Dwelling

Dwelling
Words of Faith 2-22-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 29
[44] "So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. [45] Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. [46] They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

Interestingly, after a whole chapter giving instruction about the consecration of the Tabernacle, the high priest, and the priests, God gives a strong reminder that He is the one who consecrates. God is the only one who can make a place, a furnishing, an altar, clothing, or a leader holy and set apart. He does the consecration. We are simply called to meet him there.
It is in this consecrated place that God promised to dwell among them. Certainly, God was not confined to the Tent of Meeting or to the Ark of the Covenant. But he did make a promise to be in their midst and to remind them of who he is.
They will know that I am their God. They will know that I am the one who brought them out of Egypt. They will know that I did this so that I might dwell with them and have fellowship with them. And don't forget this… I am the Lord their God.
It is a remarkable theme that carries through to the New Testament. The gospel of John tells us that the Word that was present at the creation of everything became flesh in order to dwell or tabernacle among us. We must remember that Tabernacle is both a noun and a verb.
Later, when all these things are written down, the Torah, or first five books of Moses, will be kept in a special ark and wrapped in a swaddling cloth. The Torah Word was an image of God dwelling among the people of God. Jesus came to us later as Word made flesh and was wrapped in a swaddling cloth.
The ultimate vision of God's plan is to be with us. In the Revelation God gave to John, we read: "I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God'" (Revelation 21:3). This is what God has always wanted. You. And He established the way for this in Jesus.

Father God, I welcome You as my God to be with me. May I make You known to the people and bring Your Good News into this world. In Jesus' Name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.