Exodus 29:43-46

Yahweh's Dwelling With His People (Exodus 29:43).

Exodus 29:43

“And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. And I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar. I will also sanctify Aaron and his sons to minister to me in the priest's office. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they will know that I am Yahweh their God who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am Yahweh their God.”

Again we have a short chiasmus:

a Yahweh will meet with His people at His Dwelling-place and it will be sanctified by His glory (Exodus 29:43).

b Yahweh will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar (by His glory) (Exodus 29:44 a).

c Yahweh will sanctify Aaron and his sons as priests (Exodus 29:44 b).

b Yahweh will dwell among the children of Israel and be their God (Exodus 29:45).

a The people will know that He is Yahweh their God, and He will dwell among them (Exodus 29:46).

In ‘a' Yahweh will meet with His people and will sanctify His Dwelling-place with His glory, and in the parallel His people will thus know that He is Yahweh their God and He will dwell among them. In ‘b' Yahweh will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar with His glory and in the parallel He will dwell among them and be their God. Centrally in ‘c' He will sanctify Aaron and his sons as priests. This centrality brings out the glory that was Aaron's, and the priests after him. They were most holy to Yahweh. They alone could enter the Tent of Meeting to minister before God.

The sanctifying of Aaron and his sons, and the offering of the continual daily offering enables Yahweh to meet with His people and dwell among them. Sufficient continual atonement is being made. Prior to this time the old Tent of Meeting was outside the camp, as were the cloud and the pillar of fire. The people were then watched over by Him but He did not dwell among them. But from now on the Tabernacle would be in the midst of the camp and He would be permanently among them because it was sanctified by Him for the purpose by His glory.

“ It shall be sanctified by my glory.” That is, the door of the Tent of Meeting where He will speak with them will be so sanctified (Exodus 29:42). For there He will meet with them. Indeed the whole Tent of Meeting and the altar will also be sanctified by Him. They are the places of His contact with His people, and they will be sanctified by His presence. And His glory will be made known there, and that above all will demonstrate that the Tent of Meeting is sanctified by Yahweh, set apart as His for its holy purpose. Compare 40:34-35; Numbers 9:15.

“ And I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar.” In Leviticus 9:24 we learn that on the first occasion when the altar was used ‘the glory of Yahweh appeared to all the people and there came forth fire from before Yahweh and consumed on the altar the whole burnt offering and the fat'. So was the seal of God's approval, and setting apart for His purpose, fulfilled on both Sanctuary and altar.

“ I will also sanctify Aaron and his sons.” Commencing with their original consecration and sanctification, God will continue to sanctify them, keeping them set apart to His purposes and in a right state to serve Him. They will be sacrosanct. This gave them a huge responsibility. But even in their case it was dependent on their responsiveness. He could not set apart to His glorious purposes those who were disobedient. And the result was that through disobedience in the fulfilling of their ministry Nadab and Abihu would be slain by the same fire of God as sanctified the altar (Leviticus 10:1). They were not there to experiment or treat God's ordinances lightly. They were holy and must fulfil His requirements to the letter.

Thus as a result of the fact that the people have accepted His Overlordship treaty (Exodus 20:1 to Exodus 23:33), have built His Dwellingplace as guided by Him (Exodus 25:1 to Exodus 27:21), have obtained a priesthood sanctified to Yahweh as their representatives (Exodus 28:1 to Exodus 29:37), and as they continually offer the daily whole burnt offerings (Exodus 29:38), they will enjoy His permanent presence. His glory will dwell among them, and He will be their God. They will know in full, and with deep gratitude, that He is Yahweh, the One Who delivered them from Egypt, the One Who is continually there (as He had promised to Moses in Exodus 6:3). And He concludes these passages by declaring, ‘I am Yahweh their God.' They are accepted as His people.

In this present time Christians are His dwellingplace, kept holy by Christ's offering of Himself once and for all (Hebrews 10:10), and by His continual ministry on our behalf as our High Priest (Hebrews 7:25), anointed not with oil but with the Holy Spirit. And He is our altar (Hebrews 13:10) on which He has offered up Himself once for all, and through which we can now partake of Him.

Notes for Christians.

In this chapter describing the anointing and sanctifying of the priest is a message for all believers, for all believers are His priests. We must ensure that we are continually robed in the priestly garments as we engage in worship and intercession for the world and for the work of God both at home and abroad (we must leave our daily needs to Him - Matthew 6:8). We must be anointed as those who are wholly set apart to his service and His will. And we must come to Him constantly through Jesus Christ Who was sacrificed for us, Who was our whole burnt offering, the declaration of our worship, dedication and sonship, and our purification for sin offering, putting us right with God and granting us daily forgiveness, and our consecration offering, for it is through the cross that we are wholly set apart as His. And we may partake of spiritual bread daily as we seek His face wherever we are, ‘praying without ceasing'. And the morning and evening offerings remind us of Christ's continual intercession for us through His blood so that He is able to save us to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25).

End of note.