ODJ: in God’s presence


April 5, 2013 

READ: Exodus 33:7-17 


Inside the tent of meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend (v.11).


During a military operation in Iraq in 2003, military
 chaplain Cary Cash served with the American military’s 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment as they battled their way to Baghdad. After the regiment secured Saddam Hussein’s Almilyah presidential palace, a young marine—ministered to by Cash—bowed and received Jesus as his Saviour. Later the chaplain baptised the young man in the inner sanctum of the palace. In his book A Table in the Presence, Cash writes: “A place that had been known for the presence of darkness and treachery had become a place of the presence of God—a table in the presence.”


God’s presence can be found wherever His people are present. But it hasn’t always been that way. In Exodus we find Moses leading the Israelites from bondage in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land (33:1). Along the way Moses would set up a “tent of meeting” to consult with God—to be in His presence (v.7). It’s interesting that Moses had the tent set up outside of the camp.

Then God gave Moses some special plans for a new meeting place. It was called the tabernacle, and it was placed in the centre of the camp (Numbers 2:17). Jesus, however, made it possible now by His sacrifice and the sending of the Holy Spirit for God to dwell in the centre of our heart. The apostle Paul wrote, “This is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing His glory” (Colossians 1:27).


No longer do we who believe in Jesus and have received salvation have to go outside to a tent or tabernacle to meet with God. God is with us! He’s within us! Every struggle, every victory, every prayer occurs in His presence.


Today, remember that you are in the very presence of God! —Tom Felten


› 2 Samuel 11:1-27

MORE
Read 2 Corinthians 6:16 to see what object Paul uses as a euphemism for our bodies and where he says God is present. 
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How has the fact that God “lives in you” changed the way you live? How does the presence of God affect those who experience it?