“What is the chief end of man?”, asks the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Its answer is wonderfully simple, but theologically stunning: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever”. For attentive Bible readers, this will come as no surprise; the Apostle Paul even says as much: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31). The glorification of God is what we were made for—saved for; it is indeed our “chief end”. Only when we are engaged in such a pursuit can we truly “enjoy” God.
But what of God? What is his chief ‘end’ or goal? Many assume that the answer must be us and our happiness. This seems only fair; if we are to be God-centred, surely God should be us-centred! But here’s the surprising thing: Scripture reveals that God’s first concern is also for his own glory. In other words, God is thoroughly God-centred. It’s vital that we see the rightness of this, for all glory belongs to God, not to us (Ps 115:1; Rev 19:1). This is why Scripture calls him “the God of glory” (Ps 29:3; Acts 7:2).
But we also need to see that the ‘God-centredness of God’ is, in fact, our only hope. Our salvation, preservation and our glorification are utterly dependent on God acting for the sake his own glory (Ps 79:9; Isa 48:9-11).1 That is, unless God hallows his own name (as we ask in the Lord’s Prayer), we will never be delivered from evil and will never experience the blessings of his kingdom. John Piper is right to insist that “God’s ultimate commitment is to Himself and not to us. And therein lies our security.”2
Not surprisingly, then, the theme of God’s glory is one of the most important in the entire Bible. To open up this strand of biblical revelation is to be taken into the heart of the mystery of God’s being—for glory is not just something that God has, it is what God is. It is a way of talking about the very ‘God-ness’ of God. Furthermore, the Bible’s teaching on glory also takes us into the heart of the mystery of God’s will—that through Jesus Christ, all things in heaven and on earth might be “to the praise of his glory” (cf. Eph 1:3-14). The theme of ‘glory’, then, takes us directly into the eternal purpose of God.
Most studies of this theme begin by noting that the principal Hebrew word for ‘glory’ is kabod, which conveys the idea of ‘weightiness’, ‘splendour’ or ‘reputation’. When used in reference to God, ‘glory’ is a way of talking about his greatness, power and majesty. The New Testament word doxa covers similar semantic territory. But the precise meaning of words always needs to be confirmed by the contexts in which they appear. Moreover, in order to understand the wider connotations of the Bible’s teaching on God’s glory, we need to appreciate the narrative connections between this language and the Bible’s unfolding plot line.
The best place to begin our exploration of this theme, then, is with the book of Exodus. For here, we not only meet the Bible’s first real concentration of ‘glory’ language, we discover a number of glory patterns, channels and associations that continue through the entire Bible.
1. The glory and the name of God
a) The connection between the glory and the name
The first connection to note is the link between the glory of God and the name of God. The question of God’s name arises in the course of Moses’ call in Exodus 3. After God appears to Moses and appoints him as his spokesman, Moses asks, “Whom shall I say has sent me?” God answers, “I am who I am” or “I will be who I will be” (hayah asher hayah—3:14), indicating that the meaning of his special name “the Lord” (Yahweh) will be unfolded through Israel’s deliverance. Not surprisingly, then, the whole point of Israel’s exodus is so that God’s “name may be proclaimed in all the earth” and that he might “get glory” for himself (9:16, 14:4, 17-18).
Moreover, the revelation of God’s glory and name is not confined to the beginning of Israel’s salvation experience, but continues as their journey continues—particularly in the face of their disobedience and rebellion. So, for example, as the people grumble and complain, hankering for the food they had in Egypt,
… they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” (16:10-12)
Here we see the glory of God manifested in the face of Israel’s stiff-necked, stubbornness. Indeed, a key facet of God’s glory is his grace (a point we’ll return to)! We also see an important link between the glory of God and the cloud—the same cloud that had symbolized God’s presence with the Israelites, leading them through the wilderness by day and protecting them from the Egyptians (13:21-22, 14:19-20).
It’s not surprising, then, that when the Lord meets the people of Israel at Mount Sinai and establishes his covenant with them, he comes in a “thick cloud” of “thick darkness” (19:9, 20:21). This, as we’ve seen, not only symbolizes his presence, it again speaks of his glory—his unapproachable majesty. And so the people go through the awesome experience of hearing God address them directly and seeing his glory cloud settle on the mountain like “a consuming fire” (24:15-17 NIV).
b) The proclamation of the name
Despite Israel’s enthusiastic acceptance of the Sinai covenant (19:8), it is broken within moments of its inception. Before Moses descends from the mountain, the people catapult themselves into idolatry (32:1-6). In spite of this, God graciously determines to persist with his people, saying “My presence [paneh] will go with you” (33:14). It’s in response to this that Moses (rather daringly) asks God to show him his glory (33:18). The Lord’s reply, which involves an interesting play on the Hebrew word paneh, is one of profound theological significance:
“I will make all my goodness pass before you [paneh] and will proclaim before you [paneh] my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face [paneh], for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face [paneh] shall not be seen.” (33:19-23)
God fulfilled his promise the following day when Moses again went up Mount Sinai:
The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (34:5-7)
The equations are crucial here: Moses asks to see God’s ‘glory’; God tells him that he will see his ‘goodness’ (i.e. his compassion and mercy) as he hears his ‘name’ proclaimed. In other words, the glory of God is bound up with the name of God, because the name of God is the expression of his nature: he is a holy God, implacably opposed to all forms of wickedness, rebellion and sin, and yet is astonishingly merciful, gracious and forgiving.
c) Glorifying the name of the Lord
If we jump forward to the book of Psalms, we see something of the significance of these connections. The link between God’s glory and God’s name leads to repeated calls to glorify the name of the Lord: “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” (Ps 34:3; cf. 86:12).
But what does this mean in practice? How can God’s people glorify his name? The answer is by ascribing to him the glory due his name (Ps 29:2), and that is done by praising his name in song, glorifying him with thanksgiving, walking in his truth, seeking his face, remembering the wonders he has done, and telling others of all his wonderful acts (Pss 96:1-2, 69:30, 86:11, 105:2, 4-5).
As we’ll see in part 2 of this article, these insights are highly relevant for new covenant believers (not just ancient Israelites) because we are no less obligated to glorify God’s name in all that we do. But first we must return to the book of Exodus, for we have yet to explore its most important contribution to our knowledge of the glory of God: its teaching about the tabernacle.
2. The glory and the tabernacle of God
a) The heavenly tabernacle
In Exodus 25:8-9, God tells Moses to make him a sanctuary according to the pattern revealed to him so God can “dwell in their midst”. According to the writer of Hebrews, the pattern Moses was shown was that of the heavenly tabernacle—a greater and more perfect tabernacle “not of this creation” (Heb 8:5, 9:11). Moreover, in that true tabernacle, Christ would one day offer himself unblemished to God for the sins of many (Heb 9:14, 28), and so open the way for those who have been perfected by his sacrifice to draw near to God in worship (Heb 7:25, 10:14).
b) The purpose of the earthly tabernacle
Not surprisingly, then, the earthly tabernacle was fundamentally a place of both revelation and reconciliation. The sacrifices offered on the altar provided both access into God’s presence and fellowship with God’s person. In that sense, the tabernacle functioned as a bridge between heaven and earth—a portal between God and his people. It was a place of relationship—a “tent of meeting” (Exod 27:21).
Of course, the Israelites knew that God was not confined to the tabernacle. How could he be? The highest heavens could not contain him (cf. 1 Kgs 8:27)! Nevertheless, they also knew that God had elected this tent, made it his throne and filled it with his glory so that when they met him there, they really met him! In that sense, the tabernacle was a little like a computer ‘alias’ or shortcut—a symbolic replication of a programme or file that connects the user to the real thing. The tabernacle was a symbol of God’s presence, but not just a symbol; it was the glory-filled point of access into God’s presence. Consequently, when the construction of the tabernacle was complete, we read,
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. (Exod 40:34-38)
b) The ark of the testimony
There’s one final ingredient we need to appreciate at this stage in the unfolding story of God’s glory. It concerns the role of the “ark of the covenant” or “ark of the testimony”. Why was it called this? Because inside the ark was the very testimony of God himself—the word of the covenant, issued from God’s own mouth, that was to be Israel’s “very life” (Deut 32:47).
Consequently, the ark made the tabernacle the place from which God ruled his people. In fact, the specific focus of God’s ruling presence was sometimes spoken of as between the two gold cherubim, which stood at each end of the cover (Exod 25:17-22; cf. 2 Sam 6:2). Indeed, such was the theological link between the ark and the glory of God that when the ark was briefly captured by the Philistines during the time of Eli, it was remarked that “The glory has departed from Israel!” (1 Sam 4:21).
Apart from this brief excursion into Philistine territory, the ark dwelled in the tabernacle at Shiloh up until David’s time. He not only brought the ark to Jerusalem, but determined that he should build a temple for the Lord (2 Sam 6, 7:2). However, as the prophet Nathan revealed, it was not God’s purpose that David build the temple, but that his son should (2 Sam 7:5-16). Here is another important link forged in the unfolding ‘story of glory’—a link between God’s glory, God’s temple and the Son of David.
3. The glory and the temple of God
a) The glory of Solomon’s temple
In the first instance, David’s son Solomon fulfils this role, building a temple of extraordinary beauty (1 Kings 5-7). 1 Kings 8 recounts what happened when the temple was completed and the ark brought into it: the cloud filled the house so that the priests could barely continue their work. Then, as part of his prayer of dedication, Solomon, says,
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.” (1 Kgs 8:27-30)
Again, the connections here are highly illuminating: while God cannot be controlled, let alone contained in a human structure, it is clear that he has chosen the temple to be the focal point of his presence on earth. Like the tabernacle, the temple is both a place of revelation (where his name dwells) and reconciliation (where his mercy can be obtained). Because of the role of the ark, it is also a place of rule. It should hardly surprise us, then, that, as the ark was brought into it, “the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kgs 8:11).
b) The glory of Ezekiel’s new temple
Now we must rush over several hundred years of Old Testament history and simply note that, in accordance with Solomon’s request in 1 Kings 8, the Lord did hear Israel’s cries for mercy and forgave his people many, many times. But there came a point when the only fitting response to Israel’s persistent rebellion was to bring judgement upon her—a judgement that involved the nation being cast out of God’s presence (ejected from the land) and the temple being utterly destroyed.
So the prophet Ezekiel is firstly given a vision of the glory of the Lord departing the temple (Ezek 10). But then, 14 years later, he’s given another vision—a vision of a new temple—unbelievably magnificent and glorious. As the prophet is led to the east-facing gate of the this new temple, he says,
And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. (Ezek 43:2-5)
c) The promise of the future
As we draw our exploration of the Old Testament to a close, it is important to underscore the point that the hope of Israel was bound up with the building of a new temple—a temple that would once again be filled with the glory of God, and so function as a place of revelation and reconciliation—a true ‘tent of meeting’. In addition, the future was bound up with the coming of a messianic servant (a greater son of David), who would build the new temple and mediate God’s glory—not only to Israel, but to the nations as well.3 Indeed, his coming would usher in the day when “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isa 40:5).
Having experienced the glory of God in judgement, Israel’s hope lay entirely in the glory of God’s grace (cf. Zech 4:7)—that is, in the Lord dealing with them for his own name’s sake, not according to their “evil ways” and “corrupt deeds” (Ezek 20:44). While the Jerusalem temple was rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah,4 the people of Israel were under no illusion that this was the full extent of the fulfilment of Ezekiel’s prophecy. Indeed, this second temple was a pale reflection of the original. This is what lies behind the reassuring promise that “the latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former” (Hag 2:9). Similarly, although David never lacked a man to sit on his throne, as God had declared (Jer 33:17), the Old Testament ends without the promise of the coming messiah being fulfilled.
So when would the coming one appear? And what would be the shape of the house he would build for the Lord’s name? How would he fill the earth with “the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:14; cf. Isa 11:9)? And what does this all have to do with us? Answers to these questions are found in the way the New Testament brings the story of God’s glory to a crescendo, directing us to Jesus Christ, in whom all the promises of God find their ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen’ (2 Cor 1:20). That is precisely where we will resume the story in part 2. Stay tuned.
Endnotes
1 See also 1 Samuel 12:22; Psalms 25:11, 106:8, 143:11; Ezekiel 20:22, 36:22.
2 John Piper, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry, Broadman & Holman, Nashville, 2002, p. 7.
3 See Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:1-12, 52:13-53:12, 58:8, 60:1-2, 62:2-3, 66:18-19.
4 It was completed around 516 BC.
