Plandowski/Interpretive
Ashley Plandowski
Mr. Summy
GBST 103
23 September 2017
Filled with the Glory of God
Exodus is a story of the deliverance of the Israelites, who were held in Egypt as slaves for
430 years.1 God has promised his presence would stay with them, continuously. Throughout
Exodus, we see God has brought his plans for the tabernacle to life, through Moses and the
Israelites. Exodus 40:34 gives testimony to the fulfillment of the work: Then the cloud [the
Shekinah, God’s visible, dwelling presence] covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory and
brilliance of the Lord “filled” the tabernacle (AMP). To better understand and comprehend the
importance of God “filling” the tabernacle we must consider the context.
In the beginning of Exodus 40:34, the cloud that covered the Tent of Meeting is the same
divine presence (cloud) that was with them at Mount Sinai’s peak. The time came for Israel to
leave the holy Mount Sinai and we can clearly see the same (cloud) divine presence of God is
now with them at the tabernacle.2 It was of imperative importance that God filled the tabernacle,
just as it is imperatively important (we) believers are filled with the Holy Spirit today. (1 Cor.
3:16 AMP) 16 [a]Do you not know and understand that you [the church] are the temple of God
and that the Spirit of God dwells [permanently] in you [collectively and individually]? Just as the
verb translated “filled” reflects an ongoing/ dynamic reality, the verb “dwells” reflects an
ongoing/ dynamic reality of the Holy Spirit within the believer.
1 Myers, Joyce. The Everyday Life Bible (AMP). New York: Warner Faith, 2006.
2 Hamilton, Victor P.. Exodus : An Exegetical Commentary: Baker Publishing Group, 2011. Accessed
September 22, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central. Created from liberty on 2017-09-22 21:37 :32.
Plandowski/Interpretive
Dr. Willmington asks us to consider the following illustration to aid in the understanding
of this vital distinction. A guest is invited into your home. But upon entering he is confined to a
small room by the front door. You might even forget he’s there. Finally, however, you become
convicted concerning your poor hospitality. So you give your guest free access to every room in
your home. Remembering that the cloud first covered the tent, in the former of Exodus 40:34,
then the Lord “filled” the tabernacle. In other words, the “filling” or being “filled” does not mean
the believer gets more of the Holy Spirit, but rather, the Holy Spirit gets more of the believer.3
One may ask how God “filling” the tabernacle points to the New Testament? Well, this
being the time of the Old Covenant, the priest had a protocol to follow to pay the penalty for his
sins and the sins of his people. They had to offer calves and goats as blood sacrifices to be
considered (temporarily) righteous before God and they had to repeat this regime once every
year. In the New Testament, Jesus was sent to us too, willingly, become the finale and ever-
lasting, blood sacrifice, bringing us all into right standing with God. All Scriptures are about
Jesus Christ, even where there is no implication of him. There is a fullness of implication in all
the Scriptures that points to Christ and is satisfied only when his work is finished on the cross.4
“The meaning of all the Scriptures is unlocked by the death and resurrection of Jesus” (Graeme
Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, 54). 5 “The law was kept
perfectly by Christ. And all its penalties against God’s sinful people were poured out on Christ.
Therefore, the law is now manifestly not the path to righteousness; Christ is. The ultimate goal of
3 Willmington, Dr. Harold. 2008, 2011, 173. Great Truths from God's Word: Twelve Theological Themes.
Forest: Bible Institute Network.
4 Piper, John, How Christ Fulfilled and Ended the Old Testament Regime, 2005, Accessed
September 26, 2017. Article.
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-christ-fulfilled-and-ended-the-old-testament-regime
5 John Piper, How Christ Fulfilled and Ended the Old Testament Regime, 2005, Article.
Plandowski/Interpretive
the law is that we would look to Christ, not law-keeping, for our righteousness.” (John Piper,
How Christ Fulfilled and Ended the Old Testament Regime)
The Israelites experienced great freedom after the Exodus. They now had undeniable
proof of God’s presence being with them. As they witnessed the glory of God “filled” the
tabernacle, this brought them a new freedom they did not know before. I have gone through
many trials in life and was held in bondage, in my addiction, for years. It was as if I was a
prisoner or slave in my own soul. It took quite some time for me to step out on faith and
surrender. I believe the “cloud” was hovering over me while “we” did the work needed for my
soul to be “filled” with His presence (the Holy Spirit). Since I surrendered God has “filled” me
with the Holy Spirit in a way I didn’t know before. I’ve made a lasting decision to walk with
Jesus, live by faith, and not by sight, now experience true “freedom in Christ”, just as the
Israelites did after the Exodus.
Bibliography
Hamilton, Victor P. Exodus: an Exegetical Commentary. Baker Academic, 2011. Accessed
September 22, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central. Created from liberty on 2017-09-22 21:37
Plandowski/Interpretive
Meyer, Joyce. The Everyday Life Bible: Containing the Amplified Old Testament and the
Amplified New Testament. Commentary by Joyce Myers. FaithWords, 2006.
Piper, John, How Christ Fulfilled and Ended the Old Testament Regime, 2005, Accessed
September 26, 2017. Article.
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-christ-fulfilled-and-ended-the-old-testament-
regim
Willmington, Harold Dr., 2008, 2011. 73. Great Truths Of God’s Word: Twelve Theological
Themes. Forest: Bible Institute Network.
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