God’s presence was initially given to individual people. But starting from Abraham, the presence is given to the nations through Abraham. When God showed himself to the people of Israel, He is going to first dwell among the people through the tabernacle in Exod. 25:8.
a. God dwelling in the Tabernacle
The tabernacle, which is the same word “dwelling” in John 1:14. It was a portable sanctuary representing God’s presence with his people. Stuart even says that “This verse is the simplest and perhaps also the strongest statement in Exodus—a book often described as specially reflecting the theme of the presence of God—of God’s concern to center himself among his people and to have them organize themselves around him.” The meaning of “שָׁכַן” is to settle down, abide, dwell. LXX translated the clause …show more content…
For Job, the whirlwind has been an indication of the death of his children. However, the vision of God answering Job from the whirlwind implies “the fact of God being in the storm.” From this theophany, we can have several principles. First, God is in the storm. It looks like Job suffered all the losses all by himself. Even his wife told him to curse God and die. Yet if he knows that God is also in the storm, he will be comforted and know that God has been sustaining him. Second, God is in control. The storm for Job is too big and he cannot endure it. We cannot imagine the pain of losing all his children, his possessions, and his reputation in such a short time. However, Job learned that God is in control of all the things related with him. Most importantly, we should not try to escape from the storms. It is human nature to protect ourselves. However, sometimes God causes storms for us to learn and trust Him. The Storms are desperate yet God’s strength is enough for us. Nevertheless, we will meet God in the storms because God is in the
a. God dwelling in the Tabernacle
The tabernacle, which is the same word “dwelling” in John 1:14. It was a portable sanctuary representing God’s presence with his people. Stuart even says that “This verse is the simplest and perhaps also the strongest statement in Exodus—a book often described as specially reflecting the theme of the presence of God—of God’s concern to center himself among his people and to have them organize themselves around him.” The meaning of “שָׁכַן” is to settle down, abide, dwell. LXX translated the clause …show more content…
For Job, the whirlwind has been an indication of the death of his children. However, the vision of God answering Job from the whirlwind implies “the fact of God being in the storm.” From this theophany, we can have several principles. First, God is in the storm. It looks like Job suffered all the losses all by himself. Even his wife told him to curse God and die. Yet if he knows that God is also in the storm, he will be comforted and know that God has been sustaining him. Second, God is in control. The storm for Job is too big and he cannot endure it. We cannot imagine the pain of losing all his children, his possessions, and his reputation in such a short time. However, Job learned that God is in control of all the things related with him. Most importantly, we should not try to escape from the storms. It is human nature to protect ourselves. However, sometimes God causes storms for us to learn and trust Him. The Storms are desperate yet God’s strength is enough for us. Nevertheless, we will meet God in the storms because God is in the