Exodus 33, the Shekinah Glory

Helen · Oct 3, 2002

I listed this under Exodus 33 so that those who are printing these off would have it in the right order. But this study is topical, and it is not by me.

The Shekinah Glory of God is a very important subject as this glory, or glory cloud, is seen again and again throughout Scripture. Some think Adam and Eve were actually originally 'clothed' with this glory, and that when they sinned, the glory departed and they saw they were naked. Some think it was the Shekinah glory that stood specifically over the house in Bethelem where the magoi would find Jesus. The word "Shekinah" is not in Scripture... but there are better people to explain it than I.

This chapter on the Shekinah Glory from Fred Miller’s book is excellent in giving background for the word itself and what it refers to biblically:
http://www.ao.net/~fmoeller/shekinah.htm

Pastor David Roper, from Peninsula Bible Church here in California, has the following on the web as part of a larger sermon:

http://www.pbc.org/dp/roper/3066.html
The term "Shekinah" is not a biblical term and does not occur anywhere in the Old Testament. It is a word the rabbis used after the Old Testament period to refer to "the glory." But it is based on a term which does occur in the Old Testament and which means "the dwelling" -- God, dwelling with his people. That is the Shekinah glory.
For a thousand years Israel enjoyed the presence of God as illustrated by the Shekinah. The cloud appeared initially when Israel was in Egypt, as they were camped on the shore of the Red Sea, ready to leave Egypt and go out into the wilderness. This was the glory which protected them from the Egyptian army. And it was the glory which led them through the desert down to Mount Sinai. It was from the cloud as it appeared on Mount Sinai that the Law was revealed. After the tabernacle was erected, the glory appeared over it. And it filled the tabernacle -- God dwelling between the cherubim on the mercy seat. It was the same cloud which led them from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, and remained there while the nation wandered for thirty-eight years. Then, as they gathered again, it led them on into the Promised Land.

And evidently while the ark of God rested at Shiloh, the Shekinah dwelt there. In Psalm 99 David refers to the fact that Aaron and Moses and Samuel saw the glory of God revealed in the cloud. So the cloud must have remained over the ark all the time it was present at Shiloh. Later David brought the ark to Jerusalem. And when Solomon built the temple, again, the cloud filled the temple and was the visible representation of God, dwelling among his people. It must have been awesome in those days to approach the city of Jerusalem and see this great cloud resting on the temple by day, and a great pillar of fire by night. No other nation had the glory.

It was there throughout the period of Israel's apostasy and rejection of the truth, up to the time of the Babylonian captivity. Ezekiel seems to indicate that at that time, just prior to the Babylonian captivity, the cloud departed. He saw it remain for a moment over the walls of Jerusalem, and then vanish. And in the words of the Old Testament, the temple was "ichabod" -- "the glory is not" -- the glory had departed. Throughout the long period of the exile there was no glory. One of the exilic Psalms is basically a prayer that the glory might return to Israel. But it never has.

In the fourth chapter of Isaiah there is a prophetic reference to God's ultimate purpose for the cloud:

When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. And there will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.

The cloud was many things to Israel. It was a source of protection, leadership, and guidance. It gave light at night and warmth in the chilly evenings. It provided shelter from the direct rays of the sun. It was a picture of all that God is to his people at any time.
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And, finally, the following which was mentioned on a webpage that had a lot of wrong doctrine, but I liked this part (because some of the references were wrong, I'm not 'quoting' it but simply presenting the same verses they presented to present this idea.

JESUS IS THE SHEKINAH GLORY!

John 1:1, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

...The Word became flesh and made his dwelling (tabernacled) among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 17:5
"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had wiht you before the world began."

Hebrews 1:3a
The Son is the readiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

Revelation 21:22-23
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

As we go into Exodus 33 tomorrow, Moses is about to be 'up close and personal' with the Shekinah glory of God.

Clint Kritzer · Mar 6, 2003

Cross references across the board:
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