Sermon Cloud

Desert Wonderings:

A Study of Exodus

33 The Glory of the Lord

teaching notes

Michael Wiley

September 28, 2008

Exodus 33:18 ff. ; 40:34

Introduction:

Play clip of “Sleepy Hollow” – Ichabod Crane

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story by Washington Irving first published in 1820.

I don’t want to focus on the story, I want to spend a second on the character Ichabod, the town’s school-master.

In describing Ichabod, Irving wrote,

He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and
legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that
might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely
hung together. His head was small, and flat at top, with huge
ears, large green glassy eyes, and a long snipe nose, so that it
looked like a weather-cock perched upon his spindle neck to tell
which way the wind blew. To see him striding along the profile of
a hill on a windy day, with his clothes bagging and fluttering
about him, one might have mistaken him for the genius of famine
descending upon the earth, or some scarecrow eloped from a
cornfield.

Ichabod’s name describes “who he is” it becomes a metaphor of the person.

Ichabod means, “No Glory” “ or “The glory has departed.”

Transition:

Speak fast…Too much to say…

I pray you listen and follow. I pray the Lord has something for you to hear today

Review: Mt. law, tabernacle, God’s presence, Calf, God to destroy, Moses talks, God punishes, “I’m not going with them…

Pick it up here

Text it…

Ex 33:15-16---

1. Moses knew God’s presence was essential to Israel’s Testimony

2. Without God’s presence the Israelites would be indistinguishable from the rest of the world.

3. Moses then sought one more thing, Ex 15:18 --- Read it ---“God’s Glory!”

God basically said, you can see what I am, not how I look! Yahweh – The I AM of Ex 3:14

Could have been the same cleft that he will put Joshua in as he passes by

Next few chapters, the people build the tabernacle

Read 40:33

The Tabernacle was built but there was something missing

4. The (chabod) Glory of the Lord filled the temple!

No people—no matter how religions they are, can be a people of God, without the presence of God!

The priest must have entered the tabernacle with high expectancy. I can’t even imagine…

The people of God with the presence of God were poised to go and take the land. The time was right,

Some people get a little wiggy about Israel going in a taking by force –the land.

The

Gen 15:16

In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. (NIV)

Time-line

Here two years…

Make a bee-line to The Jordon across from Jericho…

40 years wandering in the desert – sometimes would stop for a day, weeks, months…

That period ended the ark – Jericho, dry ground, marched around the cities and the walls fell

The Ark continued to lead them in battle until it settled in Shiloh…

There is a story in 1 Samuel 4 that gives us an idea that Israel began to see he ark as a good-luck charm

Philistines, captured, When Eli heard the news, he fell off his chair broke his neck and died.

When his pregnant daughter-in-law heard, she went into labor and had a boy. She named him Ichabod for she said, "The glory has departed from Israel…” (1 Sam 4:22) NIV

The ark came back, but ended up in the house of Abinadab for 20 years.

King Saul didn’t care about the ark at all.

Jump – King David wanted to build a permanent temple for God

Solomon dedicated the temple in about 1004 BC

READ SHORT HISTORY

BC1004 Temple dedicated by Solomon. Ark Of The Covenant transferred to Temple. (1 Kings 8:1)

IKing 8:10-11

10        When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD.

11        And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple. (NIV)

BC971 5th year of Rehoboam - Shishak, king of Egypt, took away all Temple treasures.

            (1 Kings 14:26, 2 Chron 12:9

BC940? Treasury emptied by Asa - tribute to Benhadad king of Syria. (1Kings 15:18)

BC856? Joash repaired temple, and made new vessels. (2 Kings 12:6-12, 2 Chron 24:14)

BC842? Treasury emptied by Joash - tribute to Hazael king of Syria. (2 Kings 12:18)

BC825? During reign of Amaziah, vessels of temple seized by Jehoash king of Israel. (2 Kings 14:14)

BC772? Uzziah is King. EARTHQUAKE does major damage to temple.

              (Amos 1:1, Zech 14:5, Josephus Antiq 9,10,4)

BC740? Treasury emptied by Ahaz - tribute to Tiglath-pilesar, king of Assyria. (2 Kings 16:8)

BC738? Ahaz replaced bronze altar with a design copied from Damascus. (2 Kings 17:10-16)

BC730? Ahaz destroyed the vessels of the temple, closed its doors, and stopped sacrifices.

               (2 Chron 28:24, 29:7))

BC726 Hezekiah reopened the doors, cleansed the temple, restored sacrifices, and Passover.

             (2 Chron 29:1, 30:1)

BC713 Treasury emptied by Hezekiah - tribute to Sennacherib, King of Assyria. (2 Kings 18:15).

BC680? Manasseh built altars in the temple, for foreign Gods. (2 Kings 21:3-7, 2Chron 33:7))

BC644? Manasseh repented and removed idols (2 Chron 33:15-16)

BC623 Josiah's 18th year - purged and repaired temple, restored ark to its place. (2 Chron 34:8, 35:3)

BC606 Jehoiakim's 11th year - Nebuchadnezzar takes part of the temple vessels to Babylon.

             (2 Chron36:6)

BC598 Jehoiachin's short reign - more vessels taken to Babylon. (2 Chron 36:10)

BC598-586 Temple polluted by Zedekiah. (2 Chron 36:14)

BC586 Temple finally destroyed and burnt by Nebchadnezzar. All remaining temple vessels

             carried of to Babylon. Jerusalem almost totally destroyed. (2 Chron 36:18-19)

http://home.pacific.net.au/~amaxwell/housmail/hm008.htm

Ezekial among the captives in Babylon, sees a vision.

God takes him to Jerusalem, Ezekiel 8-11

Describes 4 abominations involving God’s holy Temple

Glory of God arose to the thresh-hold of the Temple

Glory of the Lord went out over the courtyard,

Then out over the Mt. East of the city

The Glory of the Lord had left the dwelling of men…

Two other temples would be built Zerubabel and Herod. But God was not there.

Genre – History, poetry, wisdom literature, Law ---- When I read the OT as a whole and sit back and reflect, I see it is one big tragedy!

The story of a God who wanted to dwell with His people, but his people didn’t want Him.

It’s a story of unrealized potential—a story of what could have been, if only the people would have kept their hearts right.

Almost 600 years later. In Bethlehem, a child is born.

The picture of the cloud of glory dwelling on the Temple has a parallel "fulfillment" in the New Testament  where John writes that

the Word became flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled) among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

Paul adds that

it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Christ (see note Colossians 1:19) and that in Christ all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form (see note Colossians 2:9)

Paul writes that Christ is "the Lord of glory" (1Cor 2:8). This same glory now rests (dwells) upon all those who are in Christ.

1. God’s presence IS essential to the church’s Testimony

Jesus prayed, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me ...and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. ...Righteous Father, ...I have made you known to them...in order that the love you have for me may be in them...”

“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one ...May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

2. Without God’s presence the church is indistinguishable from the rest of the world.

3. Seek God’s Glory!

2 Cor 3:18

18        And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (NIV)

Conclusion: