Priests and the Presence of God

Where In the Bible: Exodus to Deuteronomy

God’s rescue plan for the world began with his promises to Abram, and by the end of Genesis. Abram’s family has multiplied to seventy people, but they are living in Egypt, far from the place God had promised them. Over the course of Genesis, there are occasional examples of God appearing to somebody and meeting with them, but these are isolated and sporadic instances and are very different to the way God had been with his people all the time in Eden. Exodus picks up the story around four hundred years later. By this time, the small group of seventy Israelites had grown into a multitude and were seen as a threat by the Egyptian Pharoah, who subjected them to slavery and even gave the order to kill any baby boys that were born.

Set Free to Draw Near (Ex. 6:6-8): From their oppression, the Israelite people cried out to God, who heard their cry and responded to the need (Ex. 2:23-24). The first third of the book of Exodus is concerned with God rescuing his people from slavery. To do this, he appeared to Moses from a burning bush and commissioned him to be a leader of the people and a mouth-piece for God. He would stand before Pharaoh and demand his people’s freedom. After overcoming imposter syndrome, Moses did as commanded, but Pharaoh refused to let the people go. Through a series of increasingly dramatic showdowns, including miraculous signs and plagues being sent upon Egypt, Pharaoh eventually relented and allowed the people to leave. The last of these plagues was an act of judgement in which, the firstborn of each family and animal in Egypt would die, but the Israelites would be spared if they sacrificed a lamb as a substitute and smeared the blood on their doorposts, pointing forward to the blood of Jesus as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. After Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued God’s people, they were miraculously delivered through God parting the sea for them and then closing it again on their enemies. As the story is told, God is clear that freedom is only part of his purpose for his people. He is bringing them out of Egypt for a reason, and that reason is for him to draw close to them, and for them to be his people and him to be their God (Ex. 6:7). We see this fulfilled as God leads the people to Mount Sinai, and makes his covenant with them where they will be his treasured possession (Ex. 19) and giving them his law to teach them how to live as his people (Ex. 20).

God’s Dwelling Place With His People (Ex. 25:8, Ex. 34-38): When God met Moses on Mount Sinai, the conversation was a lengthy one. The headlines are the Covenant and the Ten Commandments, but many other things were covered, including lots of detailed laws for specific instances. One of the most important parts of the conversation was God giving Moses instructions for building the tabernacle. The design for this was intricate and detailed and takes up much of the second half of Exodus, and we are told in Hebrews 8:5 that this is because the tabernacle Moses was making was a replica of a heavenly sanctuary. The reason why Exodus goes into so much detail about the construction of the tabernacle is stunning: God says, “let them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.” No longer would God’s people need to make do with occasional appearances to individuals. God’s plan was to once more be permanently present in the midst of his people. Wherever the people set up camp, the tabernacle was to be at the centre, and the people were to camp in a set arrangement around it. In Exodus 40:34-35, we are told of the glory of God filling the tabernacle. This glory would lift when the people travelled and would lead them as cloud by day and fire by night, and then would settle once more on the tabernacle when they set up camp. Exodus and the other books of the Pentateuch are primarily books about God wanting to dwell with his people, and making a way for him to do this.

Priests and Sacrifices (Lev. 9:5-7): The book of Leviticus begins with detailed descriptions of the different sacrifices that the Israelites were expected to make in the temple. These chapters can sometimes be difficult for contemporary readers to relate to, but the role they play in the story is a significant one. The construction of the tabernacle was about God dwelling with his people, but the sin problem had not yet been solved. How can a holy God dwell in the midst of an unclean people? The answer is the sacrificial system. The descendants of Moses’ brother Aaron were set apart as priests, and given the responsibility of overseeing the sacrifices, by which the blood of animals served to cover the guilt of the people and allow them to draw near. This access was  still heavily restricted, with different parts of the tabernacle accessible to different people, and often only at particular times and accompanied by certain rituals. The blood of animals in and of itself could never truly atone for human sin (Hebrews 10:4), but these sacrifices when offered in faith pointed forward to the death of Jesus, who was both priest and sacrifice. Through Jesus death, he paid the price once and for all that the sacrificial system pointed towards, and made the way for sin to be cleansed and God to dwell with his people without the restrictions of the tabernacle system.

Potential Applications:

• A big theme of this section of the story is God desiring to dwell with his people. This should stir a desire to draw near to him and enjoy his presence in our own lives.
• God sets his people free from slavery. There are lots of things we might be held captive by, and you may want to offer prayer for people to experience freedom in different areas of life.
• We no longer need to offer sacrifices of rams and bulls. This should fill us with gratitude for what Jesus has done for us. You could invite people to put their trust in his sacrifice and find forgiveness for sin in him.