Tabernacling With God

What a wonderful, beautiful sound! Isn't that fantastic? We are so blessed here in Wisconsin-Dells to have an orchestra and a chorale that can pull off that wonderful sound. Isn't that beautiful? Fantastic! Very unlike some choirs that I've heard, I heard this one choir that was called the Prison Choir. They were behind bars and always looking for the right key. Or maybe you've heard of that choir that was advertised on the church sign outside of their building. It said, our Bible study topic tonight is, What is Hell? And then underneath it said, Come early and hear our choir practice. So we are very blessed here to have wonderful music, and certainly we can appreciate that and really thank God for the wonderful talents that He has blessed so many people with and that they used them during this wonderful time of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Now, as you probably know, the Feast of Tabernacles has several names in the Bible. Can you think of a few names that the Feast of Tabernacles is given throughout your Bible? Well, you can probably think of the Feast of Booths. The Feast of Shelters is another name for the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, why did God instruct Israel to build Tabernacles? Why did He tell them to put up Sukkot? Why did He tell them to do that? Do you remember why? We're told all the way back in Leviticus chapter 23, where we have an outline for all of the Holy Days, the feasts are listed there in Leviticus 23, and it starts with what feast?

Leviticus 23 starts with, all the feasts of God listed one after another, and it begins with the Sabbath. That is right. It begins with the Sabbath, and then it goes on, listing all the other feast days. And by the time you get down to verse 42 in Leviticus 23, God instructed Israel to dwell in booths for seven days. And the reason He gave at that time for them to dwell in those Sukkot, those temporary dwellings, those Tabernacles, those booths, those shelters, was for a specific reason.

And He told them that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. So God gave them that instruction to commemorate their experience when they wandered through the wilderness. So for 40 years, they had no permanent home. They had no crops. They had no place to plant a garden. There was no fruit trees that they could benefit from.

There were no crops that they could reap and harvest. And so they camped in tents. They Tabernacled. They dwelt in a dry, very parched land. In fact, it was a land that forced them to be dependent on God for their daily sustenance.

And so what did God do? God provided them manna and miraculously supplied them with not only food but water, supernaturally springing from a rock. And so they depended on God as they Tabernacled throughout the wilderness. Now if we think back to where that started for a moment, where did that begin? Well, if you'll turn with me over to Exodus 13, we find an account of where this whole journey began. Exodus 13, verse 20. This is describing Israel fleeing from Pharaoh, coming out of Egypt.

And in chapter 13 of Exodus, beginning in verse 20, it describes an amazing circumstance. Let's notice it. Exodus 13, verse 20. It tells us, they took their journey, that is the children of Israel, from Sukkoth and camped in Edom at the edge of the wilderness. Now notice what happens next. Verse 21 of Exodus 13. It says, And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. Verse 22, He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.

And so here we find this amazing pillar. What would that have been like? Have you ever tried to imagine what that cloud, what that fire must have been like? I mean, was it like a giant tornado of fire? Would it have looked like that? Or maybe, you know, some kind of gigantic thunder cloud appearing, cloud before them? You know, was it something like that? Maybe just this vast column of smoke that just seemed to go up forever? Maybe an immense tower of lightning? Well, we're not told exactly what it was, except that it was a pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night. And of course, we know the story.

Oftentimes we rehearse it in the spring holy days, that as they were escaping from Pharaoh, they were trapped at the Red Sea. And what did that pillar do that was leading them? Well, instead of leading them, that pillar all on its own moved from in front of them to go behind them. And it became a barrier between Israel and the armies of Pharaoh that were pursuing them.

Now, the amazing thing about this pillar is that on the Egyptian side, what did that pillar look like? Do you remember the story? On the Egyptian side, it was ominous. It was dark. It was cloudy. On their side, it was menacing. It would have been a frightful thing to be on that side of that amazing pillar. And yet that same pillar on the other side, on the Israelite side, was illuminating their way.

It looked warm. It was comforting. It gave them an assurance that they didn't have to fear Pharaoh's armies while they were in the presence of their Almighty God.

Pretty amazing. Now, oftentimes we think of what happened next as the most phenomenal miracle, perhaps, in all of the Bible. Being trapped against the Red Sea, what were they to do? Well, we know God performed an amazing miracle and divided the sea, and they walked through on dry ground. And a few verses from here we find in chapter 14, verse 24, it says that God troubled the army of the Egyptians. So to the Israelites, warmth and comfort, assurance, a savior provided the way. And yet to the Egyptians, He troubled them, closed the water upon them, and destroyed Pharaoh's army.

Amazing miracle. Now, you think about that miracle. And even though that pillar is described as a cloud in one sense, and as fire in another sense, it almost seems like two pillars. One cloud and one fire. But it wasn't. It was always a pillar of fire. It was always a pillar of cloud. During the day, God emphasized the mass of this cloud. And at night, He emphasized the fire, the light. And when it was sunny, you saw this beautiful cloud in the wilderness. And it was an amazing sight to behold. And when it was dark, you saw this amazing fiery pillar leading your way.

Now, as we think about this, have you ever connected this pillar of cloud and this pillar of fire with the Feast of Tabernacles?

Or is it just a spring feast kind of thing?

I think in actuality, it is a significant symbol of tabernacles. And so I'd like to take some time this morning to examine God's presence and the Feast of Tabernacles. I'd like to take some time to notice how the Feast of Booths, how tabernacles are correlated with this pillar of fire and cloud. And how that pillar functioned as an amazing miracle, signifying God's presence with His people and its significance to the Feast of Tabernacles. And in fact, it's important for you and for me to show the fact that we must live within that presence of God. Because Israelites knew there's God's presence. He is with us. And they could recognize that presence, not just for a day or so. It wasn't just a miracle that happened. Red Sea parted. It's done. It's over. Now we're through. How long was that pillar with them? 40 years. They had an ongoing miracle for 40 years. And that presence of God eventually became known as Shekinah, God's presence. Sometimes people say Shekinah or Shekinah. The word is S-H-E-K-I-N-A-H. It's a Hebrew word that came to represent God's presence with them. And it's from a word that means to dwell. To dwell. If you were able to see the base word that Shekinah comes from, or the Shekinah, presence of God, it's the word that was a word for residence. Or a tabernacle, or a dwelling. And so no wonder, as we think about that pillar that was with Israel, we can begin to see a connection to tabernacles. If you turn over to Isaiah 57, verse 15, we can notice the Hebrew word that Shekinah is taken from. Isaiah 57, verse 15. Let's notice what it says here. As we can look at this root word for the presence of God, Isaiah 57, verse 15.

We're reminded here in Isaiah about how amazing the presence of God is. Isaiah 57, verse 15. It says, This word for inhabits is the word dwelling. Shokan is the Hebrew word. And it says, And so if you were able to look at the Hebrew words here, you could look at the word for inhabits. You could look at the word for dwell. And you'd be able to see the connection between Shekinah, the visible presence of God, with Shokan inhabiting or dwelling. And so no wonder the Feast of Tabernacles and dwellings, shelters, booths are associated with God's very presence. Think about it for a minute. What did the pillar of fire and cloud represent? Well, it came to represent God's glorious visible presence with His people. Imagine that. Imagine God's presence with His people as they came out of Egypt. Imagine God's presence as we come out of spiritual Egypt, as we come out of sin. Imagine God's physical presence with His people as they were trekking through the wilderness, as they journeyed to the Promised Land. This visible presence, this pillar of cloud and of fire function for Israel as God's sheltering presence with them as they traveled throughout the wilderness. And so this amazing miracle was a phenomenal experience that they had for that 40 years as they went through the wilderness. Now were they ever really lost? Well, not really. Not if God's presence was with them continually. I think we could say they were really never lost. Now we can't say that about everyone, can we? Anyone ever been lost? Okay, we've been lost once in a while. I did hear a story about our friend Oli, who made up his mind one day to become a hunting guide. He booked his very first tour, and everything was going really, really well. They were hiking and they were boating through the boundary waters. It was just fantastic. But then one day, as he was trying to find his next camping spot, it became obvious to the entire group that he didn't know where he was. And they wandered around and around, and they finally realized he is hopelessly lost. And so the hiking party began to kind of grumble and complain. Finally, one of them just got so upset with the whole thing. They said to Oli, you lied to us. You told us you were the greatest guide in Minnesota.

Oli said, I am, but I think now we're in Canada. You see, I think it's mistaken to think that Israel was lost when God's presence was constantly and continually with them. So let's consider God's presence. Let's think about His visible presence with His people. That Shekinah presence that was with Israel for 40 years. As we consider that, let's think about that glory of God that was in the tabernacle. Because as they wandered, they would have set up a tent where God was to reside. If we turn over to Exodus, Chapter 40, it describes this tent, this tabernacle, that was to be set up. So as we begin to consider God's presence, let's begin by thinking about God's glory in the tabernacle. Exodus, Chapter 40, right at the very beginning of that chapter, we could pick it up. Here we have God giving instructions to Moses regarding that precursor to the temple, that moveable temple, you might say, the tabernacle that was with them in the wilderness. Exodus, Chapter 40, Verse 1, says, The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, On the first day of the first month, you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

So God instructed Moses, what did Moses do? Well, we skipped down a few verses. If you look down at Verse 33, that's exactly what Moses does. He raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. So Moses sets up the tabernacle. And what do you think happened next? Well, Verse 34, it says, The cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. So that cloud, that pillar of fire, that pillar of cloud that was with them, now filled that tabernacle. In fact, it's kind of an interesting way that it's worded here. This is a Hebraism. This is an idiom or an expression that is used to describe what's happening here. There's two parallel clauses. What do we find? That these two clauses mean exactly the same thing. It says, The cloud covered, and the glory of the LORD filled. So the cloud covered, the glory of the LORD filled. They mean the same thing. The glory is the cloud. The cloud is the glory. And so we find that representation here, that this pillar represents the glory of the LORD. It is the manifestation, you might say, of the Shekinah, that heart of coming to understand what God is doing here. What was God doing? Why would this pillar move from being before the people right into the tabernacle?

It was showing God's visible presence right there at the heart of worship. Right where the people would come to do what? What would they do at the tabernacle? Well, they would come to worship. They would come to meet with God. And so we skip down a few verses. Look at verse 35. Verse 35, it says, So here we have this amazing presence of God that is overwhelming. And so amazing that where they were to meet God, His glory absolutely filled that tent. It filled that shelter. It filled that booth. And it represented the fact of where God was dwelling. Where God was abiding. And so when they had to think about that, where was God abiding? Where was He staying? Where was God dwelling? Well, wherever that presence was, that's where God was. Wherever that presence was, we can meet the Lord right there. That Shekinah presence of God signified that we can have a relationship with God. He is right here among us. And so wherever that presence was, that's where God was. And so that tabernacle, that tent of meeting, in a way symbolized the booths that the people would set up, even at tabernacles. And so that ongoing miracle signified the fact that they were tabernackling with God for all of those 40 years. And it wasn't just a one-day occurrence, but constantly and continually, day after day after day. So can you imagine that? Imagine if you ever wondered, where's God? Where's God when it comes to my life? What could an Israelite do? Well, they could kind of look over their shoulder. They could say, well, there He is! His presence is right among us. All they had to do was look in the direction of the tabernacle, and there they could see day, night, whatever. The very presence of God was among them and with them.

And so as you begin to think about that, it is an amazing occurrence. Because not only did they call this the tent of meeting or the tabernacle of the Lord, you know it also had the name dwelling of the Lord. Dwelling of the Lord. Consider that for a moment. Where was God dwelling? Was this the permanent dwelling for God?

Now we know that's not the case. But if we think about it this way, God was temporarily dwelling with His people in that tabernacle. He was a pilgrim Himself among a pilgrim people. Isn't that an interesting way to think about it? God was a pilgrim Himself. In fact, this Shekinah, we can think of it almost as an Old Testament version of Immanuel, of God with us. We had the physical presence of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, but as we look at the tabernacle, God's presence was with them. As you begin to look at your Bible during the feast here, when you read those passages that talk about God spreading His wings over His people, when He shelters His people, when Christ talks about, I wish as a mother hen I could take you under my wings. That's all referencing this very thing. Where their protection is, where their shelter is, where the wings can guard over them and guide them and lead them. Because they could be in the very presence. They were living in the presence of God's glory.

Of course, that brings the question to you and me then as well. Are we dwelling with the Lord? Are we dwelling with Him? Israel had that opportunity to dwell in the presence of God's Shekinah glory, His presence for 40 years as they were taken to the Promised Land.

Can we as well? You know, we have that. I think the Feast of Tabernacles is certainly a reminder of that very thing. That we can survive this world. We can survive the desert, the wasteland of this society that we live in when we live in the presence of God. Just as Israel did throughout their 40 years in the desert. We can have a constant help as we turn to God. Because sometimes you could get lost in the desert and feel like there's no way I could survive. Have you ever seen these survival programs? Boy, they're big right now, aren't they? All the survival programs. Whether it's Survivor Man or what's the other one I heard of lately? Oh, Naked and Afraid. Yeah, if I was in the desert naked, I'd be afraid too. Anybody that saw me would probably be afraid as well. That's a scary sight to think of. What would you do? I heard the story about a father who was trying to be a good dad and teach his son some survival skills, especially if it came to surviving in the desert. He was trying to help his son to think about those kind of circumstances. And he said, all right, what would you do? If you were going to be lost in the desert, what would be the one thing, what would be the most important thing that you could take with you in case you got lost in the desert?

Some thought about it. A deck of cards! Oh, his dad just... Oh, no! What in the world are you thinking? How would a deck of cards help you if you were lost in the desert? My son said, well, I just start playing solitaire, and before you know it, somebody would come up right behind me and say, well, put that red nine on that black ten, and I'd be fine.

Fortunately, we've got something a whole lot better than deck cards to help us with. Now, if we fast forward from this time, fast forward from the time of the tabernacle in the desert, let's look at the time that God's glory now moves from that temporary tent of meeting to a physical temple, to the building, to Solomon's temple. Let's take a look at God's glory in that temple. 1 Kings 8, verse 10 describes this event. As Solomon puts together all of the materials that David had assembled, the majority of them, he built a temple to God, a solid building, a secure building, something that seemed like it was going to be there forever. And in 1 Kings 8, verse 10, we get a glimpse of God's glory, that Shekinah glory, His presence in that temple. 1 Kings 8, verse 10. It says, It says, It says, It says, It says, It says, It says, It says, It says, It says, It says, It says, It says, It says, So much like what happened with Moses and that temporary tabernacle, here in Solomon's case, that presence, that glory of God filled the house so that the priests couldn't do their job either. An amazing miracle takes place. In fact, if we look down to verse 12, it says, He said, And of course, here we have that word, to dwell, that base word for tabernacle, to shakan, to dwell, and we noticed again, the cloud filled the house, and the glory filled the house. And what did it signify?

It signified God's presence, His dwelling in His own house among His people. And we have that presence of God associated with the ark here as well. And if we imagine that scene, that amazing golden ark, this chest, with two golden angels, and a caribbean over that mercy seat. It was representing the throne of God in heaven. And that's exactly where God dwelt. He dwelt above the mercy seat, right there among His people. But what would have happened if that glory didn't appear? If that cloud didn't show up when they prayed? Unless the glory of God inhabits the temple, it's just another building. Just like any other building. All right, might be a little taller. Might have some extra things, but what's the difference? Without the glory and presence of God, that temple would have just been another building. How do we know that? Well, when we think about history, we know that that presence wasn't always there. It wasn't like Solomon prayed here. It would be a place for him to dwell forever. That wasn't ever God's intent to dwell in a physical building forever. And when the people disobeyed, that presence was removed. And that presence was no longer there. And that pointed to the fact that God was no longer dwelling among his people. Kind of indicated the fact that his protection and his blessing had departed from his people. And what happened when his presence departed from Solomon's temple? It wasn't too long after that that Nebuchadnezzar came along. And that temple was destroyed. It was just another building. It didn't matter anymore. God's presence was not there. And so the eventual outcome was the fact that that temple was destroyed and the people carted off to Babylon. Now, that's significant for us as well. Because unless the glory of God inhabits his temple today, we're just another building. We cannot be just another building. We cannot be a dysfunctional family of God. That is unacceptable in the presence of a holy, mighty, awesome God.

So as we consider that, we have to realize maybe something that Solomon may have missed. Maybe the people came to misunderstand that that cloud wasn't literally God. That that fire, that wasn't literally God. Those were physical manifestations. They were physical representations of God. Well, certainly he clothed himself in fire. He represented himself by cloud so that human eyes could relate and see that presence of God. They were real. It wasn't just smoke and mirrors. That wasn't the case at all. But it was an invisible God wrapping himself in a form so that human beings could see him. They could recognize his presence. And of course, as you consider that, it wasn't just the fire. It wasn't just the cloud. Think about all the various ways, the various times that God appeared in different ways throughout the Bible. Even before the creation of the sun and moon, there was God illuminating the earth.

He walked with Adam and Eve. His presence was there with them. We're told he covenanted with Adam, or not Adam, but Abraham, as he walked between the sacrifice. And his presence was there. We know that he descended on the mountain when the law was given. And there was fire and there was smoke and there was an earthquake. We know that he appeared to Joshua. He appeared in amazing ways. More than once he appeared to Joshua. He appeared one time as the commander of the Lord's army. We read about him filling the tabernacle in the wilderness. We read about filling Solomon's temple when it was dedicated as well. We could also consider the fact that he came to Hezekiah's temple, the second temple. Not in a cloud or a fire, but as Messiah. The Messiah came to that second temple, and in fact appeared and transfigured himself on the mountain. And appeared to Paul when he was knocked down on that road. So there are so many ways that God's presence was seen and known throughout Scripture. And whether it was darkness or whether it was a windstorm or whether it was lightning or thunder or earthquakes or amazing light or trumpets or shouting or whatever way it was. It pointed to the fact that God was there. He was with them. His glory was appearing before them. And those appearances often times were associated with the Feast of Tabernacles. Because it points to the fact that we must constantly and continually be in the presence of our great God. We must not dwell for seven days in a tabernacle, but that we recognize the greater significance. That we are to constantly dwell with God. That we are never to leave His presence. That we are to tabernacle Him with Him. We are to feast with God and be sheltered by Him our entire lives. And the Feast reminds us of why it is so important.

In fact, more than just a physical representation, more than just a manifestation. It's interesting the way that God defines an aspect of His glory. Let's notice that for a moment. Exodus 33, verse 18.

Here we find a situation where God defines an aspect of His amazing glory. Pointing to the fact that He doesn't want us to be just focused on a pillar of fire or a pillar of cloud, or the lightnings or the rumblings or the earthquakes or the amazing winds. Not just those things. Let's notice the way that God defines that glory and see if it connects to tabernacles at all. Exodus 33, verse 18. We're probably familiar with the story. Here we find Moses talking to God. And he says to God, Please show me your glory.

So Moses wants to envision even more of God. But we see in verse 20, God says to Moses, You cannot see my face, for no man shall see me and live. Verse 21, the Lord said, Here's a place by me. You shall stand in the rock, so it shall be while my glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by. Then I'll take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.

How awesome a sight would that be? Is that how we imagine the glory of God as some overwhelming radiance, perhaps?

That's not exactly what God's talking about here. If we look back to verse 19, that I conveniently skipped over, verse 19, Exodus 33, it says, The Lord said, after Moses says, Show me your glory, what does God answer? God says, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will have compassion, on whom I will have compassion. So did you notice how God defined His glory? It wasn't just this radiance, it wasn't just a pillar of fire or a cloud, it wasn't just that. God defines His glory as His goodness, His holy, righteous, perfect character. His goodness, that is an essential element of the essence of God, His goodness. So when you think about God's glory, what is glorious to God? Well, if we go by what He says here, it's His goodness, it's His character, it's His temperament, His love. That's what makes Him God. It's who He is, He is love. And yeah, the light's nice, the fire show, the lightning, oh wow, that's pretty cool. But that's not really where it's at. Our own glory as God Himself talks about His glory as His righteousness, His ultimate goodness, His perfection of love, His grace, His truth. That's why He proclaims His names. That's why those names tell us about how amazing a God we have. Do a study sometime on all the names of God. It'll point to His glory. It'll point to this amazing character that our great God consists of. He is a God that is present. He is a God that heals. He is a God of love. All of those amazing names. He's our shepherd. He's our Lord. He's our high priest. He's our counselor. He's our guide. He's our master. All of those things proclaim the glory of God, what He does, what His nature is like. In fact, we skip down just a little bit and we notice those attributes and a connection to tabernacles. Look at Exodus 34. We'll just skip over a page in my Bible. Exodus 34, verse 5. We find the Lord descending in the cloud and stood with Him there with Moses and proclaimed the name of the Lord. So here's a little bit of that proclamation. It says, The Lord passed before Him and proclaimed. Now what would God say? It says, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward earth and worshipped. Then He said, If I found grace in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord I pray go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as your inheritance. And so we see here God isn't restricted to a flaming fire or a pillar of cloud. It was all of these attributes, these amazing character traits of long-suffering and mercy and grace and goodness and truth and forgiveness. Those are the things that can't limit God to just a physical attribute, like a light or a cloud. But it's all about the spiritual radiance of His character.

So it's a good reminder. What do we radiate as God's people? As God's people. Moses prays that God would go among them, that God would dwell with them, that God would tabernacle with His people. And it brought Moses to his knees, to worship.

In Ezekiel 3, when Ezekiel saw the glory of God, do you remember what happened to Ezekiel? He could look it up later. He fell on his face and lay astonished, it says, for a week. In Daniel, just write down Daniel chapter 10, Daniel saw God, and what happened when he was in that presence? He tells us there he lost all strength and passed out into a deep sleep in the presence of an almighty God. When Peter experienced that amazing miracle of all those fish, when Christ said, ah, quit fishing on that side, throw your net over on this side, and they brought up that amazing number of fish. Do you remember Peter's response? Peter said to Christ, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

It wasn't just the fact they were a bunch of fish. The fact was, they were awed by him.

Yeah, the miracle was amazing. But whether it was Ezekiel or Daniel or Peter, they were awed in the presence of an almighty God. His awesome, tremendous, astounding character. That's His goodness. And so when a sinful person meets the glory of God, it's like getting hit with a ton of bricks.

And so when we tabernacle with God, what is our mindset? What are we like? You see, when we come to tabernacle, it should totally drain us of any concept of our own personal goodness, of our own righteousness, or of any pride, of any arrogance. And of course, are we just to tabernacle with God for this week and it's over and it's done and we just look forward to next year?

Or are we to continually dwell with God? Are we continually to be in His presence? What should our everyday shelter look like? You see, before a mighty God, any human strength, any virtue, pales into its measly, pitiful, paltry, corrupt self. And we see ourselves for who we really are.

And so when we think about that, tabernacles is certainly a reminder that His nature, His glory, His true glory is found in His character. And we must live by His character. We have to develop His character. We have to have the dwelling, the presence of God in us. And it has to be there constantly and continually because it wasn't just in the tabernacle, it wasn't just in the temple. We can tabernacle with God right now. Right now. We don't have to be stuck in a tabernacle or a physical temple. Right now we have that amazing opportunity. It's not a confusing thing either. It doesn't have to get us out of sorts. Like I heard of an individual that got really out of sorts over things. He started dreaming about tents. And one night he dreamt he was a teepee. And then the next night he dreamt he was a wigwam. Then the next night he dreamt he was a teepee again. And this seemed to go on. One night a teepee, then the next night a wigwam. And he went on and on and got so upset. He decided to go to the doctor and try to figure out what in the world is going on. So he went to the doctor and he described what was going on. He said, Doc, I have this dream constantly. One night it's a teepee. The next night it's a wigwam. What is wrong with me? The doctor looked at him and said, well, you're just two tents. Now in God's presence we can get rid of that anxiety. We can get rid of those types of things because we can be in the presence of God, not just here at the Feast of Tabernacles, but God expects us to tabernacle with him to dwell with him constantly. He says it a little bit differently in the book of John, John 1, verse 1. But it uses the Greek version of that Hebrew word, shakan, that base word for shakina, the visible presence of the glory of God, in John 1, verse 1. John 1, verse 1 describes the very beginning. It says, In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things that were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. And so we find the attributes, the characteristics of the Logos, the Word. In him was life. And we see a Tabernacle's connection. The life was the light of men. That's what verse 4 tells us. The light was the light of men. He was the one that made life possible, made all things. God the Father through Jesus Christ. And we see verse 4, The life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness. The darkness didn't comprehend it. In fact, verse 9 says, That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. And so we see this connection with the representation of the pillar of cloud and fire and the glory of God. And in fact, skipping down to verse 14, we see that glory of God appear. Verse 14 says, And the Word became flesh, became human, and dwelt among us.

Where did He dwell? Where did He set up His booth? Where did He tabernacle? It says He tabernacled among us. And yes, that is the Greek word for a temporary dwelling to tabernacle. And we begin to think about that. Where was now God's presence? Where was His glory? Well, the Jews would have said that used to be in the Holy of Holies.

That used to be above the mercy seat with the angels. But right here is that glory of God. In fact, here is that one that led Israel through the wilderness. The Creator, the life giver, the spokesman, the logos, the guide of Israel, the one who became God in the flesh, the glorious God who appeared and led Israel in the Old Testament. It is Jesus Christ in the New Testament. And everything that God was who led Israel is found in Jesus Christ.

Because He is the way, the truth, and the life. In fact, verse 14 tells us, We beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace, summarizing everything that God is. And in fact, we skip over to chapter 17 in the book of John. We see it wasn't just something that He wanted to keep for Himself. We see there's more to the story of this concept of tabernacling with God. John 17, verse 20. Just before the crucifixion, Jesus Christ is praying. And as He prays to the Father, He says, I don't pray for these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word.

And that's us. That they may all be one, as you, Father, are in Me and I in you, that they may also be one in us. That the world may believe that you sent Me. Then He says, and the glory which you gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one.

He's given us that opportunity to share in the glory of God. To share in His glory. Now, He's not talking about an outward manifestation. He's not talking about suddenly we're going to be bright shining stars or something like that. But He's saying here, we can exhibit God's presence every day in our lives. Through His Holy Spirit, we can manifest love. We can manifest kindness, mercy.

We can show all of the fruit of God's Spirit. And at this Feast of Tabernacles, we're reminded, not only can we just hang on and make it into the Kingdom, we're told that we can succeed. We're told that we can overcome. We're told that we can pull down the strongholds of sin when we dwell with God. He says we can be more than conquerors as we are led by God right into the Promised Land, right into the Kingdom of God. Because His attribute, His character is in us. We have His Spirit. And so that presence is no longer in the Holy of Holies. We are the temple of the Living God.

And He can be in the Church and in each of us individually as we strive to more fully put on His character. In fact, He commands us to stay under His shelter. If you flip back a page or so to chapter 15, we're reminded of that. Chapter 15, verse 4, Christ said, abide in me and I in you. That means tabernacle in me. Dwell with me.

Stay sheltered in my presence. He says, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me. And when we abide and when we continue to tabernacle with God, the result is bearing much fruit. He says, He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. Because otherwise, we're just another individual, just another person, we're just another human that has no concept of our great God. Without me, you can do nothing. Now, the amazing part is it doesn't even stop here. It doesn't stop with us tabernackling with God now.

It also points us to the future because we can reside and be sheltered by God and have Him living in us and through us right now. But this concept of His glory and the tabernacle also points to the future. One of the amazing things at tabernacles in the past was the fact that they sacrificed many, many bulls. In fact, there were 70 bulls that were sacrificed during the Feast of Tabernacles.

And Israel came to understand what that represented. The offering of those 70 bulls came to represent the 70 nations of the world. Because it pointed to the fact that one day, the entire world will have an opportunity to understand what it means to tabernacle with God. If you flip over to Zechariah 2, it points to that very fact. Because even in ancient Israel, they looked forward to the nations being converted. They looked forward to the time when the nations would be gathered under the glory of God. Because there are passages in the Bible prophetically that seem to point that maybe that physical manifestation of the cloud and the fire may be back again during the millennium.

Isaiah 60 points to that. Ezekiel 43. And here in Zechariah 2, look at verse 10. Notice how the world has the opportunity to be included with tabernacling with God. It says, Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, says the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day. And they shall be, my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee. And I'll know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you. So here we see that. In fact, a couple of pages later, we see the whole world is going to keep the feast of tabernacles.

And in fact, it doesn't even stop at this future moment. If we double fast forward, go to Revelation 21. Revelation 21 speaks of God's presence beyond the millennium, beyond that thousand years. Revelation 21, verse 23, points to the amazing presence of God with His people. Not just for 40 years in the wilderness, not just while there was a Judah in Israel, not just during a physical time, but Revelation 21, verse 3, talks about His presence well beyond that. Notice verse 3, it says, I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.

God Himself will be with them and be their God. This is speaking of the Father coming down with the New Jerusalem. That's looking forward to that time. And what will happen? It says, the tabernacle of God will be with men. And the result, verse 4, God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

And so we see Feast of Tabernacle's imagery right here. God is going to dwell. He will tent. He will set up His booth, His tabernacle. I mean, imagine that. Visualize our awesome Father setting up His sukkot, setting up His tabernacle right there among all of His people. God will dwell with His people in the tabernacle, in the New Jerusalem. His presence was evident in the wilderness by His glory. But here we find this will now become a permanent shelter. A permanent sukkah, we might say, for the New Jerusalem. And as a result, in the presence of an Almighty God, there can be no death.

There can be no pain. No suffering. It just cannot exist. Even though the New Jerusalem is described as having open gates, the city is never shut. Nothing evil can ever enter. And there is no wicked found there because of the presence of the sheltering of Almighty God. And so what a blessing for us to have this amazing example, not just in Leviticus 23, but filtered throughout the entire Bible. And it reminds us that today we can have God in us, guiding us throughout the wilderness of this life. And that presence isn't just a cloud that goes before us. God is in us.

And the feast reminds us today, we have a responsibility to continue to live in His presence. In fact, it's the only presence that we can survive in. In fact, we can be transformed. We can be changed from just an everyday, ordinary individual to being a transformed creation of God. To be a holy people into the image of our Savior Jesus Christ.

That's the power of God's glory in you. So let's take God's challenge. Let's continue to put on His thinking more and more. His goodness, His nature, His temperament, His attitude, His love. And let's allow this feast to motivate us even more deeply to develop His holy, righteous, perfect character. Because the feast is the time that we commit ourselves, don't we? Don't we dedicate ourselves to developing a deeper and deeper relationship with our God?

Because we're to abide in an ever closer relationship with Him. So let's make that determination. Let's determine to set our minds to never wander from His presence and His shelter. And as we do these things, we can't help but more thoroughly reflect God's great glory as we continually tabernacle with God.