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Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35).

This week, we have been hopscotching around the Old Testament, looking at various events in which God came to his people. These passages introduced our Advent theme of Immanuel, “God with us”.

Today’s passage is no different. It comes from the very end of the Book of Exodus. Israel has spent considerable time in the wilderness around Mount Sinai. God has spoken to his people, given his law, but also been very angry because they rebelled against him. In the middle of the book, God and Israel would have parted ways if Moses had not interceded for the people.

But the last scene of the book is God coming to his people in glory, filling the tabernacle so full of himself that even Moses could not enter.

In this episode, we see the heart of what Immanuel means. God coming to his people. Many religions are concerned with how we as humans, can find the gods. And granted, many Christians live the same way. But what have we seen in these Old Testament passages is this: God comes to us! “Where are you?” he asks, “What are you doing here?” Or, as Pastor Anthony said yesterday, “I’ve seen, I’ve heard, I’ve come!”

It is important for us to pay attention to this. God comes to us. That is Immanuel.

That does not mean that we always experience God’s nearness. For many reasons, God may seem distant. Even Jesus experienced that on the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

These very real experiences of not feeling God’s closeness, do not negate the profound reality of the Christian religion that God comes to us. That is at the heart of Immanuel. We don’t need to search for God, he searches for us.

This story also portrays that God finding us presents us with a problem. We can’t get near God. If God shows up, we can’t survive. We can’t see God and live as he once told Moses.

There is always the problem of God’s holiness, or is it the problem of our unholiness? Our sinfulness?

And thus, it is important to take time to explore Immanuel, God with us. We need to dig deep into a theme that runs throughout the Bible. God searches for us because it is our sin that drives us away from him.

Next week, we will move to the New Testament to meet Jesus, who is Immanuel. He is the only Immanuel that we need because with his death he removed the problem of our sin.

We will have more to say about that later. For now, I want to leave you with two things.

First, Immanuel, God with us, is not a new theme found only in the New Testament. It wasn’t something God came up with after a few unsuccessful ideas. It was always his plan and desire to dwell among humanity. We are made in his image after all.

Second, But Jesus is not with us anymore! Does that matter? Well, yes it does. Jesus is not physically with us right now. He sent us His Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit he is spiritually with us. As he told his disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you” (John 14:14). The Holy Spirit’s presences in us, makes Jesus as near to us as if he were here physically.

For today’s ornament, I think I will try to draw a cloud in the shape of a dove. The dove is the Christian symbol for the Holy Spirit. And I suggest we nothing more than mediate on the truth that God comes to us in Christ Jesus, and now through His Spirit.