for man to come into God’s presence. That man was more than just a man. That man was the Messiah, the Son of God. The New Testament tells us that Man was Jesus Christ.
When He came, the shepherds were excited to hear of His coming. Mary pondered the things she heard of Him as a child. Simeon and Anna were blessed in seeing Jesus as an infant. They knew He was more than just a pretty baby. However, the majority of the Jews rejected Him because they had an imaginary plan of what the Messiah would do. They insisted on sticking to their plan. They thought they were good enough on their own. They did not believe they were lost sinners in need of a Saviour.
In John 8 we read:

John 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

In our text we read that the cloud represented the glory of the LORD. When the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel travelled to the next place where that cloud would rest. When the cloud was moved, they moved. We read as well that there was a cloud to show the glory of God by day and fire to show the glory of God by night. This was God’s design for the entire time they spent in the wilderness. That was forty years. God never left them for that entire time. In fact He went with them into the land of Canaan, and He caused the fear of God in the nations in Canaan, so that they could not win against the children of Israel, as long as the children of Israel would walk in the fear of the LORD.
The nation of Israel was to be a light to the Gentile nations. They were to receive the glory of God and allow Him to shine through them so that the Gentiles would want to know the true God. The sad reality is that the children of Israel chose to abandon the glory of God and they chose to adopt the way of the pagan Gentiles. The result was the fall of this once great nation. God is still God. He is holy. His glory cannot be diminished. When people forsake Him, His glory is still the same. He just cannot bless those who reject Him.
Today, we find that most churches do not know the glory of the LORD. Most churches have adopted the way of the pagans. The music and the preaching are not God ordained. There is much noise and much activity, but no power.
God wants us to know His glory and His righteousness. We can know that if we humble ourselves as Moses did. We can know His blessing if we submit to Him, and accept His Word as our authority. Don’t be deceived. Don’t settle for a cheap knockoff of the true glory of God. Take His Word as truth and submit to Him. He wants to lead you into the truth. It is up to each person to submit to His will.
Pastor Bartel