Beholding His Glory

Beholding His Glory

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

In the Temple of God, the Ark of the Covenant sat in the Holy of Holies.  The Ark demonstrated the terms and provisions of the covenant God has made with us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The glory of God rested on the Mercy Seat, the lid of the Ark.  Two cherubim sat on that Mercy Seat and the glory of God rested between them.  Hebrews 9: 2-5. “For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.”

In ancient Israel, Hezekiah was a king not a priest.  He had never seen into the Holy of Holies, yet he knew the presence of God rested there. Isaiah 37:15-16.  Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying: "O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.”  God dwells between the angelic beings commissioned to guard His glory which is manifested in His mercy.

The Hebrew word translated as mercy is kabod meaning "weight" or "heaviness." The same word is also used to express importance, honor, and majesty. To behold the mercy of God is to behold His glory which sometimes appeared as a cloud and/or a pillar of fire.

We see the glory cloud in the passages describing the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.  It was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  Exodus 13:21 “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. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.”

The glory of God is sometimes referred to as the Shekinah which means “the one who dwells” or “that which dwells.”  God’s desire is to dwell among His people. 

Until the veil was opened, only the High Priest was allowed to see the glory of God and only on one day during the year, Yom Kippur. During the time of Jesus, the Ark of the Covenant was not in the Holy of Holies.  It had disappeared during the Babylonian captivity.  Today, many Jews and Christians alike yearn for reappearance the Ark of Covenant.  We want to experience that depiction of His Glory.

Sadly, too many Christians do not fully understand that we are the Temple of God, that the Glory of God dwells within us, that we are the guardians of His Holiness.  The Apostle John wrote, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

In Jesus Christ, the glory of God is revealed.  When we love Him and are obedient to Him, we behold His glory. How, then, can we do anything but worship Him?

On Pentecost, the shekinah glory physically appeared as tongues of fire over the heads of all those in the Upper Room. (Acts 2:1-3) “Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.”  Glory to God in the highest!!

In the Revelation, John peered into the spiritual realm and saw Jesus in all of His Glory: (Revelation 1:12-16) “Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.  His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.”

His glory shines forth in a radiance that we cannot behold because His light is more magnificent than the sun.  No wonder that the Lord hid Moses in the cleft of the rock and allowed the man to see only the backside of His glory.

Think of it! This magnificent, powerful, radiant God calls us His children and loves us so passionately that He sent His Son to the cross so that dwell with us forever and ever.  Let’s bring the song back to Zion and the praise back to Him.  The darkness in the world is crying out to see the glory of our God in our lives.