“And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory” (Ex. 29:43).
The daily offering of sacrifices that God required of Israel revealed their own insufficiency and looked forward to the glory of Christ who would die once and for all. But the sacrifices also typified something else: the continual intercession of our Lord at the right hand of God. Though He died once and for all, never being required to sacrifice His life again, He now makes continual intercession for His people, for we need this daily grace to sustain us in our battle to subdue the sin nature and to sanctify us unto the Lord.
These daily offerings also remind us of the daily sacrifices of prayer and praise that we are to offer continually to the Lord. We should always seek times to acknowledge privately our dependence upon Him and our obligations to Him, engaging in earnest prayer and sincere praise. Matthew Henry commented that our “daily devotions must be looked upon as the most needful of our daily works and the most pleasant of our daily comforts. Whatever business we have, this must never be omitted, either morning or evening; prayer-time must be kept up as duly as meal-time. The daily sacrifices were as the daily meals in God’s house, and therefore they were always attended with bread and wine. Those starve their own souls that keep not up a constant attendance on the throne of grace.”
If Israel remained faithful in their obligations before God, He would dwell among them, blessing them with His presence. Here, the purpose of the Exodus is reiterated: “I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.” When we faithfully attend to the ordinances God has commanded, we are blessed by His presence, and it is only when we approach God humbly that we can know what it means joyfully to appreciate the presence of the Lord. Jesus, who is our perfect sacrifice, has promised that He will be with us always (Matt. 28:20). We have been consecrated unto the Lord by the blood of Jesus Christ, and we need never fear that God will turn His back on us or forsake us, for Christ’s work ensures that we will be welcome into the house of God. And those who dwell in His house enjoy His presence, now and forevermore.
How would you live if you believed you were always in God’s presence? Do you know what it means to live before the face of God? Part of this lifestyle is private devotional time with God. Set aside time to pray, meditate on the Word, and praise God. Don’t avoid intimate times with God.