Leviticus 26:11–12

The old harvest will be so plentiful that they must clear it out to make room for the new. And, better still: "I will set my habitation among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be my people."

What a beautiful picture we have here — a people enjoying the blessing of Jehovah, and His delight in them… Further, God's dwelling place would be among them. He would walk among them, be their God, and they would be His people. Long ago in the garden God delighted in men. In the same way He would take delight in His redeemed people. In the garden God withheld nothing that man needed for his happiness. It would be the same for the Israelites, even though they lived on an earth where sin is present.

Again, it is only on the ground of redemption that God dwells with man. He did not dwell with Adam innocent, though He came down to him. He did not dwell with Abraham, though He visited him and ate with him. But when Israel came out of Egypt, God said He brought them to Himself "that I may dwell among them." At once they built the tabernacle, and God's presence stood in the middle of His people.

Then follow the details of the prosperity that would follow. But it was all conditional: "If you walk … then I will give." Everything depended on their obedience, and that "If" proved fatal. The blessings promised were earthly and material: fruitfulness, peace, victory, and the realized presence of God among them… There is no mention of heaven or of the life to come. How great the contrast with the Christian's portion! He is blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:3), and without any "if" at all.

It is interesting to see the word "among," used in Exodus 29 and Leviticus 26, changed to "in" in 2 Corinthians 6. That marks the great truth of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in God's people, the great mark that sets the believer apart in this present age. And further, Scripture uses the word "temple," which gives the idea of permanence. The word "tabernacle" would not, as long as we are down here.

Because of Israel's sins, this promise was never fully fulfilled. So God repeats it through Ezekiel, for He never allows His purpose to be frustrated. He applies it to the time of Messiah's kingdom during the millennium: "My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Ezek. 37:27). Coming to the last book of the Bible, we find almost the same words again — only now not as a promise, but as a statement of fact and accomplishment. Connecting the three scriptures, we learn that it was always God's thought to surround Himself with His redeemed people.

These blessings come with conditions. They are for Israel obeying their God, Jehovah, and they are earthly, however rich they may be. They are not the blessings that mark out the Christian, whatever those who plead a special case may argue. And, better still: "I will set my habitation among you, and my soul shall not abhor you; and I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people."

We might notice that the first mention of walking is when God (Jehovah Elohim) Himself walked in the garden of Eden "in the cool of the day." That shows God's desire for the company of man, His creature. Leviticus 26:12 gives us the same thought. God tells His earthly people that if they would only keep the conditions He rightly insisted on, "I will walk among you."… "Enoch walked with God." This desire on Enoch's part seems to have pleased the Divine Persons so much that the Holy Spirit delighted to repeat the words.

The promise of Leviticus 26:11-12 depended on Israel staying faithful. Even so, we hear Moses tell Israel, "Because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that He may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you" (Deuteronomy 23:14).

If He was in their midst to secure victory over their enemies, He was also there to demand holiness of life. They were never, for one moment, to forget the majestic Person who walked up and down among them. Would this thought be a burden to anyone? Only to those who did not love holiness, purity and moral order.

Israel was still in the wilderness. Jehovah was giving them instructions about how to behave once they were in the land, and He gave this promise along with them. It depended on their obedience… Because of Israel's sins, the promise was never completely fulfilled. So God repeats it through Ezekiel and applies it to the time of Messiah's kingdom — for God never lets anything defeat His purpose.

It is interesting to see the word "among," used in Exodus 29 and Leviticus 26, changed to "in" in 2 Corinthians 6. That marks the great truth that the Holy Spirit lives in God's people. This is the great mark that sets the believer apart in this present age. And further, the word chosen is "temple," which gives the idea of permanence. "Tabernacle" would not give that idea, while we are still down here.

So the word "tabernacle" in Revelation 21 clearly points back to these scriptures. Israel's camp is in fact the first outward expression of God's purpose to have His eternal home among His people. His tabernacle in the wilderness, ringed by the twelve tribes, was both a picture given in advance and a prophecy. And once again the more perfect dwelling of the millennium became a picture of His perfected tabernacle in eternity.