The God Who Dwells Among Us
Presence, Priesthood, Broken Covenant, and Glory
By Will Bourne · Bourne Again Media LLC
Exodus 25:1–40:38 · Commentary chapters 30–45
The journey of this volume
Stay with Exodus as God draws near to a people still learning to be faithful. Sanctuary details, skilled work, priesthood, the golden calf, intercession, and renewal all belong to the journey from slavery toward life in God’s presence. This volume invites you to see why beauty, truth, mercy, and the way we treat people matter when we say God dwells among us.
How can a holy God dwell among a people who are called, gifted, vulnerable to idolatry, and dependent upon mercy?
What you’ll explore
- God’s desire to dwell among his people and the purpose of sacred space.
- Spirit-given craftsmanship, willing generosity, and structures that serve presence.
- Idolatry, intercession, covenant renewal, and God’s glory.
Making room for the God who dwells
Begin with Exodus 25:1–40 in your Bible. Read the chapter before passing over its details. Notice what the furnishings are for, who initiates the dwelling, and how willingness and careful work serve the encounter.
The following reading summarizes Chapter 30, “The God Who Wants to Dwell Among Us,” with a selected excerpt from the manuscript.
The tabernacle instructions follow the covenant meal. Exodus keeps moving toward communion: deliverance leads a people into life with God. The sanctuary begins with God’s initiative and is supported by willing gifts. Its beauty and careful pattern serve a relationship that human beings cannot manufacture.
The ark, covenant testimony, table, and lampstand give that purpose a visible shape. Presence belongs with truth, bread, light, and a dwelling that can travel. God meets a people whose journey remains unfinished. We can attend to him while circumstances are still unsettled, rather than postpone communion until everything is resolved.
The chapter brings the same question into our own structures and spaces. Planning, craftsmanship, and beauty can serve faithful life, but their purpose must remain visible. Excellence does not justify exhausting people, and religious objects do not give us control over God. What we build should help people attend, tell the truth, and practice care.
God meets us on the way
We often imagine God's presence most easily after life becomes settled: when the house is finished, the career stabilizes, the family heals, the finances recover, or the answer arrives. But Israel receives a portable sanctuary in the wilderness. God knows how to dwell with people between Egypt and promise.
Abiding is not a reward for finally getting everything organized. God meets us in transition. We can practice presence while grieving, rebuilding, waiting, learning, repairing relationships, or living with unresolved questions.
Will Bourne · From Chapter 30, “The God Who Wants to Dwell Among Us,” in Exodus Volume III
The dwelling becomes flesh
John’s account of the Word dwelling among us gathers the sanctuary theme around Jesus. The meeting place between God and humanity is centered in Christ. The New Testament then speaks of a people indwelt by the Spirit, bringing the question of presence into the character of the community.
A living dwelling should reflect the One who dwells there. Truth, hospitality, forgiveness, safety, generosity, and patient attention give ordinary life a shape consistent with Christ. Revelation carries the promise toward its fullness: God dwelling with his people in renewed creation.
Continue in Scripture
John 1:14–18 · 1 Corinthians 3:16–17 · Revelation 21:1–4, 22–23
Read these passages alongside the sanctuary instructions. Follow the movement from wilderness dwelling toward Christ, the Spirit’s people, and the hope of unhindered communion.
A question to carry
What is shaping the center of my life, and does it reflect the presence of Christ I confess?
Stay with one person or situation that comes to mind. Notice what this passage brings into view before deciding how to respond.
Back to section choices ↑One faithful step
Choose one place you use every day. Make a small change that helps you attend to Christ there, then practice his character through a truthful conversation, hospitality, patient listening, or generous care.
Back to section choices ↑A prayer for the journey
Lord Jesus, you have come near. By your Spirit, order my attention and my ordinary life around your presence. Let truth, mercy, beauty, and care for others grow in the places I inhabit.
Back to section choices ↑Why the details belong to the story
I want readers to stay with the tabernacle because it is part of the goal of Exodus. The God who hears and delivers also wants to dwell among his people. The furnishings, priesthood, craftsmanship, and ordered space ask us to see what everything is serving. They carry the story toward communion.
That makes the golden calf especially searching. Delay and anxiety can tempt people to seek something visible, manageable, and immediate. Religious language can remain while trust is being replaced by control. I want us to hear the warning and also attend to intercession, truth, consequences, and the mercy that makes renewal possible.
The final glory is God’s gift. Skilled work and faithful participation matter, but the people cannot produce the presence that completes the story. My hope is that this volume helps us welcome the Spirit’s work in our gifts and ordinary responsibilities while keeping Christ at the center. A resource serves its purpose when it forms a people who increasingly reflect him.
Adapted from Will Bourne’s prepared Exodus interview.
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