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.
