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The Lord God says,
"Everyone who is called by My name,
I have created for My glory."
ISAIAH 43:7
I am soooooooo indebted to Bob Warren for mentoring me in the following revelation of God's glory throughout the whole Bible (refer to Bob's bio in right column). Most of the Scriptures are from a recording of his teaching.
This Rest Stop affirms God's greatest purpose for you and me is for the glory of His Son to shine through us. I am overwhelmed! God bless you as you will be transformed by beholding God's glory in this Rest Stop.
GLORY IN A BUSH
God's glory is the manifestation Him. It is the outshining of His Person. Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is the brightness of God's glory, meaning that Jesus is the outshining of God. Jesus is the glory of God!
And the Angel of the Lord who appeared to Moses in a burning bush was the pre-incarnate Christ (Exodus 3:2)!
The bush was not consumed with the fire of God's glory. Otherwise, the flame would have burned out and not be eternal. However, His glory from this bush has blazed through all of history (and eternity) and into our lives!
GLORY ON MOUNT SINAI
Moses and the people witnessed God's glory as Mount Sinai was engulfed with smoke before and after God revealed the Ten Commandments to Moses (Exodus 19:16-18, 20:18).
GLORY IN A TENT
The presence of God in a pillar of cloud stood at the door of Moses' tent (Exodus 33:7, 9). It was here that God promised His faithful presence (glory) to Moses and His people (Exodus 33:14).
GLORY IN THE TABERNACLE
The cloud covered the tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. The cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day and fire was over it by night, throughout all the journeys of the Hebrews in the wilderness (Exodus 40:34-38).
GLORY IN THE TEMPLE
Moses died at the threshold of the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 34:5). Joshua claimed the Promised Land by faith, and then divided the Promised Land (Joshua 1-24). The last judge Samuel anointed Saul from the tribe of Benjamin as king (1 Samuel 10:1). Samuel later anointed David from the tribe of Judah as king (1 Samuel 16:13).
| Because David was from the tribe of Judah, and Jesus was to be a descendant of Judah, God's plan unfolded to ultimately usher in Jesus as "the glory of the only begotten of the Father" (John 1:14)! |
David's son Solomon became king and built the temple in Jerusalem. The glory of God as a cloud filled the temple (2 Chronicles 5:13-14, 7:1-3). Solomon died (2 Chronicles 9:31, 1 Kings 11:43), and the kingdom split into Israel (north) and Judah (south) in 930 BC.
In 740 BC, northern kingdom of Israel was taken captive by Assyria. In 609 BC, Josiah, the last righteous king of southern kingdom of Judah was slain. In 606 BC, the 70-year Babylonian captivity of the southern kingdom of Judah started. Daniel and his three friends were among the first taken into captivity (Jeremiah 25:11, Daniel 1:1-6).
Ezekiel prophesied of the coming destruction of Jerusalem over the next few years if the Hebrews did not repent.
* START OF PART 2 OF 3 *
GLORY DEPARTED THE TEMPLE
During Ezekiel's prophetic ministry, the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub on the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, and paused over the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory (Ezekiel 10:4).
The glory of the Lord then departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. The cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth and stood at the door of the East Gate of Jerusalem, and the glory of God was above them (Ezekiel 10:18-19).
And then the glory of the Lord went up and stood on the Mount of Olives on the east side of Jerusalem...and then went up to heaven (Ezekiel 11:23-24).
| The glory would return later to the Mount of Olives in the Person of Jesus Christ! It is on the Mount of Olives that Jesus mounted the donkey to re-enter Jerusalem through the East Gate! (Matthew 21:1-12). |
In 586 BC, after the glory of the Lord had left the temple in Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar burned the temple to the ground and broke down the walls of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:9-10).
GLORY DID NOT RETURN TO THE RE-BUILT TEMPLE
The Persians defeated the Babylonians, and Persian King Cyrus issued a decree in 538 BC for the Jews to return to Jerusalem and to re-build the temple (Ezra 1:1-4). The new temple was completed in 515 BC (Ezra 6:14-15), but the glory of the Lord is never mentioned to fill this new temple...until Jesus came later!
In 445 BC, Nehemiah led the miraculous re-building of the wall of Jerusalem in only 23 days (Nehemiah 1:1-6:15)!
| The re-building of the East Gate on the Jerusalem wall opened the way for the glory to return to the temple in the Person of Jesus Christ the same way the glory had departed! |
The Jews again rebelled against God. The Old Testament period closed. There were 400 years of silence from God...until...
...UNTIL THE GLORY RETURNED THROUGH THE LORD JESUS!
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid (Luke 2:8-9)!
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men" (Luke 2:13-14)!
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
Jesus is indeed the glory of God!
Hebrews 1:3 affirms "The Son is the brightness of God's glory!"
* END OF PART 2 OF 3 *
Amazing Christ child, we now see!
Amazing love, how can it be?!
Amazing grace saved a wretch like me!
Amazing glory through all eternity!
There's even more glory to be revealed in Part 3 of 3!!!
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