DERIVED FROM a Hebrew verb meaning "to dwell," the term Shekinah means "Divine Presence." In the Bible it often denotes God's presence among the children of Israel. "Above the mercy seat was the Shekinah, the manifestation of the divine Presence."—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 349.
Since the word tabernacle and the word Shekinah are both derived from the verb "to dwell," they are closely related. Tracing the manifestation of the divine Presence in the Shekinah back through Bible history, we come to its first manifestation after the fall of man. Having driven man out of the holy Garden, the Lord "placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life" (Gen. 3:23, 24). God's intent of placing the cherubim at the entrance to Eden was far more sublime than that of merely keeping lawbreakers out.
"At the cherubim-guarded gate of Paradise the glory of God was revealed, and hither came the first worshipers. Here their altars were reared, and their offerings presented. It was here that . . . God had condescended to communicate with them."— Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 83, 84.
God's glory at the entrance of Paradise was the Shekinah, the manifestation of the divine Presence.
The same glory was revealed to Moses, Israel's great leader, at his calling. "And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed" (Ex. 3:2). Moses wanted to draw closer to see "this great sight," but God commanded him to stand off, because the ground was holy. It was hallowed by the presence of the Lord.
Christ—Israel's Leader
By comparing scripture with scripture we come to the conclusion that Israel's leader on their wanderings in the wilderness was Christ, the second person of the Godhead. In Exodus 20:1, 2, we read the following: "And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." In his great apology before the Jewish Council, Stephen said: "This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers" (Acts 7:38). Paul, the apostle, is speaking of Israel in the wilderness in these words: "for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (1 Cor. 10:4).
It was Christ who led Israel and whose presence was manifested in the pillar of cloud and fire.
At the dedication of the magnificent wilderness sanctuary, "a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" (Ex. 40:34). Between the cherubims of gold, in the two ends of the mercy seat (Ex. 25:18), God made known His will. Here divine messages were sometimes communicated to the high priest by a voice from the cloud.
The book of Leviticus records the tragic story of the death of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron. Although they ministered in the tabernacle of the congregation, they did not obey the laws given concerning how to carry on the service in the sanctuary. "And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord" (Lev. 10:1, 2). God is a consuming fire to the presumptuous, but a sun and shield to those who fear His name.
When the magnificent Temple of Solomon replaced the tent-sanctuary, the ark of the covenant was enshrined in the Most Holy Place and the Shekinah was manifested in the hallowed apartment (1 Kings 8:10, 11).
When the history of Israel came to its tragic end, the Shekinah, the manifestation of the divine Presence, departed from the holy building and the holy city. Both the Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by the Babylonians. "The holy Shekinah, in departing from the first temple, . . . stood upon the eastern mountain, as if loath to forsake the chosen city."—The Desire of Ages, p. 829.
Shekinah Still Here
But God did not leave His people forever. His presence is still manifested among men. "And the Word [logos] was made 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).
The Greek word translated "dwelt" in this verse is best understood in the sense that the Word made flesh "pitched his tent" among us. He became one of us to make us familiar with His divine nature and life. When the Jewish temple was rebuilt after the captivity, the Shekinah did not take up its abode in the building, but it was honored with the living presence of One in whom dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). The prophecy was fulfilled which stated, "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former" (Hag. 2:9).
"This unconscious babe was the promised seed, to whom the first altar at the gate of Eden pointed. This was Shiloh, the peace giver. It was He who declared Himself to Moses as the I AM. It was He who in the pillar of cloud and of fire had been the guide of Israel. This was He whom seers had long foretold. He was the Desire of all nations, the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star."— The Desire of Ages, p. 52.
"All through the pages of sacred history, where the dealings of God with His chosen people are recorded, there are burning traces of the great I AM."— Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 366.
Soon the divine glory will once more come to dwell among men —this time forever. When the drama of sin is ended, and God has gathered all the redeemed on the earth made new, "he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them" (Rev. 7:15). Then a great voice will say, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God" (Rev. 21:3).
