God establishes the priesthood in the persons of Aaron and his sons. Much of this section is spent describing with great precision the vestments they shall wear and the rite of consecration that makes them priests of God. It is these priests who may enter the sanctuary that contains the ark and the altar, clearly serving as mediators in some fashion between God and His people. Although God explains that He will dwell in a special way at the altar and in the meeting tent, that explanation ends with a beautiful passage about God's relationship with all of His people:
I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites and will be their God. They shall know that I, the Lord, am their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt so I, the Lord, their God, might dwell among them.
This seems to apply so clearly to us today, to me personally. It is not enough for God that He is our God, He wants us to know it--to know that He has saved us and called us out of slavery. The wording is interesting here: He has called the Israelites (that is, us) out of Egypt (that is, out of slavery), so that He might dwell in our midst. In other words, being called out of slavery is in some ways a pre-condition for that special type of dwelling among us that God has in mind. Thus, each of us must be called out of slavery--whatever we are personally enslaved by--in order for Him to dwell in our midst. I am sure He never leaves us, but we must clean the house, clear the path, make straight the way, allow ourselves to be brought out of slavery, so that He can fully dwell in our midst. Powerful stuff.
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