God’s presence with Israel was for His glory.

“But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD…” Numbers 14.21

Why did God choose and redeem Israel? Why did He enter into a Covenant with them, and give them His holy and righteous and good Law? His purpose is to fill the earth with His glory, more precisely, with the knowledge of His glory (Hab. 2.14). The world and everything in it declare the glory of the Lord continually (Ps. 19.1-4). Most people, however, have turned away from God, are not paying attention, and have set a course of sinful living in rebellion against the Lord and His good purposes (Rom. 1.18-32).

God chose Israel and gave her His Law so that, as she walked in obedience before Him, the people would reflect the love and justice of God and His glory would be revealed through them. The glory of God shining on the face of Moses, filling the Tabernacle, and leading the people of Israel through the wilderness – these were all tokens and symbols of the way God intended to show His glory to the world through the lives of His people.

For the glory of God is but the presence of God made manifest to human experience in ordinary ways, greatly exaggerated. The fire on the top of Mt. Sinai was so fierce that it seemed like it would consume the mountain, but it did not. Just as the fire in the burning bush did not consume the bush, but merely used the bush to bear witness to a greater Reality over, above, and through it, so the glory of God on Mt. Sinai would have borne witness to His presence with His people. And Moses’ descending from that glory, with a remnant of it glowing on His face, was a sign to the people of what God intended for them.

Without the ceremonial laws to renew Israel from her sinful ways, the people of God would have no hope of being able to know or refract the glory of the Lord to the world. By meeting with God in His glory at the Tabernacle, through the symbols and furnishings and protocols He prescribed, the people would leave the presence of the Lord renewed and, in a truly spiritual and moral sense, filled with His glory. Then, as they walked in obedience to God’s laws, the glory in which they had been renewed would show through their words and deeds, reflecting the very character and presence of God – His being, justice, wisdom, goodness, loving kindness, and truth. All their everyday ordinary actions, interactions, and transactions, would take on an extraordinary aspect because they were motivated by and based in love for God and neighbor.

Worship is the context for being renewed in and unto the glory of God, and, for ancient Israel, the ceremonial laws provided the means they needed to live for the glory of the Lord. As we shall see, we, too require such laws, yet not those prescribed for Israel, but those which Christ Himself has established for His Church.

For a fuller study of the pattern of worship revealed in Scripture, order the book, The Highest Thing, by T. M. Moore, from our online store. These studies and brief essays will help you to see how the pattern of sound worship, which began in the Law of God, comes to complete expression in the rest of Scripture. Pastors, we’re getting ready to start the next season of The Pastors’ Fellowship. Write to me today at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for information about how you join in these online discussions. Our theme for the coming series is “The Worldview of God’s Law.” There is no charge for participation, but you must reserve a place for these monthly gatherings. Subscribe to Crosfigell, the devotional newsletter of The Fellowship of Ailbe.