What is the Shekinah of God?
One of the most important Temple icons is the starburst, which symbolizes the glory of God emanating from the Ark of the Covenant. This is the Shekinah Glory of God. What exactly is the Shekinah?
The word Shekinah does not occur in the Bible. It is a Hebrew word meaning the brightest light possible. Ancient Hebrew scholars used this word in reference to the bright glowing presence of God in the Tabernacle and Temple. The Hebrew sages have varying opinions on exactly what the Shekinah Glory of God is. Some feel it is the manifestation of God’s presence, some feel it is a distinct entity, while others feel it is a mediator between God and man. I am not sure we will ever be able to specifically define the Shekinah Glory of God because it is part of the Almighty. There is no way our human minds can completely understand God. This is why God gave us physical object lessons. They teach us about aspects of God that our human minds cannot completely comprehend.
The best way to understand the Shekinah of God is to examine the passages of scriptures that describe it.
Exodus 40:34 When Moses set up the Tabernacle a cloud covered it and the Glory of the Lord filled it. This is the same cloudy pillar that stood at the door of the Tabernacle and talked with Moses (Exodus 33:9).
II Chronicles 5:13-14
When Solomon finished building the Temple in Jerusalem, the cloud filled the House of the Lord. The cloud was so thick that the priests could not minister. This cloud was the Glory of the Lord. The Hebrew word for glory means more than just praise or worship. Here it refers to the Shekinah.
Exodus 14:24 -5
Israel saw the power of this cloudy pillar when they were fleeing Egypt. The Egyptian army caught up with the Israelites while they were crossing through the Red Sea on dry ground via the path God had made for them. The Egyptian army was sent by Pharaoh to kill all the Israelites. Surely they would have succeeded in their commission if God had not intervened. God stopped the Egyptians with the cloudy pillar.
Exodus 13:21
God led Israel through the wilderness during the Exodus by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When I was a young student of the Bible I would foolishly wonder at what time of the day would the pillar of cloud change to a pillar of fire. As I learned the Hebrew language, I realized that there were not two different forms appearing to Israel but one. Moses described this mass the best he could. During the daylight hours it looked like a large glowing mass, like a cloud. At night its brightness was magnificent. Moses described its appearance at night as a pillar of fire. The Shekinah did not change form, it just appeared differently at different times. It was a bright cloud-like glowing mass. There is nothing else on earth like it.
So what did the Shekinah do besides make God’s presence known among His people? The Shekinah communicated with God’s people. God spoke to His people out of the fire in Deuteronomy 5:24. Exodus 30:6 indicates that God met Moses at the Mercy Seat where the Shekinah dwelled. The Mercy Seat was not actually a seat or throne but a space. It was a space between the wings of the gold cherubim on the top of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. The high priest would enter the Holy of Holies once each year on the Day of Atonement. He would bring blood from the sacrifices and sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat in the presence of the Shekinah Glory of God (Leviticus 16).
David wrote much about the Shekinah Glory of God. His passion for the Ark of the Covenant is well demonstrated after he received it back from the Philistines. When the Ark came into the City of David, the King David danced before the Lord with all his might (II Samuel 6:14).
David had a desire to build the Temple. He understood the significance and power of the Shekinah Glory of God. He wrote in Psalm 24:8 “Who is the King of Glory (the Shekinah)? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.” The Shekinah of God is a powerful force. The Shekinah was not restricted to the Holy of Holies nor was the power of God limited. The power of the Shekinah Glory of God is well demonstrated many times in the Bible.
Joshua 6
When Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, God told them to march around the walls of the mighty city of Jericho. The city was known for its thick, unbreachable walls. The priests led the march followed by the Ark of the Covenant. Why did Joshua take the Ark from the tabernacle to march around the walls each day for seven days? He knew of the power that rested on the Ark.
Judges 6:34
This same powerful spirit of the Shekinah of God came on Gideon when he defeated the Midianites with 300 men.
Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14
The Spirit of the Lord came on Samson when he killed a lion with his bare hands. It came on him when he killed thirty Philistines. Samson broke the ropes with which the Philistines bound him when the Shekinah came on him.
Judges 11:29
The Spirit of the Lord came on Jephtah and he defeated the Ammonites
I Samuel 16:13
Samuel anointed David to be the next king of Israel in the city of Bethlehem. When Samuel anointed David with oil in front of his father, Jesse, and his seven brothers, the Spirit of the Lord came on David and stayed on him from that day forward.
I realize some may say it is a stretch to connect the Shekinah that appeared in the Tabernacle with the power of the Spirit of the Lord that came on the judges and even David. Without a question, the power that the dwelled on the Ark of the Covenant came from God. The power that filled God’s anointed men also came from the Lord. The power of God is not ordered or controlled by men.
Men have often made the same mistake that the Philistines made. They think God is in a box. When Eli was the High Priest, Israel fought the Philistines. The elders of Israel took the Ark from Shiloh to the battle thinking it would bring them certain victory. They thought they could control the Shekinah. They couldn’t.
The Philistines took the Ark. And the Glory of the Lord departed from Israel. The Philistines presumed that they had captured God’s power. They took the ark to Ashdod and set it in the Temple of Dagon and set it beside the idol of Dagon. That night Dagon fell over. The Philistines set Dagon back up and the next night Dagon fell over again and this time his head and hands were cut off. Then the residents of Ashdod got hemorrhoids. (The English texts say emerods but the Hebrew word is the word for hemorrhoids.) God destroyed them with hemorrhoids.
They sent the Ark to the Philistine city of Gath. The residents of Gath were plagued with hemorrhoids. They sent the Ark to Ekron. The Philistines of Ekron were killed or plagued with hemorrhoids. The Philistines realized that the power of the Lord is not controlled or limited to the box of the Ark of the Covenant.
The Shekinah Glory of God is not limited or controlled by man. God gives it to whoever He chooses for His glory alone. What happened to the Shekinah? Has it ever returned to the Temple after the destruction of the first Temple? Did the Early Church see the Shekinah of God? Will the church today ever experience the Shekinah of God? This is such a significant topic that I will address it in three separate articles. The next article will examine the Shekinah in the Early Church. Was it in the Temple? Did the Early Church see it? The answer to these questions and more are vital to understanding the significance and meaning of the Temple icons.
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016
The word Shekinah does not occur in the Bible. It is a Hebrew word meaning the brightest light possible. Ancient Hebrew scholars used this word in reference to the bright glowing presence of God in the Tabernacle and Temple. The Hebrew sages have varying opinions on exactly what the Shekinah Glory of God is. Some feel it is the manifestation of God’s presence, some feel it is a distinct entity, while others feel it is a mediator between God and man. I am not sure we will ever be able to specifically define the Shekinah Glory of God because it is part of the Almighty. There is no way our human minds can completely understand God. This is why God gave us physical object lessons. They teach us about aspects of God that our human minds cannot completely comprehend.
The best way to understand the Shekinah of God is to examine the passages of scriptures that describe it.
Exodus 40:34 When Moses set up the Tabernacle a cloud covered it and the Glory of the Lord filled it. This is the same cloudy pillar that stood at the door of the Tabernacle and talked with Moses (Exodus 33:9).
II Chronicles 5:13-14
When Solomon finished building the Temple in Jerusalem, the cloud filled the House of the Lord. The cloud was so thick that the priests could not minister. This cloud was the Glory of the Lord. The Hebrew word for glory means more than just praise or worship. Here it refers to the Shekinah.
Exodus 14:24 -5
Israel saw the power of this cloudy pillar when they were fleeing Egypt. The Egyptian army caught up with the Israelites while they were crossing through the Red Sea on dry ground via the path God had made for them. The Egyptian army was sent by Pharaoh to kill all the Israelites. Surely they would have succeeded in their commission if God had not intervened. God stopped the Egyptians with the cloudy pillar.
Exodus 13:21
God led Israel through the wilderness during the Exodus by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When I was a young student of the Bible I would foolishly wonder at what time of the day would the pillar of cloud change to a pillar of fire. As I learned the Hebrew language, I realized that there were not two different forms appearing to Israel but one. Moses described this mass the best he could. During the daylight hours it looked like a large glowing mass, like a cloud. At night its brightness was magnificent. Moses described its appearance at night as a pillar of fire. The Shekinah did not change form, it just appeared differently at different times. It was a bright cloud-like glowing mass. There is nothing else on earth like it.
So what did the Shekinah do besides make God’s presence known among His people? The Shekinah communicated with God’s people. God spoke to His people out of the fire in Deuteronomy 5:24. Exodus 30:6 indicates that God met Moses at the Mercy Seat where the Shekinah dwelled. The Mercy Seat was not actually a seat or throne but a space. It was a space between the wings of the gold cherubim on the top of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. The high priest would enter the Holy of Holies once each year on the Day of Atonement. He would bring blood from the sacrifices and sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat in the presence of the Shekinah Glory of God (Leviticus 16).
David wrote much about the Shekinah Glory of God. His passion for the Ark of the Covenant is well demonstrated after he received it back from the Philistines. When the Ark came into the City of David, the King David danced before the Lord with all his might (II Samuel 6:14).
David had a desire to build the Temple. He understood the significance and power of the Shekinah Glory of God. He wrote in Psalm 24:8 “Who is the King of Glory (the Shekinah)? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.” The Shekinah of God is a powerful force. The Shekinah was not restricted to the Holy of Holies nor was the power of God limited. The power of the Shekinah Glory of God is well demonstrated many times in the Bible.
Joshua 6
When Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, God told them to march around the walls of the mighty city of Jericho. The city was known for its thick, unbreachable walls. The priests led the march followed by the Ark of the Covenant. Why did Joshua take the Ark from the tabernacle to march around the walls each day for seven days? He knew of the power that rested on the Ark.
Judges 6:34
This same powerful spirit of the Shekinah of God came on Gideon when he defeated the Midianites with 300 men.
Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14
The Spirit of the Lord came on Samson when he killed a lion with his bare hands. It came on him when he killed thirty Philistines. Samson broke the ropes with which the Philistines bound him when the Shekinah came on him.
Judges 11:29
The Spirit of the Lord came on Jephtah and he defeated the Ammonites
I Samuel 16:13
Samuel anointed David to be the next king of Israel in the city of Bethlehem. When Samuel anointed David with oil in front of his father, Jesse, and his seven brothers, the Spirit of the Lord came on David and stayed on him from that day forward.
I realize some may say it is a stretch to connect the Shekinah that appeared in the Tabernacle with the power of the Spirit of the Lord that came on the judges and even David. Without a question, the power that the dwelled on the Ark of the Covenant came from God. The power that filled God’s anointed men also came from the Lord. The power of God is not ordered or controlled by men.
Men have often made the same mistake that the Philistines made. They think God is in a box. When Eli was the High Priest, Israel fought the Philistines. The elders of Israel took the Ark from Shiloh to the battle thinking it would bring them certain victory. They thought they could control the Shekinah. They couldn’t.
The Philistines took the Ark. And the Glory of the Lord departed from Israel. The Philistines presumed that they had captured God’s power. They took the ark to Ashdod and set it in the Temple of Dagon and set it beside the idol of Dagon. That night Dagon fell over. The Philistines set Dagon back up and the next night Dagon fell over again and this time his head and hands were cut off. Then the residents of Ashdod got hemorrhoids. (The English texts say emerods but the Hebrew word is the word for hemorrhoids.) God destroyed them with hemorrhoids.
They sent the Ark to the Philistine city of Gath. The residents of Gath were plagued with hemorrhoids. They sent the Ark to Ekron. The Philistines of Ekron were killed or plagued with hemorrhoids. The Philistines realized that the power of the Lord is not controlled or limited to the box of the Ark of the Covenant.
The Shekinah Glory of God is not limited or controlled by man. God gives it to whoever He chooses for His glory alone. What happened to the Shekinah? Has it ever returned to the Temple after the destruction of the first Temple? Did the Early Church see the Shekinah of God? Will the church today ever experience the Shekinah of God? This is such a significant topic that I will address it in three separate articles. The next article will examine the Shekinah in the Early Church. Was it in the Temple? Did the Early Church see it? The answer to these questions and more are vital to understanding the significance and meaning of the Temple icons.
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016