The Old Testament mentions many times the glory of which God appeared visibly to the nation of Israel. When the Israelites fled from Egypt, God’s presence was seen by the entire nation. He led them from Egypt to Mt. Sinai in the form a great cloud and a pillar of fire. At Mt. Sinai the glory of God covered the mountain in fire and smoke.

The shekinah glory is the visible manifestation of the presence of God. The phrase is not found in the Bible, but was coined by ancient Jewish teachers long before the birth of Christ. In the Shekinah Glory, God presence was made evident to His people. God told Moses that His glory can not be fully seen, “No man shall me and live.” (Exodus 33:20) Yet, in His mercy God gave a visible evidence of His presence with His people.

Once the tabernacle was built, God’s presence in Israel became directly connected with the tabernacle and the temple. Exodus 40 tells how God’s glory filled the completed tabernacle. When Israel committed idolatry God told Moses to move the tabernacle outside the camp because He would not be in the midst of a wicked people. Later, when King Solomon built the temple of God in Jerusalem the glory of God entered into the temple. God’s presence in the place of worship was a constant reminder that He was with His people. Much later the book of Ezekiel describes the glory of God leaving the temple because of the Jew’s continual disobedience against God. After the book of Ezekiel there are no other historical references to the glory of God visibly present with His people.

Several of the minor prophets promise that one day the glory of God will again be visibly present with His people. In Haggai God promises, “I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts” and in Zechariah He says, “For I, saith the LORD, will be unto (Jerusalem) a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.” Habakkuk prophecies. “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” In the future, God’s glory will fill the earth. His Shekinah glory will be eternally present among His people.

God’s presence is not seen today, but He still dwells with His people. The Christian today is the temple of God. He dwells just as truly within Christians today as He did in the temple in Israel. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1Corinthians 3:16) “Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16) God’s glorious presence is still with His people today.